The Sinner And Church Reconciliation: Much More Risky Than We Felt It Was
Last weekend I had the great luck to hear an exceptional sermon based upon Paul's letter to the Galatian church. Galatians is one of my all-time favorite books because of the fact that it is about living the Christian life with the help of the Holy Spirit. As a former "fundamentalist" I am an expert on living life by means of laws and regulations, and I am greatly aware of the spiritual death that results. The sinner and church reconciliation was a regular field of discourse, not to say disagreement, in those flocks. Hang on for some hard facts!
The preacher started his review by discussing Paul's initial instruction to the church in chapter 6: "Brothers, if an individual is trapped in any sin, those of you who are spiritual, rehabilitate such a one in a spirit of kindness; each one looking to yourself, in order that you too will not be enticed." We recognize that Paul is speaking of Christians who are "caught...in...sin" since he demands that they be restored, and Paul would not have assumed non-Christians to have anything to be restored to.
The main reason that confronting the sinner among Christians is so problematic is that everything that is biblically required of us is offensive to to the flesh. The flesh is not comfortable with confrontation and, in its presence, mobilizes "fight or flight" responses. Biblical principles, conversely, mandate us to stay involved and be humble. Here are three points from Galatians 6:1 to keep in mind:
1. Not taking any notice of the sinner is not optional. "if anybody is caught out in any sin... bring back such a one." This is a mandate. We cannot ignore and we are not permitted banish, aside from as as a last recourse.
2. The purpose of confronting sin is restoration. "...restore such a one." Even Matthew 18:15-18, which terminates in potential excommunication from the church, has restoration as its ideal goal: The opening phase of confrontation ends: "...if he listens to you, you have won your brother." The following actions contemplated are certainly meant to have the same end results. Even when the church is forced to "let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector," we must infer that the purpose 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 start on the procedure of restoration that is the complete opposite of the program that led to his banishment. Likewise, Paul tells the Corinthian church that there is a particular person in the midst of them whose sin is so blatant that "I have opted to present such people to Satan for the devastation of the body, so his spirit may be be spared in the day of the Lord Jesus." Notice that Paul's intent is that the individual at some point be "saved."
3. You must have the appropriate grounds to be qualified to confront. "... you who are spiritual, reinstate such an individual in a spirit of kindness." Fear and irritation are flawed grounds for church reconciliation and harmony.
Each time we discover ourselves reacting to Christian sin within the Christian church with irritation, self-righteousness, agitation or dread, we ought to instantly realize that the folks or church involved are in hazard from both the sin and the response to the sin. We are not capable to even get started with confronting the sin until we have addressed our reactions to it. We have to pray and yield to the Holy Spirit until we can honestly state that we are prepared to combat the sin but reconcile with the sinner.