Admonish the Sinner
“Whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).
Admonishing the sinner is not to judge but to be supportive in helping others find their way and correct their mistakes. All of us depend upon God's mercy to forgive our sins and God's grace to help us to resist sin. Without humility, we will not admit our sins honestly to ourselves and, when needed, to others also. To carry out this work of admonishing the sinner, a person must have a sense of compassion for human weakness, and we can only learn that by recognizing our own. Below are some suggestions to consider:
- When you correct someone, don't be arrogant. We are all in need of God's loving correction.
- Pray for help and assistance in making admonishments that are received as acts of love. As St. Ambrose said to St. Monica, “Speak less to Augustine about God and more to God about Augustine.”
Scripture
"For just as through the disobedience of one person, the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one, the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye" (Matthew 7:1-5).
"Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, 'Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.' He replied, 'What do you wish [me] to do for you? 'They answered him, 'Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left. Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?' They said to him, 'We can.' Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared. When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, 'You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many'" (Mark 10:35-45).
“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
Bishop Robert Deeley
"Remember that the goal is not to tell others how poorly they are acting. Neither is the goal to feel superior. Rather, the goal is to win the sinner back from a destructive path and remind them of the forgiveness of sins that is available to all who repent. The goal is salvation. As such, to admonish sinners is to call lovingly to those in danger and draw them back from the edge of an abyss."
