Church Reconciliation And The Sinner: A Bit More Dangerous Than Anyone Presumed It Was

Last weekend I had the good luck to hear an outstanding sermon based upon Paul's letter to the Galatian church. Galatians is one of my favorite books because it is all about living the Christian life through the Holy Spirit. As a former "fundamentalist" I am an expert on living life by means of ordinances and regulations, and I am greatly conscious of the spiritual death that results. The sinner and church reconciliation was a regular subject of discussion, not to say dispute, in those circles. Hang on for some rough news!

The preacher began his assessment by discussing Paul's first admonition in chapter 6: "Brethren, if anyone is caught in any sin, those of you who are spiritual, reestablish such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, to ensure 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 difficult is that everything that is biblically required of us is contrary to the flesh. The flesh is not comfortable with confrontation and, in its presence, mobilizes "fight or flight" responses. Biblical guidelines, to the contrary, require us to stay engaged and be submissive. Here are three specifics from Galatians 6:1 to think about:

1. Overlooking the sinner is not optional. "if anybody is caught in any sin... recover such a one." This is an imperative. We may not overlook and we may not banish, unless it is as a last choice.

2. The purpose of confronting sin is restoration. "...restore such a one." Even Matthew 18:15-18, which terminates in possible excommunication from the church, has restoration as its ultimate intent: The initial stage of confrontation ends: "...if he listens to you, you have won your brother." The following measures provided for are plainly intended to have the same outcome. Even when the church is constrained to "let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector," we must infer that the goal is to show the sinning Christian what he is wasting by refusing to confess his sin. If and when he does so the church will begin the strategy of restoration that is the opposite of the procedure that led to his banishment. Similarly, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a person amongst them whose sin is so blatant that "I have decided to present such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Notice that Paul's purpose is that the person at some point be "saved."

3. You must have the right reasons to be qualified to confront. "... you who are spiritual, recover such a one in a spirit of gentleness." Anger and discontent are poor motives for church reconciliation and harmony.

Any time we discover ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the body of believers with anger, self-righteousness, anxiety or dread, we should instantly know that the individuals or church involved are in danger from both the sin and the reaction to the sin. We are not qualified to even start talking about the sin until we have dealt with our reactions to it. We have to pray and surrender to the Holy Spirit until we can really say that we are ready to battle the sin but reconcile the sinner.

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