Some of the most egregious hurt and harm comes from those inside the church. Pastors harm people, elder boards harm people, church people harm other church people and their leaders. I am not alone in having been a recipient of this, and now some of the people who are dearest to me are receiving actions from believers in their own church that feel bewildering, baffling, and breaking.

Right now, with this church situation, I feel like I have been too far removed from it for too many years to really know what all is going on. But what I have heard and seen breaks my heart. Is this how we treat one another? Is this how we treat the leaders who spoke the word of God to us (Hebrews 13:7)? If there were grievances against or even concerns about a pastor, were they handled biblically (1 Timothy 5:19)? Or were they done in secret, behind backs, whispers and gossips in homes, and people too afraid to speak to the face of people?

Jared Wilson says this, “I can actively hate you, but if I claim it’s for your good––or for the good of the church or some tribal movement within the church––I think I can call it love and get away with it. None of these folks ever seem to ask themselves, If I was treated this way, would I feel loved?” (Love Me Anyway, 77)

What does scripture have to say about this?

I think Jesus and the apostles took the attack, betrayal, and backstabbing of brothers and sisters as a very serious matter. Something so serious that there are warnings about presenting gifts at the altar and partaking of the Lord’s Table while there are broken relationships, offenses, and sin among the members of the body.

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.––Galatians 5:14–15

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.––Matthew 5:23–24

It’s this serious, that Jesus wants his followers to stop before they get to the house of worship, and go take the first steps in restoring the relationship with another “family member.”

It’s basically a stop, there’s something more at stake and more important than how you look. Go right back out of those doors and don’t even presume to attempt to worship if you’ve been convicted of something you did to another.

Then in 1 Corinthians 11, we see Paul reproving that church––that in spite of divisions, differences, and treating others poorly, they continue to eat and drink with Jesus while harboring these sins!

And he reminds them that this bread and cup is about remembering Jesus. It’s about him.

Take a moment to picture walking into your church on Sunday morning, and you see Jesus a few rows ahead of you in the seats. The word has been preached, songs of worship have been sung, scripture has been spoken, and then it is time for communion with the living God. And you see Jesus moving out of the row to go up to the table.

If I look up and see Jesus looking at me from behind the table with the bread and cup, what will that do to me? Might I linger longer in my seat, asking the Spirit to reveal any wicked way in me? Might I be moved to feel my great need of this Savior? To need his forgiveness? And realize that there are things that must be made right with him and others before consuming the bread and cup? Will I allow my heart to be melted by the forgiveness and love in his eyes?

If I truly believe that Jesus is present when I go to eat that bread and drink that cup, how dare I do so with sin in my heart and, as it were, blood on my hands? Is that the value I give my Savior that I take his death so cheaply? Dare I be so brazen as to not ask the LORD to search my heart and know me and convict me (Psalm 139)––and just come to his table? What gracious discipline will meet us if we take him so lightly (1 Corinthians 11:32)?

He means to have all of us. He is a consuming fire that means to burn up the dross in our lives. Dare we approach this holy God as though he will overlook what we have done to his bride––and not repented of?

And how does God feel about this?

A few weeks ago, my daily reading plan had me in Judges 9, which is a heartrending story of betrayal and murder. It takes three years and much more bloodshed, but God brings judgment on this evil man for his evil deeds.

I think one can take what they will from this passage, but if nothing else, it is a sobering reminder that God will not overlook evil deeds that are not repented of. Nor will he be mocked. What one sows, he will reap (Galatians 6:7).

If Acts 17:30 declares that the days of God overlooking ignorance are over and God is commanding all people to repent, how much more so is that true of the people that claim him as Lord, Savior, and God?

We must confess our sins to this One (1 John 1:9).

The book of 1 John has been good for me to read through and be reminded of how intricately love for Jesus is tied with loving one another.

And I would ask myself and all reading this––is how I treated that believer how I would treat Jesus? Were my actions demonstrating my love for Jesus in my love (or not love) of this other person that Jesus also died for? Would I gossip, lie, exaggerate, twist words, or anything else with my mouth if Jesus were standing next to me? Would I be ashamed to drag Jesus into these places and spaces where my actions or words sin against another brother or sister?

Oh, Jesus, help us. Sunday has just been, and Sunday is coming again.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy on us.

_____

Podcast: Confession to God and Others Changes Everything with Matt Chandler

Song: “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus“

Quote: “Only as we drink down the kindness of the heart of Christ will we leave in our wake, everywhere we go, the aroma of heaven.” – Dane Ortlund