GALATIANS 6:1 “HOW TO HELP SOMEONE WHO BLOWS IT”
A) Suppose a friend of mine had to resign as pastor because of an adulterous relationship.
* Within two days after the affair was discovered, he left the area with his wife and family.
* Now my problem is how to reach out and restore him back to the fellowship of the saints.
B) I find that I’m reluctant to get involved … After all, he would have a sense of guilt and
shame when I get in touch with him.
* Since he doesn’t live next door, I can avoid him without any effort.
* And so if I follow my inclination, I will do nothing ... But should I?
C) Suppose Moses had knocked on your door on his flight to Midian.
* Word of his murder of the Egyptian has already swept through your village.
* But you’re a distant relative to him through his mother.
* To take him in is to invite possible death, but he’s afraid and needs help … So what do you do?
D) You’re a member of the church at Philippi.
* A friend reports that Demas is in town, but doesn’t come visit his friends.
* Should you try to find Demas, or is it his responsibility to get in touch with the local assembly?
E) Believe it or not, but the Bible has much to say about restoration.
* But before we spell it out, let’s consider some reasons why we are so perplexed as to what we
should do, especially when someone in the church has blown it.
(I) BEFRIENDING THE FALLEN APPEARS TO BE TAKING A SOFT APPROACH TO SIN
A) Sometimes we have the attitude, “If a man sins, he ought to pay for it.”
* If he’s restored too easily, we’re giving the impression that sin is not all that serious.
* So we justify our inaction with the belief that the offender is just getting his due.
* But is this the right attitude?
(II) WE MAY BE AFRAID OF GUILT BY ASSOCIATION
A) If we are known to be spending time with one who has failed, we may be considered by
others of being guilty too ... Besides, “Birds of a feather flock together.”
* Eph. 5:11 “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather .......”
* Luke 7:34 – Jesus was accused of “being a friend of sinners.”
* Luke 15:2 “This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them.”
B) But perhaps the most important reason we don’t get involved is this .......
(III) BECAUSE CONFRONTATION IS AWKWARD
A) If it’s a moral failure, there is shame.
* If a marriage is breaking apart, it’s difficult for the couple to admit that they’re not making it.
B) Someone has got to make the first move … WHO IS IT?
* How can we be of help in putting broken lives together?
C) I’m sure you’ve bought things you had to put together.
* You took all of the pieces out of the box and laid them before you and looked at them.
* They look nothing like the picture on the box, just a bunch of pieces. (My aluminum building)
D) Men have the tendency to not look at the instructions first before putting things together.
* We just look at the pieces and wonder, “Where does this piece go ... Where does that piece go?”
E) All of us have known lives like that ... Just a bundle of unrelated pieces, serving no
particular purpose.
* You wish there was an instruction manual to give you some idea where to begin.
* You also wish that there would be a model to give you the big picture so that you’d know what
the final product would look like.
WE HAVE AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL
A) There is an instruction Book, put together by the author of life ... The Bible.
* As our Creator, He knows how to make us whole, but we must give Him all the pieces.
* Sometimes we need others to help us get ourselves together.
B) There is a role for you and me to play in helping our brothers and sisters in Christ.
* Rom. 15:1 “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to .......”
C) Not a one of us is beyond the possibility of falling.
* 1 Cor. 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
D) If a believer is not restored, the strength of the church is weakened.
* We’re soldiers in the same army, members of the same family, and stones of the same building.
E) That’s why a believer who doesn’t fellowship with others will never grow in the Christian
life ... Let me show you – Turn to Col. 2:1-2 .......
* Unless believers are united together in Christ’s love, they cannot enter into the fulness of God.
F) Now ... To God’s instruction manual.
* Paul answers several questions about helping those who have blown it in Gal. 6:1. (Repeat text)
* The word “restore” is the word that I want to focus on tonight.
* I want to ask three questions:
(1) WHAT DOES THE WORD RESTORE MEAN?
A) The Webster dictionary says: “To bring back to or put back into a former or original state.”
