The writer of Hebrews tells us that we should make every effort to be holy. The Greek word means that an object or person is dedicated to the service of and loyalty to God. The root meaning of holiness is to be different. We, as believers, are to be different from unbelievers.
We live in the world, but we are not of the world. We aren’t to indulge our wants when what we want is contrary to what God wants. The text tells us that we will not see the Lord unless we are holy. That’s a scary thought y’all! Especially considering that we can’t be holy if we don’t make an effort to live in peace with everyone.
Believers are to set themselves apart. Not in a “better than you” way, but in a “concerned with myself” way. The person who sets themselves apart doesn’t call attention to what they do for human accolades; they do what they do for God.
Where is the middle ground between seeing to it that no one falls short of God’s grace without causing bitterness?
First, by remembering that we ourselves are under the grace of God. We have no worthiness on our own. We are no better than those that we are accusing of unrighteousness.
Then, we need to consider the faith of the person.
It does absolutely no good to confront a nonbeliever about a sin. Those who have not accepted Christ have not entered into a covenant with God. Getting in their face about their “sin” is counterproductive to conversations about their salvation.
Even with professing Christians, the good that might possibly come from confronting a believer about their sin is typically outweighed by the damage it does to peace.
The keyword of those statements is “confront.” When Jesus was questioned by the Jewish authorities, He did not get confrontational about their wrongness. He allowed them to be wrong because losing His own peace wouldn’t make them see the truth.
God makes His grace available to everyone through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How dare we make someone feel less than worthy of that grace when we ourselves are not worthy of that grace.
Hebrews 12:14-17
Hebrews 12:28-29