GALATIANS 6:1 | BIBLICAL RESTORATION

Notes
Transcript

TEXT: GALATIANS 6:1 | BIBLICAL RESTORATION

INTRO

ILLUSTRATION:
EXPLANATION: It’s been a few weeks since we were last in the book of Galatians
When we last found ourselves there, we were wrapping up chapter 5 and Paul’s teaching and challenge on the fruit of the Spirit vs the works of the flesh.
As we move our way into chapter 6, Paul begins with a familiar word that is scattered throughout his writing… “Brethren”
Paul loved to use the word to transition from one through to another.
And he loved to used the word to bring his reader in close.
Almost as if to say, I want you tear hear what I’m about to tell you… I want you to get it!
“It’s so important”
And I truly believe the reason Paul brings those believers in so close to talk about what he’s about to talk about, is because this is an area the church often struggles with.
It’s the subject of restoration.
You see, thus far in the book of Galatians, Paul has given some strong warnings and even some examples of moments that he had to take a stand against other believers.
Back in chapter 2 Paul confronted Peter face to face, because Peter seemed to be giving support to the belief of works being required for salvation simply because he wasn’t taking a clear stance against it.
It’s clear there are times when the line should be drawn and the truth should be stood for.
In the previous chapter, Paul clearly gave a dividing line between those who were walking in the Spirit and those walking in the flesh.
Paul wanted to make sure there was no confusion in his stance when it came to that important subject!
But now as we come into chapter 6, it’s almost seems as if Paul takes a breath for a moment after coming down so hard and passionate in chapter 5.
And he pulls in his readers to encourage them how they and we should seek to restore those who have fallen.
APPLICATION: There are few areas that most churches deal with less than biblical restoration.
In many churches the options are conform or get out.
I’ve seen churches that have gone down the path of church discipline and it was nothing more than a chance to humiliate those involved.
It’s no wonder there are so many people that are scared to come to church… they are afraid what could happen to them there… and sometimes it’s because of something that already happened to them in the past.
Friend, I’m here to tell you this morning that God desires the church to be a place of biblical restoration!
And that is important, because there is restoration that isn’t biblical and we are going to talk about that as well this morning.
For a few moments, let’s learn from Paul’s challenge to the Galatians on how to navigate this crucial, and often missed part of the church.

V.1a, THE FALLEN ONE

Galatians 6:1 KJV 1900
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
EXPLANATION: There is much that we can take away from this brief simple phrase to start this verse.
Based upon what Paul says here we can see:
A Christian can fall
We know Paul is referring to a believer because the person is being restored to Christ… not won to Christ.
And now Paul is saying that they need to be restored to a right relationship with Christ.
Not restored to salvation that was lost… but to a relationship that has been broken.
APPLICATION: There is a teaching that exists that says we can achieve “sinless perfection” here on this earth.
Some religions teach that things are getting better and better and if everyone would just be better and do better then one day we will have a perfect earth.
There’s just one problem… that’s completely against what the Bible says.
2 Timothy 3:1 KJV 1900
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 Timothy 3:13 KJV 1900
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
In fact the Bible doesn’t say that one day the earth is going to be made perfect… but rather God is going to completely destroy the earth!
2 Peter 3:10 KJV 1900
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2 Peter 3:12 KJV 1900
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
No the earth isn’t going to be perfect, and unfortunately, we aren’t going to be perfect on this earth either.
And while we may say that we know we can’t be perfect after salvation, it is one of the most powerful tools Satan loves to use against the believer.
ILLUSTRATION: When I was 9 years old I made the conscious decision to accept Christ as my Savior.
But for years after, I questioned that decision.
And one of the greatest reasons I struggled was because of thought that would come into my mind, “If I were really saved… I wouldn’t struggle with sin.”
APPLICATION: Friend, if the devil can’t take your soul he will do anything he can to steal your impact for Christ.
And what better way to do that than to make you doubt your salvation.
If you are here today and you can’t think back to a moment in your life that you consciously made that decision not to trust in what you could do to get to heaven but in what Christ already did… you need to get saved this morning!
But if you are here this morning and you are struggling with if your saved, not because you are unsure if you made the decision, but because you are struggling with sin in your life… Friend, stop allowing the devil to have that victory!
Proverbs 28:13 KJV 1900
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
1 John 1:9 KJV 1900
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you know Christ as Savior you can know for sure your soul is secure… but the battle with your flesh wont stop until you are in heaven!
So many times people say that Christians are the biggest hypocrites.
The truth should be the total opposite.
We should be the ones that are able to admit we have failed, and we are passionately desiring to restore our relationship with Christ!
That isn’t hypocrisy… that is honesty!
EXPLANATION: Paul states the reality that Christians can and do fall!
That doesn’t mean they should be seeking sin… but it is a reality that we should be honest to deal with!
A Christian can be surprised
The word “overtaken” means to be “caught off guard” or “surprised”
Now this can be taken a couple different ways.
It could be that the Christian is surprised by his fall into sin.
I could be at the place that the prodigal son found himself, when the Bible says that “he came to himself”
He looked around and thought, how did I get here?
But it is also possible that he was surprised to be caught in his sin.
He had done his best to get away with it thinking nobody knew.
Surely he had covered all of his bases to ensure no one would ever find out.
And yet through unexpected circumstances, it’s been brought to the forefront.
And in a moment of stunned realization… he’s caught off guard.
The Bible does say in Numbers 32:23
Numbers 32:23 KJV 1900
But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.
Proverbs 15:3 KJV 1900
The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Beholding the evil and the good.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 KJV 1900
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
God is clear, you can fool this pastor… you can fool your friends… you may even be able to fool your family… but you’ll never pull one over on God.
It’s always better to find yourself in the place of the prodigal saying “woe is me” than for God to pull back the cover and reveal you in your sin.
APPLICATION: The reality is, we can’t know for sure which reason is responsible for the surprise of person.
But I hope this morning if you find yourself in the place of the one who has fallen… that this morning’s message will be just the surprise you need to turn your heart back to God!
May you respond in humility and repentance to God.
True repentance isn’t excusing your sin… it is agreeing with God about your sin!
If you are here today and you are the Fallen One, my hope this morning is to see you restored!
Don’t harden your heart toward God… soften to Him!
Pray like David did in Psalm 51:1-4
Psalm 51:1–4 KJV 1900
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done this evil in thy sight: That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest.
Psalm 51:9–12 KJV 1900
Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with thy free spirit.
Psalm 51:16–17 KJV 1900
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
THE FALLEN ONE

