“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)
Christians have a problem and it’s themselves. We all seem to forget the grace, mercy and patience God showed us when we were yet sinners. For some odd reason we want to be judge and jury to those around us who have yet to find Christ’s forgiveness. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he tells his readers not to judge any individual who is caught in sin. Temptation comes calling on us all. We must be mindful of how our Lord has graciously led us out of our entanglements and apply the same grace and mercy to others. So many times we harshly judge those around us and if a fellow believer becomes involved in sin we are all too quick to call them out. Paul instructs us to “restore that person gently”. We have no reason to lord our current forgiven status over anyone. We should live out our beliefs with a spirit of humility, knowing how easy it can be to become entangled in sin again.
If a brother or sister in Christ has fallen into sin, how likely are they to confess and be restored if they know their fellow believers are waiting to pounce on their indiscretions without mercy. They are not likely at all and that is the point. We must never forget what grace is; it is the undeserved favor of God. To put it another way, we find favor with God solely because He has decided in His incredible mercy to show us that favor. We haven’t earned it in any way, nor could we ever earn it. We were sinners bound for an everlasting hell when God extended that undeserved favor to us. Many times we are like the man in the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. This man was shown mercy regarding a great debt he owed, yet showed no mercy at all to a man who came to him with a much lesser debt owed to him.
Showing mercy to someone, by definition, is showing them compassion and forgiveness even when we may have the power or authority to punish them. Now we who once stood condemned before God have no such power and authority, yet at times we treat others as if we do. This ought not to be. We must show mercy and compassion to those who don’t know any better and likewise, show that same mercy and compassion to our fallen brothers and sisters. If God had not done that for us, where would we now be?
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
