[Jesus said] “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”
Matthew 18:15
Win the Soul, Not the Argument
Daily Devotion – September 14, 2023
Devotion based on Matthew 18:15
See series: Devotions
If you have the correct information and fact-checked documentation to prove it, it’s easy to win an argument. If someone is clearly wrong, it’s easy to pull out your phone, do a quick search, and show that you are right and they are wrong. Anytime you win an argument, it gives you a little sense of victory. You feel like you just came out on top.
When someone has clearly sinned and is in the wrong, it may be very easy to prove it. You have the clear words of the Bible that leave no gray area. However, when we approach a fellow Christian who is caught in a sin, we have a greater goal than winning an argument and proving we are right. The goal is not to come out on top. It’s to walk beside the person in humility and clarity and then to come out sharing the victory that Jesus gives over sin.
Always remember the goal of the mission our Savior gives us: win the soul, not the argument. That is what Jesus has done for that soul and ours. Countless times, my Savior could have simply come and proven me wrong. But he came to win our souls, to pay the price to forgive and restore us as God’s children. Our Savior comes through his Word, even words spoken through us, to declare his forgiveness and to win the soul, not the argument.
Prayer:
Lord, give me a heart to see the soul that is in peril with the same compassion you have and to confront sin only to win the soul for you. Amen.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
