As Christian, we are called to sharpen each other. This means encouraging each other, but from time to time, it also means correcting fellow believers who have fallen into sin.
“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 NIV
This verse really caught my attention as I was reading it today. The part that caught me was the phrase, “Restore that person gently.”
How often, when we catch on to someone’s sin, are we gentle with that person? We often respond with judgement, criticism, or harsh words. We might even think it’s right to respond that way. Sometimes we are much more like table flipping Jesus than gentle and caring Jesus.
This passage does not contain the words of Jesus, but if we look at his example, he was gentle in correcting people 99% of the time. The times he was tougher was when he was dealing with hardened “religious” Pharisees. But he was gentle and compassionate with the woman caught in adultery. He was gentle with the demon possessed. He was gentle with the tax collectors. And he was gentle with Peter when he denied him three times.
When people are caught in sin, we often rush to judge. We might look down on them or even believe that our sin isn’t as bad as theirs. But we are called to restore them gently.
This requires humility on our part. We need to remember that we are sinners too, and we are just as prone to mistakes. This is why Paul warns us not to be tempted as well – because we too can make the same mistakes.
We shouldn’t be restoring others from a place of condescension, but rather we need to view them as an equal. This is something God taught me when I was in a disagreement with a friend. In this particular scenario, the friend was in the wrong and I was not. In fact, this person had done a lot to intentionally harm me, and I left the friendship.
But while I was dealing with this person, I felt convicted by the Lord. Just because this person was wrong didn’t give me the right to treat them as unequal with me. I felt convicted to talk to them and treat them as an equal, even in their sin.
This is a lesson I have carried with me. I have also experienced the other side of it. I know what it is like to be caught in a struggle and not treated as equal – to not receive gentle correction, but rather rejection.
As believers, we need to have a biblical response to correction. It needs to be gentle and it needs to be coming from a genuine place of love. If the person is refusing to receive correction, that is when we may have to take other measures, including leaving the friendship. But we need to give them a chance to be restored.
When we have an accurate view of our own sin, we won’t be so quick to judge or condescend to others. When we see someone caught in something, it should be sobering for us. It should make us sad, not critical. We should feel grateful for what we’ve been rescued from, not like we are better than them.
Do you feel critical or judgmental when you see someone else’s sin? Perhaps it’s time for a heart check. Ask the Lord to soften your heart and give you gentle compassion for the lost.
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