Last Sunday I had the excellent luck to listen to an outstanding sermon based upon Paul's letter to the Galatian church. Galatians is one of my favorite books because it is about living the Christian life with the aid of the Holy Spirit. As a past "fundamentalist" I am a specialist on living life by means of laws and ordinances, and I am greatly conscious of the spiritual death that results. The sinner and church reconciliation was a common topic of dialogue, not to say argument, in those flocks. Get ready for some challenging facts!

The preacher began his review by talking about Paul's first instruction to the church in chapter 6: "Brothers, if an individual is trapped in any sin, those of you who are spiritual, rehabilitate such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be enticed." We realize that Paul is talking about Christians who are "caught...in...sin" due to the fact that he demands that they be reestablished in the church, and Paul would not have regarded non-Christians to have anything to be restored to.

The reason that confronting the sinner among Christians is so challenging is that just about everything that is biblically asked of us is offensive to to the flesh. The flesh is miserable with conflict and, in its presence, mobilizes "fight or flight" responses. Biblical principles, on the other hand, oblige us to stay connected and be humble. Here are three important things from Galatians 6:1 to keep in mind:

1. Overlooking the sinner is not optional. "if anyone is discovered in any sin... bring back such a one." This is a mandate. We cannot overlook and we are not permitted banish, unless it is as a last resort.

2. The purpose of confronting sin is restoration. "...restore such a one." Even Matthew 18:15-18, which ends in potential dismissal from the church, has restoration as its optimal goal: The introductory stage of confrontation ends: "...if he listens to you, you have won your brother." The following measures contemplated are without a doubt devised to have the same end result. Even when the church is obligated to "he should be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector," we must infer that the intent is to reveal to the sinning Christian what he is throwing away by declining to confess his sin. If and when he does so the church will embark on the activity of restoration that is the antithesis of the procedure that led to his banishment. Similarly, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a particular person in the midst of them whose sin is so overt that "I have chosen to give people like that to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so his spirit may be saved at the judgement of of the Lord Jesus." Take note that Paul's motive is that the individual in due course be "saved."

3. You must have the proper reasons to be qualified to confront. "... you who are spiritual, reestablish such a person in a spirit of kindness." Irritation and disillusionment are unsatisfactory motives for church reconciliation and unity.

Any time we find ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the Christian church with irritation, pride, tension or dread, we need to instantly understand that the individuals or church involved are in peril from both the sin and the response to the sin. We are not ready to even embark on confronting the sin until we have attended to our reactions to it. We have to pray and yield to the Holy Spirit until we can really say that we are equipped to oppose the sin but reconcile with the sinner.

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