Chapter VI: The Church’s Duty

In conclusion it might be well to mention the duty of the church in reference to an erring child of God. It is the duty of the church and of all its spiritually-minded members to warn those who are living in error, to rebuke them, to reprove them and to exhort them with all long suffering and teaching, to admonish them to do these three things which are required of them in order to be forgiven by the Lord. When we do so, we shall in no wise lose our reward.

I close then by calling attention once more to these verses in James, “Brethren, if anyone of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.” Now, there may be some erring children of God in this audience this morning. I want to do just what the Bible teaches me to do. I want to admonish you, urge you, and beseech you to take advantage of God’s goodness and God’s mercy and God’s willingness to forgive.

The alien sinner must believe, repent, and be baptized. The erring child of God must repent, confess his sin, and pray for forgiveness. But I don’t care how black your past may have been, how many ugly things you may have done, if you will confess to men, to yourself, and to God that you have sinned; if you will resolve in your heart that you will turn away from your evil doing, and ask God to forgive you, He will certainly do so. He never goes back on His promise. He’s not only willing, but is eager to have you come. He will welcome you back into the fold of those who are redeemed.

All of those evil things which you have done will not only be forgiven, but they will be forgotten. They will never be remembered any more, and you can start all over again to live the Christian life, with a perfectly clean, white record; all the blots having been wiped away by the all-powerful blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Don’t you want to do that? We urge you to do so, while together we stand and sing.

PATRIARCHAL
God’s law to the patriarchs and Gentiles.
Red Sea
MOSAIC
God’s law to the Jews given through Moses
{Cross}
CHRISTIAN
God’s law to the world given through Christ

IX
THE SABBATH

Negative sermons are sometimes necessary. It is the duty of gospel preachers not only to proclaim the truth but also to condemn error and convict the gainsayers (Titus 1:9). Wherever false teaching raises its ugly head, we must strike it down with the sword of the Spirit. Wherever it lurks in secret hiding places to destroy unwary souls, we must search for it and expose it with the light of truth. We must warn people against it.

Much money and effort are spent to protect people from contagious diseases. In a public building of downtown Nashville yesterday I saw above a water fountain a sign which said, “Do not put your mouth on the faucet unless you wish to catch or spread disease.” Certainly we should labor diligently to prevent the spreading of _religious_ error. I wish I were able to place a skull and cross bones sign across every false doctrine.