THE MINISTRY OF RESTORATION
© 2001, Dr. Roy Mason
Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; {each one} looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have {reason for} boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one shall bear his own load. And let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches.
GAL 6:1-6 NASB
The absolute truth of the matter is that all men are sinners. The Bible says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom 3:23). John MacArthur reminds us:
Sin is certainly a reality in every Christian’s life. John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us … If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (I Jn 1:8, 10). “For we all stumble in many {ways.}” (James 3:2)
The question is not on the reality of Sin, but rather what are we to do when our brother sins? Sin affects not only the believer himself, but also affects those he loves most. When a man is having an affair, he hurts, not only himself, but an extended circle of people as well – his wife, his children, his friends and even the one with whom he is sinning. At the heart of the matter, sin is a crack in the wall of holiness and purity. Without these two items in our personal lives we are stamped null and void in our usefulness and service to God. This is the penalty of sin in the life of a believer. In my own personal life I have learned the painful result of slipping and sliding into the crevasse of sin.
Sin does not have to be a willful and deliberate rebellion against God. It is often, as the text above indicates a “trespass” (the Greek word paraptoma is used by Paul here), which has the basic idea of stumbling or falling. “Most often the Christian “does not commit the trespass with premeditation but, on the contrary fails to be on his guard or perhaps flirts with a temptation he thinks he can withstand.” Such is certainly the case in many instances in my own personal life. What is the Christian Brother to do when he encounters an erring, sinful brother?
We must LIFT him
As Christian brothers, we have a primary responsibility (as spiritual men) of restoration. Listen again to the instructions of Paul.
Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; (Gal. 6:1a)
When our children were young and they fell down, their greatest, immediate need was to be “lifted up.” Rarely did we say to them, “Get up by yourself” rather we came to their aid, helped them to their feet and embraced them with love and assurance that everything was going to be okay. So it is with our brother when he falls.
Notice that Paul tells us what we are to do this to the person, “even if [he] is caught in any trespass.” This word caught (Gk. Prolambano) has a two-fold application and meaning. It can mean “in front of” or, as it were in the actual sight of all, like the woman brought to Jesus who had been caught in the very act of adultery, or it can mean to be overtaken by the act itself. The later application of the word seems to be what Paul has in mind here simply because he also uses the word trespass (which carries with it the additional idea of slipping or sliding off a slick path).
Regardless of the nature of the fall, we “who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness;” (Gal. 6:1b). Spiritual refers to those believers in the Lord Jesus who are walking in and filled by the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus. This is a reference to the inner strength and power that Christ alone gives each believer. Restoration is both impossible and impractical for those believers who are young and weak in the faith. Again, MacArthur reminds us,
It should be noted that, whereas maturity is relative, depending on one’s progression and growth, spirituality is an absolute reality that is unrelated to growth. At any point in the life of a Christian, from the moment of his salvation to his glorification, he is either spiritual, walking in the Spirit, or fleshly, walking in the deeds of the flesh.
Only a spiritual man is capable of restoration because it is a supernatural work of grace. Fleshly believers are self-centered and self serving, afraid to forgive because they have yet to understand the true forgiveness of God. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) God forgave us while we were yet sinners or in other words, when we were caught, held captive by our sins. Until we understand the true nature of His forgiveness toward us, we do not have the capacity to forgive, let alone restore others.
The word restore (Gk. Katartizo) actually means the mending or repairing of that which is broken. It is used of the setting of a broken bone. In other words, it is an integral and necessary part of the healing process. The restoration of a sinful brother is always done by helping the brother recognize that his trespass was indeed a trespass if he has not already done this. Until he has done this, restoration is impossible. However, once he has confessed his sin before God, turned from it in repentance and sought God’s forgiveness it is our responsibility to restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness (Gal. 6:1c).
