Church Reconciliation And The Sinner: Way More Harmful Than Anyone Believed It Was

Last Sunday I had the good fortune to hear an exceptional sermon using Paul's letter to the Galatian church. Galatians is one of my all-time favorite books because of the fact that it is about living the Christian life with the help of the Holy Spirit. As a previous "fundamentalist" I am an expert on living life by means of rules and regulations, and I am deeply mindful of the spiritual death that results. The sinner and church reconciliation was a commonplace point of dialogue, not to say disagreement, in those congregations. Hold on for some tough news!

The preacher started his analysis by describing Paul's introductory instruction to the church in chapter 6: "Brothers, if any person is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual, reestablish such a one in a spirit of kindness; each of you looking to himself, to make certain that you too will not be enticed." We recognize that Paul is talking about Christians who are "caught...in...sin" since he urges that they be restored, and Paul would not have contemplated non-Christians to have anything to be restored to.

The main reason that facing the sinner amid Christians is so challenging is that just about everything that is biblically expected of us is contrary to the flesh. The flesh is uncomfortable with confrontation and, when it is present, calls up "fight or flight" reactions. Biblical ideals, on the other hand, mandate us to stay involved and be submissive. Here are three points from Galatians 6:1 to think about:

1. Not taking any notice of the offender is not an alternative. "if any individual is discovered in any sin... build up such a one." This is an order. We may not ignore and we may not banish, other than as as a last recourse.

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 ideal purpose: The initial phase of confrontation finishes: "...if he listens to you, you have won your brother." The ensuing options contemplated are unmistakably supposed to have the same consequence. Even when the church is forced to "let him be like a Gentile and a person who collects taxes," we must conclude that the objective is to reveal to the sinning Christian what he is cutting off by declining to confess his sin. If and when he does so the church will commence the process of restoration that is the opposite of the approach that contributed to his excommunication. Furthermore, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a particular person fellowshipping with them whose sin is so evident that "I have made a decision to deliver such a one to Satan for the devastation of the body, with the intention that his spirit may be be spared at the judgement of of the Lord Jesus." Bear in mind that Paul's intent is that the person ultimately be "saved."

3. You must have the right grounds to be eligible to question. "... those of you who are spiritual, reestablish such an individual in a spirit of meekness." Anger and frustration are poor grounds for church reconciliation and wholeness.

Anytime that we observe ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the Christian church with irritation, pride, stress or fear, we should at once recognize that the folks or church concerned are in peril from both the sin and the response to the sin. We are not capable to even begin dealing with the sin until we have dealt with our responses to it. We have to pray and surrender to the control of to the Holy Spirit until we can sincerely be confident that we are equipped to confront the sin but reconcile with the sinner.

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