SPRITUAL RESTORATION

By Evangelist Robert Nicholson

Text: Galatians 6:1

Sin is a reality in every Christian's life. We might not like to talk about it, we might choose to ignore it or cover it up, we might not feel comfortable admitting it, but the bottom line is that there is not one person here today who does not have a daily battle with sin in some form or another.

The Scriptures declare that if we say we have no sin we are liars.

1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

1 John 1:10 "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

In order to consider this work of Spiritual Restoration we first must examine the ongoing battle between the Holy Spirit's work to make us holy and the "lust of the flesh" which pulls us in an entirely different direction all together.

Gal 5:16-17 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."

In Galatians 5:19-23, Paul gives us two standards or classifications by which we can determine whether or not we are living our lives under the influence and power of the Holy Spirit.  He calls them "the fruit of the Spirit" and "the works of the flesh."

Those who walk according to the desire of the flesh will manifest the works of unrighteousness. They would include sins actually committed as well as hidden sins of the heart that may go unnoticed by everyone but you!

But on the other hand, if you are walking in the Spirit, your life will be characterized by the graces mentioned as the fruit of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

It must be noted that just because you may be walking in the Spirit today and are enjoying the fruit of the Spirit, that does not guarantee that you will be walking in the Spirit tomorrow. We are to live our lives day by day, hour by hour, and moment by moment under the influence and control of the Holy Spirit.

Christians are not immune to falling into gross and hideous sins. In fact, the Scriptures constantly warn the believer to be on constant alert lest he fall into all sorts of sin. Paul warns the believers at Ephesus not to partake in the very sins which characterize those who abide in darkness.

Eph 5:3-7 "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them."

Eph 5:11-12 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret."

These are not false warnings! If it were not possible for a Christian to commit these horrible acts against God then there would be no need to warn us against them. According to verse seven of the passage I just read Paul argues from the vantage point of the destiny of unbelievers as reason why Christians should not commit these sins. Why would you who have been freely given eternal life through Jesus Christ commit the very sins of unbelievers who will spend eternity in hell?

Col 3:5-6 "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:"

To participate in the very sins of the unregenerate is to make a mockery of the redemption that has been given us in Christ. Because we are now new creations in Christ, Paul admonishes us to put off those deeds of the flesh which were the mark of our past depravity.

Eph 4:22 "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;"

That Christians can live in blatant sin and immorality is seen in Paul's instruction to the Christians of Corinth when he instructed them not to fellowship with fellow believers who were living in gross sin.

1 Cor 5:9-11 "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."

Paul makes it clear here that they were not to separate from unbelievers who did these things because they needed to be reached with the gospel but they were to separate from believers who are living in unrepentant sin.

To the Thessalonians Paul writes;

II Th 3:6 "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us."

II Th 3:13-15 "But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."

Now the question remains; what is our Christian responsibility to a brother or sister in Christ who has fallen prey to some sin and they are not repentant of it? Do we have any responsibility to a sinning brother at all?

The purpose of this sermon is to consider the role of Christian love as it relates to the ministry of restoring a fallen brother in Christ. Chapter six of the book of Galatians begins with an exhortation to lend a helping hand to a Christian brother who has been overtaken by some fault or trespass.

Gal 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

The first truth that I would like you to consider is that sin in the life of your fellow brother or sister in Christ must not be ignored. Sin within the church must be dealt with in the manner prescribed by the Lord because the purity and effectiveness of the church is at stake.

In the book of First Corinthians Paul describes sin in the church as leaven which has a negative influence on the church as a whole.

1 Cor 5:6 "Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"

Somehow the Corinthian church was taking pride in the fact that they were allowing sin to abide in the church. Maybe they saw their lack of discipline as an act of love. Look at us, look how much we love one another because we are tolerant towards others who have shortfalls in their life. We understand the frailty of the flesh.

Whatever their reasons were for not confronting known sin in the church, Paul sharply criticizes them for allowing it to go on in the church. In fact, in that same chapter he admonishes the church to put these unrepentant individuals out of the church that they may come under the judgement of God. Sin within the church is a very serious problem which must not be ignored.

The theme of restoring a sinning brother to Christ is closely connected to what has been classified as church discipline. Church discipline refers to the involvement of the individuals of the church following the admonition of the Lord in dealing with Christians who are overtaken by sin. It refers to seeking to restore such an individual to a right relationship to the church and more importantly to Jesus Christ Himself.

It must be noted on the outset of this sermon that church discipline is always rooted in a deep and abiding love for the individual you are seeking to restore. It always has their best interest in mind and it must never be used as a personal vendetta against anyone.

I have heard Christians say, ‘I don't want to confront sin in a certain individual because I love them and don't want to hurt their feelings.' But I submit to you that if you see a brother living in unrepentant sin and you ignore it then you are not acting in love but in hatred. To see a brother living in sin and not to rebuke him in love is a form of hatred.

Proverbs 27:5 "Open rebuke is better than secret love."

