Restore Us Again (Galatians 6:1-10)

What do we need to do when someone among us is out of step with the truth? What do we do? Isn't it hard for us to navigate this? In some ways, it's easier for us to keep our distance. After all, we could be wrong about them. It would be sad if we accused them of something they didn't do. But texts like Luke 17:1-4 or Matthew 18 motivate us to step out of our comfort zone and correct a brother who has lost their way. The problem is that correction is a tricky thing. If we aren't careful, things could blow up, and we could end up as wrong as they are.

Have you ever had that happen? Have you ever decided to tell someone they are doing something wrong, and as soon as you do it, they don't get it? Something is keeping them from agreeing with you. They don't like hearing, "You are wrong and stupid."

Do we like to hear those kinds of words? I remember being corrected once, and one of the men at a small church I used to preach at pulled me in the back to tell me the correction. It went something like this, "YOU'RE PREACHING TOO LONG!" We were sitting there, having a friendly conversation, when he yelled at me out of nowhere. I did not see that coming. I thought my sermons were a good length. They were about forty minutes. Everyone I had listened to online preached for forty minutes. Why shouldn't I? Of course, now I know why I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have because I didn't know what I was doing, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. He yelled it at me. Do you know how discouraging that is? Maybe God knew I needed a little discouragement at the time, but that is not how I see Christ correcting that issue. Do you want to give someone fuel for anger and hatred? Start yelling at them. Thankfully, God helped me bite my tongue and quench those feelings. But I almost quit on that day.

Understanding The Spirit's Ways

Thus far in the book of Galatians, we have seen Paul correct the churches of Galatia because they were not in step with the truth. They have strayed and followed the way of false teachers. He has addressed those issues and wants them to understand the right way. So he explained where this false teaching has gone wrong and what the gospel's truth is. His whole letter is written to restore these Christians. Now, look at what he says at the end of Chapter 5 and the beginning of Chapter 6.

Galatians 5:25--6:5 (ESV) --- 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

The first words of Paul are found at the end of Chapter 5. I'm not too fond of this Chapter division. He says, "If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." What does it mean to live by the Spirit? It means that we have our spiritual life through the work of the Holy Spirit and the sacrifice of Christ. Paul made that clear in Chapter 3. We live spiritually because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit revealed it. If that is true, Paul says we must "keep in step with the Spirit." What does that mean, and what would that look like?

Verse 26 tells us what it is not. It's not being conceited and thinking much about ourselves. It's not the high and mighty, proud attitude that many church folks have often carried around. God is not calling for us to look down on our brethren and abuse them, nor is he calling for us to envy them. The Spirit does not call for malicious and selfish behavior. It pleads with us to love our neighbor as ourselves. How do we do that?

The rest of what he says helps us understand what it means to walk by the Spirit by bringing up an important example and walking us through the process of handling that example.

Caught in Transgression

In verse 1, he says, "If anyone is caught in any transgression." Pause right there and think about the wording. He's not saying every time you see someone sin, rebuke him. He's talking about someone who is caught. When we see someone sinning, we need to see that Satan has set a trap for them, and they are entangled. Have you ever been entangled in a sin? Maybe you think you know better than everyone else because you have studied the answers and come to convincing conclusions. Does that sound proud to you? These false teachers in Galatia are like this. They are ensnared with their sophisticated use of scripture. They have rational arguments to preach circumcision and cannot see that they are caught. Satan has them tangled up in their pride, and they cannot get free.

So Paul tells these brethren that if we are walking by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and keeping in step with the Spirit, we will do four things as we speak to these brothers who have transgressed.

1. Restore Them With Gentleness

The first thing Paul says for us to do is to restore him "in a spirit of gentleness." If you are spiritual and not worldly, you can go to that brother and try to set them free from the snare. Please don't do it by grabbing them by the throat and pulling their head off. Do it gently.

I have seen wild animals on social media caught up in barbed wire, stuck in a hole, or the mud. I saw a bear with a bucket on its head that couldn't get off. These animals were sitting ducks. They had no hope of getting themselves free and were easy targets for predators. But these videos went viral because a person or a group of people were willing to risk their lives to save them. In every case, they had to assess the situation and keep the animal calm as they cut the thing holding them. If the animal got scared or upset, they would fight for their lives.

People are a lot like that. They get caught in something they shouldn't be doing and get scared, thinking they are under attack. Paul says that we must restore them with a spirit of gentleness. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. That's just it, I tried to be gentle, and they fought against me anyways. They were scared. The answer is not to leave them to die. This is life or death! The answer is to be even more gentle and tell them that you mean no harm. We have to be vulnerable to help them stop being afraid of us. Consider how God is vulnerable to us. He lets his son become one of us.

2. Keep Watch On Yourself

Then, Paul says another interesting point. He says they should keep watch on themselves lest they, too, be tempted. When we see a brother caught in something, we must understand that they have justification. Sometimes that justification is advanced. Please don't fall for the same lies they have fallen for. Hold on to what you know is true, and get out of there if you are tempted to believe them. Pride is a funny thing. The effects of pride are contagious. When someone acts like they are the most righteous, we might believe them. Or when we try to correct them, we might start thinking that we are the most righteous. It does us no good to condemn Pharisees if we do so with the same unloving and uncaring attitude. There's a temptation, especially when correcting a leader, to throw stones from a distance.