* The Greek word is “katartizo” (kat-ar-tid’-zo) and is used in the New Testament for the mending
of broken nets and for the setting of a broken bone.
B) Unfortunately there are many believers whose lives have never been mended .......
* There are many broken bones in the body of Christ that have never been properly set.
* Many fruitful Christians hobble out of joint never able to gain their spiritual balance.
C) Restoration means that a fallen believer is back in full fellowship with God and the church.
* That which he needs most of all, namely the strength of fellow Christians, is his.
(2) WHO SHOULD TAKE THE INITIATIVE?
A) Look at the text again ... The Bible’s answer is, “Ye which are spiritual.”
* Perhaps there is no clearer test of spirituality verses carnality than when a believer is caught
in a sin ... The carnal Christian is not interested in restoring a wayward brother or sister.
B) He would rather gossip with a spirit of self-righteousness, hoping that the person pays for
his sin, even to the last bitter drop.
* There’ll be hidden satisfaction in knowing that someone was caught in a sin .......
* AFTER ALL, YOU’VE NEVER BEEN CAUGHT.
C) If the sin is one of sensuality, the carnal believer will especially want the offender to get his
just penalty ... Probably like the elder brother in Luke 15 .......
* The carnal Christian secretly wishes he could experience the pleasures of the far country too, so
the thought that someone enjoyed the world and gotten by with it arouses his envy.
D) Since the carnal Christian feels he has been cheated of these pleasures, he wants to make
sure that others don’t enjoy them.
* So his satisfaction is derived from criticizing the one who has fallen.
* After all, the carnal Christian feels just a bit taller when he’s able to compare himself with a
fallen brother or sister in Christ.
E) The spiritual person, however, will react with sorrow.
* He will not allow detrimental words to pass his lips.
* He knows that if a brother or sister has been wounded, he has too.
* He is sensitive and realizes that if a broken bone is not set properly, it may never heal as it
should, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY .......
F) He knows that his own heart could commit the same sin given the right circumstances.
* He knows that the only difference between himself and others is the grace of God.
* Picture – Never look down ....... The spiritual believer then, should take the initiative.
* It is both unbiblical and cruel to expect that the one who failed should seek out other believers.
H) The one who has sinned feels rejection … He doesn’t know whether believers will accept
him back or not.
* His guilt and shame keep driving him far away from those he most desperately need.
* That is why the spiritual believer should take the initiative, to make the first move.
(3) THE THIRD QUESTION BUILDS ON THE SECOND: HOW SHOULD ONE GO?
A) The text says, “In the spirit of meekness.”
* The Greek word here is “praiotes” (prah-ot’-ace) and means “gentleness.”
* If a person has a broken bone, he doesn’t want it pushed back into place with a crowbar .......
B) That’s why a carnal person is not the one to go.
* Even if he’d be glad to go, he will only add to the man’s guilt.
* Instead of putting salve on the wound, he would pour salt and make things worse.
C) If a sin has been committed, the offender must be willing to repent.
* Then whenever possible, there must be restitution.
* Often the restoration process must be done in stages, so that there is satisfactory evidence that
the offender has admitted the error of his ways.
D) But what if the person doesn’t repent?
* Good question – Turn to Matt. 18:15-17 .......
E) So if a person is unwilling to acknowledge his sin .......
* He must be cut off from the fellowship of the believers with a clear understanding that he is
turned over to satan in order to produce repentance. (Remember The Church of Corinth?)
* 1 Cor. 5:5 “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the .......”
CLOSE
A) There are many instances where we ought to restore each other even though no sin has
been committed!
* What about those who are discouraged and feels all alone?
* Sometimes we must go and let them know that they are still loved and that we care about them.
B) This is our role as believers – We are to do all we can to help one another to stay in
fellowship with God and His people.
* Let us go out of our way to restore someone soon ... It’s never too late to do what’s right.
C) Should you reach out to someone who needs you?
* ASK YOURSELF ... Who is it that needs to be restored today ... Then go for it.
* A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up.
