I greet all of you in the Blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Our text for this morning's message is taken from Galatians 5 26 all the way to chapter 6 verse 5. when your child does something wrong how do you deal with him or her there are different ways in which parents would deal with their children the reason why we choose to deal with our children in a particular way is perhaps we have learned those methods from our parents we reckon in our minds that our parents have dealt with us in the same way and if it works then it will also work for our children others who may have had bad experiences with the way their parents dealt with them will resolve in their hearts never to use those methods so they turned to child psychology or ask their friends for advice and adopted some of those humanistic methods will those methods work most of the time they don't sometimes they do work but only for the moment when it comes to child discipline who should we turn to we do not want our children to behave only for a particular moment but for the rest of their lives so the only way is to turn to the word of God as Proverbs 22 verse 6 says train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it so there is a way in which the child should go a particular way and that particular way is found in the wisdom of God's word not in the wisdom of the world so when our children sinned we turn to the word of God but when the believer sins where should the church turn to the same thing the word of God in Matthew 18 verse 15 to 17 the Lord Jesus Christ taught us how we ought to approach this matter of church discipline firstly you approach the person one-on-one privately if he refuses to repent then you bring one or two more Brethren to confront him if he still refuses to repent then you tell it to the church and if he still refuses to repent then The Church Must exercise discipline and that would be excommunication the purpose of church discipline is not vindictive it is to keep the church pure it is for personal Holiness and biblical separation otherwise before we know it that particular sin will spread to all the other believers in the church the purity of the church is extremely important the church is described as the bride of Christ she must be kept pure and Chase that is why to the Ephesians Paul says have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them Ephesians 5 11. to the Corinthians he says a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump First Corinthians 5 6. so when the believer falls into sin you must confront and if necessary The Church Must discipline what do you do when he repents from that sin you forgive him and what do you do after you have forgiven him you restore him you must seek to bring him all the way back to the place he was before he fell into that sin here we are not talking about a person who refuses to repent where there's no repentance there's no restoration here we are talking about a believer who has been disciplined who has repented of his sins who has been forgiven the last thing on the puzzle is to restore him back to fellowship with God and the Believers in the church this is the ministry of restoration we want to consider for today's message the title of our message is restoring the sinning believer in the preceding verses the Apostle Paul exalted the Believers including you and me about walking in the spirit and not fulfilling the lust of the flesh that is required of every believer however the truth is that we do not always walk in the spirit sometimes we give into the flesh we are tempted Envy you to Temptation and fall into sin even the more spiritual Christian is prone to fall into sin Christians are dead to sin but as long as we live in this Mortal body we ask you capable to fall into sin oftentimes Christians have been accused of being so cold and indifferent we can be so quick to exercise discipline so sharp in confronting sin but so lacking in restoring the Believers who have fallen why because of the lack of love is that vital key Without Love we will not be able to be involved in the ministry of restoration in fact Without Love you and I will not be serving God we will not obey God's commandment we will not engage ourselves in any aspects of the Lord's Ministry love is a most vital key so we want to consider Galatians 5 26 to chapter 6 verse 5. and see how love plays such a vital key in this ministry of restoration firstly Love Is void of vain Glory Galatians 5 26 says let us not be desirous of in glory provoking one another envying one another to be desirous of in glory is to presume that you have some reasons to be proud you have a right to claim Glory and Honor there will always be this danger that some Believers would think they have reached certain spiritual maturity and they look down on those who have fallen into sin perhaps you have the privilege of being born into a Christian family you have good Christian upbringing you have good Christian Heritage your parents your grandparents are all Christians you have been taught the word of God from Young you have been obedient to the Commandments of God and you are spiritually mature praise the Lord but instead of using your spiritual maturity as an opportunity for Ministry for the Lord's services it has become an opportunity for Spiritual Pride instead of using your spiritual strength to help those who are weak you look down on those who are weak instead of encourage encouraging the people you are provoking one another irritating one another why because of being Glory you want others to think oh how I wish I can be a spiritual as him how I wish my children would be as spiritual as his children what you have just done is that you have caused the Believers to Envy one another the weak will now start to envy those who are strong instead of uniting the church you are causing division in the church a division between the strong and the weak a division between the spiritual and those who are less spiritual my friends if we have true love we will not be desirous of vain Glory Glory goes to God never to ourselves we will not be provoking one another and therefore we will not be envying one another as well our second point is love will cause us to be willing to restore Galatians 6 verse 1. Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fort he which are spiritual restore such and one the word brethren emphasizing the fact that we are a family the church is a spiritual family we are Brothers and Sisters in Christ as a family we look out for one another and when we look out for one another we can detect the believer who has fallen into sin Paul did not have a particular situation in mind that was why he used the word if the phrase if a man be overtaken in a fort has the idea of someone who is callous and he or she is caught in a sin or someone who stumbled and fall into sin the person does not commit the sin habitually or with premeditation but rather his callous he is not vigilant he is not alert he let his guards down and fell into sin God's plan is for you who are spiritual to restore such a person spiritual Believers are those who walk in the spirit they are filled with the spirit and manifesting the Fruit of the Spirit First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 15 says but he that is spiritual judges all things yet he himself is Judge of no man for who have known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him but we have the mind of Christ which means the one who is spiritual is the one who has the mind of Christ and he will judge all things according to what he knows about the mind of Christ if you want to have the mind of Christ you must first know the mind of Christ and the only way you can know the mind of Christ is to know his word and once you know his word you must walk in obedience to it that is why Colossians 3 verse 16 says let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom only the spiritual believer can help the one who has fallen because he knows the word of God he knows the mind of Christ he knows what Christ who won this Fallen believer to do and he will be able to help the Fallen one true God's word to restore is to repair it is what fishermen like Peter James and John would do after a night of fishing in order to make their Nets fit enough to be used for the next catch it is to take something that is faulty repair it make it usable again and we apply this into the spiritual Realm the first step to Restoration is to identify and deal with the problem oftentimes this requires us to point out the sin to reproof or even to rebuild the sinful believer or the sinning believer because at the very onset the person must first acknowledge that he has sinned and he needs to repent this is what we call confession and repentance there must be a genuine recognition that he has sinned against God there must be this sorrow for the sins he has committed that will lead to confession then there must be a repentance from the sin a turning away from the sin remember without repentance there is no restoration so until the believer who has sinned a knowledge is the reality of his sinful condition and he is willing to repent the restoration cannot proceed that is why oftentimes we cannot restore the person because he or she sees no issue in the first place if I can give you an illustration it is like a house that has been damaged by the storm the storm came and caused a tree to be uprooted and fell on the house you may say to the owner I can see that you have a real problem here you need some help to restore your house to the original condition I can help you I'm willing to help you but Allah says oh there's no need to do that it is not too bad there are many other houses in the neighborhood worth their mind it is impossible to help someone who doesn't want to acknowledge that he or she needs your help the ultimate goal in restoration is to help the person get right with God to get back to fellowship with God and with the other believers in the church and become a useful servant of the Lord again but the person must first see the need to be restored in order for you to do all that On The Other Extreme there are some so-called Christians who come by look at the house read the Fallen Tree on it and say well that house is so badly damaged it is hopeless it is too bad it is impossible to restore that house back to its original condition sometimes we look at a particular person and we think he or she is a hopeless case we don't even try to help the person we simply say he's hopeless we give up for men it may be impossible but for God all things are made possible unless the person refuses to repent you and I must never give up in the ministry of restoration and the only way we can persevere is that we must have love love will not sit and do nothing it will cause us to be willing to restore our third point is love will cause us to be meek look at the second part of verse one restore such a one in the spirit of meekness considering thyself lest thou also be tempted we restore the sinning Brethren not in Pride or arrogance but in a spirit of meekness and humility instead of looking down on the brother who has fallen into sin