FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:1-10

Restoring Sinners, Examining Yourself (verse 1) – Continued

However, you will notice that the exact methods of restoration are not described by Paul. They will vary according to the individual circumstances. But Paul does specify the manner of restoration: restore him in a spirit of gentleness. “Gentleness” is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23). Gentleness is not weakness; it is great strength under control. When gentle Christians see someone caught in a sin, they do not react with violent emotions or with arrogance. Even when sinful actions are scandalous and harmful, the emotions of the gentle person are under control, and the will of the gentle person is devoted to loving the sinner all the way to total recovery. Only the Holy Spirit can empower a person to respond in such a “spirit of gentleness.”

Gentleness is not only consideration of the needs of others but also humility in recognition of one’s own needs before God. So Paul moves from his command for restoration in the plural form, addressed to all, to a command for self-examination in the singular form, addressed to each individual. Corporate responsibility must be undergirded by the personal integrity of each individual before God. Keep watch on yourself, Paul commands. Close observation of the inner life is necessary because everyone is vulnerable to temptation: lest you too be tempted.

Awareness of my own vulnerability to moral failure not only puts me on guard against temptation but also enables me to respond with a spirit of gentleness to someone trapped in sin. The specific temptation in view here seems to be the temptation to react with arrogance and anger to the sin of the offender. Both Galatians 5:26 and 6:3-4 speak directly to this temptation. It is understandable that the Galatians’ desire to live under the law (Galatians 4:21) had produced moral watchdogs who were pouncing on sinners to, “bite and devour one another” (Galatians 5:15). Their sins of conceit (Galatians 5:26) and their “fits of anger” (Galatians 5:20) were just as serious as the sin of the offender whom they were so harshly condemning.

In contrast, those who are led by the Spirit are aware that they themselves are “only sinners saved by grace through faith.” All their responses to other sinners are, and should be guided by the personal insight of their own weakness and their total dependence on the redemptive love of God.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:1-10

Restoring Sinners, Examining Yourself (verse 1) – Continued

In order to bring healing to the sinner, we must have a compassionate view of the one who has sinned. Paul doesn’t define the kind of sin, he doesn’t need to, but he does describe the consequence of sin. He views the sinner as one who is caught in any transgression. When a person sins, other people are hurt; other people are victims of that sin. But we must remember that sinners themselves are also in some sense victims of sin. Abusers have also been abused. They have been overtaken, ambushed and seized by sin. Paul is not excusing the sinner of personal responsibility. But he is recognizing the terrible captivating force of sin. Just as Jesus said, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34), so now Paul says that the one who sins is trapped by sin. When we view moral offenders as those who are enslaved and entrapped, we can have a more compassionate attitude toward them. We will want to help them break that bondage of sin over their life.

Paul appeals to those who are spiritual to help the one who is caught in a sin. The spiritual he speaks of here are not some elite leadership group of spiritual giants. All the way through the letter Paul has been emphasizing that all of his converts in Galatia have received the Spirit (Galatians 3:2-5, 14; 4:6, 29; 5:5, 16-18, 22-23, 25). All of those whom he addresses in verse 1 as brothers (understand Paul is also including sisters, according to Galatians 3:28) are spiritual, since all who are the children of God have received the Spirit of God, according to Galatians 4:6. In other words, Paul is calling on all who have believed the true gospel and received the Spirit to be actively engaged in the ministry of restoration. One way to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) is to restore one who has been trapped in sin.

Paul’s directive to the spiritual is to restore the sinner. The verb “restore” could be used in physical or material contexts to signify resetting a broken bone or mending a torn net (see Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19). In spiritual contexts it meant perfecting in spiritual maturity and equipping for service (2 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; Hebrews 13:21). In 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul uses the same verb to express his desire that the divided church in Corinth “be united in the same mind.” In other words, in the same thought processes. The church had been broken and torn by divisions; it needed to be reset as a physician would reset broken bones and mended as a fisherman would repair torn nets. Here in Galatians 6:1 the verb restore calls for spiritual therapy so that a broken member of the body can once again work properly and perform its vital functions for the benefit of the whole body.

As long as any member of the body is broken, the whole body suffers. If the broken member of the body is amputated, the whole body suffers the loss. What is needed is restoration. The goal is the recovery of Christian brothers and sisters who have sinned so that the whole body will be healthy and productive again.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:1-10

In previous chapters of Galatians Paul has led the Galatian believers to understand the historical and theological background for the crisis in their churches and given them general principles about life in the Spirit. Now he spells out specific responsibilities for those who are led by the Spirit so that they can rebuild their broken relationships.

The responsibilities of those who are spiritual are directly related to the problem of division in the Galatian churches. You can see in chapter 5 that when Paul describes the problem in the churches, he speaks of “biting, devouring, provoking and envying each other” (Galatians 5:15, 26). The false teachers’ campaign to force all the Gentile believers to become Jews would have divided the churches into hostile groups: the Jewish Christians who zealously campaigned for the necessity of circumcision and observance of the Mosaic law, the Gentile believers who zealously pursued the goal of living like Jews, and the Gentile believers who were either not willing or not able to live by the Mosaic law. Paul’s list of responsibilities in this section shows how those who are truly led by the Spirit can bring healing and unity in their divided churches. The responsibilities include both the believers’ corporate responsibilities to one another and the individual believer’s personal accountability before God. Our public care for one another must be matched by integrity in our private walk before God. Note how corporate responsibilities and individual accountability are woven together throughout this section:

1. corporate: restore him gently
2. individual: watch yourself
3. corporate: carry each other’s burdens
4. individual: each one should test his own actions . . . each one should carry his own load
5. corporate: share all good things with his instructor
6. individual: do not be deceived . . . a man reaps what he sows
7. corporate: do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers

Restoring Sinners, Examining Yourself (verse 1).  The first responsibility of those who are spiritual is the restoration of one who has sinned. Paul’s conditional clause, if anyone is caught in any transgression, is framed in such a way as to point to the high probability that members of the church will sin. Sin in the church is not a hypothetical possibility, it is a reality. Paul and his readers both knew of believers in the church who had been trapped by sin. The kind of sin in view here is not specified by Paul. It could be any one of the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). Paul seems to be more concerned about the manner in which sinners in the church are treated than in the sin itself.

Moral failure in the church shouldn’t come as a surprise, nor should it be considered fatal to the life of the church. What is important is the church’s response when such failure occurs. The church may respond with harsh condemnation under the law and portray a very legalistic atmosphere. That response will crush the sinner and divide the church. That seems to have been what was happening in the churches in Galatia. The zealots for the law were merciless to sinners. But Paul wants to show that the occasion of sin is the opportunity for Spirit-led people to display the fruit of the Spirit in order to bring healing to the sinner and establish or re-establish unity in the church.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved