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. Galatians 6:1
In the fourth and fifth centuries, a sect of so-called Christianity called Donatism developed in the African countries of what would now be Algeria and Tunisia. Among their other doctrines, the Donatists taught that if any member of their church should be excommunicated for any reason, there was no provision for that person to ever be received back into their fellowship. That sounds pretty harsh! And it was. It was also wrong. The Donatists had to toss aside a significant portion of the Scriptures to come up with that doctrine. That includes our text today, which makes it clear that restoration should always be the goal when a Christian has a spiritual fall.
There will always be people among us who are overtaken with a fault. It happens, and it happens to people who we least expect at times. Some faults can be readily remedied with a word of rebuke or correction, and some faults are so serious that excommunication is necessary. But none of those faults need result in a permanent loss. The word ‘restore’ refers to being placed back into a former position. And that is exactly what should happen to those who have backslidden or erred in their ways. God wants to see them restored, and the other Christians should want to see them restored, too. But any efforts to bring about their restoration are to be in the spirit of deepest humility.
None of us is immune to a fall. Our text is directed at Christians who are spiritual, that is, Christians who are enjoying their salvation and who are joyfully serving and worshiping the Lord every day. But spiritual Christians can also be tempted, and can yield to the same temptations that caused the other brother or sister to be overcome in a fault. If we ever forget that, we can become cold and heartless in our attitude toward people. We can lose sight of God’s loving desire for restoration. If our desire is to see offenders punished, we have lost sight of God’s purpose of restoration. And we place ourselves in great danger of being overtaken in an even greater fault. The day that you and I see ourselves as better than other Christians, even Christians who are backslidden, is a day that we will come to rue.
It is easy to find Christians with faults. Just look in the mirror to find the closest one. – Jim MacIntosh