If A Brother Is Found In A Fault …

The family were in the car and we were travelling up the motorway to visit a friend.  My wife and I were glad that the children had taken the time to catch up on some sleep, as it meant we could catch up on some conversation.

A friend of ours who had been a pivotal member of our fellowship way back had made a number of devastating decisions which seriously compromised his Christian witness.  He maintained his verbal profession of faith, but his behaviour certainly didn’t reflect the loving, merciful, faithful, kind, generous and compassionate spirit of our Lord and Saviour.  By devastating, I mean families were torn apart, a church fellowship was split and a traumatic blow struck the hearts and spirits of a lot of those who valued and treasured this brother in Christ and his efforts for the kingdom.

Even those sentiments don’t do justice to the effect of his behaviour.  As my wife and I conversed on the situation we reflected on how easy it was to get to a position of bitterness and contempt for this brother.  The havoc he had caused would make it very difficult for someone who knew him to ever look at him in the same way again, and to trust him again or respect him as before would take something supernatural.

It was at that point, however, that I was reminded of a scripture.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

The previous verses sees Paul contrasting life in the flesh with life in the Spirit as a natural follow-on from what it was to be free in Christ.  This particular verse never ceases to arrest me in my tracks when it comes to engagement in the Body of Christ in genuine fellowship.

I am not for one moment suggesting that the acts of the brother in question neatly fits the thinking behind someone ‘caught in a sin’.  The relational principle, however, I strongly believe still applies.  Notice the connection to what was said previously in terms of the restoration job is something that is done primarily by those who are actively walking in the Spirit.  That is to say if the same Spirit that was in Jesus Christ lives in you then you’ll endeavour to see what restoration can be done in that spirit of meekness.

It’s also to acknowledge that for some of us in this journey of faith, we’re not at that place.  Something like this would happen and bitterness, malice and resentment would fester in our being with negative, ugly and destructive feelings reinforcing that whenever we contemplated this brother in question.  I’m not condemning people when things like this happen, because I can fully understand it.  This is a case, however, of acknowledging that, and if we’re not at that place in our walk with Jesus where we’re carefully looking for restoration, we should look to avoid the situation completely until the Spirit in our lives works on us to be in the place to approach it with that desire.

I am really sad about the decisions my brother in Christ has taken.  It is tragic.  For all that, he remains a brother in Christ, and as long as there’s life there’s always the hope of restoration.  That for me does not always mean constant visits or contacts with the brother, but it certainly does mean heartfelt prayers for him and the hope that one day he’ll wake up to his senses.

It also informs me of how much more I need to experience what it is to walk in the Spirit and not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.  It informs me that there is still work to do on my heart, so that I can be among those who walk in the Spirit and looks for the best in others even when they are ‘caught in a sin’.  It”s helped by remembering the compassion, mercy, love and forgiveness I experience from Jesus when I’ve been ‘caught in a sin’.

It is something that brought my wife and I closer together in that car journey up the motorway.  I pray that it will be something that allows us to serve brothers and sisters with that same Spirit that was in Him.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd