In just five simple verses in Galatians 6, Paul blows open our lens on what life in a biblical community of faith looks like. In very practical ways, he shows us what happens when the Holy Spirit is growing people up in the church. He doesn’t mention spiritual gifts here, though they are important. He doesn’t mention signs and wonders, though they can still happen as God chooses. I heard about a church in New York where one woman said to the pastor, “We need more signs and wonders in this church! We haven’t seen enough.” He said, “Ma’am, over there sits a lady who has just been evicted from her apartment with her children. I would consider it a sign and wonder if you took them into your home to live for three months while they find their way.” When I hear people talk about the community of faith here at Antioch, what they mention more than anything else is relationship. We are nowhere near perfect, and you may not have experienced depth of relationships yet, but you will if you plant yourself here, stay around, and get plugged in. Because the people here are walking in the Spirit and that shows up in the way we love one another.
Paul issues a powerful challenge to restore any in the church who have been caught in a transgression, answering three questions and giving one warning.
Who should be restored? Paul may have in mind the newly enslaved believers who have thrown off the freedom of grace for the yoke of works-righteousness. They needed someone to help them untangle the lies they had believed. But there are other transgressions, which is a word that means sin, or a deviation from the truth. This is not about people who have chosen not to eat meat or not to drive gasoline-powered cars. Instead, they are people who may be addicted to something that controls their lives. Or they may be working more than they should, to the neglect of their family. They may have entered into sinful practices that hold them in bondage. They may have drifted away from the church and are saying they really don’t believe it is important anymore. They need to be restored, not rejected. James said, “If anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Bring them back! Let’s not be someone who would go to the ends of the earth to find a wandering pet and shrugs when they hear a brother or sister has walked into sin and has settled down there.
Who should restore them? You who are spiritual! You who are walking with the Spirit. This is not an elite class of super-Christians, because those don’t exist. This is the family of faith, brothers and sisters knit together by the Spirit of God, who care for one another’s spiritual welfare. If you have a relationship of love and trust with a fallen brother or sister, cry out to the Lord…and go help them. In other words, if you see something, say something. Do something.
How do we restore? In a spirit of gentleness. With humility and with meekness, making sure that we have no planks in our eyes before we go to help a brother remove a speck from his. We also go with gentleness which is a fruit of the Spirit. Martin Luther was not known for his gentleness. That fruit was not dominant in his life, but it was there! He told a pastor who had a brother in his church that was caught in sin, “Run unto him, and reaching out your hand, raise him up again, comfort him with sweet words, and embrace him.” The word restore in this text is a word that was most associated with putting a dislocated bone back in place. Dislocation is very painful because the member of the body is not in right relationship with the body. To put it back in place causes intense pain sometimes, but it is pain that results in healing. We must confront that brother or sister because that is what love does. But we must do so gently.
Paul adds a warning that he who restores must also “keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” What are the dangers here? The first and most obvious is that you may fall in with the brother’s sin instead of pulling him up and away from sin. You cannot love your brother unless you also hate his sin. The second danger is to go to him with an attitude, even if you never express it, of I would never sin like he has! Spiritual pride does not restore; it destroys.
There may be two reasons why people don’t walk this practice of restoration out in the church. Some say, “That’s not my concern. He needs to deal with his own problems.” But it is our concern as the body of Christ, each member caring for the others. We are called to restore, not to ignore. Others may say, “I don’t have the time, and my life is too full as it is.” But let’s be honest, we all make time to do the things we want to do. Instead of complacency, let’s ask the Lord to help us want to do this critical work of restoration. And then to follow through and do it.
One final thought: Paul doesn’t mention how the person who is caught should respond when someone comes to restore him. That person may say, “I’m ok and don’t need any help.” He is self-deceived. He may go further and say, “Leave me alone.” But here’s the thing. We the church cannot leave any wounded on the battlefield, even though his wounds came from selfish pursuit of sin.
Jesus told us to love him back into health.
J. Mark Fox 