When Someone Sins Against You…

You know, I go to church to praise GOD and to hear THE WORD!!!  

But every church has people in it!!!   


Any time you are dealing with people, there are going to be problems!!!  I am NOT speaking evil, I am just telling the truth!!! 


So, any time you are having to deal with folks, pray and seek GOD!!!  

Before you do anything else, always pray and ask GOD for direction!!!  HE will lead and guide you!!!  HE will tell you exactly how to deal with folks!!!! 


From time to time, people get hurt by someone else in church.  It happens to everyone at some time or another!!! 


I know that when it happens to me, it seems worse than when it happens to someone else!!!

And I am sure that it the same for each and every one of you!!!

When we are hurt, we want everyone to know!!!  We want to tell everyone we know how much that other person has hurt us!!!  But we aren’t supposed to do that!!!

We want an apology, except we don’t want that person to talk to us!!! 

Some of us will stick up our hand in that person’s face!!!   

Yes, that hand and we will say, Talk to the Hand, and we will turn our head away from them!!!  And we may add because the ears ain’t listening!!!  Or the head ain’t listening!!! 

Yeah, uh huh!!!  I’ve been there!!!

You know, at least that person is trying to say they are sorry or make some kind of amends!!!  At least, they are trying to talk to you!!!  At least, they know that they have offended you!!!  And hopefully, he or she wants to work things out!!! 

Then there is the person who doesn’t think what they’ve done is even wrong and they don’t try to make amends!!!  Cause you are mad for no reason!!! 

What???  Are you kidding me???

Now that just burns me up!!!  Cause I know that I have NOT imagined or just made up something in my head!!!  To me, that is truly insulting!!!  Don’t try to play me for a fool!!!

I don’t know which is worse, the person who thinks that what they are doing is okay or the person who doesn’t even truly know why you are upset!!!  

To be truthful, I hate dealing with either one of these types of people!!!  But I have to deal with them and so do you!!! 

We have no choice!!!  GOD will NOT let us escape!!! 


HIS WORD tells us how to handle these folks!!!  GOD gives us instructions on what we are supposed to do, when someone sins against us!!!


So, when someone (whether a sister or brother in THE LORD) has hurt you or angered you, remember these scriptures. cause they tell us exactly what we are supposed to do.


Matthew 18:15 (AMP) If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother.


Now we all know that this also goes for a sister in THE LORD!!!


Matthew 18:15 (NIV) If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.


Most folks want to work things out, because most folks don’t want anyone to be upset or angry with them.  True followers of Christ, would NOT hurt you intentionally!!!  And a true follower will work things out with you!!!


Anyone who is trying to be right with GOD wants to do things right!!!


Unfortunately, there are some folks who are hardheaded and stubborn!!!  They think that the things they do are okay and that GOD is pleased with them!!!  And nothing you can say will change their minds!!! 


Besides praying and interceding for them, here is what THE WORD says to do, when you encounter these folks!!!    


Matthew 18:16 (NIV) But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.


Before you go to someone with witnesses, every one of you need to pray that GOD speak to this person’s heart!!!  This stubborn hard headed person needs for GOD to speak to them!!!


Truthfully, I have never had to go to someone and take others with me, but I know that there have been instances where this has happened!!! 


And usually, it is NOT just a misunderstanding or a disagreement!!! 


From what I understand, this usually ONLY happens when someone is committing a sin!!!


However, I know that there are some hardheaded people out there!!!


So, if someone has done something wrong and refuses to admit that they are wrong and make amends, then you must pray and ask GOD who to take with you.  Then you must go again to that person with your witnesses and try to reason with them.  You must try to work things out, so that both of you can go along with life!!!


After all this, if they still refuse to listen, then THE WORD tells us to bring the matter before the church!!!  And let the church deal with it!!!


Matthew 18:17 (NCV) If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.


Now folks this is very serious!!! 


If a matter has to be taken to the church as a body and they have to deal with such a person, there is going to have to be a lot of praying and fasting!!!  This is nothing to be taken lightly!!! 


I’m NOT sure that I have ever heard of this happening!  I would hate to have to be a part of something like this, but matters must be taken care of!!! 


We are NOT supposed to just allow folks to say they are one of Christ's followers and a member of our church, but live any kind of way!!!  Unfortunately, that is what some folks are doing!!!  And no one wants to go to them and say, you just can’t do that!!!  Very few people have that much holy boldness!!!


However, we must be lead of GOD!!!  NO matter what, we have to be lead by GOD for ONLY HE knows the heart of a man!!!


Jeremiah 17:9-10

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

¹⁰ I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.


ONLY GOD knows what’s in a man’s heart!!!


1 Kings 8:39 Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) …whose heart Thou knowest, (for Thou hast known -- Thyself alone -- the heart of all the sons of man)