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1 Peter 4.

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I'm in no way wanting to take

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Brother David's thunder from his preaching

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through 1 Peter.

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It will be awhile before he gets this far.

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You probably will forget by then

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what I say today.

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You'll forget that I did 
this message probably.

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Hopefully we never forget 
the truths of God's Word.

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Being brought, like Peter says,

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into remembrance of these things

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over and over,

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and David will come along

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and bring us into remembrance of them

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again months from now.

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1 Peter 4,

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"Since therefore Christ 
suffered in the flesh,

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arm yourselves with 
the same way of thinking.

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For whoever has suffered in the flesh

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has ceased from sin

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so as to live for the rest 
of the time in the flesh

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no longer for human passions,

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but for the will of God."

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There's a motivation on all life.

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In times past, our former manner of life,

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you know what guided us?

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Our passions. What we wanted.

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Lust.

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We wanted to fulfill our desires.

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It's kind of a worldview.

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How do you view everything?

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We used to view everything 
by the pleasure it gave us;

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by the satisfaction it gave us;

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by how it made us look,

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how it made us feel.

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No longer for human passions,

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but for the will of God.

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The same thing that guided

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our Lord Jesus Christ is now 
supposed to guide us -

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the will of the Father.

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That's how we evaluate things.

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No longer: how is that 
going to make me look?

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How is that going to make me feel?

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But, what does God think about that?

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Is He pleased with it or is He not?

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"For the time that is past suffices

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for doing what the Gentiles want to do,

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living in sensuality, passions,

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drunkenness, orgies,

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drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

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With respect to this,

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they are surprised when 
you do not join them

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in the same flood of debauchery

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and they malign you."

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In other words, you get saved.

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You no longer run with the pack

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and now you're the oddball.

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And they don't like it.

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"But they will give account to Him

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who is ready to judge 
the living and the dead.

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For this is why the Gospel was preached

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even to those who are dead..."

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You want to take that 
as dead in trespasses.

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Not dead physically.

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The Bible teaches us nothing about

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teaching the Gospel, preaching the Gospel

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to those who have already died.

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This isn't second chance theology.

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"That though judged in the flesh

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the way people are, they 
might live in the spirit

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the way God does."

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And there you see the spirituality 
of what he's talking about.

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"The end of all things is at hand."

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Therefore, there's a way to live.

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How should we live?

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"Be self-controlled and sober-minded

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for the sake of your prayers.

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Above all..." Aren't 
those interesting words?

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"Above all..."

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Peter doesn't just think everything

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is on the same playing field;

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that everything is basically equal;

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that one thing is just as 
important to another thing

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in the Christian life.

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He actually believes that 
there are some things

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that are more important.

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"Above all,

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keep loving one another earnestly,

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since love covers a multitude of sins."

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Now let's just think about this verse.

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This is where I want us to focus.

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"Above all,

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keep loving one another earnestly,

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since love covers a multitude of sins."

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More than all the other 
things Peter has just said,

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above all,

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he wants us to give 
ourselves to earnest love,

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intense love.

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Now, love covers a multitude of sins.

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There is a question about 
whose sins get covered.

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You don't have to look far to find

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Catholic commentators who believe

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the sin that gets covered is yours.

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That when you love others,

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your sin gets covered,

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as though somehow you're atoning

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for your misdeeds by your love.

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That would not be the way 
you want to interpret this.

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The key to understanding whose 
sins Peter has in mind here

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and who's doing the covering -

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the first part of the verse

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goes with the second part of the verse.

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This issue has to do 
with our loving others

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earnestly, intently, fervently.

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It's not the idea that if we love others,

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God in turn is going to pardon your sin.

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What he's saying is that Christians

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loving each other -

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when Christians love each other,

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one of the things that is expressed

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in that love is how we react

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to the sins of others;

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how we navigate those sins;

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how we talk about those sins;

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how we regard those sins.

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One another.

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The "one another" is 
really key to this verse.

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It has to do with our 
interaction in the church

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one to the other.

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And by the way, if you reflect,

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didn't Jesus say something

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about our love towards one another

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back in John 13?

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Anybody remember what He said?

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He said that this watching world

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is going to know that we're His disciples

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when we love one another.

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That's the issue.

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Now, be careful that you recognize

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the "one another" here.

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He's talking about the way Christians

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react with Christians.

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And I'm not saying -

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look, I'm not saying that we as Christians

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can never overlook 
the sins of lost people.

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If you're going to be kind 
and compassionate to people

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you're not going to just pounce

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on every little wrong that people do.

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But I will say this,

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that if you think very 
carefully about Ephesians 5,

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we are called to be light

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and we are called to expose

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the deeds of darkness in this world.

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So, we need to feel 
that tension, by the way.

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I just bring that up as far as

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the way we interact with the lost.

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But notice this.

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Notice verse 8, "Above all,

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keep loving one another earnestly."

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Why? Well, Peter is going 
to give us the reason.

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The reason Peter is so interested

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that we have earnest love 
among the brethren

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is found in what love does.

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You see the sense there.

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You see there's a reason.

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He says - this is interesting -

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you have to feel this for what it is.

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Look, he comes to you and he says,

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above everything else, 
Grace Community Church,

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give yourself to intently and 
fervently loving one another.

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Okay.

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And then he says I'm going 
to give you a reason why.

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Since love covers a multitude of sins.

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In other words, if love is active;

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if love is operative;

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if love is actually 
happening in the church

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beyond just lip service,

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what that love is going to do

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is it's going to be expressed

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by this very thing.

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You see what he's saying?

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Above all, let this be true among you.

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Why? Because there is a 
certain precious quality

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about this love.

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There is a certain precious manifestation

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of this love that is so desirable.

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That's why above all give yourself

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to this earnest love

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because what loving one another

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at that earnest, fervent level does

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is it has everything to 
do with how we relate

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to one another when we sin.

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That's precisely what he's saying.

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One of the most precious things

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about love in Peter's thinking is this.

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Do you think that way?

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You see, this verse helps us

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really recognize one 
of the great attributes

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of love as it's manifest in the church.

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We could think about a lot of ways.

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You know, Jesus gird 
Himself with that towel

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and He washed one another's feet,

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and He said I'm leaving you an example.

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But I'll tell you this, 
one of the greatest ways

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you can gird yourself with the towel

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and wash one another's feet

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according to the Apostle Peter

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has to do with how we 
deal with one another

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when it comes to sin.

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You clearly see that from the text.

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How can we know true love?

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There's the answer.

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How can we know it?

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Now it manifests itself other ways.

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I'm not saying that's the only way

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that it manifests itself,

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but in Peter's estimation,

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that is one of the 
great qualities of love.

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Think about this.

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Not just loving your wife,

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not just loving people 
indiscriminately in the world

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or loving your children,

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it's the one another.

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It's how we interact in the church.

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One of the great qualities of love

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in the church

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has precisely to do with this.

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How we view one another

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in light of our faults,

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in light of our falls,

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in light of our sins.

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That's what we see here.

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Now, "cover." You see the word.

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Cover.

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"Love covers a multitude of sins."

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Let's think about this word "cover."

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It literally means to remove from view.

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To conceal, to hide, to keep secret.

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It's basically to put down 
the knowledge of something.

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Let me give you a verse.

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Luke 8:16, which don't turn there,

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but just listen to it.

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Because this word "cover" is found there.

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Now, when it's used in this verse,

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you will pick up it's 
used in a negative way.

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Peter's using it in a positive way.

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But still, this is a very telling verse.

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Because just listen to it.

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"No one after lighting a lamp

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covers it with a jar 
or puts it under a bed.

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but puts it on a stand,

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so that those who 
enter may see the light."

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Now that's very helpful.

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Nobody covers,

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after lighting a lamp.

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You've got a lamp.

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The lamp is giving light.

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Nobody covers it.

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Now, if you think about it,

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what does Jesus have in mind

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when He's talking about this lamp?

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Brethren, you are the light of the world.

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Christ is the light of the world.

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He tells us we are the light of the world.

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We're salt and light.

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We have been endowed with the truth.

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We have a commission.

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You are not to take this and hide it.

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You are not to take what you have 
been taught by Christ and hide it.

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You're not to cover it.

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You're not to put it under a bushel basket

272
00:12:57,233 --> 00:12:58,468
or hide it under a bed.

273
00:12:58,468 --> 00:13:00,102
Rather, what are you supposed to do?

274
00:13:00,102 --> 00:13:01,491
You're supposed to put it on a stand

275
00:13:01,491 --> 00:13:03,624
so that it becomes as visible as possible.

276
00:13:03,624 --> 00:13:05,947
Now that's using cover 
in a negative sense.

277
00:13:05,947 --> 00:13:07,934
That is actually blotting out the light

278
00:13:07,934 --> 00:13:10,094
of something that you want to have shine.

279
00:13:10,094 --> 00:13:12,293
Peter is using it in the opposite sense.

280
00:13:12,293 --> 00:13:13,948
He's using it in a negative sense,

281
00:13:13,948 --> 00:13:15,483
but nevertheless, the word means

282
00:13:15,483 --> 00:13:17,121
precisely the same thing.

283
00:13:17,121 --> 00:13:20,600
And, if you think about 
just how Jesus uses it,

284
00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,684
love does not take the 
sins of other Christians

285
00:13:24,684 --> 00:13:26,414
and put it on the lamp stand.

286
00:13:26,414 --> 00:13:29,308
Sin is put under the bed.

287
00:13:29,308 --> 00:13:33,379
It's put under the jar 
or the bushel basket.

288
00:13:33,379 --> 00:13:34,676
It's hidden.

289
00:13:34,676 --> 00:13:38,622
That's the issue.

290
00:13:38,622 --> 00:13:42,233
Now, notice - notice carefully.

291
00:13:42,233 --> 00:13:47,223
Love covers a multitude of sins.

292
00:13:47,223 --> 00:13:50,323
It doesn't just say errors only

293
00:13:50,323 --> 00:13:54,568
or weaknesses, but sins.

294
00:13:54,568 --> 00:13:56,843
And it doesn't just say one or two.

295
00:13:56,843 --> 00:14:02,401
It's actually speaking on 
a level of multitude.

296
00:14:02,401 --> 00:14:04,524
Look, does this mean that we just

297
00:14:04,524 --> 00:14:07,422
blindly walk around in the church

298
00:14:07,422 --> 00:14:10,366
and act like there's no sin?

