He showed up in the church office one day. The night before, he had gotten into a fight with his wife because he had been caught in a pattern of lies and deception. And things had turned ugly. Next time, his wife told him, she’d call the cops. “Help me. I’m a liar.”
Years of sin, even the “small” ones – lies, gossip, gluttony, complaining, a thankless, discontented attitude, not meeting with other Christians – can harden the heart. People, hearing of the free grace of God, can think, “Well, I’ll just do this one time, and God will forgive me.” But over time, sin desensitizes us and repentance becomes more difficult; the way back feels more costly.
It is not immediately evident to see if there is a soft or hard heart. We spend time praying, talking, pleading, seeking restoration and doing whatever is necessary to help one another return to Christ. We carry the cross and lay down our lives for one another, just as Christ did for us.
While we pursue reconciliation and restoration, sadly, sometimes people refuse to obey Christ. Long-standing resistance to obey cannot be ignored. When reconciliation is refused and resisted, we are denying the power of the Gospel that reconciles us to God (2 Cor. 5:20). Just sweeping long-standing sin under the carpet will ruin our souls, and eventually the integrity and witness of the church.
When churches share the sad news of a hardened heart (Matt. 18:15ff), some people hear the news and think, “Am I next? Are they going to jump all over me?” Others, who have been a part of a church that has not been clear on what it means to be a Christian, look at their lives and see that they have been guilty of similar situations in the past and become afraid. And then there are others who have been influenced greatly by the one who has fallen and wonder, “Was any of it true?”
But because we really want to love one another, we want to bear gently with each other in our weaknesses and failings. We want to be patient, being slow to anger and quick to listen (Jas 1:19). We want to be quick to repent and confess our sins, and encourage one another to avoid sin. We want to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matt. 5:6). We want the power of God to give us victory over sin and temptation (1 Jn 5:2-5). We want to pray for the fallen. In short, we want to be like Jesus.
I want more of Christ in me. And I pray that you do, too. Please love one another more, be patient with one another, be quick to repent, and do not let any sin harden our hearts, but encourage one another to keep on in the way of Jesus (Heb 3:12-14).
Needy for God’s power,
~Pastor Andrew