we consider ourselves if not for the grace of God we will be in debt same backsliding situation the body of Believers the church is made up of Christians with different levels of spirituality some are more mature than others the church should never be a place for Spiritual pride and vain Glory but rather be a place where the spirit of meekness and humility is evidently manifested our hearts ought to be humbled when we consider ourselves when we truly know who we are if not for God's grace we would have fallen into sin if not for God's preservation we would have been lost in our responsive reading in First Corinthians chapter 10 the Apostle Paul gave an excellent illustration of the Israelites how they were taken out of Egypt and pass through the Red Sea how God carried them throughout the wilderness he guided them with his glory and they went into the Promised Land the Israelites had such great privileges but with such great privileges they became proud and they let their gods down they committed horrendous sins some of them committed fornication and in just one day 23 000 Israelites were killed you read about that in the responsive reading and verse 11 says now all these things happen unto them the Israelites for examples that they are written for our admonitioned upon whom the ends of the world are come which means all these things happen to them for the purpose to serve as an example and they are written for you and me as an admonition or a warning until the end of the world comes what is this warning wherefore let him that think of his standeth take it lest he fall in other words don't be proud just when you think you are strong and spiritual just when you think you can stand on your own better beware less you fall 16 18 says pray goeth Before Destruction and and holy spirit or Pride before a fall before a person falls there will be this prideful spirit I think I can I think I'm strong enough I think I know what I'm able to decide for myself I don't need God that will cause your downfall
the Apostle Paul says it in another way in verse 3 for if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing he deceiveth himself man is nothing we are nothing my friend if Paul who was a spiritual Giant man of great faith a faithful servant mightily used by God in comparison with us and he introduced himself as the chief of sins then what about us we are nothing do you know why people are proud and they think they are somebody the moment someone thinks he's somebody that is when he Compares himself with someone else and that standard of comparison is wrong when you compare yourself with someone else you can always find someone worse off than you let's say one day your child comes back from school and says to you mom my behavior and my result is very good you ask how do you know it is good well it is better than the worst student in the school surely you will say to your child if you want to compare yourself you compare with the best you don't compare yourself with the worst we can always find someone worse off than us we do not compare ourselves with ourselves We compare ourselves to Christ he is our perfect standard that is why first John chapter 2 verse 6 says this he that saith he abideth in him the believer is the one who says I'm in Christ I'm one with him so if you say that you abideth in Christ then you order yourself so to walk even as he walked so you say that you are a Christian you abide in the Lord Jesus Christ you are one with him then you ought to walk and live your life like the way Jesus walk and live his life the moment we do that we will realize that we always fall short and we will be humbled there will no longer be this Pride but the moment our standard of comparison is wrong we pick on someone else that is when we think there are reasons for us to be proud love will cause us to be humble our fourth point is love will cause us to Bear one another's burden look at verse 2. they one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ to Bear is to hold a burden is something that is heavy in life there are many different kinds of burdens that way people don't there are physical burdens emotional burdens mental burdens Financial burdens spiritual burdens Etc indeed there will always be times in our Christian lives whereby we need some help with caring different burdens certain pains struggles afflictions sorrows and heartaches which we ourselves find extremely heavy to carry how much more when the person has fallen into sin the sinning brother needs someone to come alongside to help him so the ministry of restoration is not just to pick the believer up but it also includes bearing that particular burden that is spiritually so heavy for him sometimes we are so good in quoting scripture verses whenever we see someone who is heavily burdened we know those scripture verses like Psalm 55 22 cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain you or First Peter chapter 5 verse 7 most of us are very familiar casting all your cares upon Him for he careth for you of course the Lord cares for us and he will help us but one of the ways in which he will help us is that we bear one another's burdens how do we bear one another's burdens allow me to suggest to you that it is to be accountable to one another when a brother or the sister has fallen into sin that person is easily tempted in a particular area right you can help to Bear one another's burdens by saying to him brother whenever you feel tempted remember me remember to call me and I will pray with you or I will pray for you perhaps there's someone who has just gotten out