The Lord Wants to Be Gracious

The Lord knew that—although Jeremiah lived in the southern kingdom of Judah—the prophet knew what Israel was doing in the North, following idols.

Nevertheless, the Lord still wanted Israel, “The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: ‘Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it” (Jeremiah 3.6–7).

Israel acted like a harlot, turning away from God and seeking the false gods of the nations, and although that grieved Him, He still called out to Israel to return.

Judah, like Jeremiah, saw all this, but what did Judah do about her own failings? She increased them!

What do you do when you see someone sin and suffer for it? DR

The Church and Disorderly Conduct

What shall the church do with members who are disorderly? “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us” (2 Thessalonians 3.6).

The church cannot tolerate members who persist in conduct that is out of order. We should confront in love the brother or sister who walks disorderly, and if they refuse to turn from their way, we have to withdraw from them.

However, we do not want to do damage, but we want to turn that Christian back to a life of holiness. If that be our goal, it will come out in the way we talk with that Christian. DR