When Christians Flaunt Their Disobedience to Our Lord Jesus Christ on Social Media
Sinners sin. It’s what they do. The redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ sin, too. The difference is that sin no longer reigns in the Christian. Grace reigns (Rom 5:21); and the slaves of Christ submit to their Lord in obedience to all He has commanded (Mt 28:19–20; Eph 6:6).
Not only is the Christian to hate her sins, but she is to confess that sin is sin. Sin is lawlessness (1 Jn 3:4), and the Christian knows the Law of God from the Bible (Ex 20; Dt 5). It is the Holy Spirit who teaches her the Law and convicts her of sin. Of course, we have encouragement, “If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9).”
Should we go on sinning that grace will abound all the more to forgive us? May it never be! If we love Jesus Christ, and our ambition is to please Him (2 Cor 5:9), then we will keep His commandments (Jn 14:15). Christians cannot do this in the power of their flesh, however. It is the Holy Spirit who causes God’s people to walk in His statutes (Ezek 36:27). It is grace that accomplishes this work, and God gives grace to the humble. He resists the proud (Jas 4:6).
Let us consider a couple of case examples. First, there is the recently divorced Christian woman, who daily posts of her new love. They eat together, travel together on vacation and business trips, etc. Weeks go by, and one waits for her pastor or someone in her church to call her out on her obvious sin. She is flaunting her sin against God, on social media, and no one seems to care.
Second, there is the pastor’s wife, who preached the Sunday sermon on Mother’s Day. Her husband boasted about her and posted this woman’s sermon on social media. Because it is a pastor’s post, and no doubt the pastor has numerous pastor friends, one would expect someone…anyone to protest from Scripture, “A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet (1 Tim 2:11–12).”
The fact is that church “leaders” have gone wild, and no one is calling these cases, “sin.” It is not casting the first stone to point out adultery, and the Bible’s prohibition of women leader/preachers. Both of these cases are with mature Christians.
A third case is the senior pastor whose son came out as a vocal homosexual. Instead of remaining firm in biblical truth, this pastor has gone so far as to take a new pastorate in a sexual sin affirming church. Whose sin is greater? It is not so much the sins of any one of these cases. There is something else.
The issue raised here is not the suggestion that we will somehow eradicate these sins, or any other sins. Nor can we anticipate any of these people changing, without the help of the Holy Spirit. Rather, what is highlighted is the practice of Christians flaunting their sins in view of the public. The promotion of sin is more serious than the fact of sins.
Sin operates in the domain of darkness (Jn 3:19; Col 1:13), and sin was shameful in days gone by. If caught, and made a spectacle, the Christian would confess and lament. Sackcloth and ashes were donned for a time (figuratively), and forgiveness was granted to the repentant. Today, there is no correction, no rebuke for the obstinate, who continue in sin while claiming Christ.
Preachers must preach the Law and the Gospel, and a life of holy obedience should be the Christian’s desire. As for the adulteress, the woman preacher, and sexual sin affirming pastor, we grieve not so much for your sins, but for your promotion of your sins on social media. You must repent of your flaunting sin before the God you claim to love and serve.
So few people love their neighbor enough, to be their brother’s keeper, in this age when everyone, including Christians, does what is right in their own eyes. Will we claim ignorance in these matters? Will we continue to turn a blind eye to the despicable defilement of Christ’s body, by the devil’s excusing us of our parade of sins?
May God forgive us for our sins, and may He forgive our advocacy and promotion of sinful practices. May He grant those ensnared in sins, the grace of repentance that will set them free.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
July 6, 2022