of an immoral relationship he's struggling and you need someone to speak to or someone to spend time with you can help to Bear one another's burdens by saying to the person I'm always available I'm willing to be the listening year and you can spend time to read the Bible with the person encourage the person with the word of God or perhaps there's someone who struggles with the sin of slacking in attending worship services or Fellowship meetings or Bible studies sometimes you see him sometimes you don't you can help to Bear one another's burdens by constantly reminding the person and even fetching the person to those meetings if the distance is the problem my friends what you're trying to do is to make the person accountable it is to let the person know that I know that you have a great struggle in this particular area and I'm willing to come alongside you to remind you to speak to you to encourage you to help you at every step of the way in the process of doing that that person will know that he is not carrying that burden alone now there are two persons carrying that burden it is about accountability when we obey God's command to Bear one another's burdens we fulfill the law of Christ in John 13 34 Jesus says a new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you that he also love one another the law of Christ is the law of love that is why Paul says in Galatians 5 14 for all the law is fulfilled in one word even in this thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself if I were to ask this question do you love the Lord do you love him so much that you want to keep his commandment I believe all of us will say yes let us pause and ask ourselves two questions who have we helped to carry their burdens in the past who have we helped currently to carry the abundance if we have never been involved in restoring the brethren if we have never been bearing one another's burdens we are not fulfilling the law of Christ may the Lord forgive us love will cause us to look Beyond ourselves beyond our own needs beyond our comforts beyond our conveniences and into the lives of others and love will cause us to help bear one another's burdens finally love will cause us to live for the glory of God look at verse 4. but let every man prove his own work and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another to prove is to test every believer is responsible to test his own works and it has his own works against God's standard against God's word to test is to examine the evidence in order to prove that it is genuine it is reliable and it is real how do we know that we are really doing the Lord's work how do we know that we are really serving the lord how do we know that we are spiritual we need to test our works is it real or is it fake so we must constantly test our own works against the word of God when the believer knows that his works other proof by the holy scriptures the word of God gives sufficient evidence that it is genuine reliable and real then there is great rejoicing that is why Paul says he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another which means at the end of the day you alone have to stand before the almighty God all by yourself and he will verify your works remember second good Indians five verse 10 says for we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ that is the bema seed of Jesus Christ and on on that day everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he had done whether it be good or bad so if our works are wood hay and stubble they will be burnt up just like us like the smoke puff that's it gone but if our works are gold silver and precious stone which means they are genuine real and reliable then they will pass the test and we will receive the reward our lord Jesus will give to us that is why verse 5 says for every man shall bear his own burdened in verse 2 Paul said we should bear one another's burdens now verse 5 he says that everyone shall bear his own burden was he contradicting himself you see hear the word burdened is a different word from the burden in verse 2. in verse 2 the burden is a heavy weight it has to do with sin and sin is a heavy burden but here the meaning of the word burden is a little load a different word every believer has a certain load to carry in the responsibility he has in God's Ministry God has given to us certain responsibilities in regards to our services in regards to the things we do for the Lord you and I have this load to carry when someone in the church refuses to carry his or her particular Lord that additional weight will be put on to the other believers and God has not designed another individual who is exactly like you to carry that load for you every one of us has to carry his or her own burden but when every believer carries his or her own Lord the church will be spiritually healthy my friends there is work that God has for you alone to do he has called you not someone else and no one else can do it for you except you yourself because he has called you specially to do this particular work that's a saying that in most churches it is the 25 of the people doing the 100 work in the church if that statement is true about better baby Church then it is more sent how can 25 percent be doing the 100 work where is a 75 percent if one day we stand before the almighty God it will be revealed who are the 25 percent and who are part of the 75 percent if that statement is true God forbids every one of us is a part of the church no one is a spectator so my friends love is the vital key in restoring the sinning believer in fact in every aspect