Was Jesus sinning when He ate with unfaithful Jewish brethren? Evidently, some thought so (Matthew 11:19), but you and I know it wasn’t true; for Jesus did not sin in anything He did while on the earth (Hebrews 4:15).<\/p>\n
Did Jesus sin when He ate the “Lord’s Supper” with a member of His congregation who was a known thief and soon to be a traitor (Matthew 26:20-25)? Was He guilty for associating with a known hypocrite and showing him hospitality by washing his feet (John 13:11-12)?<\/p>\n
Were the few brethren of the Sardis church (Revelation 3:4), who had not been stained by the sin of the majority of the members, guilty of sin for being a member of the Sardis church? Were the few acceptable members guilty of some wrong for being a part of a dead church (Revelation 3:1)?<\/p>\n
When a sister in Christ is “disfellowshipped”, but attends services regularly, eats the Lord’s Supper, shares in the work of the church through her contributions, sings, prays, and studies with the faithful saints, are the faithful church members guilty of sin by associating with her in the services? This is not hypothetical, but a real-life situation, known firsthand.<\/p>\n
Do parables such as the tares and wheat and\/or the dragnet, wherein good and bad are temporarily mixed together, have any bearing on this (Matthew 13:24-52)?<\/p>\n
May a sound evangelist preach in a denominational church, thus having an association with them, but not be guilty of sin? Is he automatically guilty of endorsing their sin, condoning their false doctrines, or participating in their error when he does?<\/p>\n
May a faithful saint attend a denominational funeral or wedding, thus having an association with them, but not be guilty of promoting false doctrine in doing so?<\/p>\n
I realize that the Scripture teaches to me to not associate with some who are walking immorally, or are being divisive, or are espousing false doctrine, or are walking disorderly, but my question is: am I automatically guilty by association with anyone not in step with God? It seems some think so.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Whit Sasser Sentry Magazine, December 2001 Was Jesus sinning when He ate with unfaithful Jewish brethren? Evidently, some thought so (Matthew 11:19), but you and I know it wasn’t true; for Jesus did not sin in anything He did while on the earth (Hebrews 4:15). Did Jesus sin when He ate the “Lord’s Supper”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[713],"class_list":["post-32257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-judging-others"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59606,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sin-of-small-churches\/","url_meta":{"origin":32257,"position":0},"title":"The Sin of Small Churches","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Thomas It is not uncommon for people to measure a church's success solely by the numbers it has in attendance. One of the first things I am asked when people learn I am a preacher is how big the church is where I attend. They will then use\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31789,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-be-saved-and-in-a-denomination\/","url_meta":{"origin":32257,"position":1},"title":"Can you be saved and in a denomination?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I understand that the word \"church,\" as used in scripture, has two meanings: (1) the universal church - consisting of all redeemed souls that have obeyed the authorized steps of hearing the Word of God, believing (that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Savior), repenting (change\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86348,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-names-be-removed-from-the-book-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":32257,"position":2},"title":"Can names be removed from the Book of Life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! Google directed me to your website, and I noticed an error. In \"What are the books opened in Revelation 20:12?\" you said, \"Names written in the book of life can be removed (Revelation 3:5).\" It\u00a0should say names cannot be removed. Just thought I'd bring it to your attention\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66901,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/slinging-mud-on-the-bride-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":32257,"position":3},"title":"Slinging Mud on the Bride of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Richardson An Unthinkable Image Imagine attending a wedding. The bride is arrayed in a beautiful white wedding gown, ready to go down the aisle to be presented to the groom. As she walks down the aisle, people on both sides of her begin to throw mud at her.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20246,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/hard-preaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":32257,"position":4},"title":"Hard Preaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Guy F. Hester Recently someone told me that I am a hard preacher. This could be either good or bad, depending on what is meant by hard preaching. In the context of the conversation, I took it as a compliment to my firm stance for my convictions. Many people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/hammer-and-rock-300x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23245,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-say-about-guilt-by-association-in-regards-to-fellowship\/","url_meta":{"origin":32257,"position":5},"title":"What do you say about guilt by association in regards to fellowship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What do you say about guilt by association in the fellowship problem? We have some friends who worship in a congregation that had someone at their lectureships, although they do don't support marriage with intent, and when he speaks they didn't go to support him. 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