“When a Had needs Help”
1/23/05
a.m. service
Ridgeway Assembly of God
Pastor Greg
Introduction
Read: Galatians 6:1-5
Expound on the following phrase:
“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin” NIV
“Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin” NLT
“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass” NASB
“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault” KJV
There are two ways we can possibly take this verse:
1.Other believers catch someone in the act of sin.
2.A believer has been overcome by a sin.
The person in our text today either was caught in the act of sin, or has been overtaken by a particular sin. Read p. 201-203 of Beth Moore’s book “When Godly People Do Ungodly Things.” Permit me now to use some of her terminology in my sermon this morning.
Can you today relate to Had?
Perhaps today you are wanting to reach out to a Had?
Have you ever felt you were glad you weren’t as bad Had?
This sermon is for you!
I. What do you do with Had?
Some people realize they blew it big time and they don’t need to be confronted, they just need to be pulled up out of the pit and taken through a restoration process. Others are a little bit more stubborn. They are persistent in their sins thinking they’ll never get caught or they can cover for it. What do we do with the stubborn ones?
1.Let them know they’ve been Had.
Jesus gave us instructions on confronting a person who has sinned (see Matthew 18:15-17). The first way is to go in private. This is always the best way. I think you’d agree you’d rather be confronted with your sin in private than on a billboard, right?
If that doesn’t work, then you take others with you. And if the person doesn’t listen to you, then you take it before the whole church.
Obviously there are times that sin has to be dealt with in a public manner because it is a public matter. That is certainly true when several people come with an accusation concerning a church leader (see 1 Timothy 5:19-20). Church leaders are public figures who are held more accountable for their actions. When a sin becomes public enough that dealing with it solely on a private scale won’t do, you have no choice but to deal with it in an appropriate manner publicly. If not, the people who brought the accusations, and others who know about them, will feel you are just sweeping things under the carpet.
But more often than naught, a private confrontation is the way to start and can be the ending point. Do you know someone in the Body that is living in sin? My suggestion is that if you really love them, you’ll go to them privately and confront them with your knowledge of their sin and their need to change. What a friend you would be if you helped them take care of this thing in private, before it became something that required public discipline.
2.What is the Goal of Letting Someone Know They’ve Been Had?
What do we hope to achieve by confronting a person with their sin?
In our primary example of church discipline in Matthew 18, the goal is that of winning over your brother. Paul explained to the Thessalonians (2 Thess. 3:14-15) that they were not to associate with a brother that didn’t heed the instructions of the letter Paul sent. The goal was that this person would be ashamed as the result of his been ostracized by the Body, and therefore repent of his actions. And in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul blasted the church for putting up with an unrepentant man in their congregation who was living in blatant immorality. Paul’s instructed that he be excommunicated. His purpose in this was for the man’s salvation. In fact, in 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 (these verses may be talking about the same man) Paul tells the congregation that the punishment has been sufficient and the man needs to be brought back into fellowship.
One main goal of church discipline is the restoration of the sinner.
II. Restoring Had
1.Had’s role in His/Her Own Restoration
Whether a person screams out from the pit for help or reluctantly concedes after being humiliated before the congregation, the reaction God is looking for in the end is godly sorrow. It is godly sorrow that brings repentance. A great example of this is found in Paul’s chastising of the Corinthian church. Listen to his words:
Read: 2 Cor 7:10-11
A whole lot of things come to the surface when we have true godly sorrow. They wanted things right. The godly sorrow had produced repentance. True repentance must be the reaction of everyone confronted with their sin. It is the necessary link to restoration. In fact, without it there can be no restoration. We can’t rationalize our sins away folks. If you want help you must first repent.
2.Help’s Role in Had’s Restoration
A.Who should help restore Had?
“you who are spiritual” v.1 NIV
It is clear from the text that the restoring is to be done by those who are ‘spiritual.’ But what does that mean?
Rather than saying that they are necessarily the older Christians or mature ones, I believe it would be those who are producing the fruit of Galatians 5:22 and thus keeping in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). Only these folks can truly administer discipline that restores a person, rather than destroys a person.
I referred to those who are spiritual as Help. That’s what they are. Whether they are people who’ve gone through a similar experience, or just smart enough to know ‘that but for the grace of God there go I,’ they are people who want to see their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ restored.
B.How should Help restore Had?
1.By being gentle.
“restore him gently” v.1 NIV
The word restore has the meaning of setting a bone or mending nets.
The word gently gives us the manner in which this must be done. It should be done in a spirit of gentleness with humility. A person who is broken needs to be cared for, not pounced on. A person who is sinking in quick sand and made aware of their sinking wants to be pulled out, not lectured harshly to.
2.By shouldering some of the load.
