Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Galatians 6:1 After reading our devotional scripture for today the first question that comes to my mind is, what is our responsibility to those professing Christians who have fallen into sin and are failing to be a good witness for Christ? When we find ourselves dealing with Christians who have fallen, is it proper to feel superior? Is it proper for us to look down on them as failures, thus lifting ourselves up as successes? As we deal with our fallen brothers and sisters in Christ should we criticize, point out flaws and faults and chastise them? I believe that the Apostle Paul sheds some light for us on the truth of how Christians are to react in this particular situation. He lays out the great imperative for the Christian in dealing with other fallen Christians. He suggests that if we are TRUE followers of Jesus, if we are truly spiritual, then WE have a major responsibility toward those who have fallen into sin. In our text today we see that Paul addresses the Christians at the church in Galatia as brethren. He calls the brethren, “ye who are spiritual” meaning those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 4:6); those who are led by the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:18); those who have experienced the fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22-23); and those who are living and walking in the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:25). Every Christian needs to face up to the challenge of caring for fallen brothers or sisters, but the truth is, all of us stand in need of the ministry of restoration. In essence, we must be understanding with ourselves and others as Christ was. We need to recognize that at one time or another each of us will desire and need the ministry of spiritual restoration. Why? Well, I can see many reasons for this. First we continue to live in and be a part of an unchanged human nature. The new birth we have in Christ is a great miracle and it does miraculously change our lives, but it does not do away with or immobilize our fallen human nature. We continue to live in a very sinful and corrupt environment and it is so easy to live for the flesh and ignore the spirit. Secondly, the devil is continuously working to deceive, defeat and destroy us. Satan will lead us into sin every time unless we are constantly on the alert and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and not in our own power. The third thing I see is that the Church has not learned how to bring baby believers out of infancy. Now what I mean by this is that most churches are great at bringing people to know who Christ is, but after they have converted them they drop them and these baby Christians either never grow or grow the wrong way. Fourthly, I see that the cares of this world, the delights and riches presented to us distract us from the cause of Christ. The fifth reason I see is that there are many who have the wrong response to being hurt or disappointed and they fall into an improper attitude and spirit that leads to an improper response. Finally, I see that some need to be restored in love because they are depressed and ashamed of their past lives or past failures. In the 23rd Psalm we find David sharing how God had delivered him and had “restored his soul”. We need to be continually restored to fellowship with God and with others, and although we have observed that we all at times will need the ministry of restoration, we can also know that we all have a duty of love toward fallen brothers and sisters in Christ. If we do what Paul says and engage in the ministry of restoration we must be careful about our attitude toward and our actions toward those brothers and sisters of whom we are trying to help. Our attitude toward fallen brothers and sisters must be a healthy and forgiving attitude. We must be very careful that we do NOT assume the attitude of self-righteousness that can and does create a harsh and critical spirit toward our fallen brothers and sisters in Christ. To put this imperative that Paul teaches us into perspective we must look no further than a quote from Jesus Himself in John 3:17, “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn (to reject, to judge, to pass sentence on) the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” If Jesus came to this world to do this, is this not what WE as His representatives in this world must do? We are not to condemn those brothers and sisters around us who have fallen, but help them to be restored to that salvation that they once held near and dear to their hearts! It’s called, being about our Father’s business!! Word For Today Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. – James 5:20 - The need of the man who errs from the truth is not found in ignoring him, advertising his situation, exposing, criticism, rationalizing. But he needs help, converting, saving, restoring, and to be counted as a brother. Prophetic Word The time is NOW. This is a NOW season. The Lord is calling us to respond to His directive NOW; that which the Lord has told you to do must not be put off for tomorrow. The people of God are in position for an unprecedented move of God such as has never been seen before as the fire of His presence sweeps through the land and the water of His Spirit flows from house to house. I hear the Lord saying “More than enough shall be the portion of the faithful.”
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 04:36:55 +0000
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