of Our Lives Without Love we will never be involved in the ministry of restoration and for that matter in all the other ministries of the church Without Love we will be proud Without Love we will not be willing to restore one another we will not care about one another Without Love we will not be willing to Bear one another's burdens Without Love we will not leave for the glory of God Without Love the church will be cold the church will be indifferent every man every woman and every child will only care about his or her own things how can that be we who have experienced The Amazing Love that our God has shown to us how can we not have love in reaching out and restoring the Brethren who has fallen into sin I pray that this Divine love will be manifested throughout every believer in this church until our lord Jesus returns for as long as our church would exist if God carries This Love Divine love must be manifested out of each and every one of our lives do the glory of God let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank thee for the opportunity that we can consider this portion of scriptures just as thou has taught us to walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh thou has also taught us what it means to manifest the Fruit of the Spirit and that is love love plays such a key and vital role in our lives Without Love we will not be involved in thy Ministry especially in the ministry of restoration we will only care about ourselves and not others how much more a fallen believer someone who has repented and wants to be restored to Fellowship Without Love who cares Without Love we will be proud we will be provoking one another that leads us to Envy one another Without Love we would not be willing to restore one another we will not be willing to carry one another's burdens and ultimately we will not live our lives to the glory of Thee and we pray that thou who has taught us this blessed lost day that we ought to have this love we who have experience thy Divine love ought to manifest out of our Lives the love that thou has shown to us that thy love will be shared abroad from our hearts and we pray that this Divine love will always be clearly manifested throughout the Believers in this church that thou has established and to our lord Jesus returns maybe love one another restore one another bear one another's burden live our lives do thy Glory this we pray in Jesus name amen.
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our text for this morning's message is taken from Galatians 5:26 all the way to chapter 6, verse 5.
When your child does something wrong, how do you deal with him or her? There are different ways in which parents would deal with their children. The reason why we choose to deal with our children in a particular way is perhaps we have learned those methods from our parents. We reckon in our minds that our parents have dealt with us in the same way, and if it works, then it will also work for our children. Others who may have had bad experiences with the way their parents dealt with them will resolve in their hearts never to use those methods. So they turn to child psychology or ask their friends for advice and adopt some of those humanistic methods. Will those methods work? Most of the time, they don't. Sometimes they do work, but only for the moment. When it comes to child discipline, who should we turn to? We do not want our children to behave only for a particular moment but for the rest of their lives. So the only way is to turn to the word of God, as Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." There is a way in which the child should go, a particular way, and that particular way is found in the wisdom of God's word, not in the wisdom of the world. So when our children sin, we turn to the word of God. But when the believer sins, where should the church turn to? The same thing: the word of God. In Matthew 18:15-17, the Lord Jesus Christ taught us how we ought to approach this matter of church discipline. Firstly, you approach the person one-on-one, privately. If he refuses to repent, then you bring one or two more brethren to confront him. If he still refuses to repent, then you tell it to the church. And if he still refuses to repent, then the church must exercise discipline, and that would be excommunication. The purpose of church discipline is not vindictive; it is to keep the church pure. It is for personal holiness and biblical separation. Otherwise, before we know it, that particular sin will spread to all the other believers in the church. The purity of the church is extremely important. The church is described as the bride of Christ; she must be kept pure and chaste. That is why to the Ephesians, Paul says, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:11). To the Corinthians, he says, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). So when the believer falls into sin, you must confront, and if necessary, the church must discipline. What do you do when he repents from that sin? You forgive him. And what do you do after you have forgiven him? You restore him. You must seek to bring him all the way back to the place he was before he fell into that sin. Here, we are not talking about a person who refuses to repent. Where there's no repentance, there's no restoration. Here, we are talking about a believer who has been disciplined, who has repented of his sins, who has been forgiven. The last thing on the puzzle is to restore him back to fellowship with God and the believers in the church. This is the ministry of restoration we want to consider for today's message.