There is a deep word of warning here. Gentleness carries with it the meaning of humility and meekness. We cannot be critical and judgmental as we seek biblical restoration. To do so would be to cancel the grace of Christ in our own lives. The danger is clear. {each one} looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted (Gal. 6:1d). If we are critical and carnal in our efforts to restore, we ourselves will stumble. This is a gentle, but forceful reminder that even spiritual believers can stumble and fall. We are to possess the mind of Christ in all that we do. “for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. (Luke 9:56)
We must LEAD him
It is not enough to simply give words of encouragement and hope of our forgiveness and restoration to the now forgiven brother. We have further responsibilities. Once the brother has been lifted up, we must come alongside him and lead him back into fellowship by helping him. Notice what Paul says:
Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have {reason for} boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one shall bear his own load. Gal 6:2-5
The bearing of one another’s burdens reminds us that no man is an island. As spiritual men we are called upon to make ourselves available to our brother for accountability and encouragement. Too often it is easy to say “I love you” or “I forgive you” and then simply brush them aside. We often do this, because somewhere deep in our own spirits we fill superior to the one who has fallen. We enjoy the fellowship of the believers, but we want the responsibility for fellowship to rest on the shoulders of someone else. Paul says our “burden bearing” fulfill[s] the law of Christ. In reverse, failure to do so nullifies the work of Christ in us.
Jesus said in John 13:34,
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
Someone has rightly said that Christians are the only ones who “shoot their wounded.” Gandhi of India is credited with saying, “Show me a Christian, and I will become one.” All the stained glass windows in the world will never call a lost world to faith in Christ. Jesus continued in verse 35 by reminding us …
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
The way we treat those who have failed is an indication of our real relationship with the Lord Jesus. Each of us desires, craves, and wants the fellowship of Christ. We want to know that He will indeed be with us through all the circumstances of life, but too often we are slow about being a burden bearer of those whom we claim to love.
Paul tells us that we are to let each one examine his own work, and then he will have {reason for} boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. This simply means that we are to examine the work God has given us to do and understand that we are not to be in a comparative mode with anyone else. Our individual work is the fulfillment the law of Christ, which in this context includes being a burden bearer to our restored brother.
There are few things in life that generate as much heartache and pain the life of a believer like that of the rejection of his friends. Constantly throughout the Psalms, David displayed great anguish over the loss of friendship and fellowship. In my own personal life, I have known, and know this feeling of abandonment by those who were once so seemingly close. Our hearts and mind run wild with thoughts like, “was the friendship ever real?” or “was our previous relationships only a one-way street?” God created all of us as “relationship” beings. In the Garden of Eden, when man first sinned, we have a picture of restoration.
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make {one} wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" And the man said, "The woman whom Thou gavest {to be} with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Gen 3:6-13
Notice that it was God who initiated the fellowship. Sin had broken it, but God wanted it restored. This is always the nature of those who walk most intimately with God. When a brother falls, we are to lead them back into our fellowship.
We are to LOVE him
The final responsibility of the spiritual man in relation to the fallen brother is to encourage him in love and support. Gal 6:6 says,
And let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches.
We are given a ministry of sharing. Paul is not really talking about the proper way for churches to pay their pastors as some think. Rather he is talking about the spiritual man’s responsibility to share all the good things, which include, but are not limited to material goods. Once again the main thrust of this statement is that of fellowship. Paul uses the word koinoneo, which is the verb form of the noun that is commonly translated fellowship. It is the idea of both parties involved mutually sharing and caring for one another in the bond of love.
The love of Christ is the most basic need of all of humanity. Too often we allow things to break this God-given bond between believers. Remember the heart of this great Apostle is one of love that cannot be broken. In his letter to the Romans (8:31-35; 38-39) he makes the following appeal:
What then shall we say to these things? If God {is} for us, who {is} against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Too often we allow the failures and distractions of life cancel the love of God for us through one another. When we share all things we are in fellowship with God and this includes fellowship with one another.
John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: GALATIANS (The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1987), p. 173.
Ibid. p.177.
Ibid. p.177.
