How Do We Forgive Others and Still Hold Them Accountable?

How do we forgive others and still hold them accountable? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. This is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Welcome to the program. We answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day here on Core Christianity, and you can call us for the next 25 minutes with your question. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. So jump on your phone right now. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. And, of course, you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com.

First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Dave. Dave My question is, in Ezekiel, the 33rd chapter, the 13th verse, it reads, When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered, but because of the iniquity that he's committed he shall die. And I've talked to a pastor who uses this as a verse to prove that a person could lose their salvation.

Now, I don't believe that. I believe in eternal security. I'm just wondering how Pastor Sanchez would approach this verse and how he would respond to someone that uses that to show that we can lose our salvation.

Thank you so much, and have a great day. Dave, thank you for that question. What an interesting way to use Ezekiel 33. I disagree with that approach that this person that you're speaking with has in terms of going to this text and saying, I think this is proof that you can lose your salvation. The point of what we're being told there in Ezekiel 33 is meant to give us hope, specifically hope that repentance yields life. Beginning in verse 10, And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said, Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live? In other words, they recognize their sin. They realize that they're rotting away in it.

Is there any hope? They ask themselves, How can we even live? Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

Turn back. Turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? In other words, he's opening the door, giving them this hope of repentance, this hope of life. But it sounds like this pastor that you're speaking with is using this text not to give hope, but to communicate fear to people.

Say, Well, I mean, watch out. I mean, because as the text continues, as you mentioned in verses 12 and 13, it says, Look, if somebody seems to be doing good, and then they start doing evil, look, the good that they did isn't going to save them on the day of judgment. But the whole focus of this passage is the reality of repentance and the fact that with God, there is forgiveness, that he may be feared, as the psalmist said. And so I think when we approach a text of scripture, we have to ask ourselves, what is this passage trying to communicate to us? And it's precisely that. This is hope for those who turn from their sins, specifically. A lot of times, you know, we look at texts like these, and we think, you know, we're trying to read into them, you know, a debate about eternal security or something like that.

But that's not the focus here. Now, if we're talking about whether or not a believer in Jesus Christ, and of course, this is the old covenant, right, like Old Testament, we're talking about whether or not a believer in Jesus Christ, justified by faith, sealed with the Holy Spirit, as Paul says in Ephesians 1, if that person can lose their salvation or be plucked out of the hand of God, I think that the answer that we're given in scripture is absolutely clear. Jesus says in John chapter 10, right, no one can pluck them out of my Father's hand. In John chapter 6, he says, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will raise them up at the last day.

I'm not going to lose any of them. And so, you know, I mean, we can point to different passages, but I would just say with regard to that text in Ezekiel 33, that's an encouragement for all of us, first and foremost, to lay hold of God in repentance. But for Israel there, in particular, it's also the warning. There is that rebuke there, saying, look, don't put your trust in your own righteousness, thinking, I'm pretty good, you know, that's what's going to deliver me on the day of judgment.

And certainly people have done that throughout history. Verse 13, though I say to the righteous that he surely shall live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered. But in his injustice that he has done, he shall die.

I mean, that's the reality. And of course, we're never called to trust in our own righteous deeds. No, we're called to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and to live lives of righteousness in light of the great salvation that he's given to us.

Dave, God bless you, and thank you for reaching out to us. Just a follow-up question for you, Adriel. Can you talk about the importance of good hermeneutics and the dangers of proof texting like it seems that particular pastor was doing? Yeah, well, I mean, there are different principles for biblical interpretation. I think a lot of times people approach the Bible as just a book of proof texts, for example. And so we're not understanding the whole story in its context.

I mean, and I think context is always key. That's the thing that you hear over and over again in terms of proper Bible interpretation. So who is being spoken to here?

What is the specific warning? What's being communicated? Where are we in the history of redemption? And I think, you know, the more we read scripture and the more we do so in the context of solid church community and reading it together with the whole church, and I don't just mean our own local church, but the whole church being the universal church throughout all ages and understanding the scriptures in light of that together by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

I think those are the guard rails that we want to have. But if we're in isolation on our own, reading the Bible and just sort of proof texting, we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble. And so we have to be careful there. And I think that the biggest safety net is the church, the local church, and then also the universal church throughout all ages. We read scripture in the context of that community. Really good counsel. Thanks for that. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open right now. Maybe there is a passage in the Bible that you find confusing.

