Our Responsibility to Others

James 5:19-20
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,
20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

 James brings his letter to a close with a few words to us about our responsibilities for our Christian brothers and sisters. It's pretty straight forward. We don't get to just look the other way when those in our Christian community walk the path of sin. This message is counter-cultural for us. We are very much a people who look the other way when it comes to what those around us are doing. "Who am I to judge?" we ask ourselves. Herein lies an important distinction; just because you call someone on their sin does not mean that you are standing in judgment of them! You are not condemning them to hell nor are you allowed to discuss their behavior in a public forum. But- we are to call each other out! That is okay. When God uses  your voice to pull someone back from the brink of disaster, that's a part of living together. It is who we are called to be! This must be done with prayer and gentleness, but to shirk this responsibility is a betrayal of those you love in the Body of Christ.

 Tomorrow we take on the rather daunting task of a study of Genesis. The history in Genesis is fascinating. And if you've never read it before, or haven't read it for a long time,  you might be surprised at some of the stories in this book. I'm excited to get started!

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