299
00:14:10,366 --> 00:14:13,033
Does that mean that when 
a brother or sister sins,

300
00:14:13,033 --> 00:14:16,965
we just ignore every one?

301
00:14:16,965 --> 00:14:20,914
I can remember one time at work.

302
00:14:20,914 --> 00:14:22,710
Some conversation came up

303
00:14:22,710 --> 00:14:24,850
among us engineers, and the chief engineer

304
00:14:24,850 --> 00:14:26,268
was in his office

305
00:14:26,268 --> 00:14:28,179
and something was being brought up

306
00:14:28,179 --> 00:14:30,295
and he came out.

307
00:14:30,295 --> 00:14:33,509
And he just covered his ears.

308
00:14:33,509 --> 00:14:34,738
He just "blah blah blah."

309
00:14:34,738 --> 00:14:36,868
He said, "I don't want to hear that. 
I don't want to hear that."

310
00:14:36,868 --> 00:14:38,072
Is that how we're supposed to be?

311
00:14:38,072 --> 00:14:39,327
We just go into denial.

312
00:14:39,327 --> 00:14:41,499
Don't tell me. I don't want to know.

313
00:14:41,499 --> 00:14:42,646
I don't want to hear.

314
00:14:42,646 --> 00:14:45,687
I'm going to shut my eyes.
I'm going to shut my ears.

315
00:14:45,687 --> 00:14:48,292
Is that what Peter is teaching?

316
00:14:48,292 --> 00:14:49,998
All we have to do is compare

317
00:14:49,998 --> 00:14:52,038
Scripture to Scripture to know

318
00:14:52,038 --> 00:14:54,608
that is not what he means.

319
00:14:54,608 --> 00:14:56,935
He doesn't mean that we 
deny that sin is in the church.

320
00:14:56,935 --> 00:14:59,525
He doesn't mean that 
we don't call sin sin.

321
00:14:59,525 --> 00:15:03,080
He doesn't mean that we don't 
take recognition that it's here.

322
00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,116
He doesn't mean that it's less 
evil because we're a Christian

323
00:15:06,116 --> 00:15:07,964
or less detestable to God.

324
00:15:07,964 --> 00:15:09,819
He's not implying any of that.

325
00:15:09,819 --> 00:15:11,853
All you have to do is compare Scripture -

326
00:15:11,853 --> 00:15:13,488
other portions of Scripture

327
00:15:13,488 --> 00:15:16,600
to know that that is 
certainly not what he means.

328
00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:20,993
For one, sin is still sin.

329
00:15:20,993 --> 00:15:24,572
Even if sin is found in God's people,

330
00:15:24,572 --> 00:15:27,345
you need to recognize Jesus Christ

331
00:15:27,345 --> 00:15:30,039
died on Calvary's cross to pay for it.

332
00:15:30,039 --> 00:15:33,377
The wrath of God He atoned for up there.

333
00:15:33,377 --> 00:15:36,278
(incomplete thought)

334
00:15:36,278 --> 00:15:37,697
What is sin?

335
00:15:37,697 --> 00:15:39,129
We can think of sin as

336
00:15:39,129 --> 00:15:42,673
perhaps transgression of the law.

337
00:15:42,673 --> 00:15:44,735
Sin is lack of conformity

338
00:15:44,735 --> 00:15:47,753
to what God has expressed in His Word;

339
00:15:47,753 --> 00:15:49,831
to His holy law.

340
00:15:49,831 --> 00:15:53,257
It is lack of conformity 
to the Person of Christ.

341
00:15:53,257 --> 00:15:56,397
Do you believe - 
brethren, you better believe

342
00:15:56,397 --> 00:15:58,632
that every lack of 
conformity to Jesus Christ

343
00:15:58,632 --> 00:16:00,567
is very much on God's radar

344
00:16:00,567 --> 00:16:03,559
and He very much means 
to purge it out of us.

345
00:16:03,559 --> 00:16:07,819
He recognizes that which is 
detestable to Him that's still in us.

346
00:16:07,819 --> 00:16:11,270
Sin is still sin and it's 
called out as such.

347
00:16:11,270 --> 00:16:14,160
You don't find Paul coming 
to the Corinthian church

348
00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:15,572
with all that was wrong there

349
00:16:15,572 --> 00:16:17,018
and say, well, you know,

350
00:16:17,018 --> 00:16:19,223
I'm going to heed my brother Peter's words

351
00:16:19,223 --> 00:16:20,939
and love covers a multitude of sin.

352
00:16:20,939 --> 00:16:22,641
So I'm just not going to see,

353
00:16:22,641 --> 00:16:23,682
I'm not going to hear

354
00:16:23,682 --> 00:16:25,095
Chloe's people come to me.

355
00:16:25,095 --> 00:16:27,408
I'm not going to regard that 
there's division and quarreling

356
00:16:27,408 --> 00:16:29,364
and sexual sin and all the rest there.

357
00:16:29,364 --> 00:16:30,621
I'm going to be blind to it.

358
00:16:30,621 --> 00:16:32,543
No, no, no...

359
00:16:32,543 --> 00:16:34,617
That doesn't happen.

360
00:16:34,617 --> 00:16:37,447
That doesn't happen.

361
00:16:37,447 --> 00:16:38,826
God does not approve of it.

362
00:16:38,826 --> 00:16:39,798
God hates it.

363
00:16:39,798 --> 00:16:42,903
And we should not approve of it.

364
00:16:42,903 --> 00:16:45,737
Second, Peter says love covers

365
00:16:45,737 --> 00:16:49,806
a multitude of sin; he 
doesn't say it covers all sin.

366
00:16:49,806 --> 00:16:51,470
It definitely does not.

367
00:16:51,470 --> 00:16:53,165
The third consideration,

368
00:16:53,165 --> 00:16:56,419
Peter himself on different occasions

369
00:16:56,419 --> 00:17:00,040
had his own sin called out.

370
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,961
He never tells us that Jesus did wrong

371
00:17:02,961 --> 00:17:04,349
or Paul did wrong.

372
00:17:04,349 --> 00:17:06,061
Jesus called him out.

373
00:17:06,061 --> 00:17:08,197
And the Apostle Paul called him out.

374
00:17:08,197 --> 00:17:12,686
What an illustration 
that is in Galatians 2!

375
00:17:12,686 --> 00:17:15,031
One apostle calls out another.

376
00:17:15,031 --> 00:17:18,670
And of all the apostles 
that are going to be

377
00:17:18,670 --> 00:17:23,496
called out for their sin - Peter.

378
00:17:23,496 --> 00:17:25,372
He knows from his own experience

379
00:17:25,372 --> 00:17:27,892
that it's appropriate to 
have your sins called out

380
00:17:27,892 --> 00:17:30,578
in certain circumstances.

381
00:17:30,578 --> 00:17:32,762
The fourth thing to think about is

382
00:17:32,762 --> 00:17:37,024
there are specific commands 
in our New Testaments

383
00:17:37,035 --> 00:17:39,857
that tell us we need to deal with sin

384
00:17:39,857 --> 00:17:42,676
and call it out.

385
00:17:42,676 --> 00:17:44,794
And perhaps you can 
think of some of those.

386
00:17:44,794 --> 00:17:46,989
Matthew 18 would be a place

387
00:17:46,989 --> 00:17:48,873
that indicates that to us.

388
00:17:48,873 --> 00:17:51,776
And fifth, I want you to think about this.

389
00:17:51,776 --> 00:17:53,984
We must remember what is motivating

390
00:17:53,984 --> 00:17:56,010
the covering of sins.

391
00:17:56,010 --> 00:17:57,590
What it is?

392
00:17:57,590 --> 00:17:59,029
It's love.

393
00:17:59,029 --> 00:18:03,860
If love motivates us to cover sin;

394
00:18:03,860 --> 00:18:07,708
if love is truly the guiding factor,

395
00:18:07,708 --> 00:18:09,921
then love at times is going to require us

396
00:18:09,921 --> 00:18:12,466
to call the sin out.

397
00:18:12,466 --> 00:18:15,547
(incomplete thought)

398
00:18:15,547 --> 00:18:17,213
Here's the thing,

399
00:18:17,213 --> 00:18:20,770
there comes a point 
when to not call out sin

400
00:18:20,770 --> 00:18:25,570
harms God's glory.

401
00:18:25,570 --> 00:18:28,799
There are times that it brings reproach.

402
00:18:28,799 --> 00:18:30,565
You remember how David's sin

403
00:18:30,565 --> 00:18:37,737
brought a reproach upon God?

404
00:18:37,737 --> 00:18:43,821
Sin can be a reproach upon Christ.

405
00:18:43,821 --> 00:18:49,127
Sin can harm the whole church.

406
00:18:49,127 --> 00:18:51,144
Sin can harm an individual.

407
00:18:51,144 --> 00:18:53,744
So if we're going to let love 
be the guiding motive,

408
00:18:53,744 --> 00:18:56,560
that in itself would tell us

409
00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:00,600
we don't cover all sin.

410
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:02,902
Not if it's actually harming them

411
00:19:02,902 --> 00:19:05,873
or the church or God's glory.

412
00:19:05,873 --> 00:19:07,974
So, what does it look like?

413
00:19:07,974 --> 00:19:10,039
Covering sin.

414
00:19:10,039 --> 00:19:13,342
What does that look like in the church?

415
00:19:13,342 --> 00:19:17,163
Well, this is one thing.

416
00:19:17,163 --> 00:19:22,435
Love doesn't always look for sin.

417
00:19:22,435 --> 00:19:24,239
Love doesn't come along

418
00:19:24,239 --> 00:19:26,974
with this critical attitude

419
00:19:26,974 --> 00:19:30,953
where it's constantly assuming 
the worst about people.

420
00:19:30,953 --> 00:19:33,378
You know you get that in the church.

421
00:19:33,378 --> 00:19:35,333
There are certain people,

422
00:19:35,333 --> 00:19:37,815
and you know what, if we're honest,

423
00:19:37,815 --> 00:19:41,335
we can all put ourselves in that category.

424
00:19:41,335 --> 00:19:43,697
You know, some people are critical

425
00:19:43,697 --> 00:19:47,632
and suspicious at large.

426
00:19:47,632 --> 00:19:49,924
But then any one of us at a different time

427
00:19:49,924 --> 00:19:51,779
we can find ourselves becoming suspicious

428
00:19:51,779 --> 00:19:54,266
of certain individuals, when actually,

429
00:19:54,266 --> 00:19:56,857
there's not any viable evidence

430
00:19:56,857 --> 00:20:00,111
that we should be that way.

