As I traversed through the book “Adventures in Missing the Point” I found myself getting more and more frustrated as time and again the authors would go from making valid points to giving invalid arguments based on faulty premises or downright wrong theology. Having just finished a mostly ambiguous chapter on homosexuality I braced myself for the chapter “Missing the Point: Sin”.
The author begins by sharing how St. Augustine dealt with a specific sin in his congregation. Augustine dealt with this, not in by promoting gossip or judgmental attitudes but by reminding his congregation of 2 Corinthians 11:28 where Paul states communicates that even the most revered of apostles is not immune from the temptations of sin. The author, Brian McLaren (whose name I mention because this is a positive post), presents this question: “How will I respond to the faults and failings and sins of my sister and brother Christians?”
That question, and not so much a Biblical/theological look at sin itself, is the foundation of this chapter, and McLaren provides some good mental prodding in this area. Something that I have observed throughout my ministry even within my thinking is the tendancy of many believers to, as I remember my dad saying, shoot their own wounded. Or in other words when a brother or sister in Christ falls into sin we react by turning our back on them and/or condemning them instead of helping them to get back on their feet, find forgiveness in Christ and gain victory over what Satan means for defeat.
At this point I must make clear something that is unfortunately not clear and actually missing from this chapter. I am not talking about the person who refuses to acknowledge his/her sin and continues to live rebelliously in it. There is a proper way to deal with that type of person – witness to them passionately as you would any other unsaved friend.
But for the brother/sister who is struggling, even stumbling in sin I urge an attitude that reflects what McLaren is trying to communicate in his concluding paragraph:
don’t distance yourself from them or their weakness. Don’t miss the point by condemning them. Empathize instead. Draw close. Like Augustine, identify with your weak brother or sister, because you’re [ultimately] no different. And believe that just as you have by grace survived “many dangers, toil, and snares,” they can survive too. For we serve a God who says, “My power is made perfect in weakness”.
