How do you treat family members who think they are Christians but they do not live in a Christ-like manner?
How do you treat family members who think they are Christians but they do not live in a Christ-like manner? How can you show Christian love to them without either enabling or abandoning them?
Answer:
I guess it would depend on what they were doing.
If they are shacking up--after they are told what is right and wrong--God tells us exactly what to do in Corinthians.
Galatians and so forth give us a whole list of behaviors that will warrant second death--it is very serious and if they continue in those behaviors their very life is at stake and so serious measures need to taken to extricate them from the course they are on.
The book of Jude also tells us of very serious behaviors that warrant second death among those who profess to be children of God. In the end it says if we bid them godspeed (or Lord bless)--we are guilty and will have spots on our robe of Christ's righteousness. We are not even to eat with them according to the Book of Jude.
This has nothing to do with judging one's final destiny--it has everything to do with judging right from wrong (Paul says if we can't do that shame on us, how do we expect to judge angels and men in the next age), and standing up for God. If we love family more than God, do we think God will reward that?
Doesn't matter if it is blood family or other brethren in Christ---if one takes the name of Christ they have a standard to live up to and when they don't it is the DUTY of the body of Christ to do what is right. And some times that is a hard line.
Answer:
I guess it would depend on what they were doing.
If they are shacking up--after they are told what is right and wrong--God tells us exactly what to do in Corinthians.
Galatians and so forth give us a whole list of behaviors that will warrant second death--it is very serious and if they continue in those behaviors their very life is at stake and so serious measures need to taken to extricate them from the course they are on.
The book of Jude also tells us of very serious behaviors that warrant second death among those who profess to be children of God. In the end it says if we bid them godspeed (or Lord bless)--we are guilty and will have spots on our robe of Christ's righteousness. We are not even to eat with them according to the Book of Jude.
This has nothing to do with judging one's final destiny--it has everything to do with judging right from wrong (Paul says if we can't do that shame on us, how do we expect to judge angels and men in the next age), and standing up for God. If we love family more than God, do we think God will reward that?
Doesn't matter if it is blood family or other brethren in Christ---if one takes the name of Christ they have a standard to live up to and when they don't it is the DUTY of the body of Christ to do what is right. And some times that is a hard line.