You've always wondered, boy, this really stumps me. Maybe Pastor Adriel can help me. Give us a call right now, or perhaps there's something going on in your Christian life that's become a real struggle or you're running out of time. Maybe you're struggling.

You're running up against some kind of persecution in our culture because of your faith. Give us a call right now. Here's the number, 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Sella who's calling in from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Sella, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, Adriel. Thanks for taking my call.

I appreciate you guys. I just, I, I, my spiritual journey, I'm a place where... Well, okay, so I've been invited to a ritual. It's just a prayer, I guess, session where you sing hymns and things and it's from Central America. So I want to know, do you know any part in the Bible where it talks about Jesus who stayed on the cross after he died and he was burned because he was on there so long? I ask because this prayer I'm going to, they call it Christo Negro and it means Christ Black, Black Christ, and I asked, what does that mean? What does it mean, Christ Black? He goes, well, that he was left on the cross so long that he was burnt and I just don't know. That's biblical. Do you know anywhere in the Bible where it talks about that he was left, our Lord was left there to burn? And I just don't know where this derives from or where it's coming from.

I'll tell you, Central America is where they are from, so I don't know that has anything to do with it. Do you know anything? No, no. I mean it sounds like some interesting tradition, but a tradition that's not rooted in the teaching of the Bible. Of course, we know from the New Testament that Christ was not left up on the cross for a very long time, but that he was taken down and there's no indication in the gospels that they ever set the cross on fire or anything like that. No, I mean I would just say read the gospel accounts of the crucifixion. You do have also the prophets that talk about the the suffering of the Messiah. I think of Isaiah chapter 52, for example, verse 14, as many were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind, so shall he sprinkle many nations.

Kings shall shut their mouths because of him. And so I mean the scene was gruesome. It was horrific as he was taking the punishment that was due to us for our sins upon himself so that he might credit to us his own righteousness. But that sounds to me like, you know, maybe some extra biblical tradition or something there that's not rooted in in scripture. And so, you know, we hear that stuff.

We always want to weigh it against what the Bible says and stick with what the scriptures say. Thanks for reaching out. God bless. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, apologetics, we'd love to hear from you. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673.

We'll be taking calls for the next 15 minutes or so, so now is the time to call. By the way, we have a wonderful resource we'd like to tell you about today. It's actually written by one of the good friends of this ministry, and that is author Nancy Guthrie.

Yeah, Nancy is truly a friend, someone that we really appreciate. Her book is called Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus. I am and have been throughout my life as a Christian so encouraged by reading the stories in scripture.

These people who encounter the grace of God, who experience the grace of God, sometimes people that you wouldn't expect to know God and to embrace his mercy, to receive his grace, and yet it's such an encouragement for us, seeing scoundrels even receiving the mercy of God, becoming saints, if you will, through the mercy of Jesus Christ, and so I know that this book will be a blessing to you in your walk with the Lord. Nancy has written so many books, and this is just another one that's going to encourage you, so I hope that you get a hold of it for a donation of any amount over at corechristianity.com. Just a reminder that when you donate and order these resources from us, you're actually helping the entire mission of Core Christianity in everything we do, from answering the tough questions that people have on the radio to supporting us as we write our Bible studies and our web articles, and if you're considering making a year-end gift to perhaps a parachurch ministry, why not perfectly consider a gift to Core Christianity?

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Here's one from one of our listeners named Janet. My question is, I know that when we go to court with enemies or criminals who've transgressed against us, we are supposed to forgive our enemies. Here's my question. Yes, we are to forgive, and I have forgiven, but these enemies keep on bullying and persecuting. What is the purpose of having laws for the lawless if everything that they do we are to forgive them and put it in God's hands?

