Galatians 6:1
Welcome to Week 1 in 6 Weeks in Galatians 6! We start off jumping in to one of the more intense aspects of Christian fellowship – what to do when someone you know sins. So, here we go:
Galatians 6:1
“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.”
The verse is clearly directed at followers of Jesus and what they are to do “if someone is caught in a sin”. I've always read that phrase as “caught in the act”. For example: Hearing someone tell a lie and saying, “Hey, that's not true, I caught you.” But the NLT drew my attention to another meaning for “caught in a sin”. It translates that section “if another believer is overcome by some sin”. This person is overwhelmed and overpowered by the sin. They can't move on, they don't know how to change, they are stuck. For example: Someone has told a lie and it is now defining them – they are living according to it and trapped by it.
Understanding the verse in this way, the emphasis is not on the “spiritual” people monitoring others waiting for them to fall in to sin so they can catch them doing it, but rather on extending grace and help to the struggling Christian. The rest of the verse supports this interpretation as we look at the action of the Spirit-filled believer.
First, those who are spiritual – meaning living by the Spirit – are to restore the person gently. They are to help the person get back onto the road of life with God. The are to do this “in a spirit of gentleness” (NASB). That means using gentle words and having a gentle attitude as we take loving steps to bring this person to experience forgiveness and reconciliation with God.
Second, the person who is gently restoring the person caught in a sin, needs to watch themselves “so that you too will not be tempted” (NASB). The whole of Galatians 6:1-10 says much about humility and personal responsibility and this sentence cautions the spiritual person from falling into the lie that they are somehow better or superior to the person they are helping, that they can be a critical judge of that person. Along with watching that we don't fall into the temptation of pride, I also think we need to watch that we don't fall into the same temptations of the person we are trying to restore. Using the example above of someone telling a lie, we must watch that we, too, don't believe the lie the person has told and become ensnared by. A 'classic' lie that keeps many people bound is the belief that there is no hope for them, that they can never change, and that God's grace is not sufficient. As we gently urge the person overcome by such a lie, we need to watch that we don't start believing it about them and give up our hope for their transformation. We must be strong in God's grace and truth as we embark on the loving work of bringing people back to being alive in God.
Suggested Exercise:
To discover the context of Galatians 6:1-10 and the source of the grace we are to extend to others, read the entire book of Galatians.
Galatians 6:1
“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.”
The verse is clearly directed at followers of Jesus and what they are to do “if someone is caught in a sin”. I've always read that phrase as “caught in the act”. For example: Hearing someone tell a lie and saying, “Hey, that's not true, I caught you.” But the NLT drew my attention to another meaning for “caught in a sin”. It translates that section “if another believer is overcome by some sin”. This person is overwhelmed and overpowered by the sin. They can't move on, they don't know how to change, they are stuck. For example: Someone has told a lie and it is now defining them – they are living according to it and trapped by it.
Understanding the verse in this way, the emphasis is not on the “spiritual” people monitoring others waiting for them to fall in to sin so they can catch them doing it, but rather on extending grace and help to the struggling Christian. The rest of the verse supports this interpretation as we look at the action of the Spirit-filled believer.
First, those who are spiritual – meaning living by the Spirit – are to restore the person gently. They are to help the person get back onto the road of life with God. The are to do this “in a spirit of gentleness” (NASB). That means using gentle words and having a gentle attitude as we take loving steps to bring this person to experience forgiveness and reconciliation with God.
Second, the person who is gently restoring the person caught in a sin, needs to watch themselves “so that you too will not be tempted” (NASB). The whole of Galatians 6:1-10 says much about humility and personal responsibility and this sentence cautions the spiritual person from falling into the lie that they are somehow better or superior to the person they are helping, that they can be a critical judge of that person. Along with watching that we don't fall into the temptation of pride, I also think we need to watch that we don't fall into the same temptations of the person we are trying to restore. Using the example above of someone telling a lie, we must watch that we, too, don't believe the lie the person has told and become ensnared by. A 'classic' lie that keeps many people bound is the belief that there is no hope for them, that they can never change, and that God's grace is not sufficient. As we gently urge the person overcome by such a lie, we need to watch that we don't start believing it about them and give up our hope for their transformation. We must be strong in God's grace and truth as we embark on the loving work of bringing people back to being alive in God.
Suggested Exercise:
To discover the context of Galatians 6:1-10 and the source of the grace we are to extend to others, read the entire book of Galatians.
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