March 1881
To Mr P
Very dear Brother,
Hidden sin is always a great evil for a soul and for an assembly. It may be that a soul is really humbled, and in this case there is no profit in publishing the evil, but it is something very delicate to take on oneself the responsibility of judging whether he who has sinned has been humbled. There are indeed things which do not appear in your account. Was the young man already in fellowship when he committed this sin? I suppose from your letter that he was converted, and if this was before being in fellowship, was there a long interval between his coming among us and his fault? He was not already married: this changes the character of the sin. If the interval between the sin and his reception has been short, there is room for asking if there has been lightness with him. To humble oneself when the fact is known can be sincere because of the work of God, but the matter can hardly be avoided – what of course one would prefer – that it should go farther. If he is indeed broken and humbled, it is better for the peace of all and the glory of God that things should rest; because sin made public tends to make the mind get used to sin, which is a great evil. I hope he will no longer feel ‘at the head of the assembly’, but, without pointing it out, that he will hold himself more in reserve. Your great concern is, not to pursue him, but to be completely assured that he is humbled. It will show itself in his spirit, in his walk, and in your discussions with him. How long had he been converted when he sinned? Was he then already active in the assembly, exercising a ministry, when he continued to do it? All this says a lot about the state of his soul, and the judgment that he would have of the facts that I list would say a lot more about his present state. As the responsibility lies, when you wrote to me, on you and on X, you will do well to be clear on these points. If the affair is indeed past, and judged, there is no benefit in putting it back on the carpet; but that is the question. God does not lightly dress the wound of his people, but, in his sovereign grace, He does not remember pardoned sin any more. The interval is something, but a sin not judged is a present sin.
Salute the brethren affectionately
Yours affectionately in Christ
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Letter originally written in French, translated by Sosthenes, 2013
Click here for original – If you have any comments on the translation, feel free to let me know.