431
00:20:00,111 --> 00:20:02,722
So it's not always looking.

432
00:20:02,722 --> 00:20:08,534
That covering sin - 
the idea of covering sin.

433
00:20:08,534 --> 00:20:11,291
Brethren, it's minimizing it 
where it can be minimized.

434
00:20:11,291 --> 00:20:13,303
I'm not talking about 
covering sin in a way

435
00:20:13,303 --> 00:20:16,258
that somehow denies truth.

436
00:20:16,258 --> 00:20:18,916
But you know, brethren, 
the reality is this.

437
00:20:18,916 --> 00:20:21,089
We tend to have a knack for pumping up

438
00:20:21,089 --> 00:20:26,017
other people's sin and minimizing our own.

439
00:20:26,017 --> 00:20:28,071
Love covering a multitude of sins

440
00:20:28,071 --> 00:20:30,716
is going to find expression when we're

441
00:20:30,716 --> 00:20:34,446
really trying to deal with 
other people in their sin

442
00:20:34,446 --> 00:20:37,635
the same way we want to be dealt 
with ourselves when we sin.

443
00:20:37,635 --> 00:20:39,172
And maybe even more than that,

444
00:20:39,172 --> 00:20:45,339
the way we deal with our 
own selves when we sin.

445
00:20:45,339 --> 00:20:52,478
You know, it takes a high 
place of spiritual maturity

446
00:20:52,478 --> 00:20:56,018
for us to actually get to the place

447
00:20:56,018 --> 00:20:58,357
where we deal with 
ourselves equal or harder

448
00:20:58,357 --> 00:21:00,726
with our own sin than we deal with others.

449
00:21:00,726 --> 00:21:03,336
That is a place of amazing 
spiritual maturity

450
00:21:03,336 --> 00:21:04,914
when we can get there.

451
00:21:04,914 --> 00:21:08,877
Because by nature, that is not who we are.

452
00:21:08,877 --> 00:21:13,778
Love covering a multitude of sins.

453
00:21:13,778 --> 00:21:20,472
It's precisely where love is lacking

454
00:21:20,472 --> 00:21:22,194
that we constantly walk around

455
00:21:22,194 --> 00:21:30,105
with suspicion and distrust.

456
00:21:30,105 --> 00:21:35,532
You think about this.

457
00:21:35,532 --> 00:21:37,873
I've seen an example of this

458
00:21:37,873 --> 00:21:40,897
in my own life and my own family.

459
00:21:40,897 --> 00:21:44,425
But you think about a wife,

460
00:21:44,425 --> 00:21:46,048
a mother,

461
00:21:46,048 --> 00:21:49,660
who she dearly loves her husband;

462
00:21:49,660 --> 00:21:52,829
dearly loves her children.

463
00:21:52,829 --> 00:21:54,829
You know what?

464
00:21:54,829 --> 00:21:57,104
A woman who dearly loves like that,

465
00:21:57,104 --> 00:21:59,445
she above everybody else is acutely aware

466
00:21:59,445 --> 00:22:02,767
of the faults and failings and falls

467
00:22:02,767 --> 00:22:08,456
and sin of her husband and children.

468
00:22:08,456 --> 00:22:11,512
But she is also going to be the slowest

469
00:22:11,512 --> 00:22:15,038
that wants those things to be made public.

470
00:22:15,038 --> 00:22:17,093
She will seek to put the best spin -

471
00:22:17,093 --> 00:22:20,077
not lie or not against truth -

472
00:22:20,077 --> 00:22:21,827
but she will seek to hide;

473
00:22:21,827 --> 00:22:24,021
she will seek to cover over;

474
00:22:24,021 --> 00:22:27,778
she will seek to 
emphasize the excellencies

475
00:22:27,778 --> 00:22:32,700
that are found in 
her husband, her children.

476
00:22:32,700 --> 00:22:34,129
That's love.

477
00:22:34,129 --> 00:22:36,349
That's what love does.

478
00:22:36,349 --> 00:22:39,756
When she drops on her knees and prays,

479
00:22:39,756 --> 00:22:42,263
she's very aware of those failings

480
00:22:42,263 --> 00:22:46,751
and is the first to cry out

481
00:22:46,751 --> 00:22:51,519
and want to see those 
things healed and helped

482
00:22:51,519 --> 00:22:55,103
and God come.

483
00:22:55,103 --> 00:22:56,718
That's what we're talking.

484
00:22:56,718 --> 00:22:58,587
That's what love does.

485
00:22:58,587 --> 00:23:00,352
You see, a woman like that

486
00:23:00,352 --> 00:23:02,390
is not constantly trying to read

487
00:23:02,390 --> 00:23:05,192
the worst motive possible

488
00:23:05,192 --> 00:23:07,374
into those actions

489
00:23:07,374 --> 00:23:08,813
because love doesn't do that.

490
00:23:08,813 --> 00:23:10,248
Love wants to think the best.

491
00:23:10,248 --> 00:23:12,347
It wants to assume the best.

492
00:23:12,347 --> 00:23:17,657
Brethren, every one of us

493
00:23:17,657 --> 00:23:22,720
come from the same stock.

494
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,600
Children of Adam.

495
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,224
We all come from an Adamic stock.

496
00:23:30,224 --> 00:23:34,817
And we are all very adept at putting

497
00:23:34,817 --> 00:23:38,972
the most negative spin 
on people's motives.

498
00:23:38,972 --> 00:23:42,045
"Oh, well, you know why they did that."

499
00:23:42,045 --> 00:23:45,885
See, we try to put the pieces together.

500
00:23:45,885 --> 00:23:50,210
(incomplete thought)

501
00:23:50,210 --> 00:23:53,086
The truth is that sometimes we're right,

502
00:23:53,086 --> 00:23:54,689
but if we're going to be honest,

503
00:23:54,689 --> 00:23:56,191
most of the time we're wrong

504
00:23:56,191 --> 00:24:00,183
when we put the most negative spin on.

505
00:24:00,183 --> 00:24:05,591
Peter says love covers 
a multitude of sins.

506
00:24:05,591 --> 00:24:07,581
You see, the thing is this.

507
00:24:07,581 --> 00:24:10,289
Love is genuinely interested

508
00:24:10,289 --> 00:24:12,072
in the good of somebody else.

509
00:24:12,072 --> 00:24:14,405
You know one of the 
reasons we like to tale bear

510
00:24:14,405 --> 00:24:17,754
and we like to put the 
most negative spin on things.

511
00:24:17,754 --> 00:24:20,634
It's got to do with pride.

512
00:24:20,634 --> 00:24:25,763
Pushing down, making 
other people seem less.

513
00:24:25,763 --> 00:24:30,449
It makes us feel like we're 
pumping ourselves up here.

514
00:24:30,449 --> 00:24:31,654
But the thing about love

515
00:24:31,654 --> 00:24:35,050
is when you genuinely

516
00:24:35,050 --> 00:24:38,858
have a person's interest in view,

517
00:24:38,858 --> 00:24:42,347
then whether you bring 
that sin out into the light

518
00:24:42,347 --> 00:24:44,023
or whether you try to cover it,

519
00:24:44,023 --> 00:24:48,199
it all hinges on what you 
feel is going to be best.

520
00:24:48,199 --> 00:24:52,297
That's what's regulating. 
That's what's motivating.

521
00:24:52,297 --> 00:24:53,860
It's not you just being cynical.

522
00:24:53,860 --> 00:24:57,507
It's not just you being loving to hear

523
00:24:57,507 --> 00:25:01,557
the juicy tale about 
somebody else's wrong.

524
00:25:01,557 --> 00:25:05,764
That is such a horrible attitude 
to have in the church.

525
00:25:05,764 --> 00:25:07,302
People just get excited.

526
00:25:07,302 --> 00:25:11,629
They rejoice over other 
people's falls and failures.

527
00:25:11,629 --> 00:25:12,934
So often, the reason is

528
00:25:12,934 --> 00:25:16,016
because it just helps put 
them in a better light.

529
00:25:16,016 --> 00:25:18,999
If other people can be 
dragged through the dirt,

530
00:25:18,999 --> 00:25:20,912
(incomplete thought).

531
00:25:20,912 --> 00:25:28,923
Love is able to rise above being offended.

532
00:25:28,923 --> 00:25:31,386
See, that's another aspect 
of other people's sins.

533
00:25:31,386 --> 00:25:35,061
A lot of times those sins are against me.

534
00:25:35,061 --> 00:25:37,896
And now it's not just 
how it makes them look

535
00:25:37,896 --> 00:25:40,029
or how it makes me look.

536
00:25:40,029 --> 00:25:43,984
It's: they've wronged me.

537
00:25:43,984 --> 00:25:45,238
And I feel it.

538
00:25:45,238 --> 00:25:47,288
And I've got some grievance towards them.

539
00:25:47,288 --> 00:25:49,648
I've got some bitterness in my soul.

540
00:25:49,648 --> 00:25:51,890
So I want them to pay.

541
00:25:51,890 --> 00:25:53,650
And one of the ways I want them to pay

542
00:25:53,650 --> 00:25:58,333
is I'm going to drag what 
they did out in the open.

543
00:25:58,333 --> 00:25:59,873
But here's the thing,

544
00:25:59,873 --> 00:26:02,853
love covering a multitude of sins...

545
00:26:02,853 --> 00:26:05,567
love can be wronged,

546
00:26:05,567 --> 00:26:07,772
and it's not thinking about me

547
00:26:07,772 --> 00:26:11,277
and how their wrong affected me.

548
00:26:11,277 --> 00:26:13,331
See, I can go back to that wife.

549
00:26:13,331 --> 00:26:15,325
That wife who gets wronged by her husband

550
00:26:15,325 --> 00:26:18,271
or gets wronged by her children.

551
00:26:18,271 --> 00:26:22,061
But see, love still is thinking

552
00:26:22,061 --> 00:26:24,561
not so much about how I've been offended;

553
00:26:24,561 --> 00:26:26,785
how that made me hurt; 
how that made me sorrow;

554
00:26:26,785 --> 00:26:29,030
how that made me grieve;
how that made me bitter;

555
00:26:29,030 --> 00:26:30,706
how that just wasn't true

556
00:26:30,706 --> 00:26:32,121
and how I've been insulted

557
00:26:32,121 --> 00:26:35,922
and how there's been injustice.

