Lesson 57
What if You Commit a Serious Sin?
Even though you love Jehovah deeply and you try hard to avoid doing anything that would hurt him, you will occasionally make mistakes. However, some sins are more serious than others.
If you commit a serious sin, remember that Jehovah has not stopped loving you; he is willing to forgive and help you.
1. What must we do to receive Jehovah’s forgiveness?
Those who love Jehovah are filled with sorrow when they realize that they have committed a serious sin. But they find comfort in what Jehovah promised his people: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be made as white as snow.”
If we sincerely repent, Jehovah will completely forgive us. How do we repent? Moved by deep regret, we stop doing what is bad and beg Jehovah to forgive us. Then we work hard to change the wrong thinking or habits that led to our sin, and we try to live according to Jehovah’s clean standards.
Read Isaiah 55.6, 7: Search for Jehovah while he may be found. Call to him while he is near. Let the wicked man leave his way And the evil man his thoughts; Let him return to Jehovah, who will have mercy on him, To our God, for he will forgive in a large way.
2. How does Jehovah use the elders to help us when we sin?
If we commit a serious sin, Jehovah tells us to “call the elders of the congregation.”
Read James 5.14, 15: Is there anyone sick among you? Let him call the elders of the congregation to him, and let them pray over him, applying oil to him in the name of Jehovah. And the prayer of faith will make the sick one well, and Jehovah will raise him up. Also, if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
These appointed men love Jehovah and his sheep. They are qualified to help us repair our relationship with Jehovah.
How do the elders help us if we commit a serious sin? Two or three elders will correct us, using Scriptural counsel. They will also give us practical suggestions and encouragement to help us avoid sinning again. To protect the congregation from harmful influences, the elders remove from the congregation any who commit serious sins and are unrepentant.
DIG DEEPER
Deepen your appreciation for how Jehovah helps us if we commit a serious sin.
3. Confessing helps us to heal
Any sin we commit involves Jehovah, so we rightly confess to him.
Read Psalm 32.1-5: Happy is the one whose transgression is pardoned, whose sin is covered. Happy is the man whom Jehovah does not charge with guilt, In whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away because of my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My strength evaporated like water in the dry summer heat. Finally I confessed my sin to you; I did not cover my error. I said: “I will confess my transgressions to Jehovah.” And you pardoned the error of my sins.
Discuss this question:
Why is it good for us to confess our sins to Jehovah instead of trying to hide them?
In addition to confessing our sins to Jehovah, we find relief when we seek help from the elders. Play the VIDEO, and then discuss the question that follows.
AD))) Video Title: “Those Whom Jehovah Loves He Disciplines” (with Audio Description and Transcript) (Duration: 3:01).
In the video, how did elders help Canon return to Jehovah?
We need to be open and honest with the elders; they are there to help us.
Read James 5.16: Therefore, openly confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. A righteous man’s supplication has a powerful effect.
Discuss this question:
How does being honest with the elders make it easier for them to help us?
4. Jehovah shows mercy to sinners
If a person who has committed a serious sin refuses to follow Jehovah’s standards, he is removed from the congregation, and we do not socialize with him.
Read 1 Corinthians 5.6: Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole batch of dough?
Read 1 Corinthians 5.11: But now I am writing you to stop keeping company with anyone called a brother who is sexually immoral or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.
Discuss this question:
Just as leaven ferments bread dough, how would socializing with an unrepentant sinner affect the congregation?
In imitation of Jehovah’s mercy toward imperfect sinners, elders reach out and help those who have been removed from the congregation. Many have returned to the congregation because the discipline, although painful, brought them to their senses.
How does the way Jehovah deals with sinners show that he is reasonable, merciful, and loving?
5. Jehovah forgives us when we repent
Jesus used an illustration that helps us understand how Jehovah feels when a person repents.
Read Luke 15.1-7: Now all the tax collectors and the sinners kept gathering around him to hear him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then he told them this illustration, saying: “What man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he gets home, he calls his friends and his neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous ones who have no need of repentance.
Discuss this question:
What does this teach you about Jehovah?
Read Ezekiel 33.11: Tell them, ‘“As surely as I am alive,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that someone wicked changes his way and keeps living. Turn back, turn back from your bad ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?”’
Discuss this question:
Repentance involves what important step?
SOME PEOPLE SAY: “I’m afraid that if I tell the elders about my sin, they will remove me from the congregation.”
What would you say to someone who feels that way?
SUMMARY
If we commit a serious sin but are sincerely sorry and determined to stop doing what is bad, Jehovah will forgive us.
Review
Why is it good for us to confess our sins to Jehovah?
What do we need to do to have our sins forgiven?
If we commit a serious sin, why should we seek help from the elders?
Lesson completed on:
Goal
Get to know the elders in the congregation.
Other: Memorizing Bible scriptures is vital for blind individuals to defend the truth using the Bible, build faith, provide comfort during difficult times, and keep God’s principles firm in heart and mind.
From lesson 57, memorize James 5:16: Therefore, openly confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. A righteous man’s supplication has a powerful effect.
EXPLORE
1. See how one man experienced Jehovah’s mercy that is described at
Never Doubt Jehovah’s Mercy (5:02) Open explore 1 in new page
2. How do the elders try to help those who commit a serious sin?
“Responding to Sin With Love and Mercy” (The Watchtower, August 2024) Open explore 2 in new page
3. Consider how love and mercy are shown toward unrepentant sinners.
“Help for Those Who Are Removed From the Congregation” (The Watchtower, August 2024) Open explore 3 in new page
4. In the story “I Needed to Return to Jehovah,” learn why a man who strayed from the truth felt that Jehovah drew him back.
“The Bible Changes Lives” (The Watchtower, April 1, 2012) Open explore 4 in new page
[End of lesson 57.]