"1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin,
you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you
also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the
law of Christ." (Galatians
6:1-2)
.
Restoring a Fallen Brother
Christians are not lawless (Galatians 5:13-14).
But they are led
by the Holy Spirit who fulfills the law in us (Galatians 5:18).
What happens
when we slip, however? When we don't walk in the Spirit? When a fleshly mindset
begins to take hold?
Notice how he talks about sin: "If
someone is caught in a sin...."
The verb "caught" (NIV), "detected"
(NRSV), "overtaken" (KJV) is prolambanō, originally, "take before (hand)."
The word
indicates a non-normal event.
Sin isn't to be considered a
"normal" part of the Christian's life!
There's a bumper-sticker that gets me
angry: "I'm not perfect, just
forgiven."
While these
words are true, they function as a way to excuse our sins.
To
non-Christians these words seem as the "cop-out" that they are.
Excuses!
The normal
Christian life is walking in the Spirit.
However, the reality is that we goof up, we slip, we sin.
Because it happens doesn't make it normal.
Just because
potty-trained children sometimes have accidents, that doesn't mean that this
should be considered their normal way of life!
But when we
ourselves sin, there is help. Praise God! The Apostle John reminds us:
"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to
the Father in our defense -- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but
also for the sins of the whole world." (1
John 2:1-2)
But what if
someone in the congregation sins? Do we jump on them with legalism and
judgment? No! The law isn't necessary to keep Christians in line. Paul says,
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are
spiritual should restore him gently." (Galatians
6:1a)
In these verses,
Paul tells us how to bring a person back into step with the Spirit.
Who. Who
is to do the restoration?
The word translated "You who are spiritual" (NIV, KJV), "you who have received the Spirit" (NRSV) is pneumatikos,
here, "possessing the Spirit, the
one who possesses the Spirit," "spirit-filled people."
Paul isn't talking about people who are just spiritually
inclined.
Our culture now uses the word "spiritual" to
refer to people who practice any spiritual exercise, whether Christian or
Buddhist.
But when Paul uses the word "spiritual," he means
those who are living and walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18), conforming their lives to the Spirit's influence (Galatians 5:25), as we saw in Galatians 5.
Restoration must be by the Spirit, not by the law.
What. "Restore"
is katartizō,
"to cause to be in a condition to
function well, put in order, restore," here, "restore to a former
condition."
Restoration requires careful discernment and the willingness to
be patient.
It is a process. If you have a car that has the "engine
light" come on, the restoration and repair process takes diagnosing the
problem, then patiently correcting it.
If a classic car has been allowed to fall into general
disrepair, the restoration process is very expensive and may take years.
Nevertheless, classic car enthusiasts are only satisfied by
restoring the car to its prime condition.
How.
Paul now explains that restoration must be done "gently" (NIV), with "a spirit of gentleness" (NRSV), "a spirit of meekness" (KJV).
This phrase has two words, pneuma,
"spirit" and prautēs,
"the quality of not being overly
impressed by a sense of one's self-importance; gentleness, humility, courtesy,
considerateness, meekness."
This expression, "spirit of meekness" is found in 1 Corinthians 4:21.
Is Paul talking about the Holy Spirit here? Yes, kind of.
He has just discussed gentleness as a fruit of the Spirit that
grows in and transforms our human spirit. So the "spirit of
gentleness" is a combination of both the Holy Spirit and our spirit.
Why is
gentleness so vital to restoration? People often sin because they've been
wounded or victimized by Satan along the way.
Often they've
compensated for their inner pain by behaviors that don't make sense in a
healthy person, but make all kinds of sense to the hurting person who is trying
to cope.
Unspiritual
people apply the law with condemnation.
The law can't
heal; it can only make us feel worse about ourselves and spiral down further in
our sense of being loved by God.
But spiritual
people are humble, not self-righteous. They apply love and grace to sin. Love
heals!
Paul warns the
restoration team,
"But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." (Galatians 6:1b)
This
relates directly to the "spirit of
meekness/gentleness" that is to accompany restoration.
If we come with arrogance to
restore a brother or sister -- we're better than they are -- then we will not
only be ineffective in ministering with love, but we are being extremely
foolish.
We're all subject to being
surprised by sin.
So
Paul warns, "Watch yourself" (NIV), "take
care" (NRSV), "considering thyself" (KJV).
The
verb is skopeō (from
which we get our English word "scope"),
"to pay careful attention to, look
(out) for, notice."
We can all be tempted -- and are tempted.
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