558
00:26:35,922 --> 00:26:37,560
You see, love still in that moment

559
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,346
says: I love them

560
00:26:40,346 --> 00:26:43,951
and I want their greatest good.

561
00:26:43,951 --> 00:26:45,515
And it's thinking about that

562
00:26:45,515 --> 00:26:48,958
even at a time

563
00:26:48,958 --> 00:26:51,154
when an offense has been given -

564
00:26:51,154 --> 00:26:56,847
still thinking about the 
greatest good of others.

565
00:26:56,847 --> 00:26:58,304
That's the idea.

566
00:26:58,304 --> 00:27:03,103
Love thickens our skin.

567
00:27:03,103 --> 00:27:05,256
So that every little offense 
we don't have to

568
00:27:05,256 --> 00:27:06,408
bring out into the open.

569
00:27:06,408 --> 00:27:07,594
We don't have to deal with;

570
00:27:07,594 --> 00:27:10,274
we don't have to go and 
pull aside the brother:

571
00:27:10,274 --> 00:27:12,596
"you offended me."

572
00:27:12,596 --> 00:27:18,735
Love tends to put away hypersensitivity.

573
00:27:18,735 --> 00:27:21,053
And it can help us focus.

574
00:27:21,053 --> 00:27:22,941
Look, I'm not saying there isn't a time

575
00:27:22,941 --> 00:27:25,665
to pull a brother aside or a 
sister aside and talk to them.

576
00:27:25,665 --> 00:27:28,135
That's not what I'm getting at.

577
00:27:28,135 --> 00:27:31,077
I'm just saying people who are proud

578
00:27:31,077 --> 00:27:33,867
get offended easy.

579
00:27:33,867 --> 00:27:38,875
And that's love of self, 
not love of others.

580
00:27:38,875 --> 00:27:44,318
Brethren, the reality is that 
when offenses come,

581
00:27:44,318 --> 00:27:46,047
when sins come,

582
00:27:46,047 --> 00:27:48,637
we actually have to be doing

583
00:27:48,637 --> 00:27:51,609
a sort of spiritual mathematics.

584
00:27:51,609 --> 00:27:54,670
We have to calculate.

585
00:27:54,670 --> 00:27:59,912
We have to size things up.

586
00:27:59,912 --> 00:28:02,050
We have to be careful that we don't

587
00:28:02,050 --> 00:28:05,881
let our own sense of being offended

588
00:28:05,881 --> 00:28:07,580
rule the day.

589
00:28:07,580 --> 00:28:09,745
But we're actually able to step back

590
00:28:09,745 --> 00:28:13,776
and ask out of love,

591
00:28:13,776 --> 00:28:18,991
does covering this help 
my brother or sister more?

592
00:28:18,991 --> 00:28:21,243
And you know what? Peter, by telling us

593
00:28:21,243 --> 00:28:24,012
love covers a multitude of sins,

594
00:28:24,012 --> 00:28:27,201
he's got in mind that there's a multitude

595
00:28:27,201 --> 00:28:29,330
of sins that take place in the church

596
00:28:29,330 --> 00:28:31,634
that should be covered.

597
00:28:31,634 --> 00:28:34,328
They don't need to be 
brought out into the open.

598
00:28:34,328 --> 00:28:37,091
That's what he's saying to us.

599
00:28:37,091 --> 00:28:38,899
And brethren, if we're all honest

600
00:28:38,899 --> 00:28:42,747
with our own failures and our own faults,

601
00:28:42,747 --> 00:28:49,342
when's the last time you 
lived a perfect day, by the way?

602
00:28:49,342 --> 00:28:51,064
And if we just start thinking about

603
00:28:51,064 --> 00:28:57,184
how would we like to be dealt with?

604
00:28:57,184 --> 00:29:00,367
Love does not just quickly 
jump on the bandwagon

605
00:29:00,367 --> 00:29:03,181
to assume the worst.

606
00:29:03,181 --> 00:29:05,053
It's thinking about others.

607
00:29:05,053 --> 00:29:07,021
Instead of being offended 
by the sins of others,

608
00:29:07,021 --> 00:29:11,257
love is concerned with the 
welfare of that person.

609
00:29:11,257 --> 00:29:13,465
The love Peter's talking about

610
00:29:13,465 --> 00:29:18,389
doesn't take pleasure in exposing

611
00:29:18,389 --> 00:29:22,832
the weaknesses in our brother's character.

612
00:29:22,832 --> 00:29:27,817
Look, the truth is sin is ugly.

613
00:29:27,817 --> 00:29:30,732
Scott talked about it the first hour.

614
00:29:30,732 --> 00:29:33,090
There's no spin you can put on sin

615
00:29:33,090 --> 00:29:35,846
to make it beautiful. It's not.

616
00:29:35,846 --> 00:29:38,182
It's ugly.

617
00:29:38,182 --> 00:29:39,765
And there are many sins that come

618
00:29:39,765 --> 00:29:41,666
out of God's people that are ugly

619
00:29:41,666 --> 00:29:43,075
and they're evil.

620
00:29:43,075 --> 00:29:45,795
But you know the thing we 
need to think about, brethren,

621
00:29:45,795 --> 00:29:49,308
is God is at work in 
my brother and sister.

622
00:29:49,308 --> 00:29:53,980
God has forgiven that sin.

623
00:29:53,980 --> 00:29:56,060
God doesn't deal with them

624
00:29:56,060 --> 00:29:57,935
about every single sin.

625
00:29:57,935 --> 00:29:59,706
Isn't that amazing in your own life?

626
00:29:59,706 --> 00:30:01,961
You think about the falls 
and failures you have.

627
00:30:01,961 --> 00:30:04,327
And I can't tell you how many Christians

628
00:30:04,327 --> 00:30:06,837
have fallen in their Christian life

629
00:30:06,837 --> 00:30:09,939
and got up and they've kind of winced

630
00:30:09,939 --> 00:30:11,054
and they've drawn back

631
00:30:11,054 --> 00:30:13,956
because they've expected God

632
00:30:13,956 --> 00:30:17,370
to put the belt to them,

633
00:30:17,370 --> 00:30:20,280
And God lavished them with His arms

634
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:21,607
and pulled them in

635
00:30:21,607 --> 00:30:23,584
and hugged them and kissed them.

636
00:30:23,584 --> 00:30:26,032
Christian, have you ever been there?

637
00:30:26,032 --> 00:30:28,507
That's how we want to be dealt with.

638
00:30:28,507 --> 00:30:34,340
And love is going to seek to make that

639
00:30:34,340 --> 00:30:36,473
very much a way that we're going to seek

640
00:30:36,473 --> 00:30:42,422
to deal with others.

641
00:30:42,422 --> 00:30:44,743
Loving disposition leads us

642
00:30:44,743 --> 00:30:46,301
to pass by the faults of others,

643
00:30:46,301 --> 00:30:49,192
to forgive offenses against ourselves

644
00:30:49,192 --> 00:30:51,326
without making a big deal out of them,

645
00:30:51,326 --> 00:30:57,710
to excuse, to lessen 
the blemishes of others

646
00:30:57,710 --> 00:31:00,526
as is consistent with truth.

647
00:31:00,526 --> 00:31:02,410
But brethren, I'll tell you a whole lot

648
00:31:02,410 --> 00:31:05,969
about what happens when we think about

649
00:31:05,969 --> 00:31:08,122
the sins of others

650
00:31:08,122 --> 00:31:16,948
is we assume motives all the time.

651
00:31:16,948 --> 00:31:21,513
All the time.

652
00:31:21,513 --> 00:31:22,912
And you have to remember,

653
00:31:22,912 --> 00:31:25,213
love believes all things.

654
00:31:25,213 --> 00:31:29,571
Look, you have to take that in context.

655
00:31:29,571 --> 00:31:32,345
Scripture doesn't tell us 
to believe a false gospel.

656
00:31:32,345 --> 00:31:35,684
It doesn't call us to believe everything.

657
00:31:35,684 --> 00:31:40,309
Believe all things is -

658
00:31:40,309 --> 00:31:46,620
brethren, that needs to be the flavor

659
00:31:46,620 --> 00:31:48,486
of our lives.

660
00:31:48,486 --> 00:31:51,597
Obviously, when the evidence indicates

661
00:31:51,597 --> 00:31:53,535
I can't believe something,

662
00:31:53,535 --> 00:31:54,935
you don't want to be a fool

663
00:31:54,935 --> 00:31:57,821
and believe what you should not believe -

664
00:31:57,821 --> 00:31:59,732
what the evidence clearly tells us.

665
00:31:59,732 --> 00:32:02,061
But brethren, we are so 
quick to believe things

666
00:32:02,061 --> 00:32:03,690
before we have the evidence.

667
00:32:03,690 --> 00:32:06,580
And love is going to seek to really think

668
00:32:06,580 --> 00:32:07,792
when we hear something

669
00:32:07,792 --> 00:32:09,860
or when we view something

670
00:32:09,860 --> 00:32:12,671
or something happens to us,

671
00:32:12,671 --> 00:32:14,048
examine the evidence.

672
00:32:14,048 --> 00:32:15,320
I mean, what I'm saying is

673
00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,133
do the moral calculations in your head.

674
00:32:18,133 --> 00:32:20,403
What do I really know 
about this situation?

675
00:32:20,403 --> 00:32:22,917
If I actually tried to put 
the best spin on this,

676
00:32:22,917 --> 00:32:26,837
what could this be actually 
putting the best spin on this?

677
00:32:26,837 --> 00:32:29,264
Tremendous way to encourage

678
00:32:29,264 --> 00:32:33,462
unity, peace, and love in the church.

679
00:32:33,462 --> 00:32:35,340
Brethren, to our shame,

680
00:32:35,340 --> 00:32:36,905
we have to admit

681
00:32:36,905 --> 00:32:41,061
there tends to be a natural propensity,

682
00:32:41,061 --> 00:32:45,193
a proneness, a quickness in all of us

683
00:32:45,193 --> 00:32:47,526
by nature - by that old Adamic nature -

684
00:32:47,526 --> 00:32:49,795
and I know we're new creations in Christ,

685
00:32:49,795 --> 00:32:53,122
but we have to cleanse ourselves

686
00:32:53,122 --> 00:32:54,938
of these impurities.

687
00:32:54,938 --> 00:32:57,244
And many of these impurities that come

688
00:32:57,244 --> 00:33:00,515
from our past - it's right here, brethren.