V.1b, THE RESTORING ONE

EXPLANATION: Paul then turns his attention in this verse to the one he is writing to… To the believer who is a witness of the fallen one.
He tells them that their focus is not to condemn the person and give them no hope
It isn’t to try to go around and spread the gossip you heard about them
It isn’t to try to make a public example of them through humiliation.
No the Bible says to “restore” them.
Now, listen closely… the Bible doesn’t say to cover up their sin like nothing happened.
ILLUSTRATION: I was in Bible college and we came into a chapel service, and right away it was clear something had happened.
Thankfully it wasn’t something at the church or college we were at.
But at another Christian college that was a ministry of a large church, it had come out that the pastor had had an immoral relationship with a 16 year old girl.
But the saddest part was that many were calling for the pastor to be forgiven and the indiscretion, as they called it) to be covered up.
Thankfully there were some godly men who weren’t about to let that happen and that pastor was arrested and sentenced to prison.
It breaks my heart to say that I’ve heard of numerous situations where pastors and youth pastors have done this very thing, only to have the church determine it should be covered up.
And it always comes at the expense of the young person whose life has been destroyed.
APPLICATION: I’m going to tell you this morning, any monster that does such wicked things to a young person or a child, the prison cell is too good of a place for them!
Never should a crime against God’s law and man’s law be simply covered up by some church.
Few things have done more damage to the name of Christ than churches that have done something like that.
EXPLANATION: No, when Paul says that restoration should be sought, he isn’t saying sin should be covered up…
It must be a Biblical Restoration.
That is why Paul includes some prerequisites for the one who is to be doing the restoring.
He is to be Spiritual
Is it any wonder that Paul would mention such a thing immediately following what was just said in the chapter prior?
Galatians 5:16 KJV 1900
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
That doesn’t mean that restoration can only happen through a pastor… no it is the responsibility of the whole church to be Spiritual?
APPLICATION: Are you spiritual this morning?
I don’t mean are you religious…
I’m asking can you honestly saying that you are walking in the fruit of the Spirit this morning?
ILLUSTRATION: I have found that often the day that is hardest to begin walking in the spirit is Sunday mornings!
You’re running behind and you’re gonna be late and your stress level is through the roof.
The car ride to church is a war zone
You walk in the building and you need to appear “spiritual” so you put a smile on and say, “good morning”
APPLICATION: How can we expect to be used by God to restore someone else to a right relationship with Christ, when we ourselves don’t have a right relationship with Him!
Do you see why walking in the Spirit is so important?
What if God wanted to use you to help and encourage and restore someone else… but He can’t because you just aren’t a Spiritual Christian.
ILLUSTRATION: It’s like on those rare occasions that I decide I’m going to fill some holes in the drywall or something.
I think one of the reasons it’s such a rarity is because every time I go to do it the tools are dirty.
Why are they dirty you ask?
Because the last time I patched the drywalls holes I used a little spackle or drywall mud and never cleaned it off.
So before I could use the tool to get the job done I have to clean the tool off first!
APPLICATION: And I think sometimes God isn’t able to use you and me because we just have too much stuff built up, and before He can use us we would have to clean up first.
God is looking for Spiritual believers He can use to restore others.
EXPLANATION: Not only does God require first that the Christian be Spiritual to restore others.
He also requires you to be Gentle to restore others.
He says that the restoration must be done in “the spirit of meekness”
This doesn’t mean you restore some one in a cowardly fearful way.
It has the idea of acting with a quiet strength
ILLUSTRATION: One of my favorite preachers to listen to is Morris Gleiser.
