Restoring a Believer
June 11
In Paul’s final chapter of Galatians, he tells the church to restore brothers and sisters who have been overtaken in any wrongdoing. (Galatians 6:1) He warns them to be careful, lest they, too, might fall into sin. In other words, Paul is telling the church’s mature believers to reach out and restore someone who has fallen spiritually. He does not refer to these people as having lost their salvation, but as those who have been overcome in wrongdoing.
Of course, we have seen before that Christians cannot lose their salvation; however, they may stumble or backslide in their faith. As Jesus said in John 15:2, those who abide in the vine, but are unproductive, may need a little TLC; they may need to be lifted up so they can bear spiritual fruit again.
These backsliders are in need of repenting of whatever sin overtook them, and they need to be reconciled with the rest of the local body of Christ. Unfortunately, oftentimes when a church exercises church discipline, flesh-led church leaders and members feel that they must somehow punish and remove the wayward church member. Here, Paul urges the church to restore, not punish, the one who has stepped aside in their walk with Jesus. As always, Paul urges that the wayward church member be treated with grace and mercy. The goal in all church discipline is to restore the fallen.
He says that Believers should bear each other’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2) And he reminds them to be humble in dealing with each other. Although he tells the Galatians to bear each other’s burdens in verse two, in verse five, Paul says that each one of us will have to carry his own load. While each of us should share the load of each other, at the end of the day, each one of us is accountable for his or her own spiritual walk. And that’s why he encourages the believers to reach out to restore someone who has fallen. Paul shows the tight relationships we should have with each other and help each other to spiritually walk with integrity.
Application
Every believer will struggle in their walk with God. Every believer. Even you. Even me.
We all need close relationships with other believers who can come alongside us when we struggle and pray us back into a more intimate walk with Jesus. Unfortunately, we don’t like to be that vulnerable with other believers. However, we don’t have to be very vulnerable with everyone in a church. We just need a few “garden friends”.
Do you have a few garden friends? Who are those people? How often do you talk with them? If you don’t have a few of those people or even one of those people, ask God to show you someone with whom you can partner and do life together.