689
00:33:00,515 --> 00:33:04,471
We are very prone and very quick

690
00:33:04,471 --> 00:33:06,468
to minimize our own sin

691
00:33:06,468 --> 00:33:08,097
and maximize others.

692
00:33:08,097 --> 00:33:10,290
It's just a reality.

693
00:33:10,290 --> 00:33:12,149
There's a proneness in every one of us

694
00:33:12,149 --> 00:33:15,681
to receive reports - negative reports -

695
00:33:15,681 --> 00:33:18,365
to propagate them;

696
00:33:18,365 --> 00:33:22,843
to speak about them.

697
00:33:22,843 --> 00:33:28,977
We don't naturally 
have an over-willingness

698
00:33:28,977 --> 00:33:33,891
to have our own reputation attacked,

699
00:33:33,891 --> 00:33:36,606
blasted.

700
00:33:36,606 --> 00:33:41,707
Brethren, I pray that God would 
put a healthy shame in us

701
00:33:41,707 --> 00:33:44,969
if we have a tendency towards this,

702
00:33:44,969 --> 00:33:48,531
and resist every 
opportunity to indulge in it.

703
00:33:48,531 --> 00:33:50,814
Brethren, it takes thought.

704
00:33:50,814 --> 00:33:53,356
Love always does.

705
00:33:53,356 --> 00:33:56,449
Love takes effort. It takes thought.

706
00:33:56,449 --> 00:33:58,548
(incomplete thought)

707
00:33:58,548 --> 00:34:03,002
You know, love your wife 
as Christ loved the church.

708
00:34:03,002 --> 00:34:06,113
You see, He doesn't want 
us to be thoughtless.

709
00:34:06,113 --> 00:34:08,445
He wants us to think about 
how Christ loved the church.

710
00:34:08,445 --> 00:34:09,858
Love is always like that.

711
00:34:09,858 --> 00:34:13,145
You need to be thinking 
if you're going to love.

712
00:34:13,145 --> 00:34:16,326
The thoughtless person

713
00:34:16,326 --> 00:34:17,807
is not going to be a person

714
00:34:17,807 --> 00:34:22,989
that is going to excel 
in this kind of love.

715
00:34:22,989 --> 00:34:24,870
We're going to avoid this, clearly,

716
00:34:24,870 --> 00:34:28,131
Peter says, by the law of Christ.

717
00:34:28,131 --> 00:34:31,402
The law of love.

718
00:34:31,402 --> 00:34:34,844
When we're wronged,

719
00:34:34,844 --> 00:34:38,283
Peter wants us to do 
the proper calculations;

720
00:34:38,283 --> 00:34:41,610
the proper assessments.

721
00:34:41,610 --> 00:34:43,035
How so?

722
00:34:43,035 --> 00:34:45,377
Love. Does love demand?

723
00:34:45,377 --> 00:34:47,078
When I do the calculations,

724
00:34:47,078 --> 00:34:49,801
is this a sin I should let go?

725
00:34:49,801 --> 00:34:52,299
Or is there something about this sin,

726
00:34:52,299 --> 00:34:54,659
this offense, that love demands

727
00:34:54,659 --> 00:34:58,577
that I should confront my brother?

728
00:34:58,577 --> 00:34:59,768
Be careful here.

729
00:34:59,768 --> 00:35:02,230
Brethren, be careful.

730
00:35:02,230 --> 00:35:03,957
You know what we can do?

731
00:35:03,957 --> 00:35:05,173
We can be offended,

732
00:35:05,173 --> 00:35:07,143
and the real reason we don't deal with it

733
00:35:07,143 --> 00:35:09,004
is we're cowards.

734
00:35:09,004 --> 00:35:10,211
We can chalk it up to:

735
00:35:10,211 --> 00:35:11,795
Oh, love covers a multitude of sins.

736
00:35:11,795 --> 00:35:14,025
And then you go out the door

737
00:35:14,025 --> 00:35:17,317
and you've got a grudge there.

738
00:35:17,317 --> 00:35:19,641
Brethren, I'll tell you, 
if you lay it down:

739
00:35:19,641 --> 00:35:22,121
I am no longer going to treat 
that brother or sister the same

740
00:35:22,121 --> 00:35:24,775
after what they did to me,

741
00:35:24,775 --> 00:35:26,585
you've got a problem.

742
00:35:26,585 --> 00:35:30,176
Look, I would say this.

743
00:35:30,176 --> 00:35:34,326
You don't have to deal with 
Matthew 18 all the time.

744
00:35:34,326 --> 00:35:36,127
A brother sins against you.

745
00:35:36,127 --> 00:35:39,101
You can be thick-skinned.

746
00:35:39,101 --> 00:35:42,137
You can cover it over.

747
00:35:42,137 --> 00:35:43,845
And if you can do that and you

748
00:35:43,845 --> 00:35:45,475
go on your way loving 
that brother or sister

749
00:35:45,475 --> 00:35:47,871
just as much as you did 
before or even more,

750
00:35:47,871 --> 00:35:50,575
that's good.

751
00:35:50,575 --> 00:35:55,605
But don't in the name of love 
covering a multitude of sins

752
00:35:55,605 --> 00:35:57,380
walk away when the truth is

753
00:35:57,380 --> 00:35:58,603
you're holding a grudge

754
00:35:58,603 --> 00:36:03,301
and you've got bitterness in your heart.

755
00:36:03,301 --> 00:36:05,083
We need to be honest

756
00:36:05,083 --> 00:36:06,799
because that isn't love.

757
00:36:06,799 --> 00:36:11,735
That only creates disunity in the church.

758
00:36:11,735 --> 00:36:12,995
That's all that is.

759
00:36:12,995 --> 00:36:14,879
Harboring bitterness.

760
00:36:14,879 --> 00:36:19,296
Love in the church would have us to be

761
00:36:19,296 --> 00:36:21,345
slow to accuse,

762
00:36:21,345 --> 00:36:24,013
slow to assume the worst,

763
00:36:24,013 --> 00:36:27,422
slow to be offended.

764
00:36:27,422 --> 00:36:29,657
Quick to admit our own faults.

765
00:36:29,657 --> 00:36:30,944
Quick to repent on our own.

766
00:36:30,944 --> 00:36:33,029
Quick to forgive others.

767
00:36:33,029 --> 00:36:36,974
That's the issue.

768
00:36:36,974 --> 00:36:42,194
Yes, brethren, we want a holy church.

769
00:36:42,194 --> 00:36:44,955
So we need to deal with sin.

770
00:36:44,955 --> 00:36:47,983
But we want that holiness always

771
00:36:47,983 --> 00:36:53,657
side by side with love.

772
00:36:53,657 --> 00:36:57,845
You just consider God's love for you.

773
00:36:57,845 --> 00:37:02,230
And you consider how heavily laden

774
00:37:02,230 --> 00:37:04,633
you yourself are with faults;

775
00:37:04,633 --> 00:37:08,773
how often you stand 
in need of forgiveness;

776
00:37:08,773 --> 00:37:12,009
how often you are blameworthy;

777
00:37:12,009 --> 00:37:14,823
how often you fall short 
of the glory of God;

778
00:37:14,823 --> 00:37:17,253
how often you offend others;

779
00:37:17,253 --> 00:37:24,499
how often you are not kind to others.

780
00:37:24,499 --> 00:37:26,466
Brethren, have you never thought really

781
00:37:26,466 --> 00:37:28,989
about those words at the 
beginning of Romans 2?

782
00:37:28,989 --> 00:37:32,628
Basically, what Paul is saying right there

783
00:37:32,628 --> 00:37:35,458
is you who judge others,

784
00:37:35,458 --> 00:37:39,283
you basically just convicted yourself.

785
00:37:39,283 --> 00:37:44,330
Every single time any 
one of us in this room

786
00:37:44,330 --> 00:37:46,543
has pointed the finger at somebody else

787
00:37:46,543 --> 00:37:48,382
and their faults and their sins,

788
00:37:48,382 --> 00:37:53,029
you've been guilty of the same thing.

789
00:37:53,029 --> 00:37:56,989
Not typically good when the convicts

790
00:37:56,989 --> 00:37:59,186
are standing out there 
and they're lined up

791
00:37:59,186 --> 00:38:00,985
and they're pointing fingers at each other

792
00:38:00,985 --> 00:38:06,385
when they're standing before the judge.

793
00:38:06,385 --> 00:38:11,304
Just take heed, brethren.

794
00:38:11,304 --> 00:38:15,570
Take heed.

795
00:38:15,570 --> 00:38:19,577
This is all the opposite of love

796
00:38:19,577 --> 00:38:22,202
when you drag poor brother so-and-so

797
00:38:22,202 --> 00:38:26,738
or sister so-and-so's sin out.

798
00:38:26,738 --> 00:38:30,650
And you know, we can bring 
up things with people

799
00:38:30,650 --> 00:38:34,044
that other people never 
would have even suspected.

800
00:38:34,044 --> 00:38:35,909
You just smeared somebody's reputation.

801
00:38:35,909 --> 00:38:37,326
You just smeared their name.

802
00:38:37,326 --> 00:38:39,562
And you know what, even if it's true,

803
00:38:39,562 --> 00:38:43,690
it doesn't mean you needed to do that.

804
00:38:43,690 --> 00:38:46,427
Brethren, do you recognize,

805
00:38:46,427 --> 00:38:48,673
there are lots of things that are true

806
00:38:48,673 --> 00:38:52,478
that don't need to be said.

807
00:38:52,478 --> 00:38:55,461
Truth does not dictate that 
we bring everything

808
00:38:55,461 --> 00:38:57,919
out into the open.

809
00:38:57,919 --> 00:38:59,931
Do you see it here?

810
00:38:59,931 --> 00:39:03,234
You have a mission as a Christian.

811
00:39:03,234 --> 00:39:04,522
A mission of love.

812
00:39:04,522 --> 00:39:06,562
You have a mission as a Christian

813
00:39:06,562 --> 00:39:10,399
to be a coverer of sins.

814
00:39:10,399 --> 00:39:13,244
So I would say this, apply yourself to it.

815
00:39:13,244 --> 00:39:14,279
Really give yourself.

816
00:39:14,279 --> 00:39:15,691
Like I say, it takes effort.

817
00:39:15,691 --> 00:39:16,943
You need to pray this in.

818
00:39:16,943 --> 00:39:18,639
You need to ask God to forgive you

819
00:39:18,639 --> 00:39:20,293
where you've fallen short of this,

820
00:39:20,293 --> 00:39:21,950
and you need to ask God to give you

821
00:39:21,950 --> 00:39:27,338
the grace to be precisely 
what we have here:

822
00:39:27,338 --> 00:39:30,974
a coverer of sin.

