| “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” |
| —Galatians 6:1 |
God expects us to watch out for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are, after all, members of the same family. Just as we look out for the members of our human family, so God desires that we stand ready to jump to the aid of our spiritual family.
One of the most difficult tasks comes forward when we must deal with a spiritual family member who has fallen into habitual, persistent sin. In the most loving and gentle way, we must come alongside our brother or sister in Christ and very kindly encourage him or her to confess the sin, repent of the sin, make restitution for the sin, and become restored to fellowship with the loving God.
The Apostle Paul offered some very important counsel to the Christians gathered in the church at Galatia when he wrote these words found in Galatians 6:1:
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
In gently restoring our beloved brother or sister in Christ, we always must be extremely careful that our actions do not lead us into sin. That’s why this restoration process is normally best done by two or three believers working together as a team to express God’s love in a way that is winsome and pure toward the one who has fallen into sin.
One of the greatest expressions of love that we can offer to our fellow believers is embodied in our concern for their spiritual welfare. When any of our spiritual family members fall into sin, that falling affects the entire body of believers. That’s why God wants us to yield ourselves to each other in a mutual accountability relationship.
There is no question that a big part of spiritual formation and godly maturity arises when we give ourselves wholeheartedly to the concern and care for our fellow believers.
Based on a blog originally posted on Monday, April 24, 2017
