Page 13 - September 2025 - Truth & Tidings

who confesses and forsakes them will obtain However – and this is the main point of
mercy” (Pro 28:13). Forsaking our sin Jesus’ teaching in this paragraph – even
means we take active steps to prevent it here, we must own our part.
from happening again. Yes, we will com- First, we should proceed with mercy
mit some sins repeatedly before gaining (7:2). Whatever harshness we use on oth-
victory (Luk 17:3-4), but if we are truly re- ers will one day be used against us. So use
pentant, we will declare war on them (2Co
7:10). Renouncing sin can also include gracious judgment (Mat 5:7).
making restitution. Zacchaeus showed his Second, before attempting to perform
sincerity by pledging to repay anyone he eye surgery on another, we need to per-
had defrauded (Luk 19:8). form “I” surgery on ourselves (7:3-5). How
Finally, it’s time to ask for forgiveness. easy it is to have 20/20 vision of someone
Remember, the humbling work of con- else’s splinter and be blind to our own
fessing and renouncing sin does not earn plank-sized sin (7:3). The point is not to
forgiveness. Forgiveness is a gift. Always. abandon exposing a brother or sister’s
If we reach this final step feeling entitled wrongdoing; true love often requires
to forgiveness, we need to start all over these kinds of confrontations. Rather, it’s
again. I don’t remember how I apologized to do the painful work of sin-extraction on
to my family on the way home that night, ourselves first (7:5).
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but I’d like to think it sounded something
like this: As is so often the case, the writer James
“Wife and children, I sinned against echoes the Lord Jesus’ teaching when he
you when I spoke those angry words. This asks, “What causes quarrels and what
evening could have been such a happy causes fights among you?” (Jas 4:1). “It’s
time, but I ruined it for you all. I’m sorry him!” we jump up, exposing the trouble-
for what I’ve done, and I know that leav- maker. But James wants us to examine our-
ing things till the last minute is becoming selves: “Oh God, in what ways is sin in my
a pattern in my life. I commit to working heart contributing to this conflict? Where
on this weakness. In the meantime, would is my pride, anger, and defensiveness on
you forgive me?” display?” Often, heightened sensitivity
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And for the thousandth time, they did. to a sin in others means the same sin is
The Science of “I” Surgery prominent in us. And we’ll be much better
soul surgeons on our brothers and sisters if
What if someone else is to blame? Our we too have gone under the knife.
culture’s favorite Bible verse is Matthew
7:1: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” 2 Charles L. Quarles, Matthew – Evangelical
But this saying of Christ cannot mean we Biblical Theology Commentary, ed. T. Desmond
never confront others about their sin, for Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas
just four verses later Jesus envisions our J. Köstenberger (Bellingham, WA: Lexham
performing eye surgery on each other, Academic, 2022), 200-201.
Robert L. Plummer, “James,” in ESV Expository
3
carefully removing a speck of sin from our Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews-Revelation, ed.
brother’s eye (7:5). There is a place, then, James M. Hamilton Jr., Jay Sklar, and Iain M.
not just for confessing our own sin, but Duguid (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 271.
for confronting someone else for theirs. Original emphasis.

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