823
00:39:30,974 --> 00:39:32,350
Here's the thing.

824
00:39:32,350 --> 00:39:35,156
It's like this,

825
00:39:35,156 --> 00:39:38,763
it's almost like if you have information

826
00:39:38,763 --> 00:39:42,223
about somebody else that's negative,

827
00:39:42,223 --> 00:39:46,460
it's like God has put a responsibility

828
00:39:46,460 --> 00:39:49,132
into your hands.

829
00:39:49,132 --> 00:39:53,910
Like you have this information.

830
00:39:53,910 --> 00:39:57,331
And He is saying to you,

831
00:39:57,331 --> 00:40:00,415
you have a responsibility

832
00:40:00,415 --> 00:40:02,795
to guard that information

833
00:40:02,795 --> 00:40:05,263
and to be responsible and let love

834
00:40:05,263 --> 00:40:06,989
dictate what you do with it.

835
00:40:06,989 --> 00:40:08,544
Because every one of us,

836
00:40:08,544 --> 00:40:10,029
you get in a church like this,

837
00:40:10,029 --> 00:40:12,631
you're going to find out 
things that are wrong.

838
00:40:12,631 --> 00:40:16,866
You're going to find out sin.

839
00:40:16,866 --> 00:40:21,850
God's thrown a lot of saved people

840
00:40:21,850 --> 00:40:25,956
with a lot of faults still and flesh,

841
00:40:25,956 --> 00:40:30,160
He throws us together in a church.

842
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,127
And if you're here any amount of time,

843
00:40:32,127 --> 00:40:33,984
people get to know you.

844
00:40:33,984 --> 00:40:36,118
The good and the bad.

845
00:40:36,118 --> 00:40:38,153
And so we all are basically being given

846
00:40:38,153 --> 00:40:44,075
this deposit of information 
about one another.

847
00:40:44,075 --> 00:40:46,021
You see what Peter's saying?

848
00:40:46,021 --> 00:40:48,397
Protect it.

849
00:40:48,397 --> 00:40:49,984
Guard it.

850
00:40:49,984 --> 00:40:54,960
Let love dictate how you use it.

851
00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:57,203
Never think -

852
00:40:57,203 --> 00:41:00,353
never think you're going 
to make yourself great

853
00:41:00,353 --> 00:41:06,479
by tearing down other people.

854
00:41:06,479 --> 00:41:09,233
Love one another fervently.

855
00:41:09,233 --> 00:41:11,710
So it's a great part of our Christian duty

856
00:41:11,710 --> 00:41:14,218
to cover the sins of others.

857
00:41:14,218 --> 00:41:16,473
But brethren, think with me here.

858
00:41:16,473 --> 00:41:22,267
There are times when 
we must not cover sin.

859
00:41:22,267 --> 00:41:25,814
And to do so would be wrong,

860
00:41:25,814 --> 00:41:27,755
because certain sins, like I say,

861
00:41:27,755 --> 00:41:29,132
they're not honoring to God,

862
00:41:29,132 --> 00:41:30,728
they're not safe to the church,

863
00:41:30,728 --> 00:41:34,692
and they're not safe for the individual.

864
00:41:34,692 --> 00:41:37,149
(Incomplete thought).

865
00:41:37,149 --> 00:41:39,211
I'm just going to give you some examples

866
00:41:39,211 --> 00:41:43,037
when you don't want to cover sin.

867
00:41:43,037 --> 00:41:52,104
One: When sin endangers

868
00:41:52,104 --> 00:41:57,195
the entire church's relationship to God,

869
00:41:57,195 --> 00:42:00,069
and I might say to the holy God.

870
00:42:00,069 --> 00:42:03,499
You say, what do you mean by that?

871
00:42:03,499 --> 00:42:08,460
I mean Achan's sin brought 
down the whole camp.

872
00:42:08,460 --> 00:42:12,096
You say, really? Does that 
happen in the church?

873
00:42:12,096 --> 00:42:15,179
I'll tell you this,

874
00:42:15,179 --> 00:42:19,128
I think one of the most telling

875
00:42:19,128 --> 00:42:20,583
of the seven letters written

876
00:42:20,583 --> 00:42:22,150
to the churches in Asia Minor

877
00:42:22,150 --> 00:42:25,726
is that letter to Thyatira.

878
00:42:25,726 --> 00:42:28,388
You know what He says to them?

879
00:42:28,388 --> 00:42:34,291
You - you as a church have tolerated

880
00:42:34,291 --> 00:42:38,021
this sin, this unqualified teacher,

881
00:42:38,021 --> 00:42:42,139
and this bad teaching in your church.

882
00:42:42,139 --> 00:42:47,275
And He calls the whole church to task.

883
00:42:47,275 --> 00:42:48,925
Do you know when you go over

884
00:42:48,925 --> 00:42:51,918
to 1 Corinthians 5

885
00:42:51,918 --> 00:42:54,438
and they are allowing 
the sexual immorality

886
00:42:54,438 --> 00:42:56,264
that they were allowing in the church?

887
00:42:56,264 --> 00:42:58,918
He finds fault with the whole church

888
00:42:58,918 --> 00:43:01,132
and he calls them out as being arrogant.

889
00:43:01,132 --> 00:43:03,041
And I'll tell you this,

890
00:43:03,041 --> 00:43:07,360
we can grieve the Holy Spirit of God

891
00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:12,283
and we can quench that Spirit.

892
00:43:12,283 --> 00:43:15,254
If we allow sin in this church

893
00:43:15,254 --> 00:43:17,928
that allows the Spirit 
of God to be quenched

894
00:43:17,928 --> 00:43:21,118
with the operation of the whole church,

895
00:43:21,118 --> 00:43:24,600
don't believe that because 
somebody else is sinning

896
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:26,901
and you know about it,

897
00:43:26,901 --> 00:43:29,392
you're aware of it, and you cover it over

898
00:43:29,392 --> 00:43:31,683
when it ought not to be covered over,

899
00:43:31,683 --> 00:43:33,288
don't for a second think

900
00:43:33,288 --> 00:43:36,338
that Christ Himself excuses you.

901
00:43:36,338 --> 00:43:37,754
He that is Lord of the church

902
00:43:37,754 --> 00:43:39,972
and walks in the midst 
of those candlesticks,

903
00:43:39,972 --> 00:43:41,554
He looked at the whole church

904
00:43:41,554 --> 00:43:43,619
and He said you as a whole

905
00:43:43,619 --> 00:43:46,197
are tolerating this sin in your midst,

906
00:43:46,197 --> 00:43:47,539
and He faulted them

907
00:43:47,539 --> 00:43:49,576
as a whole church for it.

908
00:43:49,576 --> 00:43:50,995
When they allowed the sin

909
00:43:50,995 --> 00:43:53,664
that was allowed at Corinth,

910
00:43:53,664 --> 00:43:55,792
the inspired author Paul

911
00:43:55,792 --> 00:43:59,468
faulted the whole church.

912
00:43:59,468 --> 00:44:02,409
We have a responsibility there.

913
00:44:02,409 --> 00:44:08,839
Next: When sin causes 
us to lose a brother.

914
00:44:08,839 --> 00:44:10,998
You say, what do you mean?

915
00:44:10,998 --> 00:44:15,751
Well, Matthew 18 says this:

916
00:44:15,751 --> 00:44:19,671
If my brother sins against me,

917
00:44:19,671 --> 00:44:22,364
you go to him.

918
00:44:22,364 --> 00:44:24,928
Does that mean you have to 
go to him about every sin?

919
00:44:24,928 --> 00:44:28,470
Look, Scripture says this:

920
00:44:28,470 --> 00:44:34,136
Proverbs - the prudent ignores an insult.

921
00:44:34,136 --> 00:44:36,133
Does it mean every time you're insulted,

922
00:44:36,133 --> 00:44:37,297
you have to deal with it?

923
00:44:37,297 --> 00:44:39,072
No, it does not.

924
00:44:39,072 --> 00:44:42,610
Is Jesus Christ teaching 
that every single time

925
00:44:42,610 --> 00:44:44,624
somebody deals with you in any way

926
00:44:44,624 --> 00:44:45,877
that's less than perfect,

927
00:44:45,877 --> 00:44:47,921
you need to go to them?

928
00:44:47,921 --> 00:44:50,544
That is not what He's saying.

929
00:44:50,544 --> 00:44:52,313
That is not.

930
00:44:52,313 --> 00:44:54,920
Brethren, you know what Paul said

931
00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:58,085
to the church at Corinth?

932
00:44:58,085 --> 00:45:00,857
You guys are suing one another.

933
00:45:00,857 --> 00:45:03,722
He said you'd be better off 
if you were just wronged.

934
00:45:03,722 --> 00:45:05,917
I know you can say, well, 
is that necessarily saying

935
00:45:05,917 --> 00:45:08,757
that they shouldn't deal with 
people that sin against them?

936
00:45:08,757 --> 00:45:10,445
I'm just saying this.

937
00:45:10,445 --> 00:45:17,163
Paul is saying just accepting 
being wronged at times

938
00:45:17,163 --> 00:45:19,007
is a better way to go.

939
00:45:19,007 --> 00:45:25,009
I know it may be compared 
over against what?

940
00:45:25,009 --> 00:45:27,117
I think of this.

941
00:45:27,117 --> 00:45:31,884
Jesus Christ said to His own disciples,

942
00:45:31,884 --> 00:45:34,462
"Gentlemen, I am going to Jerusalem,

943
00:45:34,462 --> 00:45:37,647
and I am going to die."

944
00:45:37,647 --> 00:45:39,491
They turned to each other and they start

945
00:45:39,491 --> 00:45:41,943
arguing with each other about 
who's going to be the greatest.

946
00:45:41,943 --> 00:45:43,648
And I would ask you this:

947
00:45:43,648 --> 00:45:47,992
is that an insult against 
our Lord Jesus Christ?

948
00:45:47,992 --> 00:45:50,874
Massively so.

949
00:45:50,874 --> 00:45:53,120
He who is greatest of all

950
00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:56,268
is going to do one of the 
greatest demonstrations

951
00:45:56,268 --> 00:45:58,709
of His greatness.

952
00:45:58,709 --> 00:46:00,710
And these guys are arguing

953
00:46:00,710 --> 00:46:02,608
about who's going to be greatest.