The title of our message is Restoring the Sinning Believer. In the preceding verses, the Apostle Paul exhorted the believers, including you and me, about walking in the spirit and not fulfilling the lust of the flesh. That is required of every believer. However, the truth is that we do not always walk in the spirit. Sometimes we give in to the flesh. We are tempted, en route to temptation, and fall into sin. Even the more spiritual Christian is prone to fall into sin. Christians are dead to sin, but as long as we live in this mortal body, we are susceptible to fall into sin. Oftentimes, Christians have been accused of being so cold and indifferent. We can be so quick to exercise discipline, so sharp in confronting sin, but so lacking in restoring the believers who have fallen. Why? Because of the lack of love. Is that vital key. Without love, we will not be able to be involved in the ministry of restoration. In fact, without love, you and I will not be serving God. We will not obey God's commandment. We will not engage ourselves in any aspects of the Lord's ministry. Love is a most vital key.
So we want to consider Galatians 5:26 to chapter 6, verse 5, and see how love plays such a vital key in this ministry of restoration. Firstly, love is void of vain glory. Galatians 5:26 says, "Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." To be desirous of vain glory is to presume that you have some reasons to be proud, you have a right to claim glory and honor. There will always be this danger that some believers would think they have reached certain spiritual maturity, and they look down on those who have fallen into sin. Perhaps you have the privilege of being born into a Christian family. You have good Christian upbringing, you have good Christian heritage, your parents, your grandparents are all Christians, you have been taught the word of God from young, you have been obedient to the commandments of God, and you are spiritually mature. Praise the Lord. But instead of using your spiritual maturity as an opportunity for ministry, for the Lord's service, it has become an opportunity for spiritual pride. Instead of using your spiritual strength to help those who are weak, you look down on those who are weak. Instead of encouraging the people, you are provoking one another, irritating one another. Why? Because of being Glory. You want others to think, "Oh, how I wish I can be as spiritual as him! How I wish my children would be as spiritual as his children!" What you have just done is that you have caused the Believers to Envy one another. The weak will now start to envy those who are strong. Instead of uniting the church, you are causing division in the church—a division between the strong and the weak, a division between the spiritual and those who are less spiritual.
My friends, if we have true love, we will not be desirous of vain Glory. Glory goes to God, never to ourselves. We will not be provoking one another, and therefore, we will not be envying one another as well.
Our second point is love will cause us to be willing to restore (Galatians 6:1). "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one." The word "brethren" emphasizes the fact that we are a family. The church is a spiritual family; we are brothers and sisters in Christ. As a family, we look out for one another, and when we look out for one another, we can detect the believer who has fallen into sin.
Paul did not have a particular situation in mind; that was why he used the word "if." The phrase "if a man be overtaken in a fault" has the idea of someone who is callous and he or she is caught in a sin, or someone who stumbled and fell into sin. The person does not commit the sin habitually or with premeditation, but rather, he is callous; he is not vigilant; he is not alert; he let his guard down and fell into sin.
God's plan is for you who are spiritual to restore such a person. Spiritual believers are those who walk in the spirit; they are filled with the spirit and manifesting the Fruit of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:15 says, "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." Which means the one who is spiritual is the one who has the mind of Christ, and he will judge all things according to what he knows about the mind of Christ. If you want to have the mind of Christ, you must first know the mind of Christ, and the only way you can know the mind of Christ is to know His word. And once you know His word, you must walk in obedience to it. That is why Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom." Only the spiritual believer can help the one who has fallen because he knows the word of God; he knows the mind of Christ; he knows what Christ who wants this fallen believer to do, and he will be able to help the fallen one through God's word.
To restore is to repair. It is what fishermen like Peter, James, and John would do after a night of fishing in order to make their nets fit enough to be used for the next catch. It is to take something that is faulty, repair it, make it usable again, and we apply this into the spiritual realm. The first step to restoration is to identify and deal with the problem. Oftentimes, this requires us to point out the sin, to reprove, or even to rebuke the sinful believer or the sinning believer because at the very onset, the person must first acknowledge that he has sinned and he needs to repent. This is what we call confession and repentance. There must be a genuine recognition that he has sinned against God. There must be this sorrow for the sins he has committed that will lead to confession. Then there must be a repentance from the sin, a turning away from the sin. Remember, without repentance, there is no restoration. So until the believer who has sinned acknowledges the reality of his sinful condition and he is willing to repent, the restoration cannot proceed. That is why oftentimes we cannot restore the person because he or she sees no issue in the first place.
