Posted on 10/09/2021 2:21:27 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot” (Proverbs 9:7).
Biblical separation and church discipline are very much needed if the work of God is to remain pure. Mark it down, as soon as you relax your standards you are on the road to compromise, which leads to a loss of personal convictions, and which can ultimately lead to becoming a scorner yourself. Every step of compromise that removes us further from sweet fellowship with the Lord is a step that may never be recovered.
“Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease” (Proverbs 22:10).
The problem with scorners is that they have the ear of younger, impressionable Christians. Many a child of God has been led back to the world because the scorner makes sense to rational mind of uncommitted babes in Christ. It is the pastor’s God-given responsibility to protect the flock that the Lord has entrusted to him, and that requires that all wolves in sheep’s clothing be dealt with as soon as they reveal their presence.
“Cast out the scorner,” you say, “That’s pretty harsh!” It doesn’t say, “Reprove him, and hopefully, he’ll get better.” Cast him out. Scorners don’t get better over time, they get worse. When a man starts playing that game of being a scorner, when he is far enough down the road, he is scorning everything that folks stand for, what the Lord stands for. Before long, he is standing on the world’s side on punishing children, and basic morality. They get to the place where some of the moral places where they once stood before aren't all that important anymore. Adultery’s just not that big a deal. He’s pretty far down the road when you get there. You don't want to go there.
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