954
00:46:02,608 --> 00:46:04,449
And He does not turn to them and say,

955
00:46:04,449 --> 00:46:05,428
"you know what?

956
00:46:05,428 --> 00:46:09,121
You guys are an offense to Me."

957
00:46:09,121 --> 00:46:11,182
Do you know what love does right then?

958
00:46:11,182 --> 00:46:13,637
He turns to them.

959
00:46:13,637 --> 00:46:17,592
He's been insulted.

960
00:46:17,592 --> 00:46:19,933
They basically just 
blew right past the fact

961
00:46:19,933 --> 00:46:25,465
He's saying "I'm going to die."

962
00:46:25,465 --> 00:46:28,622
And He says, "Gentlemen, 
I want to teach you

963
00:46:28,622 --> 00:46:30,171
about humility."

964
00:46:30,171 --> 00:46:34,539
Rather than condemning them, 
He teaches them.

965
00:46:34,539 --> 00:46:41,618
That's the kind of thing 
that I find in Scripture.

966
00:46:41,618 --> 00:46:43,945
You think about Joseph.

967
00:46:43,945 --> 00:46:45,432
You know when Joseph found

968
00:46:45,432 --> 00:46:47,584
that his wife was with child.

969
00:46:47,584 --> 00:46:48,962
Isn't it interesting?

970
00:46:48,962 --> 00:46:51,770
Scripture actually says this about him.

971
00:46:51,770 --> 00:46:56,727
It says that "Mary's husband Joseph,

972
00:46:56,727 --> 00:47:00,132
being a just man,

973
00:47:00,132 --> 00:47:01,955
he was unwilling to put her to shame

974
00:47:01,955 --> 00:47:04,614
and he resolved to divorce her quietly."

975
00:47:04,614 --> 00:47:12,399
In other words, the very 
justness of the man -

976
00:47:12,399 --> 00:47:16,624
he was still going to divorce her,

977
00:47:16,624 --> 00:47:19,851
but you know, a woman that was unfaithful

978
00:47:19,851 --> 00:47:22,790
should have been stoned.

979
00:47:22,790 --> 00:47:24,945
He covers this over.

980
00:47:24,945 --> 00:47:26,458
I'm saying this,

981
00:47:26,458 --> 00:47:28,109
just because you're sinned against

982
00:47:28,109 --> 00:47:30,998
doesn't mean you have to 
bring it out into the open.

983
00:47:30,998 --> 00:47:32,360
It does not.

984
00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:35,154
It doesn't mean you have to deal with it.

985
00:47:35,154 --> 00:47:37,628
God, give us a thick skin

986
00:47:37,628 --> 00:47:39,677
to have to deal with less and less.

987
00:47:39,677 --> 00:47:42,996
But you see the reality of Matthew 18 is

988
00:47:42,996 --> 00:47:44,438
you go to the brother,

989
00:47:44,438 --> 00:47:47,581
and it talks about if 
your brother hears you,

990
00:47:47,581 --> 00:47:49,707
you've gained your brother.

991
00:47:49,707 --> 00:47:52,437
And I would say this,

992
00:47:52,437 --> 00:47:55,276
if your brother or sister has 
done something to you

993
00:47:55,276 --> 00:47:59,974
that has caused you to lose them -

994
00:47:59,974 --> 00:48:03,809
you've fallen out of fellowship 
with them because of that -

995
00:48:03,809 --> 00:48:05,188
then you go to them.

996
00:48:05,188 --> 00:48:07,000
Don't let the unity of the church;

997
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:09,616
don't let the harmony be affected.

998
00:48:09,616 --> 00:48:11,233
If what somebody has done to you,

999
00:48:11,233 --> 00:48:12,590
you can't put it away

1000
00:48:12,590 --> 00:48:15,533
and forgive it and be done with it,

1001
00:48:15,533 --> 00:48:17,273
then you make sure you go.

1002
00:48:17,273 --> 00:48:20,364
When sin causes us to lose a brother.

1003
00:48:20,364 --> 00:48:23,335
When sin pollutes the 
church with destructive error.

1004
00:48:23,335 --> 00:48:26,227
Look, the reality is

1005
00:48:26,227 --> 00:48:27,986
when error comes into the church,

1006
00:48:27,986 --> 00:48:30,156
we need to deal with it.

1007
00:48:30,156 --> 00:48:33,307
Paul has some of the strongest words

1008
00:48:33,307 --> 00:48:35,208
you can imagine towards those

1009
00:48:35,208 --> 00:48:38,682
who introduced error into the church.

1010
00:48:38,682 --> 00:48:41,509
We want to deal with that 
kind of sin immediately.

1011
00:48:41,509 --> 00:48:45,061
I would say this, when sin divides.

1012
00:48:45,061 --> 00:48:47,301
You have this reality in Romans.

1013
00:48:47,301 --> 00:48:49,266
"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out

1014
00:48:49,266 --> 00:48:51,749
for those who cause divisions

1015
00:48:51,749 --> 00:48:54,569
and create obstacles 
contrary to the doctrine

1016
00:48:54,569 --> 00:48:55,937
that you have been taught."

1017
00:48:55,937 --> 00:48:57,155
Divisive people.

1018
00:48:57,155 --> 00:48:59,129
Divisiveness is something

1019
00:48:59,129 --> 00:49:01,349
that needs to be brought to the surface.

1020
00:49:01,349 --> 00:49:04,249
Divisive people in the church

1021
00:49:04,249 --> 00:49:07,186
destroy the unity of the church.

1022
00:49:07,186 --> 00:49:09,185
They pit people against each other.

1023
00:49:09,185 --> 00:49:11,445
People that are obviously doing that,

1024
00:49:11,445 --> 00:49:13,402
it needs to be called out.

1025
00:49:13,402 --> 00:49:15,543
Brethren, unrepentant sin.

1026
00:49:15,543 --> 00:49:17,446
One of the things is

1027
00:49:17,446 --> 00:49:21,145
you think about the 
whole flow of Matthew 18.

1028
00:49:21,145 --> 00:49:23,526
If you go to your brother 
and they don't respond,

1029
00:49:23,526 --> 00:49:24,863
you bring more.

1030
00:49:24,863 --> 00:49:28,302
If they don't respond, 
you take it to the church.

1031
00:49:28,302 --> 00:49:30,818
You see, unrepentant sin

1032
00:49:30,818 --> 00:49:33,735
should not be tolerated in the church.

1033
00:49:33,735 --> 00:49:36,068
That can't be allowed.

1034
00:49:36,068 --> 00:49:39,549
That is going to grieve the Spirit.

1035
00:49:39,549 --> 00:49:42,866
(incomplete thought)

1036
00:49:42,866 --> 00:49:46,391
We want to encourage that good soil

1037
00:49:46,391 --> 00:49:49,051
of constant repentance.

1038
00:49:49,051 --> 00:49:51,491
If we see people becoming stiff,

1039
00:49:51,491 --> 00:49:52,750
becoming hardened,

1040
00:49:52,750 --> 00:49:54,763
becoming calloused by sin,

1041
00:49:54,763 --> 00:49:56,391
and there's a lack of repentance,

1042
00:49:56,391 --> 00:49:57,425
we need to deal with it.

1043
00:49:57,425 --> 00:49:59,138
We need to deal with it for their sake.

1044
00:49:59,138 --> 00:50:01,138
We need to deal with it 
for the sake of the church.

1045
00:50:01,138 --> 00:50:02,803
And that brings me to this:

1046
00:50:02,803 --> 00:50:05,711
We need to deal with sin when sin

1047
00:50:05,711 --> 00:50:07,294
leavens the whole lump.

1048
00:50:07,294 --> 00:50:08,842
And you know that argument comes

1049
00:50:08,842 --> 00:50:10,561
from 1 Corinthians 5.

1050
00:50:10,561 --> 00:50:13,055
That is the reason that 
Paul tells those people

1051
00:50:13,055 --> 00:50:14,595
to deal with that specific man

1052
00:50:14,595 --> 00:50:16,546
that was in the sin in that church

1053
00:50:16,546 --> 00:50:20,402
because he did not want that unholiness

1054
00:50:20,402 --> 00:50:22,392
having effect on the whole.

1055
00:50:22,392 --> 00:50:25,510
Brethren, if it is known amongst us

1056
00:50:25,510 --> 00:50:28,125
that there is sin in our midst

1057
00:50:28,125 --> 00:50:31,016
and it is not being dealt with,

1058
00:50:31,016 --> 00:50:32,132
you know what it does?

1059
00:50:32,132 --> 00:50:35,107
It sends a signal that that's tolerated.

1060
00:50:35,107 --> 00:50:36,548
We don't want to do that.

1061
00:50:36,548 --> 00:50:38,633
It lowers the bar.

1062
00:50:38,633 --> 00:50:42,421
We don't want to do that.

1063
00:50:42,421 --> 00:50:44,078
I want you to know this.

1064
00:50:44,078 --> 00:50:49,263
Sins are brought to the elders ears

1065
00:50:49,263 --> 00:50:51,634
fairly regularly.

1066
00:50:51,634 --> 00:50:53,432
You get a church of this size,

1067
00:50:53,432 --> 00:50:55,345
there's some sort of sin

1068
00:50:55,345 --> 00:50:57,952
that seems to be going on all the time.

1069
00:50:57,952 --> 00:51:00,369
And certain people are made aware of it.

1070
00:51:00,369 --> 00:51:03,451
And they may try to deal 
with it to some degree.

1071
00:51:03,451 --> 00:51:04,752
And for whatever reasons,

1072
00:51:04,752 --> 00:51:06,833
it gets reported to us elders.

1073
00:51:06,833 --> 00:51:08,312
We sit in elders meetings

1074
00:51:08,312 --> 00:51:10,151
and we discuss certain things.

1075
00:51:10,151 --> 00:51:12,688
And there's always a wrestling

1076
00:51:12,688 --> 00:51:15,069
with how should we proceed forward;

1077
00:51:15,069 --> 00:51:17,148
how do we deal with this.

1078
00:51:17,148 --> 00:51:19,008
Let me tell you this, brethren.

1079
00:51:19,008 --> 00:51:21,659
There is no perfect science.

1080
00:51:21,659 --> 00:51:24,986
You can say, well, doesn't it deal 
with false doctrine over there? Yes.

1081
00:51:24,986 --> 00:51:27,051
Doesn't it deal with 
division over there? Yes.

