REPENTANCE

Q: It seems that many pastors are reluctant to speak on the tough subjects, including repentance. Several couples in our church are living together openly, outside of marriage, and this is common knowledge, but nothing is said. It bothers me that sin is ignored in favor of 'keeping the peace.' Am I wrong or am I just in the wrong church?A: Of course you are right. Many Pastors are reluctant to speak on the tough subjects. Let me try to address this one. First, a wonderful place to start dealing with the problem of sexual sin is in preaching. Bold and specific preaching of Gods standard in this area will turn most situations around or prevent them from happening. The truth is that only inside of the marital union is sexual activity blessed, anywhere else it is sinful. We also must boldly preach the cross of Christ and His blood as the cure for all sin and encourage all to run to Him for forgiveness.
Second, we do need to recognize that we are now living in a society that has cast off Gods ways especially in regard to sexual purity. That means that as new people come to know the Lord we cannot assume that they will know they are not to have sex until marriage. We must be prepared to guide them into a life of real holiness. The Bible has a clear pattern in Matt. 18. Go to your sinning brother alone and gently confront him. Then if that does not work, go back with more, etc. This pattern should be followed with a lot of love, confidence that they will change and they need to b ...