Lesson 57 What if You Commit a Serious Sin?
[Image:] A young brother confessing a serious sin to two elders at a Kingdom Hall.
[Press play to hear the MP3 of the Lesson]
Even though you love Jehovah deeply and you try hard to avoid doing anything that would hurt him, you will occasionally make mistakes. However, some sins are more serious than others. (1 Corinthians 6:9 and 10)
[Quotation] 1 Corinthians 6.9 and 10: Or do you not know that unrighteous people will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Do not be misled. Those who are sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who submit to homosexual acts, men who practice homosexuality, 10 thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners will not inherit God’s Kingdom. [End Quotation]
If you commit a serious sin, remember that Jehovah has not stopped loving you; he is willing to forgive and help you.
1. What must we do to receive Jehovah’s forgiveness?
Those who love Jehovah are filled with sorrow when they realize that they have committed a serious sin. But they find comfort in what Jehovah promised his people: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be made as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1.18)
[Quotation] Isaiah 1.18: “Come, now, and let us set matters straight between us,” says Jehovah. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be made as white as snow; Though they are as red as crimson cloth, They will become like wool. [End Quotation]
If we sincerely repent, Jehovah will completely forgive us. How do we repent? Moved by deep regret, we stop doing what is bad and beg Jehovah to forgive us. Then we work hard to change the wrong thinking or habits that led to our sin, and we try to live according to Jehovah’s clean standards. Read Isaiah 55.6 and 7.
[Read scripture] Isaiah 55:6 and 7: Search for Jehovah while he may be found. Call to him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked man leave his way And the evil man his thoughts; Let him return to Jehovah, who will have mercy on him, To our God, for he will forgive in a large way. [End of Read scripture]
2. How does Jehovah use the elders to help us when we sin?
If we commit a serious sin, Jehovah tells us to “call the elders of the congregation.” (Read James 5.14 and 15.)
[Read scripture] James 5.14 and 15: Is there anyone sick among you? Let him call the elders of the congregation to him, and let them pray over him, applying oil to him in the name of Jehovah. And the prayer of faith will make the sick one well, and Jehovah will raise him up. Also, if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [End of Read scripture]
These appointed men love Jehovah and his sheep. They are qualified to help us repair our relationship with Jehovah. Galatians 6.1.
[Quotation] Galatians 6.1: Brothers, even if a man takes a false step before he is aware of it, you who have spiritual qualifications try to readjust such a man in a spirit of mildness. But keep an eye on yourself, for fear you too may be tempted. [End Quotation]
How do the elders help us if we commit a serious sin? Two or three elders will correct us, using Scriptural counsel. They will also give us practical suggestions and encouragement to help us avoid sinning again. To protect the congregation from harmful influences, the elders remove from the congregation any who commit serious sins and are unrepentant.
Dig Deeper
Deepen your appreciation for how Jehovah helps us if we commit a serious sin.
3. Confessing helps us to heal
Any sin we commit involves Jehovah, so we rightly confess to him. Read Psalm 32.1 through 5, and then discuss the question that follows.
[Read scripture] Psalm 32.1 through 5: Happy is the one whose transgression is pardoned, whose sin is covered. 2 Happy is the man whom Jehovah does not charge with guilt, In whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away because of my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My strength evaporated like water in the dry summer heat. 5 Finally I confessed my sin to you; I did not cover my error. I said: “I will confess my transgressions to Jehovah.” And you pardoned the error of my sins. [End of Read scripture]
Why is it good for us to confess our sins to Jehovah instead of trying to hide them?
In addition to confessing our sins to Jehovah, we find relief when we seek help from the elders. Play the video “Those Whom Jehovah Loves He Disciplines” (3:01), and then discuss the question that follows:
[Click for Transcript]|[Those Whom Jehovah Loves He Disciplines]
[In the ministry a well-dressed boy with his parents pulls out a brochure from his bookbag and presents it to a man in jeans and a t-shirt. Text appears: Canon Bonaldi. Circuit Overseer]
Canon: I was raised in the truth and had good spiritual examples in my family that helped me to set goals at a young age. I progressed to baptism in my teen years and also started regular pioneering as a teenager. But I started hanging around the wrong crowd, inside the congregation first and then bad association outside,
[In a red car, teenage Canon, holding a beer out the window]
partying, drinking heavily, living a double life. I knew I couldn’t continue that and stay at home because my parents were still serving Jehovah faithfully, so I decided to move out and go into the world 100 percent because I just wanted to have fun.
[Mom sobs, Dad sinks]
Well, with nothing holding me back, the partying and the heavy drinking led to experimenting with drugs and living an immoral lifestyle.
