Today's passage contains wonderful advice for Christians about how to approach a fellow Christian who has gotten caught up in sin. We are to be gentle and loving with them. At the same time we have to be on guard. It's possible that, while we're trying to be a good influence on someone else, they can instead be a bad influence on us.
"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently." (Galatians 6:1a) Paul begins by telling Christians how to help other Christians who have gotten caught up in things that are wrong. We know he's speaking of Christians (and not unbelievers) who have fallen into sin because he instructs the other believers to "restore" that person. A person can't be "restored" into fellowship with the Lord unless he belonged to the Lord in the first place.
Yesterday Paul talked about the fruits of the Spirit versus the fruits of the flesh. We discussed the difference between people who are comfortable and quite happy with living in sin (and who likely were never in Christ to begin with) and those who belong to Christ but who make mistakes from time to time (and who feel a very uncomfortable sense of guilt while living in opposition to the word of God). I'll use my own life as an example here. Before I came to Christ I was very comfortable with my sin. But now that I am in Christ, when I sin I am troubled night and day by a gnawing sense of unease until I confess my sin to the Lord. One particularly heinous mistake I made since coming to Christ caused me to feel ashamed to even lift my head heavenwards. Yet at the same time, although I was ashamed to cast my eyes toward the throne of mercy, this was the only remedy available for me. The only way to become restored and able to figuratively look my Redeemer in the eye again was to repent and turn away from the mess I was caught up in.
Paul knows that it's human nature to want to hide our sin, but this isn't the solution for it, so he tells the church members to help those who have fallen into sin's trap. Instead of going to a friend who is on the wrong track and yelling at him and making him feel ashamed, they are to gently remind their friend that the only remedy for guilt and shame is to bring it out into the open before God. The matter needs to be settled between the person and his Redeemer. A good Christian friend might say something like this, "I love you and I'm worried about you. I know this isn't who you are. I know you love the Lord Jesus and that you must be dealing with a lot of inner conflict right now. Can we pray together?"
Paul also knows that while trying to help a person who has fallen into sin we have to be on guard against being influenced into sin. "But watch yourselves, or you may also be tempted." (Galatians 6:1b) Satan has already managed to tempt our brother or sister in Christ into sin; he would love to do the same to us while we work to restore that person. We have to be on high alert in such situations, for as the Apostle Peter says, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8b) Who is easiest for the devil to devour? The one who trusts in himself to handle the situation. If we go to help our brother or sister in an attitude of being "spiritual enough" and strong enough to get them back on track, and if we are not relying instead on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance, we are in danger of stepping into a trap. And you better believe that as soon as we step into that trap, Satan is going to put the rope tight around our foot. The next thing you know we'll be dangling upside down in the air right beside the person we intended to rescue.
Paul said something similar to the Corinthian church that he's saying to the Galatian church, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12) We can't fight sin or Satan in our own strength. We did a poor job of it before we came to Christ, didn't we? Why then would we expect to be able to fight sin and Satan in our own strength after coming to Christ? We can't do it this way and we don't have to, for the Lord's strength and guidance is available to us. No doubt Paul counseled many people during the years of his ministry and he knows what he's talking about. He knows the importance of going to the Lord in prayer for guidance before going to meet with the person who needs help. He knows the importance of maintaining a meek and gentle spirit while speaking with that person, because he's aware it could just as easily be him who is in need of help. Above all he knows that if anything good is accomplished it will be accomplished through the power of the Lord, not through his own power.
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