In verse 3, he says, "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." Who here is something? Who here is the only one righteous among this group of hoodlums? That's like Jesus telling the Jews who condemned a woman caught in adultery, "Let the one without sin cast the first stone." It's easy for us to fall into temptation when we correct a brother. We must take the plank out of our eye before trying to take a splinter out of our brother's eye.

Satan is crafty. While we are going out to free our brother, we might find ourselves ensnared. Paul says to keep watch on yourselves. Make sure you have the right heart and spirit throughout this interaction. If we don't, things will get worse than before we opened our mouths. Now there will be two people who need help.

3. Bear Their Burden

To go to someone who is caught in sin seems like a lot of trouble, and it is. It's not something that we should do lightly. Maybe it's not something we want to do. But Paul says that we are called to do this.

Galatians 6:2 (ESV) --- 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Whatever the transgression is, Paul says to pick it up and carry it away from them. Get rid of it for them. If there is anything that prevents someone from coming back to Christ, remove the weight so they can run freely to where they are supposed to be.

Lifting a burden is hard. It's burdensome. It disrupts your life. I'll tell you that this is where we might draw the line. We might be inclined to say, "He got himself into this mess, and he can get himself out of it." That's not what God said about you. I love how he brings in Isaiah 53. In Isaiah 53, God portrays Jesus as one who carried our burden away from us. Our griefs and sorrows were taken care of by the suffering servant of God.

If someone needs our help and we say, "I don't have enough time/money/etc.," do you know what we are really saying? We are saying, "I don't want to be burdened with your needs." We cannot "bear one another's burdens" if we are unwilling to be burdened.

To restore your brother who is caught in a transgression, you must see it as taking on the burden and enduring the suffering that the brother will suffer.

4. Test Your Work

Verses 4-5 are kind of confusing. He just said to bear the burden and watch yourself. He says, "Test your work, and then the reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor." Paul says that we need to examine how we have done things. If I went to my brother in love and tenderness with truth and humility, I could take pride in that. I'm walking by the Spirit and keeping in step in the Spirit. Don't judge yourself based on the outcome. Don't compare yourself to the erring brother. That will result in sinful feelings. We need to ensure that we are doing what we should be doing.

Then, he says, "Each person must bear his own load." If we are supposed to bear one another's burdens, why does he say each person must bear his own load? Load and burden are different. The burden represents a crushing weight. A load is more like a backpack. Load represents us fulfilling the gifts and opportunities God has given us. Someone caught in a transgression cannot carry their load because they have an additional burden. So Paul wants us to do what we have been given the opportunity to do without considering what others are supposed to do.

Isn't that difficult? How many hours do we waste looking around at what other people are not doing? Paul says, "You do what you can do, and stop worrying about what they are doing. Stop comparing yourself. Examine your own work."

When he says, "The reason to boast will be in himself alone," does that mean we can boast in our gentleness and goodness? Skip down to verse 14.

Galatians 6:14 (ESV) --- 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

You can boast in your gentleness and restoring of a brother, but not Paul. He boasts in the cross of Jesus. We don't have a right to boast because that is the fruit of the Spirit working in our lives. We will study what that means more in-depth soon.

What Do We Learn?

Let's consider what this means to the Galatians before applying it to ourselves. These Galatians have been taught that some of their brothers are caught in a snare of Satan. They believe that God only loves those circumcised and keeps the law of Moses. Paul makes it clear that this is not true throughout this letter.

But as the readers hear this from Paul, they might be tempted to be harsh and unloving in their accusations against their brethren. It would be easy for them to have the works of the flesh, not the fruit of the Spirit. So Paul says for them to control their emotions when speaking to them. Restore them with gentleness and tenderness. This is what the Spirit calls for us to do. Notice verse 1 again. Paul says, "You who are spiritual." That means you who have fought against the flesh and feel as though God's Spirit is producing fruit in your life. This is not a message for the immature to carry out.

Applying This Today

The work of correcting a brother or sister who is wrapped up in some transgression, sin, or false teaching is not easy. How should we do it? What do they need to hear? Should we be harsh or critical in our judgments? Should we attack them, pin them down and force them to take a verbal assault? The tongue is a dangerous instrument that can destroy them if we let it. That's not what love demands.

Should we ignore them and hope that someone else will say something to correct their sin? Do you know what happens if no one says anything to correct an erring brother? More people fall to sin. If Satan knows we won't do anything to help our brethren, he will set traps everywhere, and eventually, there will be no one left to help anyone.

We want to approach an erring brother with gentleness and patience. We want to show them what the fruit of the Spirit looks like and ensure that they remember we are called to love one another, not attack each other. We must be careful about how we think about ourselves as we approach any issue. Always ask ourselves, "Is that gentle enough?" If it's not, we can't say it.

It's not just about how we act toward someone in sin. It's about how we feel about them and their sin and how we feel about ourselves and our righteousness. I have had people chew me out, and the words, "I'm saying this because I love you," don't make it gentle. If they felt love toward me, they should show me love in how they speak the truth. I understand that this is something we learn to do with practice, but having humility will bring us a long way. Do you have the humility needed to develop the fruit of the Spirit? May God give that to us all.

And, can I say one more thing about this? If you are the one caught in any transgression, please don't justify your transgression because the person addressing you did it in an unloving way. Understand how difficult it was for them to approach you on this difficult subject. We will get into this much more next week, but if we receive harsh or gentle criticism, we need to look past the way it was given to us and consider if it is true. Then, we need to make adjustments and seek to love the brother who did something uncomfortable to help us. If we discourage people from correcting, the church will fall deeper and deeper into error and sin.