One of the clearest teachings in Jesus‘ New Testament is that all of us have sinned and fallen short of God‘s glory. Several passages such as Romans 3:23, James 3:2 and 1st John 1:8 & 10 make this clear.

But what does this teaching mean to you?

Some want to make this teaching mean that since everyone has sinned, no one has the right to correct or even address sin in another person‘s life. These folks attempt to protect themselves from any scrutiny whatsoever by hiding behind the imperfect lives of others, especially the imperfections of those trying to correct them. But this kind of behavior could not be farther from God‘s intent in bringing our universal guilt to light.

God confronts us with our sinfulness through His Son‘s gospel and then teaches us to lovingly do the same for each other. Without a firm grasp of this truth, evangelism would cease. And yes, like every good thing, this instruction has been abused by some who delight in drawing attention to the sins of others while being blind to the wrong in their own lives. These abusers, however, will answer for their own selves, and do not negate Jesus‘ teaching concerning our responsibility to each other in this area of spiritual life.

The above problem must be the reason Jesus specifically addressed this issue in Matthew 7:1-5. Here He first taught the overall idea of refraining from judgment with the warning that we will be judged exactly as we have judged others. Then He uses the ridiculous image of someone with a large piece of wood in his own eye, trying to help someone else clear a speck from their eye. His point, however, is not that we should avoid helping the one with the speck in their eye, but rather that we should first get the “beam” out of our own eye for the specific purpose of being able to see clearly in order to help our brother remove his speck.

Now don‘t get the idea from the above that you have to be perfect yourself before you can approach someone you care about who needs to be confronted about some ungodly behavior in their life. All you have to be is honest regarding your own condition and have some Godly concern for someone who‘s vision is blurred by sin.

We need to have the courage and character to make ourselves accountable to one another. That brother calling attention to sin in your life may have been sent by God just as Nathan was sent to David, 2nd Samuel 11 & 12.

In closing, hear the word of the Lord:

He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.

He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof

acquires understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom,

and before honor comes humility. Proverbs 15:31-33