“Carry each other’s burdens” v.2 NIV
This word ‘burdens’ is referring to a heavy load. Our brothers and sisters that find themselves entangled in a web of sin are carrying a heavy load on their shoulders. They need help desperately. They are dealing with consequences, guilt, shame, fear, as well as more temptation. Whatever you do, live up to your name, Help!
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” James 5:16 NIV
While God is our primary source, He works through other members of the Body of Christ to restore us to full health. Fallen brothers and sisters are going to need others they can lean on until they are completely restored.
“in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” v.2 NIV
How might carrying another person’s burdens fulfill the law of Christ?
By the law of Christ Paul means love. So if we are truly acting in love, then we are going to want to help them make it all the way up the path, because they won’t make it alone. We’ve got to be willing to ‘take a load off’ and help them shoulder this weight until they are free from it. This is a very selfless act and it is an act that requires a trustworthy soul because the person being helped is in a very vulnerable state.
3.By being very careful.
I said earlier that one goal of church discipline was to restore the sinner. Another is to purge sin from the body as a whole.
“Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” 1 Cor. 5:7 NIV
Paul warned the Corinthians that their slackness towards sin would not be confined to the sinner, but would rather infect and affect the whole congregation. When we help out someone wanting to get out of their sin, we need to be on our guard as well. In fact, Paul said:
“watch yourself” v.1 NIV
Why do you need to watch yourself? Don’t think for a minute that while you are attempting to help another out of the pit, that the devil isn’t trying to push you into it or another pit. This doesn’t mean you don’t help, but that you are aware and watchful of the temptations.
Two temptations that can occur while helping to restore another:
a.You may be tempted by the same sin they were tempted with.
Our attempts to help a brother or sister out of their pit could be the occasion for our own falling. Juicy details of sinful acts, emotional ties, physical contact, meditation on the sin, could draw us into the sin as well. We’ve got to help someone out of the pit without allowing them to pull us down. We’ve got to keep an indignant attitude towards the sin. Jude 23 NIV says, “to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
b.You may be tempted to be self-righteous
“If anyone thinks he is something when is nothing, he deceives himself.” v.3 NIV
You need to be careful you are not a self-righteous judge, thinking you are all that because you aren’t in their pit. The Pharisees were notorious for this kind of attitude.
Read: Luke 18:9-14
If you think you are better than others than you are deceived and you really aren’t qualified to help another out spiritually. In fact, you really aren’t what Galatians 6:1 calls ‘spiritual.’ Jesus’ statement not to judge lest we be judged, was not to say we can’t judge at all, but was a statement condemning self-righteous judgment. After he spoke of judging he said:
Read: Matthew 7:3-5
A self-righteous man can’t help a fallen brother or sister until he gets the sin of his self-righteousness out of his own life.
A self righteous man needs to make sure he’s carrying his own burden rather than pointing at someone else’s.
“each one should carry his own load.” v.5 NIV
The load here is a normal load, suitable cargo for the ship it is on. We are responsible to live the life God has saved us to live. We have no time comparing ourselves with others and how they are managing. We have a responsibility to conduct ourselves properly and to be sure we are making it up the path ourselves without falling.
Conclusion.
There are three groups of people in here:
1.There are those who find themselves caught in sin (or you think you won’t get caught or you are about to get caught). You’ve essentially been Had.
To you I say repent. Do it now before you have to undergo church discipline. Why get exposed and make what is private a humiliating public matter? Why not freely go to other brothers and sisters in Christ, confess sins and ask for help? The first thing, though, is to go to God and ask Him to restore you. Come down and ask God for forgiveness. God can and will restore you. And be willing to get help you might need to get you back on your feet again spiritually.
2.There are those who want to be a big Help to a brother or sister in Christ who is caught in sin.
You need great wisdom. You need a heart with pure motives for this matter. You also need to not wait in your confrontation of a brother or sister in Christ. They need your confrontation. I encourage you first to do it privately. After that, involve others. Perhaps your private confrontation will be what works and it will save the person from the public confrontation that no one likes. Sometimes we just need a rebuke from an observing friend. If you are unsure of how to proceed because circumstances are complicated, seek godly counsel. Come down and ask God for wisdom and boldness.
3.There are those who are self-righteous and in some ways delight in others that are in sin (because it makes them feel better about themselves), gossip about them in the name of ‘prayer requests,’ or make life rough for those who’ve been caught in sin. You, my friend are Proud.
You need to realize that your pride shows that you are truly unspiritual. Watch out, because unless you repent, you are heading for a fall. The Bible says you are deceived. Because of your self-righteous judgments, you may find yourself at the other end of the stick. Ask God for a new heart. Ask Him to help you to love others rather than condemn them. Jesus didn’t destroy the life of the adulterous woman, and neither do you have the right to destroy the life of one of His children. Come down and repent this morning.
