The Sinner And Church Reconciliation: More Harmful Than Everyone Believed It Was
Last Sunday I had the good luck to hear an outstanding sermon built around Paul's letter to the Galatian church. Galatians is one of my favorite books because of the fact that it is pretty much all about living the Christian life through the Holy Spirit. As a past "fundamentalist" I am an expert on living life by means of ordinances and restrictions, and I am greatly cognizant of the spiritual death that results. The sinner and church reconciliation was a frequent point of dialogue, not to say dispute, in those flocks. Hang on for some rough information!
The preacher began his analysis by discussing Paul's introductory orders to the church in chapter 6: "Brethren, if somebody is caught in any sin, those of you who are spiritual, bring back such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each of you looking to yourself, to make certain that you too will not be enticed." We know that Paul is talking about Christians who are "caught...in...sin" since he demands that they be restored, and Paul would not have regarded non-Christians to have anything to be restored to.
The main reason that confronting the sinner amid Christians is so troublesome is that everything that is biblically asked of us is contrary to the flesh. The flesh is not comfortable with confrontation and, in its presence, calls up "fight or flight" responses. Biblical ideals, on the other hand, call for us to stay connected and be submissive. Here are three specifics from Galatians 6:1 to examine:
1. Overlooking the offender is not optional. "if any individual is discovered in any sin... recover such a one." This is a mandate. We may not overlook and we cannot banish, unless it is as a last recourse.
2. The purpose of confronting sin is to restore the sinner. "...restore such a one." Even Matthew 18:15-18, which ends in possible dismissal from the church, has restoration as its ideal intent: The earliest stage of confrontation finishes: "...if he listens to you, you have won your brother." The following options contemplated are undoubtedly calculated to have the same result. Even when the church is constrained to "let him be to you as a Gentile and a person who collects taxes," we must infer that the motive is to make clear to the sinning Christian what he is sacrificing by declining to confess his sin. If and when he does so the church will start the plan of restoration that is the contrary of the procedure that contributed to his banishment. Furthermore, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a man or women amongst them whose sin is so overt that "I have made a decision to present such people to Satan for the destruction of the body, so that his spirit may be be spared at the judgement of of the Lord Jesus." Notice that Paul's motive is that the person in time be "saved."
3. You must have the correct reasons to be eligible to confront. "... those of you who are spiritual, reinstate such a one in a spirit of kindness." Anger and anxiety are flawed motives for church reconciliation and wholeness.
Whenever we observe ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the Christian church with anger, pride, stress or dread, we ought to instantly be aware that the individuals or church concerned are in peril from both the sin and the reaction to the sin. We are not ready to even begin talking about the sin until we have handled our reactions to it. We have to pray and yield our reactions to the control of to the Holy Spirit until we can truly be confident that we are equipped to challenge the sin but reconcile with the sinner.
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