The motive of open rebuke is our love and concern for others. We desire to see them return to a place of spiritual usefulness. If your motive in restoring a fallen brother isn't rooted and grounded in a deep and abiding love for their personal well-being and spiritual growth, it is almost certain they will detect your false motives. It must be always keep in mind that when we seek to restore a fallen brother we must always do so out of a deep and abiding love for them.

The book of Matthew records a sermon by our Lord which gives a three-staged procedure for dealing with a Christian who is living in sin. From this text it is important to keep in mind that it is the restoration of the offending party that is at issue.

Mat 18:15-20 "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

We see in this text several important principles in dealing with the sins of others. We see that the goal of church discipline is to bring about repentance while keeping general public awareness of the sin to a minimum.

In other words, we don't broadcast someone's sin for public information. The goal in Christian discipline is that when the Christian who sins is confronted in love that he will repent and the discipline will stop there and there is no need to get anyone else involved.

If he refuses to repent during the one-on-one confrontation then two or three additional witness are to be brought in to confront their sinning brother in love. If he then repents, the discipline stops there. But if he refuses to repent according to the testimony of two or three witnesses he is to be brought before the congregation as a whole and the church is to go after him seeking in love to restore him to the faith.

Finally, if after these attempts have been made and he is still not repentant, he is to be put out of the protection of the church to suffer under the severe hand of the Lord. We see this in First Corinthians 5:12.

1 Cor 5:12-13 "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person."

Confronting sin in a Christian brother is perhaps one of the most difficult of Christian responsibilities. That is why our Lord assures His church that when they are engaged in such activity they are carrying out His will in heaven and that He promises to be with them in their midst when they are obedient to this ministry of restoration.

Mat 18:19-20 "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

This verse has been so taken out of context that when people hear it quoted they automatically think the Lord is speaking of a prayer meeting or some church gathering. I have heard pastors say this when the attendance for prayer meeting is low.

Although it is true that Jesus is in the midst of His church no matter the size of the gathering, this passage has nothing at all to do with a normal church gathering. This passage is designed by the Lord to give those two or three witness who have gathered to administer church discipline the confidence to carry out their mission. Jesus is present with those who seek in love to restore a fallen brother or sister in Christ. He is in the midst of those who carry out His will in heaven to discipline sinning church members.

Gal 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

In this passage the apostle instructs the church as to what to do when a brother has been overtaken in a sin or sins. We see here that it is to be our goal to restore such an individual to a place of usefulness. This word "restore" is derived from a Greek word which was used of fisherman who mended torn nets. A fishing net with a torn hole in it is of little value when it comes to fishing, especially if fishing is your livelihood. So at the end of a hard day, a fisherman would examine his nets to see if there are any holes or tears in it. If he found any, even though he was tired and as exhausted after a hard day of fishing, he would take the necessary time to restore his nets to a working condition so that they would be ready for the next day's catch.

We see in this word "restore" the idea of repairing or mending something for the purpose of useful service. In our text this restoration involves helping a fallen brother return to a place of spiritual fruitfulness or usefulness.

The trouble with many Christians that I know is that they would rather give up on a fallen brother rather then to invest the time and energy that it takes to restore them to a place of usefulness within the body of Christ. It is much easier to ignore those who have fallen than to lend a helping hand.

In fact, I believe that we are so self-centered and so family-centered that we have little regard for others who may be outside our little family group. The church at large has lost its sense of community. We come to church on Sunday and that is the extent of our involvement in the lives of others.

As I understand the church in Scripture I see that it requires time and commitment to others within the body. It is never seen as a one-time involvement on Sunday mornings.

The knee-jerk reaction is to simply ignore the sins of others and simply let them go on their merry way or simply to write them off as either never saved to begin with or as being not worth the trouble of investing any time or energy.

I have heard it said that Christians are the only army in the world who bury their wounded. Need I remind you that it was for those wounded Christian soldiers for whom Christ died. He is deeply interested in the restoration of those who belong to His kingdom through faith in Christ and so should we.

James 5:19-20 "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

It is important to note that the phrase "and one convert him" and "shall save a soul from death" has nothing whatsoever to do with the new birth. James is addressing the need for Christians to restore a brother in Christ who has erred from the truth. He is not referring here to the need to save the lost. That need is taken up elsewhere in the gospels, in particular the gospel of John.

James in his letter to the persecuted churches wrote that if one restores an erring brother he will have covered a multitude of sins and may even have been instrumental in sparing that sinning brother from death which may have occurred if he had continued on that path of sin.

This ministry of restoration can literally be a life-saving mission. James also says that when the erring brother has been converted or restored, you have helped to cover a multitude of sins. Not just the sins that the erring brother may have already committed, but also a multitude of yet to be committed sins if he were to continued on his sinful ways.

Having considered the command to go after brothers who have been overtaken in a fault, and having considered the need of such a ministry as this, I would like now to direct your attention to how it is we are to pursue in love our fellow brothers who have been overcome by sin.

