Church Reconciliation and the Sinner - A Lot More Dangerous Than Everyone Believed it Was
Last weekend I had the good luck to listen to an excellent sermon based upon Paul's letter to the Galatian church.
Galatians is one of my favorite books because of the fact that it is all about living the Christian life by means of the Holy Spirit.
As a past "fundamentalist" I am a specialist on living life by means of rules and ordinances, and I am profoundly cognizant of the spiritual death that results.
The sinner and church reconciliation was a frequent point of discourse, not to say disagreement, in those congregations.
Hang on for some hard information! The preacher introduced his review by talking about Paul's introductory orders to the church in chapter 6: "Brethren, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
" We are aware that Paul is speaking of Christians who are "caught...
in...
sin" because he demands that they be restored, 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 hard is that everything that is biblically required of us is contrary to the flesh.
The flesh is uncomfortable with confrontation and, in its presence, mobilizes "fight or flight" responses.
Biblical principles, to the contrary, require us to stay engaged and be submissive.
Here are three points from Galatians 6:1 to consider: 1.
Ignoring the sinner is not optional.
"if anyone is caught in any sin...
restore such a one.
" This is an imperative.
We may not ignore and we may not banish, except as a last resort.
2.
The purpose of addressing sin is to restore the sinner.
"...
restore such a one.
" Even Matthew 18:15-18, which ends in conceivable dismissal from the church, has restoration as its ultimate purpose: The earliest phase of confrontation finishes: "...
if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
" The ensuing measures contemplated are unmistakably meant to have the same result.
Even when the church is obligated to "let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector," we must presume that the intent is to reveal to the sinning Christian what he is wasting by declining to confess his sin.
If and when he does so the church will get started with the course of restoration that is the contrary of the approach that contributed to his removal.
Furthermore, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a man or women in the midst of them whose sin is so overt that "I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
" Observe that Paul's objective is that the individual in due course be "saved.
" 3.
You must have the correct purposes to be qualified to challenge.
"...
you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.
" Fear and disillusionment are harmful grounds for church reconciliation and wholeness.
The instant we find ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the Christian church with irritation, self-righteousness, agitation or dread, we should promptly recognize that the folks or church concerned are in jeopardy from both the sin and the reaction to the sin.
We are not competent to even embark on confronting the sin until we have addressed our reactions to it.
We have to pray and surrender to the Holy Spirit until we can without a doubt say that we are able to challenge the sin but reconcile with the sinner.
Galatians is one of my favorite books because of the fact that it is all about living the Christian life by means of the Holy Spirit.
As a past "fundamentalist" I am a specialist on living life by means of rules and ordinances, and I am profoundly cognizant of the spiritual death that results.
The sinner and church reconciliation was a frequent point of discourse, not to say disagreement, in those congregations.
Hang on for some hard information! The preacher introduced his review by talking about Paul's introductory orders to the church in chapter 6: "Brethren, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
" We are aware that Paul is speaking of Christians who are "caught...
in...
sin" because he demands that they be restored, 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 hard is that everything that is biblically required of us is contrary to the flesh.
The flesh is uncomfortable with confrontation and, in its presence, mobilizes "fight or flight" responses.
Biblical principles, to the contrary, require us to stay engaged and be submissive.
Here are three points from Galatians 6:1 to consider: 1.
Ignoring the sinner is not optional.
"if anyone is caught in any sin...
restore such a one.
" This is an imperative.
We may not ignore and we may not banish, except as a last resort.
2.
The purpose of addressing sin is to restore the sinner.
"...
restore such a one.
" Even Matthew 18:15-18, which ends in conceivable dismissal from the church, has restoration as its ultimate purpose: The earliest phase of confrontation finishes: "...
if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
" The ensuing measures contemplated are unmistakably meant to have the same result.
Even when the church is obligated to "let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector," we must presume that the intent is to reveal to the sinning Christian what he is wasting by declining to confess his sin.
If and when he does so the church will get started with the course of restoration that is the contrary of the approach that contributed to his removal.
Furthermore, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a man or women in the midst of them whose sin is so overt that "I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
" Observe that Paul's objective is that the individual in due course be "saved.
" 3.
You must have the correct purposes to be qualified to challenge.
"...
you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.
" Fear and disillusionment are harmful grounds for church reconciliation and wholeness.
The instant we find ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the Christian church with irritation, self-righteousness, agitation or dread, we should promptly recognize that the folks or church concerned are in jeopardy from both the sin and the reaction to the sin.
We are not competent to even embark on confronting the sin until we have addressed our reactions to it.
We have to pray and surrender to the Holy Spirit until we can without a doubt say that we are able to challenge the sin but reconcile with the sinner.