I heard someone describe his preaching in the best way, “It’s like he wraps his arm around you… punches you in the gut, and you walk away saying, ‘I needed that’.”
EXPLANATION: That is exactly what Paul is describing here.
It isn’t the person who raises their voice and brings down their fist to get the point across.
It is a strong and yet gentle way of dealing with people.
ILLUSTRATION: Jesus is the perfect example of this very thing
When Jesus dealt with the religious crowd that came in their pride to try to destroy him with their words… Jesus would confound them with his own.
Over and over again they walked away from Christ having been defeated by his calm but firm response.
But when someone came to Him that was broken… like the woman Jesus met at the well in John 4, Jesus’s response was different.
He was gentle in his dealings with here… He never covered her sin… He actually brought it to the forefront.
But he did it gently.
And when she left the well that day, she went away telling everyone “you need to come a meet this man!”
APPLICATION: Biblical restoration should cause people to walk away from the situation they were in, telling everyone “Come and meet the gracious God that worked in my life.”
You see to truly love our neighbor, we must speak the truth to them… but we must speak the truth in love!
That’s exactly what Paul says over in Ephesians 4:15
Ephesians 4:15 KJV 1900
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
EXPLANATION: The one who is doing the restoring must be SPIRITUAL, GENTLE,… and he must be CAREFUL.
Paul ends the verse with a warning to those helping to restore others… “consider thyself.”
He’s saying to the reader, “Be careful!”
ILLUSTRATION: My brother and I were getting ready to go to a men’s basketball night at our church.
It has just snowed earlier that day and dad told me before we left, “Be careful”
We set out in dad’s 1986 Oldsmobile and had fun playing basketball.
When we got back home, I decided I was going to back the car into place… just to impress my dad a little more.
While I was backing back down I got a little too close to the edge and I clipped the brake line.
When I finally came to stop, I remember thinking of dad’s words… “Be careful”
APPLICATION: One of the great dangers in helping others who have fallen into some sin… is believing that it could never happen to us.
1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV 1900
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Jeremiah 17:9 KJV 1900
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
1 Peter 5:8 KJV 1900
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
ILLUSTRATION: My mom called me on Friday and it was clear something was bothering her.
It only took a few minutes before she shared with me the story of a man named Jason in her church.
Jason had brought his family, his wife and 3 daughter, to church for many years.
Just about two years ago they had left the church for another, and they had lost contact with them outside of social media.
There was shock in my mom’s voice as she shared with me that she had bumped into some of their family and learned that Jason has left his wife and his family for another woman.
My mom asked me the question that so often has crossed my mind… “How did this happen?”
And I don’t know all the details and intricacies of the answer, but I do know this… somewhere along the way, Jason had fallen to the lie, “that could never happen to me.”
APPLICATION: Friend, be careful!
Don’t become a sad story or a heartbreaking sermon illustration!
Listen to the words of Paul, “Consider yourself, lest you also be tempted!”
Allow the heartbreaking situations that you are pulling others out of to be a warning to you not to start down that path!
Be careful!

CONCLUSION

Friend, let’s make Whitehall Baptist Church a place where Biblical restoration is just the norm.
A place where we are bringing others alongside who have fallen!
A place where we are helping the broken find the healing of the Savior!
May this be a place a Spiritual people, who deal gently with other, while carefully examining our own lives!
This morning, if you have fallen, we have a wonderful Savior who loves to put together broken pieces and make something beautiful!
Why don’t you come to Christ and experience a fresh taste of a sweet relationship with Him!
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