1082
00:51:27,051 --> 00:51:29,813
Doesn't it deal with sexual 
immorality over there? Yes.

1083
00:51:29,813 --> 00:51:31,656
But let me tell you something,

1084
00:51:31,656 --> 00:51:34,086
it is never a perfect science.

1085
00:51:34,086 --> 00:51:36,545
None of the examples in Scripture

1086
00:51:36,545 --> 00:51:39,229
ever seem to precisely deal

1087
00:51:39,229 --> 00:51:43,486
with the situation that 
we are confronted with.

1088
00:51:43,486 --> 00:51:50,166
And brethren, Scripture is that way

1089
00:51:50,166 --> 00:51:51,526
because God doesn't want us

1090
00:51:51,526 --> 00:51:54,565
to simply live by a set of rules.

1091
00:51:54,565 --> 00:51:56,626
He wants us to live walking with Him.

1092
00:51:56,626 --> 00:51:59,321
He wants us to live searching Scripture,

1093
00:51:59,321 --> 00:52:01,832
taking the principles, 
taking the passages,

1094
00:52:01,832 --> 00:52:03,654
seeking wisdom from Him,

1095
00:52:03,654 --> 00:52:08,544
and seek to apply those.

1096
00:52:08,544 --> 00:52:10,669
No perfect science.

1097
00:52:10,669 --> 00:52:16,519
The truth is we've got 
to be led of the Spirit.

1098
00:52:16,519 --> 00:52:18,460
Now, right here at the end,

1099
00:52:18,460 --> 00:52:21,283
I want to take you to 1 Corinthians 5.

1100
00:52:21,283 --> 00:52:24,437
I want you to see something.

1101
00:52:24,437 --> 00:52:28,342
1 Corinthians 5.

1102
00:52:28,342 --> 00:52:30,328
Let me tell you about the situation.

1103
00:52:30,328 --> 00:52:31,888
Paul received a report.

1104
00:52:31,888 --> 00:52:36,459
Sexual immorality among 
the Corinthian church.

1105
00:52:36,459 --> 00:52:40,559
It's a pretty severe kind.

1106
00:52:40,559 --> 00:52:45,365
And he accuses the church as a whole

1107
00:52:45,365 --> 00:52:48,071
for being arrogant because they have not

1108
00:52:48,071 --> 00:52:51,266
properly dealt with this sin.

1109
00:52:51,266 --> 00:52:55,183
Let us not be arrogant this way.

1110
00:52:55,183 --> 00:52:57,913
They should have been mourning.

1111
00:52:57,913 --> 00:52:59,286
And he says this:

1112
00:52:59,286 --> 00:53:02,023
"Let him who has done this 
be removed from among you."

1113
00:53:02,023 --> 00:53:04,893
Now, I would just point this out.

1114
00:53:04,893 --> 00:53:06,559
He doesn't say send the elders

1115
00:53:06,559 --> 00:53:09,283
and see if they're repentant.

1116
00:53:09,283 --> 00:53:11,272
Look, I'm not saying anything like that

1117
00:53:11,272 --> 00:53:13,050
necessarily happened or didn't happen.

1118
00:53:13,050 --> 00:53:14,955
How the elders of the church of Corinth

1119
00:53:14,955 --> 00:53:17,145
were involved with this man I don't know.

1120
00:53:17,145 --> 00:53:20,422
Every appearance is that 
nobody in the church

1121
00:53:20,422 --> 00:53:22,932
was dealing with this the 
way it needed to be dealt with

1122
00:53:22,932 --> 00:53:25,618
because that's why you're 
getting the accusation

1123
00:53:25,618 --> 00:53:28,350
made against the whole 
church the way they are.

1124
00:53:28,350 --> 00:53:30,972
They basically looked over this; 
they looked past this.

1125
00:53:30,972 --> 00:53:33,072
Here's the thing,

1126
00:53:33,072 --> 00:53:36,239
he doesn't say, okay, you 
all have been wrong

1127
00:53:36,239 --> 00:53:37,371
in dealing with this.

1128
00:53:37,371 --> 00:53:42,026
Why haven't you enacted Matthew 18?

1129
00:53:42,026 --> 00:53:45,471
Because there are different 
ways of dealing with sin.

1130
00:53:45,471 --> 00:53:49,308
And he doesn't say go 
see if he's repentant.

1131
00:53:49,308 --> 00:53:51,876
Go see if he'll move out

1132
00:53:51,876 --> 00:53:54,981
from living with his step-mother.

1133
00:53:54,981 --> 00:53:57,628
There's just an immediacy here.

1134
00:53:57,628 --> 00:53:59,049
Do this.

1135
00:53:59,049 --> 00:54:02,464
Now, I believe that if you 
search the second letter,

1136
00:54:02,464 --> 00:54:04,902
I believe to the best of my understanding

1137
00:54:04,902 --> 00:54:07,231
that it is very likely that there is a man

1138
00:54:07,231 --> 00:54:10,077
in that second letter that is restored

1139
00:54:10,077 --> 00:54:12,022
from some sort of situation.

1140
00:54:12,022 --> 00:54:15,384
Although it doesn't 
specifically say it's this man,

1141
00:54:15,384 --> 00:54:20,976
perhaps it is.

1142
00:54:20,976 --> 00:54:22,496
But here's the thing, you go down

1143
00:54:22,496 --> 00:54:23,591
through this account,

1144
00:54:23,591 --> 00:54:25,067
and you go down to v. 11.

1145
00:54:25,067 --> 00:54:26,940
"Now I am writing to you not to associate

1146
00:54:26,940 --> 00:54:29,807
with anyone who bears the name of brother

1147
00:54:29,807 --> 00:54:35,966
if he is guilty of sexual immorality."

1148
00:54:35,966 --> 00:54:39,210
Guilty for how long?

1149
00:54:39,210 --> 00:54:42,741
Guilty when? Guilty how far back?

1150
00:54:42,741 --> 00:54:46,462
You notice that Paul doesn't say -

1151
00:54:46,462 --> 00:54:49,365
(incomplete thought).

1152
00:54:49,365 --> 00:54:51,792
As elders - even as Christians -

1153
00:54:51,792 --> 00:54:53,737
we want all these details.

1154
00:54:53,737 --> 00:54:55,841
Lord, give us all the facts.

1155
00:54:55,841 --> 00:55:00,817
Give us more than this.

1156
00:55:00,817 --> 00:55:03,869
They're just told to put him out.

1157
00:55:03,869 --> 00:55:05,390
Here's what I would say to you.

1158
00:55:05,390 --> 00:55:06,817
These are the kind of things

1159
00:55:06,817 --> 00:55:13,493
that in reality we get 
faced with as elders.

1160
00:55:13,493 --> 00:55:16,679
What if a man's committing grievous sins

1161
00:55:16,679 --> 00:55:20,711
like you see here,

1162
00:55:20,711 --> 00:55:24,801
and is confronted about his sins

1163
00:55:24,801 --> 00:55:28,062
and he says he repents?

1164
00:55:28,062 --> 00:55:31,642
Case closed?

1165
00:55:31,642 --> 00:55:34,172
Actually, he doesn't say that you should

1166
00:55:34,172 --> 00:55:35,947
find out if the man repents,

1167
00:55:35,947 --> 00:55:37,786
because evidently by his life

1168
00:55:37,786 --> 00:55:40,670
there was not at that 
moment in time necessarily

1169
00:55:40,670 --> 00:55:44,957
significant evidence of any repentance.

1170
00:55:44,957 --> 00:55:47,249
What if this man had said,

1171
00:55:47,249 --> 00:55:48,922
they had their meeting,

1172
00:55:48,922 --> 00:55:50,536
they're getting ready to put 
him out of the church

1173
00:55:50,536 --> 00:55:51,812
and he showed up and he said,

1174
00:55:51,812 --> 00:55:54,990
"hey guys, I repent."

1175
00:55:54,990 --> 00:55:56,301
What do you think?

1176
00:55:56,301 --> 00:56:00,538
Should they still have put him out?

1177
00:56:00,538 --> 00:56:03,668
We're simply not told.

1178
00:56:03,668 --> 00:56:06,401
But if you're letting love dictate,

1179
00:56:06,401 --> 00:56:11,401
because that's really where
we have to come back to,

1180
00:56:11,401 --> 00:56:14,902
we have to ask a lot of questions.

1181
00:56:14,902 --> 00:56:17,822
We have to ask about what's 
being communicated to the church

1182
00:56:17,822 --> 00:56:20,652
about how we maintain 
a standard of holiness.

1183
00:56:20,652 --> 00:56:22,851
What's being said to the 
watching community

1184
00:56:22,851 --> 00:56:25,960
about the way our church handles holiness?

1185
00:56:25,960 --> 00:56:28,645
How are we portraying God by 
the way we deal with this?

1186
00:56:28,645 --> 00:56:30,906
Yes, we want to portray Him on the side

1187
00:56:30,906 --> 00:56:32,983
of being gracious and kind, but we also

1188
00:56:32,983 --> 00:56:34,776
want to portray Him on the side

1189
00:56:34,776 --> 00:56:36,468
that He hates sin,

1190
00:56:36,468 --> 00:56:37,817
and He wants a pure church

1191
00:56:37,817 --> 00:56:41,008
and He wants sin dealt with.

1192
00:56:41,008 --> 00:56:44,214
What if a man committed sins

1193
00:56:44,214 --> 00:56:46,210
of this type of nature

1194
00:56:46,210 --> 00:56:48,629
that we're being told to 
disassociate from people,

1195
00:56:48,629 --> 00:56:51,685
and in the past, we have 
dealt with that person

1196
00:56:51,685 --> 00:56:53,517
and they have apologized

1197
00:56:53,517 --> 00:56:55,210
and they have said they repent,

1198
00:56:55,210 --> 00:57:00,037
and we then gave them 
opportunity to prove that

1199
00:57:00,037 --> 00:57:02,473
and they haven't?

1200
00:57:02,473 --> 00:57:05,492
And we've gone back to them again

1201
00:57:05,492 --> 00:57:09,296
a second time, a third time, a fourth time

1202
00:57:09,296 --> 00:57:11,068
and they keep saying they're sorry

1203
00:57:11,068 --> 00:57:12,478
every time we go back,

1204
00:57:12,478 --> 00:57:15,902
but the fact is

1205
00:57:15,902 --> 00:57:18,729
there's not any change.

1206
00:57:18,729 --> 00:57:21,662
You see, these things 
are not always so easy.