GALATIANS 6:1-5 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
This first verse is exactly how we would like to be treated if we were fall into sin, we know that God will forgive us and restore us but so often we are afraid of being real with other Christians because they may judge us or not speak to us again or worse still they may gossip about us. It’s been said that believers belong to the only army in the world that shoots its wounded. There are times when we falter in our spiritual life and we can’t get back on track by ourselves. And there other occasions when we feel so burdened that we don’t know how we will ever make it through another day.
The Bible says that you reap what you sow; therefore it is time for us to sow mercy and grace to our Christian brothers and sisters.
Our first task is found in verse 1: “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”
The Message puts it this way: “If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out.”
A) The situation: a broken believer.
The word “caught” was used to describe a bird or an animal that had become entangled in a trap. A believer who is caught in a sin is one who has been surprised or suddenly entrapped, with no hope of escape. The idea here is of a brother or sister who has been caught red-handed in sin, much like the woman ambushed by the authorities while she was committing adultery
John 8:3-11 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
She was guilty she had broken the law but Jesus did not condemn her, he did exhort her to change her way of living.
The word “sin” in verse 1 is the word translated “trespass,” which indicates the idea of stumbling or sliding off a slick path. We are all dealing with the flesh and endeavoring to resist the devil who is seeking to devour us.
A good example of this is Peter. He boasted that he would never forsake Christ and yet he ended up denying Jesus three times in a row.
The person best equipped to help a fallen follower is one who is “spiritual.”
