I am having trouble knowing how to deal with my family.
They say they are saved but then any kind of sin is totally acceptable in their household.........
My father was a pastor..... now they don't say anything if one of my brothers lives with his girlfriend, or when my sister had an abortion, or when they are doing drugs in the house
I am at the end of my ropersonal with them.... I cannot trust spiritual advice from them, but when I was a kid, they were the ones that taught me about Christ.
What do you do when the people that taught you about rejecting sin, repenting, living for Christ are not doing any of those things and out right rejecting it.
I have asked my father a couple of times about what is going on and he gets so irritated with me like I am judging......I dont understand why we cannot discuss these things as a family and help our loved ones see their sin and get out of there sin.....
Is it just that I am judgemental? Am I taking the verse about decerning the spirits too far or out of context ? The people that taugh me what is right from wrong are whole heartedly embracing serious sin and I am feeling a terrible internal struggle going on.
When people you live are in sin- do you confronted t them lovingly, kindly, calmly, or do you stay quiet and just put it to prayer ?
When you say something, if you get a ton of push back, is that because you should have been quiet or is that the sin talking?
Confronted ting family- yeah or ney ?
Quoting: paranoid anonymously You are a "new" (1 year) Believer, so you still have much to learn (as we all do). And only God knows whether they are truly Saved.
Have they recently "back-slided" away from God, or have they been living as such for quite a while?
A person who is constantly pointing out "other people's sins" (especially family members and close friends) is really no different than...
A spouse who is constantly nagging
A "verbal" school bully
Any person who belittles people - "acts" like they are better than everyone else
Look up the phrase "holier than thou" as to it's meaning.
SOME Believers try to take Paul's instruction on church members confronting fellow congregation members to mean that you should confront everyone constantly.
You need to realize that YOU can't change their behavior & attitudes. Only they can with God's help.
Also realize that even though you aren't doing things that they are doing, there is no way that you personally have totally stopped sinning. No human can live totally sinless like Jesus did.
A couple of stories in the New Testament to check out...
The dialogue between Jesus and Peter concerning a brother who sins against him. (Matthew 18:21)
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link to www.biblestudytools.com]
Jesus's warning to the apostles concerning families (Matthew 10:35 & Luke 12:53)
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link to www.openbible.info (secure)]
The phrase "hate the sin but not the sinner" comes to mind. Jesus said the 2nd most important commandment is "love for others".
IF they are truly Saved, God will probably "recall" them in some fashion in the future. In other words, He will do things to them to get them to be closer to Him.
If they are NOT Saved, God will either nudge them towards Salvation OR just let them remain in the state they are in.
You continued prayers for them WILL be heard though.
