Not Being Someone's Scapegoat

Last week I urged us to be easily edified. That would include learning any valuable lessons from our harshest critics who aren’t criticizing us for good reasons. God can be giving us good even when others mean it for evil.

Today I want to urge us never to learn to say we’ve sinned just because someone demands it.

Some of you are so familiar with this principle that you’ve learned how to turn every sin into a fake sin. You weren’t lusting you were watching that filthy movie for sake of cultural engagement. You weren’t mad when you were yelling at your kids you were demonstrating anger so that they could be more righteous, probably.

But our defensive re-definitions don’t remove the possibility that someone else has decided and is now demanding that you make them feel better by denouncing The Thing. They might accuse you of a made-up sin, they might accuse you for not joining them in sin.

they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; (1 Peter 4:4 ESV)

Learning from haters takes spiritual maturity not to retaliate. Avoiding the manipulative by not agreeing to their demands takes spiritual maturity.

And one way to be ready for both is to cultivate humility.

When you read a verse that makes your sin clear, submit to God’s standard and say you sinned. When the Spirit convicts your heart, submit and ask for forgiveness. And when someone in a huff is scapegoating their guilt onto you, don’t take it. Go into conversations with your neck flexible (not stiff), but also with a strong spine (backbone).