Reflections – 2023.11
All Things for Good: The Sins of Others
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Were there no sinners, we could not be in such a capacity for service. The godly are often the means of converting the wicked; their prudent advice and pious example is a lure and a bait to draw sinners to the embracing of the gospel.
– Thomas Watson
In Thomas Watson’s book, All Things for Good, he discusses how the best things work for good for the godly. He then turns his attention to the “worst things” and how they work for good for the godly as well. We have considered how the LORD makes our afflictions work for good, our temptations work for good and how even the absence of the LORD, times when the soul seems to have been deserted, can work for the good of the Christian. In this little article we will begin to look at how even sin, our rebellion against God, is turned for the good by our heavenly Father.
When others sin, particularly when they sin against us, we do not initially think that this can be for our good. We get angry or fearful or hurt. We live in those emotions for a while, maybe fight against them, maybe feed them. We may become bitter or vengeful or despairing. Under these conditions, it is very difficult to think of how the sins we see in others can actually work for the good of the godly. And yet Watson would have us think about this. He points out nine ways in which the sins of others work for the good of the godly. Here is a summary:
1. The sins of others produce holy sorrow. The sins of others cause us to grieve that this is the way things are. As Watson says, “God’s people weep for what they cannot reform.”
2. The sins of others cause us to pray. If there was not so much sin, there would likely be less prayer. The sins of others drive us to the Father for help.
3. The sins of others make us more in love with grace. When we see the sins of others or experience them personally, we are all the more grateful for the greatness of God’s grace that rescues us from our sins.
4. The sins of others work in us the stronger opposition against sin – For the Christian, it is not just the impact of others sins on us that we hate, it is sin itself. We hate it altogether for its impact on the lives of people.
5. The sins of others make us more earnest in working out our salvation. When we see the fruit of sin in others, it presses us to work out our own salvation, to desire to live according to Christ’s way and to bear better fruit.
6. The sins of others are mirrors into our own hearts. Seeing the sins of others should function as a warning, not as a source of pride. “There but for the grace of God, go I.” It is good to see our own hearts more clearly and the sins of others help us to do that.
7. The sins of others make us more thankful as the people of God. As Christians, we are no longer slaves to sin. We ought to be grateful for being rescued from sin’s penalty, power and ultimately presence in our lives.
8. The sins of others are means of making God’s people better (sanctify us) – seeing someone’s unholy actions drives us to want to be holy.
9. The sins of others provide us with an occasion for doing good – Watson reminds us, “the godly are often the means of converting the wicked; their prudent advice and pious example is a lure and a bait to draw sinners to the embracing of the gospel.” The sins of others may lead us to desire their conversion and to act on that desire by sharing the Gospel in word and action.
We live in a sinful world; we sin and are sinned against. But sin is not the end of the story and we can see that the LORD can use the sins of others to accomplish His work in us. Remember that in Christ, God works all things together for good for the godly, even the “bad” things, like the sins of others …. and for that great truth, we can praise the LORD!