[Youths drinking and smoking]
The lifestyle in the world was pretty much to work all week and to party on the weekend, and that’s what we did. But I eventually saw that that was just a vicious cycle. Eventually, things got to the point where I started having money problems—losing work. I lost my license at one point, lost my apartment, couldn’t pay the rent. And so, I knew this was not the way to true happiness, and I was miserable. I thought back to the time when I was the happiest, and that’s when I was serving Jehovah full-time. And I wanted that back. So, I poured my heart out to Jehovah in prayer, and I let him know that I wanted to return to him. I knew from personal experience that if you break a bone, such as your arm, you need help; you need to see a doctor. Only they are qualified to fix it —set the bone right so it can heal. I knew I had to seek out the elders because they’re trained, spiritual doctors. They know how to use the Scriptures to help you heal. So, I went to them because I wanted to return to Jehovah. I didn’t even have dress clothes anymore; I had lost all that. I just went back in jeans and a T-shirt. My parents didn’t even know I was coming, but I showed up at the meeting anyway.
[Parents spot Canon]
The elders, when I met with them, were so loving and kind and patient. I’ve learned first-hand that Jehovah’s discipline is for the best. Yeah, it’s true; it may hurt; it may sting initially. But if we allow ourselves to be moulded and trained by it, it’ll always work out for the best.
[At the hall, Canon gives a talk]
I’m so glad that I made the decision to return to Jehovah. Jehovah blessed me with the happiness that I longed for and a lot more: privileges of service I never would have imagined. And I’ve experienced through Jehovah’s discipline his greatest quality, love. And I’ve never been happier.”
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2019 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania) [Click to close]
In the video, how did elders help Canon return to Jehovah?
We need to be open and honest with the elders; they are there to help us. Read James 5.16, and then discuss the question that follows.
[Read scripture] James 5.16: Therefore, openly confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. A righteous man’s supplication has a powerful effect. [End of Read scripture]
How does being honest with the elders make it easier for them to help us?
Page 238 [Image:] Collage: 1. A brother is grief-stricken and buries his head in his hands. 2. The brother prays to Jehovah. 3. The brother talks to an elder on the telephone. 4. The brother meets with three elders. 5. The brother smiles because he has a clean conscience. Caption: Confess your sin, be honest with the elders, and accept Jehovah’s loving help
4. Jehovah shows mercy to sinners
If a person who has committed a serious sin refuses to follow Jehovah’s standards, he is removed from the congregation, and we do not socialize with him. Read 1 Corinthians 5.6 and 11, and then discuss the question that follows.
[Read scripture] 1 Corinthians 5.6: Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole batch of dough? [End of Read scripture]
[Read scripture] 1 Corinthians 5.11: But now I am writing you to stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. [End of Read scripture]
Just as leaven ferments bread dough, how would socializing with an unrepentant sinner affect the congregation?
In imitation of Jehovah’s mercy toward imperfect sinners, elders reach out and help those who have been removed from the congregation. Many have returned to the congregation because the discipline, although painful, brought them to their senses. Psalm 141.5.
[Quotation] Psalm 141.5: Should the righteous one strike me, it would be an act of loyal love; Should he reprove me, it would be like oil on my head, Which my head would never refuse. My prayer will continue even during their calamities. [End Quotation]
How does the way Jehovah deals with sinners show that he is reasonable and loving?
5. Jehovah forgives us when we repent
Jesus used an illustration that helps us understand how Jehovah feels when a person repents. Read Luke 15.1 through 7, and then discuss the question that follows.
[Read scripture] Luke 15:1 through 7: Now all the tax collectors and the sinners kept gathering around him to hear him. 2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then he told them this illustration, saying: 4 “What man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he gets home, he calls his friends and his neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous ones who have no need of repentance. [End of Read scripture]
What does this teach you about Jehovah?
Read Ezekiel 33.11, and then discuss the question that follows:
[Read scripture] Ezekiel 33.11: Tell them, ‘“As surely as I am alive,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that someone wicked changes his way and keeps living. Turn back, turn back from your bad ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?”’ [End of Read scripture]
Repentance involves what important step?
[Image:] A shepherd tenderly bandaging an injured sheep. Caption: Like a shepherd, Jehovah cares deeply about his sheep
[Box]
Some People Say: “I’m afraid that if I tell the elders about my sin, they will remove me from the congregation.” What would you say to someone who feels that way? [End of box]
Summary
If we commit a serious sin but are sincerely sorry and determined to stop doing what is bad, Jehovah will forgive us.
Review
Why is it good for us to confess our sins to Jehovah?
What do we need to do to have our sins forgiven?
If we commit a serious sin, why should we seek help from the elders?
Goal
Get to know the elders in the congregation. Set Other Goals
Explore
See how one man experienced Jehovah’s mercy that is described at Isaiah 1:18. Never Doubt Jehovah’s Mercy (5:02)
[Click for transcript]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
How do the elders try to help those who commit a serious sin? “Responding to Sin With Love and Mercy” (The Watchtower, August 2024)
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
Consider how love and mercy are shown toward unrepentant sinners. “Help for Those Who Are Removed From the Congregation” (The Watchtower, August 2024)
[Click for article]|[Coming soon] [Click to close]
In the story “I Needed to Return to Jehovah,” learn why a man who strayed from the truth felt that Jehovah drew him back. “The Bible Changes Lives” (The Watchtower, April 1, 2012)
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