If I can give you an illustration, it is like a house that has been damaged by the storm. The storm came and caused a tree to be uprooted and fall on the house. You may say to the owner, "I can see that you have a real problem here. You need some help to restore your house to the original condition. I can help you. I'm willing to help you." But alas, he says, "Oh, there's no need to do that. It is not too bad. There are many other houses in the neighborhood worse than mine." It is impossible to help someone who doesn't want to acknowledge that he or she needs your help.
The ultimate goal in restoration is to help the person get right with God, to get back to fellowship with God and with the other believers in the church, and become a useful servant of the Lord again. But the person must first see the need to be restored in order for you to do all that. On the other extreme, there are some so-called Christians who come by, look at the house, read the fallen tree on it, and say, "Well, that house is so badly damaged; it is hopeless. It is too bad. It is impossible to restore that house back to its original condition." Sometimes we look at a particular person, and we think he or she is a hopeless case. We don't even try to help the person; we simply say, "He's hopeless." We give up. For men, it may be impossible, but for God, all things are made possible, unless the person refuses to repent. You and I must never give up in the ministry of restoration, and the only way we can persevere is that we must have love. Love will not sit and do nothing; it will cause us to be willing to restore.
Our third point is love will cause us to be meek. Look at the second part of verse one, "restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." We restore the sinning brethren not in pride or arrogance but in a spirit of meekness and humility. Instead of looking down on the brother who has fallen into sin, we consider ourselves. If not for the grace of God, we will be in that same backsliding situation.
The body of believers, the church, is made up of Christians with different levels of spirituality. Some are more mature than others. The church should never be a place for spiritual pride and vain glory but rather be a place where the spirit of meekness and humility is evidently manifested. Our hearts ought to be humbled when we consider ourselves, when we truly know who we are. If not for God's grace, we would have fallen into sin. If not for God's preservation, we would have been lost.
In our responsive reading in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, the Apostle Paul gave an excellent illustration of the Israelites—how they were taken out of Egypt and passed through the Red Sea, how God carried them throughout the wilderness,
He guided them with His glory, and they went into the promised land. The Israelites had such great privileges, but with such great privileges, they became proud, and they let their guard down. They committed horrendous sins; some of them committed fornication, and in just one day, 23,000 Israelites were killed. You read about that in the responsive reading, and verse 11 says, "Now all these things happened unto them” – the Israelites – “for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." Which means all these things happened to them for the purpose to serve as an example, and they are written for you and me as an admonition or a warning until the end of the world comes. What is this warning? "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." In other words, don't be proud. Just when you think you are strong and spiritual, just when you think you can stand on your own, better beware lest you fall. Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Before a person falls, there will be this prideful spirit: "I think I can, I think I'm strong enough, I think I know what I'm able to decide for myself, I don't need God." That will cause your downfall.
The Apostle Paul says it in another way. In verse 3, "For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." Man is nothing. We are nothing, my friend. If Paul, who was a spiritual giant, a man of great faith, a faithful servant mightily used by God, in comparison with us, and he introduced himself as the chief of sinners, then what about us? We are nothing. Do you know why people are proud and they think they are somebody? The moment someone thinks he's somebody, that is when he compares himself with someone else. And that standard of comparison is wrong. When you compare yourself with someone else, you can always find someone worse off than you.
