YE WHICH ARE SPIRITUAL, RESTORE SUCH AN ONE

Dealing with sin in the local assembly is of great importance. The Lord has so designed His church that its purity is of special concern to Him. The apostle Paul talks about having espoused to Christ ‘a chaste virgin’, 2 Cor. 11. 2, and emphasises to the Ephesians the importance of having ‘no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness’, Eph. 5. 11. When somebody in the assembly is found to be guilty of sin requiring public discipline, the saints are to put that particular individual out, because ‘a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump’, 1 Cor. 5. 6. The Lord’s holy temple cannot be treated like a social club where people come and go as they please.

What then do we do when someone sins? Under the guidance of godly elders, we discipline them. If they repent and turn from that sin, what then? We forgive them in the fullest sense. What should we do after they are forgiven? We should restore them, taking them all the way back to the place where they were before they fell. Although some sins leave life-long governmental consequences, the ministry of restoration is a vital link in the process of dealing with sin in the church. How easy it is to point the finger of accusation, John 8. 3-11, and merely criticise and condemn! Here Paul exhorts believers who are characterised by walking in the Spirit to ‘restore’ the one who has been caught in sin. The Lord Himself outlined the basic process of discipline and restoration in Matthew chapter 18 verses 15-20.

The word ‘restore’, meaning to ‘mend’ or ‘repair’ and was used of setting a broken bone or fixing a dislocated limb. Since the church is body-like, with all members playing their part, the sinning believer is therefore akin to a broken bone needing repair. The process can be very painful but should be carried out in love, Gal. 5. 13, with a humble and gentle attitude.

The believer who lives ‘in the Spirit’ will recognise that no one is immune from temptation and, acknowledging his own weaknesses, will always be alert to the dangers of falling. May we all be awake to the solemn truth: ‘let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall’, 1 Cor. 10. 12.