Aren't we supposed to hold these lawless people accountable at some point or the other? Thank you. I look forward to your response. Yeah, that's an excellent question, and one of the things we've done on the broadcast before is distinguish between forgiveness, restoration, and I mean those two things specifically I think are really important to distinguish between as Christians, and you get this from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount when he talks about forgiving others that we might be forgiven. We're called to forgive everyone from the heart, and that means we're not seeking to harm them to exact payment, if you will.

That's a difficult thing. That's assuming some of the pain ourselves in forgiving another person, but that doesn't mean that we don't keep individuals accountable, and so let me give you just a real simple example. Somebody is doing something illegal, and it's harming you, and you can genuinely forgive them while also calling the police. That doesn't mean, and I think if we don't, this is how you get into some really serious abusive situations. God has given government officials for this very purpose. This is what the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 13. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed. Those who resist will incur judgment, for rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad.

Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good, but if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. So I think it's just a proper understanding of forgiveness here. Yes, we do forgive from the heart each other because we have been forgiven by Jesus Christ, but one of the ways we help one another even within the body of Christ is by truly holding people accountable, and this is where the church comes in. Now the church doesn't have the power of the sword, so if we're talking about a legal matter, for example, it's not the church's job to send people to prison and whatnot, but the church does have the power of excommunication and church discipline, so the church does hold people accountable through that, through those means, the keys of the kingdom that Jesus gave to them, and so I would say, look, if you're in a situation where someone is repeatedly sinning against you and harming you in some way, in some way you are called to forgive from your heart, but for there to be real repentance and restoration, that individual, this person that's doing this, doesn't have to recognize what they're doing and confess it and turn from it.

Otherwise, there can't be any restoration in the relationship. We want to pursue that restoration within the body of Christ, but sometimes we don't get that, and so we forgive and we seek to hold people accountable, and I pray that whatever the situation that you're in, Janet, that the Lord would give you wisdom and strength that this other party would indeed come to repentance and that you could experience that restoration that you long for. Janet, thanks so much for calling Core Christianity. We'll be praying for you in that entire situation. Let's go back to the phones.

Tish is on the line calling in from Nebraska. Tish, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, my question is about the Sabbath. As a New Testament believer, lately there's been people telling me that Sabbath is the correct day to worship God, and if you don't, then you're not part of the people of God, obviously. In my heart, I'm convinced that I am being led by the Holy Spirit, and that covenant was between Israel and God, and it should not be carried on to a New Covenant believer.

Can you clarify that, please? And it just almost always becomes an argument to where there's no solution to it, you know? Sometimes it takes your mind off, you begin to think a little bit and maybe doubt what you believe, so it's just been a huge thing lately, so if you could clarify that, thank you. Happy to, Tish.

I know, you know, we get these kinds of questions and we start to wonder, well, am I doing the right thing? That can be really hard in our walk with the Lord, and I can tell just listening to your voice that this has been a struggle, and I just want to encourage you and say, look, the apostles themselves, followers of our Lord Jesus who knew him and walked with him, they began worshiping on the first day of the week on Sunday. They would gather together. We see this in places like Acts chapter 20. They gathered together on the first day of the week to break bread and to hear a sermon. First Corinthians chapter 16, you know, there's an offering that's collected on the first day of the week. John in the book of Revelation is in the spirit on the Lord's day.

Revelation chapter 1, the first day of the week. The early church, the apostles of our Lord began to gather for corporate worship on Sunday, and what people will say is, oh, that was changed later. You know, the Roman Catholic Church changed the date of worship. It should be on Saturday, but look, the apostles themselves were doing this, and so we are, you are, Tish, following their example. That doesn't mean that the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments don't have a relation to us. We are under those commandments, but we have to view them through the new covenant and our union with Jesus Christ.

Jesus said ultimately that He is the Sabbath rest of His people, and in Him, we enter into that true Sabbath rest, and in light of that, we gather together to worship with God's people on the Lord's day. I also think of that encouragement that the apostle Paul gives in Colossians chapter 2 verse 16. Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you insisting on asceticism and the worship of angels going on in detail about visions puffed up without reason by His sensuous mind and not holding fast to the head from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with the growth that is from the Lord.

