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Church Reconciliation And The Sinner: More Perilous Than You Actually Felt It Was
Last Sunday I had the excellent luck to listen to an exceptional sermon based upon Paul's letter to the Galatian church. Galatians is one of my favorite books because it is about living the Christian life by means of the Holy Spirit. As a past "fundamentalist" I am a specialist on living life by means of ordinances and guidelines, and I am deeply conscious of the spiritual death that results. The sinner and church reconciliation was a common topic of dialogue, not to say debate, in those congregations. Hold on for some challenging facts!
The preacher started his assessment by talking about Paul's first instruction to the church in chapter 6: "Brethren, if an individual is trapped in any sin, those of you who are spiritual, build up such a one in a spirit of kindness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be enticed." We are aware that Paul is talking about Christians who are "caught...in...sin" due to the fact that he demands that they be reestablished in the church, and Paul would not have contemplated non-Christians to have anything to be restored to.
The reason that confronting the sinner among Christians is so challenging is that everything that is biblically expected of us is offensive to to the flesh. The flesh is miserable with conflict and, when it is present, mobilizes "fight or flight" responses. Biblical principles, on the other hand, require us to stay connected and be submissive. Here are three important things from Galatians 6:1 to take into consideration:
1. Taking no notice of the sinner is not optional. "if anyone is discovered in any sin... restore such a one." This is an order. We may not overlook and we are not allowed banish, other than as as a last choice.
2. The purpose of confronting sin is restoration. "...restore such a one." Even Matthew 18:15-18, which ends in possible dismissal from the church, has restoration as its main goal: The introductory phase of confrontation ends: "...if he listens to you, you have won your brother." The following measures contemplated are clearly devised to have the same consequence. Even when the church is obligated to "he should be like a Gentile and a tax collector," we must infer that the intent is to reveal to the sinning Christian what he is losing by declining to confess his sin. If and when he does so the church will get started on the activity of restoration that is the complete opposite of the approach that led to his banishment. Similarly, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a particular person among them whose sin is so evident that "I have made the decision to give people like that to Satan for the devastation of the flesh, so his spirit may be saved at the judgement of of the Lord Jesus." Note that Paul's intent is that the individual at some point be "saved."
3. You must have the appropriate intentions to be qualified to confront. "... you who are spiritual, reestablish such a one in a spirit of kindness." Irritation and irritation are harmful grounds for church reconciliation and harmony.
Any time we find ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the Christian church with anger, pride, tension or dread, we must promptly know that the individuals or church involved are in peril from both the sin and the reaction to the sin. We are not capable to even embark on confronting the sin until we have addressed our responses to it. We have to pray and surrender to the Holy Spirit until we can really say that we are equipped to fight the sin but reconcile with the sinner.
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