James 5:16-17 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
A plague that has encompassed the church in the past one hundred years, is that of spiritual pride. Those who have been saved from the penalty of their sins, who begin to believe that they are somehow better than those who are yet unsaved.
It is a mistake to believe that because we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we are superior in anyway to those who have yet to find salvation. In fact, the only difference between the saved and the unsaved is Jesus. We are not better, just better off. We should never forget where we were when Jesus found us. We were lost with no hope of eternal life, until that day when Jesus cleansed us by His precious blood. We did nothing to earn that Grace. We didn’t deserve it, yet He gave it to us freely. Why then do we sometimes act as if we are in some way superior to the unsaved, or those Christians who are struggling with sin in their lives?
It is a prerequisite of salvation that everyone who comes to Jesus for Mercy, must come to Him humbly and sincerely. Without repentance there is no forgiveness of sin. Without sincerity, a person is merely going through the motions of being saved, without actually being saved at all.
I have observed in the Christian church, those who have taken Jesus as their Savior, who then see others struggling with sin and then choose to avoid these persons as though the confession of faith by the one struggling with sin were disingenuous. The hurt caused by their withdrawal of friendship causes even greater damage to the struggling believer than any sin that has troubled them.
James, the brother of Jesus understood well what a good example of a truly righteous man was like. His brother Jesus was perfect in every way. Yet James takes an opportunity in chapter 5 of his epistle to point out that even Elijah had a sinful nature like all of us, yet the Lord did not cast him aside, but used him mightily.
Why then do Christians cast aside other Christians when they view them as having behavior that they view as inappropriate?
A few years ago, I myself was subjected to a brutal abusive relationship in which I endured three and one half long years of terror at the hands of someone who I had trusted. When my very life was in danger and I was forced to end the relationship, my friends abandoned me and imagined the worst about me. Of course they had no idea what had been happening to me during those years of terrible trial, because I kept most of the terror to myself. Even today those who were once very close friends have chosen to have no contact with me. They never took the time to find out what really happened. They judged me and condemned me without a chance for me to explain what had taken place.
The pain of those lost friendships was far greater than the terror I was forced to endure at the hands of an abuser. Yet the Lord never abandoned me, continues to the present day to allow me to serve in ministry and has allowed my ministry to effect people around the world. I am so grateful that Jesus does not abandon us in our trials and never disqualifies us from ministry when we truly want to serve Him.
From a personal word of encouragement in this daily walk, I would ask that those who read today’s message never abandon a friend when they see them struggling with sin, or they imagine that they have done some action they view to be inappropriate. May I respectfully say to you that you do not really know what your friend is going through and you may never know. All that should concern you is that this is your friend who is going through a very difficult time and they need you more now that at any other time. If you remain faithful during their trial, you and your friend will both grow closer to the Lord and to each other.
Your struggling friend will know what it is like to have a true friend who will be faithful even when their life is not perfect. That knowledge will be one of the most beautiful and valuable treasures your struggling friend will ever have on this earth.
May all of us who call Jesus Savior and Lord, remember where we came from and who we were when He found us. May we approach all those who are saved and the unsaved alike, with a deep sense of humility and great manner of grace.
Ephesians 2:11-13 Therefore remember that you… were without Christ…having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Rob Robinson