Don't let these friends pass judgment on you in light of this. You have the example of the apostles. You have the resurrection of Jesus, which is why we worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, because we have entered into the true Sabbath rest to Christ, and so we begin our week worshiping the Lord, and so that's what I would say to you. I don't think you have to be, you know, concerned that you're doing anything wrong. No, you're doing just what the apostles themselves have always done, and may the Lord bless you as you continue to do that, Tish. You know, just a follow-up question for you, Adriel. As our society becomes more and more post-Christian, it really seems counterproductive for the church, for Christians, individual Christians, to be majoring in the minors and getting into these big disputes and focusing all of their attention and energy on, oh, what day is it?

Is it Saturday or is it Sunday? Versus the core tenets of the faith, which is something that we talk about every day here on Core Christianity. Yeah, well, I'm a guy, Bill, who always wants to say, you know, it's important for us to have these discussions about the Bible, about scripture. I mean, God's word is there for us to learn from. And so, but, you know, you're right, we can sometimes get into these disputes, these meaningless disputes that don't contribute to godliness and growth and grace, and you have warnings against those kinds of things throughout the New Testament, and so we need to be discerning as we search the scriptures, as we seek to gain understanding, am I growing in Christ and am I following the example of the scriptures and of the apostles and of the church, universal throughout history, or are we going off on some rabbit trail that isn't building us up in Christ, but is actually, you know, putting a burden on us, a burden of legalism or something else? And so that's where we have to be discerning and appreciate your follow-up there. So well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Paul, who's on the line from St. Louis, Missouri. Paul, what's your question for Adriel?

Good evening, Adriel, thanks for taking my call. I was wondering, with the Bible verses of 1 Corinthians, pardon me, 1 Corinthians 11, 14, and Deuteronomy 22, 5, along with Zephaniah 1, 8, and 1 Thessalonians 5, 22, with a pastor who wears two earrings, should that be a concern? I mean, are they the dangly kind?

What kind of earrings are we talking about? I'm just, that was a joke, but you bring up several paths. I can't get to all of them right now, but look, here's what else, you know, there's this, in second, third century, there was a letter, it's called the Epistle to Diognetus, and it was written by someone who's talking about the way in which Christians lived and how they were distinguished from the people of the world. And one of the things that it says there, I just love the description of believers, it says, look, they're not really distinct in terms of their dress, if you will, you know, they're a part of the societies and cultures of the world, but they're distinct in the fact that they pursue holiness. They share, one of the lines there that this Epistle to Diognetus talks about, is that they share their table, they're hospitable to their neighbors, but they don't share their marriage bed. And you understand what he means there. But going back a little bit earlier, you know, that statement that's made that, look, it's not like there's this special distinct, you know, dress or robe that the Christians wear.

They sort of look like everybody else. Now, I think we want to make sure that we're modest. I think our goal as pastors, especially in this sort of celebrity, you know, Christian age or whatever you hear about that, and the dangers of that, the sort of celebrity culture in the Christian church, we shouldn't be trying to draw attention to ourselves. And so I would maybe be concerned if it seemed like a pastor was really trying to just draw a ton of attention to himself, and the focus was not Christ crucified and the preaching of the Holy Gospel. Now, I wouldn't say like, you know, if for whatever reason, this pastor, you know, maybe he's a surfer and he got his ears pierced or something like that, I wouldn't say like that's, and I don't, I'm not saying that that goes hand in hand with surfing either.

My producer's looking at me like, what are you talking about? But, you know, I just, it's not an issue that is, I don't think that the texts that you appeal to in the Old Testament and New Testament are really speaking to that specifically. I think we have to, right, there's the issue of Christian liberty here, but I do think we want to guard against immodesty, and we want to guard against that celebrity pastor culture that we do see in the church today. We want to make sure that whoever's teaching the word of God is focusing on Jesus Christ and the faithful exposition of scripture.

That's the key. That's who you want to have pastoring your church preaching to you as someone who's focusing on Christ. And so I hope, Paul, that that's what you have, and that you're blessed by that ministry and that you and your family grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord during this Christmas season. God bless. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the core. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.