Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. Galatians 6:1 NASB
Many years ago, I had a schoolteacher friend who had fallen into sin with a student. He was exposed, and he went to prison. Our supervisor told us not to communicate with him because he had disgraced our school and the teaching profession. Somehow, my supervisor’s exhortation did not sit well with me. When he was still at the county jail, I went to see him. As I spoke to him over the phone through the glass partition, a thought came to my mind, but for the grace of God, there I go. Maybe not his sin, but many others. and the very least of those sins, spiritually speaking, carried the death sentence with it. That thought changed how I looked at my friend.
This portion of scripture continues by saying, Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ, Galatians 6:2 NASB. Some people who try to restore someone forget that we are no longer under the law of Moses, but the law of Christ, which is the law of love. Galatians 5:14 NASB states that the one who loves his neighbor fulfills the law. This portion of scripture goes on to tell us why we may not deal with another’s sin with gentleness. For if anyone thinks that he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Galatians 1:3 NASB). Pride deceives us into believing that we are not vulnerable to temptation. People who are judgmental about another’s sin often end up committing the very same sin. This is why we have seen preachers publicly condemn a particular sin while hiding it in their own lives.
You are never so weak when you think you are strong in your own strength, without the grace of God.
The image is provided by Microsoft.
Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing and Broken Vessels through Kindle Direct Publishing.
Ken’s Website— https://kenbarnes.us/
Ken blogs at https://kenbarnes.us/blog/
Email- [email protected]
