Chapter XIX: Participating in the Sins of Others, § 89.
CHAPTER XIX: ON PARTICIPATING IN THE SINS OF OTHERS
Some sins are ours; some are the sins of others in which we participate in various ways.
§ 89. Fifteenth. Some sins are ours, but some are the sins of others in which we participate. The foundations for this division stand in the following passages of Scripture: 1 Tim. 5:22: “Do not participate in the sins of others” (by rashly ordaining men into the holy ministry whose intelligence and life have not been investigated sufficiently). Eph. 5:7: “Do not associate with them.” Verse 11: “Do not communicate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them.” Rom. 1:32: “They not only do them but also approve those who practice them.” 2 John 11: “Whoever greets the misleaders shares in their wicked works.” Rev. 18:4: “Come out of her, My people, lest you take part in her sins.” The ways by which we participate in the sins of others are encompassed in these little verses:
I advise, command, consent, provoke, praise;
I do not uncover the fault nor punish nor rebuke it.
I do not stand in the way of, but command and defend [the sins] of others.
All these can be arranged under two general headings, for we become participants in another’s sin either by committing or by omitting. By committing, when we are either the instigators or accomplices of the sin of someone else, and this happens:
(1) By consent and approval, when we approve with our permission the sins which others commit (Acts 8:1; Rom. 1:32).
(2) Or by advice, when we are the instigators and advisors of an evil that is to be committed (2 Sam. 16:23; John 11:49).
(3) Or by order and command, when we follow the decrees of superiors in committing evil or order others to do evil (Exod. 1:16; 2 Kings 11:15; Matt. 2:16; John 19:16).
(4) Or by excusing and defending, when we defend the evils committed by others.
(5) Or by any participation in a crime or the benefit resulting from it, as when we allow ourselves to receive part of the profit from a theft (Ps. 50:18, etc.).
By omitting: when we neglect our duty by which sins should be censured and punished, which occurs through untimely silence, overlooking sins, and excessive leniency (Ezek. 3:17; 33:7; Isa. 58:1; etc.).