Gal 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

The first point that I would like you to see is that not every one is qualified for the ministry of restoration. Paul notes that such individuals must be "spiritual". Notice, "ye which are spiritual". That is, those whose lives are characterized as walking in the Spirit as evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit.

It takes one who is walking in the Spirit evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit to carry out this very sensitive work.

Now maybe you are thinking, "Well that disqualifies me so I am not responsible to lend a helping hand to an erring brother or sister since I have problems of my own." To think in such a way is to miss the dual purifying process in the ministry of restoration.

We don't have the option to opt-out of this ministry of restoration because the spiritual well-being of a fellow Christian is at stake. Every Christian is responsible to carry out this mission. I am sure some of you are confused at this point because I just said that only spiritual Christians are qualified to do this work and now I am saying that no one is excluded or excused from this work.

The point of the text is that your love for your brethren is to be of such a great magnitude that you will deal with your own personal sins in order to be qualified to help your brother in need.

We see this same principle taught by the Lord in Matthew 7:1-5.

Mat 7:1-5 "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

It is interesting that the only lines of this passage which seems to be remembered by Christians and non-Christians alike is the phrase, "Judge not, that you be not judged", as though it is a blanket statement on the whole subject of judging the sin of others.

The point of our Lord becomes quite clear as the remainder of the context unfolds. His point in verses one and two is that we must be careful in what manner we judge others because in the same manner others will judge us. If we are unloving and harsh in our treatment of others because of their faults, others will be unloving and harsh towards us in light of our faults.

Secondly, it is clear from the text that He does not discourage us from helping a brother in sin but that He is emphasizing the importance of dealing first with your own sin in order that you would see clearly how to help others deal with their sin.

His point is not that we ignore the "splinter" in our brother's eye, for as most of us know a small particle of dirt in the eye is a very troublesome thing. The speck needs to be removed but the one seeking to help remove it must have his eye spiritually speaking free of defect in order that he would see clearly enough to do this delicate eye surgery.

If the plank is not removed from our own eye then we will not see clearly enough to remove the small particle from our brother's eye and may do irreparable damage in the process. Again, the particle in the eye must be removed our Lord is not insinuating here that the smallness of the particle in the eye is of little importance. It is of great importance. But the one doing the eye surgery must be able to see clearly.

Mat 7:5 "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

So you can see how this ministry of restoration has a dual purifying work within the church. The one seeking to restore his brother must first be pure and then the one restored is made pure.

Although it is not brought out in our text, I would like to give one piece of practical advice before you seek to help a fallen brother. Consult with your spouse or close personal friend, or someone else whose opinion you trust and value and ask them if they see apparent problems in your own life which may hinder or impeded your reaching out to help someone else.

The reason why I believe this is important is because we are often quick to see the faults of others and at the same time not see our own shortcomings.

We must first go through a process of self-examination to rid ourselves of any personal sin that may hinder our ability to help others. Second, we must approach this delicate ministry of restoration as the "spirit of meekness or gentleness."

We must be of a humble and meek attitude because there can be nothing worse in confronting the sin of others than coming off to them as having proud and domineering spirit. Self-righteousness will most certainly sabotage the restoration process.

Third, we must enter into the needed ministry of restoration cautiously lest we ourselves fall prey to sin in the process.

Gal 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

Any Christian who knows his own heart realizes the ever-present danger of falling into sin. There is not one among us who is immune to sin if we take our eyes off the Lord. So Paul says consider yourself, examine your own life lest you be tempted.

The Christian who thinks that it is beyond the realm of possibility to fall into sin and even the very sin of the one he is trying to help is walking on thin ice.

Paul warns the church at Corinth to be very careful to be on guard against sin because the potential to fall may be closer then you think.

1 Cor. 10:12 "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."

I know personally the times I have fallen into sin the most were the times I thought I was doing great spiritually and I inadvertently let my guard down. I know I have heard Christians say I could never do such-and-such. When I hear such statements as these I become fearful for them inside.

Especially when you consider the Biblical record of great men of the faith who fell into all kinds of terrible sins.

For example: Noah became drunk. Lot became drunk and committed incest with his two daughters. King David committed adultery and multiple murders. Solomon married many pagan women who turned his heart from following after the true God. Peter, as a child of God, denied his Lord three times just prior to the crucifixion.

Take heed, take warning, and be on constant watch because the adversary may be lurking around the corner waiting to pounce on you.

In closing, to see a brother or sister in Christ living in a way that is displeasing to the Lord and harmful to the purity of the church we must in love approach such an individual and plead with them to cleanse themselves of their wickedness and return to Christ, but we must take heed that we examine our own lives in the process and see if there be any wicked way in us. Having dealt with our own sin, we must in a spirit of gentleness reach out with all the Christian love we can muster to seek their restoration. But in the process, we must be on constant guard lest we be overtaken by sin in the process.

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