The foolish Emperor, paraded around town wearing his “new clothes” (really his birthday suit) while everyone looked on, too embarrassed or scared to say anything. That is, until a child, too honest and innocent to stay quiet, blurted out, “You’re in your underwear!”

But how could it be, that someone so sophisticated, so educated, so well-advised as an emperor would do something so silly? And why wouldn’t any of his friends tell him he was deceived?This child’s story has a moral for us today: we are stronger together.

This child’s story has a moral for us today: we are stronger together.

One Sunday I made the mistake of eating breakfast on the way to church–and neglecting to check my teeth once we arrived. During about the fifth conversation of the morning, a sweet friend pulled me aside and whispered discreetly, “Rachel! You’ve got a big black speck stuck in your teeth, right there!”

Was I upset that this friend told the truth about my dental faux pas? Not at all!! (In fact, I wondered why no one else had sooner!). She saved me from ninety more minutes of potential embarrassment because she was willing to do the uncomfortable work of pointing out my problem.

God calls the church, his followers, to hold each other accountable. We must be gutsy enough to tell each other the truth (in love) Eph 4:15 , no matter what.

We are not confused about the fact that we are to love each other; it is what makes us recognizable as the church (John 13:35) . But we lose our way when we come to the “how” of loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s easier said than done.

Part of loving other Christians is being willing to let them know (kindly) when they are stumbling along in sin. This is where it gets uncomfortable. We don’t want to rock the boat. In our world, anything less than complete tolerance for many sins (ones that don’t “hurt anybody”) can get us labelled “hater” in the blink of an eye.

Hear me out, friend! We are being misled by the world! We should be more concerned with following our Jesus than our culture.

We should be more concerned with following our Jesus than our culture. Click To Tweet

Here’s HIS way of loving those that are in sin:

1. Close self-examination. Jesus teaches that we must first repent of our own sins, before holding other believers accountable for theirs. Matthew 7:4-5  says, “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite…”

Lots of people hit the brakes and screech to a stop there. And certainly if we try to point to others’ flaws without first shining the floodlight of truth to all corners of our hearts, we are the worst of hypocrites. We MUST be daily vigilant to root out all sinful thoughts and behaviors from our lives. Here’s why we must take sin seriously (hyperlink).

But don’t miss the rest of the sentence, “…then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” That doesn’t sound like silent tolerance for sin. That sounds like caring accountability. After all, who wants anything stuck in their eye? That hurts like the Dickens!

2. A call to repentance. In John 8 Jesus famously calls out the bloodthirsty Pharisees, ready to stone a woman caught in adultery. Then he has a poignant exchange with her in John 8:10-11, “’where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared.”

Again, people want to stop there.

But there’s more. Jesus says, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11) . Jesus doesn’t condemn her, but he does speak the truth. Repentance is central to the message of salvation. John the Baptist (Matt 3:2), Jesus (Matt 4:17), Peter (Acts 2:38), Paul (Acts 26:20) and John the beloved (Rev. 3:19) all taught the importance of repentance, not to mention the prophets of old (Isaiah 30:15, Jeremiah 15:19, Ezekiel 14:6). A sinful lifestyle needs to be left behind.

Make no mistake here, friends. I am not talking about Facebook rants, internet trolling or angry protests here. I am talking about grace-filled (Col 4:6) words over coffee, followed by plenty of hugs (and maybe a few tears). I’m talking about caring too much for someone to stand by silently while they choose something counterfeit (Jonah 2:8) over true life with Jesus. (Here’s how to choose him, and why.)

No one wants to be naively parading around town in their underwear (I know I don’t!) or walking around with a goofy black speck on our teeth. If we love our friends, we will let them know the truth even when it is uncomfortable. Be a friend. Proverbs 27:6 says that “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

Want to go further in your Bible study? Check out this freebie 3 Simple Steps to Better Bible Study.

How has dealing with sin been painful or awkward for you? Have you been thankful for wisdom spoken to you by others?

Tags: accountability, fear, Jesus, purposeful living, repentance, sin