Pastor Joel Laswell

In order for us to be conquerors in the sin issue, and to endure to the end though we may have been segregated from family, from church and brethren, and from society, we must keep walking in the light from God. What does it mean to walk in the Light and how do we do it?

As I have contemplated and studied the sin issue, for over thirty years now, I have come to the conclusion that the real reason that we as professing Christians stay where we are even when called by Jesus to separate from sin and apostasy is because we love our independence. And Satan feeds that love of independence because he is the originator of it and so we are fooled into thinking that we can be independent and still be in the family of God. So naturally then there would be no reason to leave a fallen church because you can be independent of their sin and not worry about receiving any consequences. This is a lie!

When we associate with sin we leave our heart open to hardening and not the softening we need in order to be like Jesus. As the old saying says, by beholding we become changed. In case you are unaware of this, no person is going to be in the kingdom of God who has hardness of heart. That is reality. If I am hard-hearted, something has to happen to my heart or I cannot go to heaven to be with Jesus. I want you to be in heaven and I want to be in heaven. Our heart must be in the right condition for this to happen. If we want to go to heaven, we must gain victory here, because there will be no hard-hearted people there.

The Gospel Cycle is the replication process of making disciples for Christ. Please click here to download the accompanying bible study:
http://www.3asdchurch.org/Sabbath-School-Lesson--Student--TheGospelCycle.pdf

I want to look at is the effects of influence in relation to the Sin Issue. As those who profess to be Christians, we want to have a positive influence upon those within our sphere, right? But we also need to realize the effects that influence has upon us, and the source of that influence--whether it is good or bad... this is needed in order for any change to take place in our walk with the Lord.

In most cases when this is talked about more time is spent showing how Saul behaved toward David than David toward Saul but we can learn a lot by looking at David's reactions toward Saul and how the true church should react toward the professed. What always starts the process of apostasy is when sin is not dealt with as the Lord says it should be and that little leaven then pervades the entire church.

Now lets say that in your personal situation you have pointed out sin in your church, your church turned against your call for repentance of sin and you have obeyed the Lord and separated from that assembly--that organization. What is your attitude now to be toward that church organization?

I learned a life lesson from my coaches when I was young and participated in sports and that is the fundamentals are what will get you through the tough spots. So I was drilled every day in practice with the fundamentals of the game and found by experience that my coaches were correct. God teaches the same thing in the Bible about fundamentals. If we understand the fundamental principles of God's word, they will get us through the tough spots in our life. And this is important for us to believe because this particular topic is a very hard one for many to hear and if applicable to their church, to accept. And sad to say, it is applicable to most all church organizations today.

There are a couple of other things to consider in regard to these principles in Matthew 5 and 18. The first deals with the ‘time’ element involved… such as ‘when do you take witnesses with you?’ and ‘when do you take it to the church?’ etc… The second has to do with ‘how’ you contact the one who sinned against you. How to start the process outlined by Jesus.

What do you do if someone sins against you? How do you deal righteously with such an issue? We are to do as God has done towards us who have sinned against Him, and Jesus tells us how that is to be done. So I want to start by looking at the biblical principle we are to use when someone trespasses against us personally, and not necessarily in public though it could be. It is found in Matthew 18, and Matthew 5...