Having The Authority!

"He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them. You have the authority to correct them when necessary, so don’t let anyone disregard what you say." (Titus 2:14,15 NLT)

Paul's letter to Titus and all other ministers of the Gospel deserves constant review. In this passage, Paul reminds Titus that Jesus gave His life so we would be free from sin "every kind of sin" and that we should be committed to doing good deeds. Then, he goes on to say, remind Titus that he is to teach these things and encourage others "to do" them and when necessary, use the authority he has "to correct" others.

For those who think that preachers or believers are judging when they observe sinful behavior, think again. All believers (we should all be ministers of the Gospel) have the authority to correct others when they see other believers not living according to God's plan--not man's. Using the authority we have to correct others is not a judgment--as some would have us believe--it is a responsibility to the Body of Christ so that we remain free from sin.

Of course, there will be those who think that whenever a Believer calls anything sin, they are just judging them.  The fact they think we are judging them actually shows they have been convicted of their behavior and simply want to rebel against the conviction in their spirits because they know they are wrong, but don't want to admit it.

Think about how rebellious children act "when caught in the act" of doing something wrong. The first thing they do is "deny the obvious" and then expect whoever caught them to believe them. Now, I know some will immediately think of the "woman who as caught in the very act of adultery" who was brought to Jesus. Notwithstanding her criticizers did not bring the man she was "supposedly caught with," but she never denied any wrong doing and simply waited for Jesus to decree her fate. And when He did, "those holding stones had to drop them" because they were as guilty as she of sin, but had not been caught. He did not berate her after all her accusers left, He simply told her "to go and not to sin any more."

In other words--He used His authority to correct the crowd and the woman, forgiving her of sin and admonishing her to stop doing what she doing. Every believer has the same authority--to correct and admonish--encouraging others to receive God's forgiveness and to stop committing acts of sin. Are we doing this or are we allowing ourselves to be persuaded to "let it ride."

If Believers--all over the world--would simply exercise the authority we have been given, we would see peace in the land as we "lived" the life before others and corrected them when we see wrongdoing.We are not responsible for others accepting what we say, but we do have a responsibility to say what God says--about any and all things--pertaining to Godly living.

Lord, help us to be more like You in all we do all the days of our lives!