The Sinner And Church Reconciliation: Much More Risky Than We Felt It Was
Last weekend I had the great luck to listen to an excellent sermon using Paul's letter to the Galatian church. Galatians is one of my all-time favorite books simply because it is pretty much all about living the Christian life through the Holy Spirit. As a former "fundamentalist" I am an authority on living life by means of ordinances and guidelines, and I am profoundly mindful of the spiritual death that results. The sinner and church reconciliation was a prevalent subject of discourse, not to say dispute, in those circles. Get ready for some challenging facts!
The preacher began his assessment by sharing Paul's very first orders to the church in chapter 6: "Brethren, if anyone is discovered in any sin, those of you who are spiritual, build up such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each of you looking to himself, to ensure that you too will not be enticed." We know that Paul is speaking of Christians who are "caught...in...sin" because of the fact that he demands that they be reestablished in the church, and Paul would not have regarded non-Christians to have anything to be restored to.
The main reason that dealing with the sinner among Christians is so problematic is that everything that is biblically required of us is avoided by to the flesh. The flesh is miserable with conflict and, in its presence, calls up "fight or flight" reactions. Biblical guidelines, on the contrary, call for us to stay engaged and be humble. Here are three important things from Galatians 6:1 to take into consideration:
1. Overlooking the offender is not an option. "if anybody is caught out in any sin... recover such a one." This is an imperative. We cannot overlook and we are not allowed banish, except as a last choice.
2. The purpose of addressing sin is restoration. "...restore such a one." Even Matthew 18:15-18, which ends in possible excommunication from the church, has restoration as its preferred goal: The introductory stage of confrontation finishes: "...if he listens to you, you have won your brother." The subsequent actions contemplated are undoubtedly intended to have the same results. Even when the church is obligated to "he should be to you as a Gentile and a person who collects taxes," we must presume that the goal is to make clear to the sinning Christian what he is sacrificing by refusing to confess his sin. If and when he does so the church will get started with the activity of restoration that is the complete opposite of the procedure that contributed to his removal. Likewise, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a man or women amongst them whose sin is so blatant that "I have opted to give people like that to Satan for the destruction of the body, in order that his spirit may be saved at the judgement of of the Lord Jesus." Notice that Paul's purpose is that the particular person at some point be "saved."
3. You must have the appropriate reasons to be eligible to challenge. "... you who are spiritual, bring back such a one in a spirit of gentleness." Fear and irritation are harmful motives for church reconciliation and harmony.
The instant we discover ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the congregation with anger, self-righteousness, apprehension or dread, we must instantly know that the people or church involved are in jeopardy from both the sin and the reaction to the sin. We are not qualified to even get started in confronting the sin until we have addressed our reactions to it. We have to pray and surrender to the Holy Spirit until we can without a doubt say that we are able to challenge the sin but reconcile the sinner.
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