Let's say one day your child comes back from school and says to you, "Mom, my behavior and my result is very good." You ask, "How do you know it is good?" "Well, it is better than the worst student in the school." Surely you will say to your child, "If you want to compare yourself, you compare with the best. You don't compare yourself with the worst." We can always find someone worse off than us. We do not compare ourselves with ourselves. We compare ourselves to Christ. He is our perfect standard. That is why 1 John 2:6 says, "He that saith he abideth in him,
- ASIDE(?): the believer is the one who says I'm in Christ I'm one with him so if you say that you abideth in Christ then you order yourself
ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." So, if you say that you
- are a Christian you abide in the Lord Jesus Christ you are one with him
abide in Christ, then you ought to walk and live your life like the way Jesus walked and lived his life. The moment we do that, we will realize that we always fall short, and we will be humbled. There will no longer be this pride. But the moment our standard of comparison is wrong, we pick on someone else, that is when we think there are reasons for us to be proud.
Love will cause us to be humble. Our fourth point is love will cause us to bear one another's burden. Look at verse 2, "They one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." To bear is to hold. A burden is something that is heavy. In life, there are many different kinds of burdens that weigh people down. There are physical burdens, emotional burdens, mental burdens, financial burdens, spiritual burdens, etc. Indeed, there will always be times in our Christian lives whereby we need some help with carrying different burdens, certain pains, struggles, afflictions, sorrows, and heartaches which we ourselves find extremely heavy to carry. How much more when the person has fallen into sin? The sinning brother needs someone to come alongside to help him. So, the ministry of restoration is not just to pick the believer up, but it also includes bearing that particular burden that is spiritually so heavy for him.
Sometimes we are so good in quoting scripture verses. Whenever we see someone who is heavily burdened, we know those scripture verses like Psalm 55:22, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee." Or 1 Peter 5:7, most of us are very familiar, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." Of course, the Lord cares for us, and He will help us. But one of the ways in which He will help us is that we bear one another's burdens. How do we bear one another's burdens? Allow me to suggest to you that it is to be accountable to one another. When a brother or the sister has fallen into sin, that person is easily tempted in a particular area, right? You can help to bear one another's burdens by saying to him, "Brother, whenever you feel tempted, remember me. Remember to call me, and I will pray with you or I will pray for you."
Perhaps there's someone who has just gotten out of an immoral relationship, he's struggling, and you need someone to speak to or someone to spend time with. You can help to bear one another's burdens by saying to the person, "I'm always available. I'm willing to be the listening ear, and you can spend time to read the Bible with the person, encourage the person with the word of God." Or perhaps there's someone who struggles with the sin of slacking in attending worship services or fellowship meetings or Bible studies. Sometimes you see him, sometimes you don't. You can help to bear one another's burdens by constantly reminding the person and even fetching the person to those meetings if the distance is the problem. My friends, what you're trying to do is to make the person accountable. It is to let the person know that I know that you have a great struggle in this particular area, and I'm willing to come alongside you to remind you, to speak to you, to encourage you, to help you at every step of the way. In the process of doing that, that person will know that he is not carrying that burden alone. Now there are two persons carrying that burden. It is about accountability.
When we obey God's command to bear one another's burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. In John 13:34, Jesus says, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." The law of Christ is the law of love. That is why Paul says in Galatians 5:14, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." If I were to ask this question, "Do you love the Lord? Do you love Him so much that you want to keep His commandments?" I believe all of us will say yes. Let us pause and ask ourselves two questions: Who have we helped to carry their burdens in the past? Who are we helping currently to carry their burdens? If we have never been involved in restoring the brethren, if we have never been bearing one another's burdens, we are not fulfilling the law of Christ. May the Lord forgive us.
Love will cause us to look beyond ourselves, beyond our own needs, beyond our comforts, beyond our conveniences, and into the lives of others. And love will cause us to help bear one another's burdens. Finally, love will cause us to live for the glory of God. Look at verse 4, "But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another." To prove is to test. Every believer is responsible to test his own works and to test his own works against God's standard, against God's word. To test is to examine the evidence in order to prove that it is genuine, it is reliable, and it is real.
How do we know that we are really doing the Lord's work? How do we know that we are really serving the Lord? How do we know that we are spiritual? We need to test our works. Is it real or is it fake? So, we must constantly test our own works against the word of God. When the believer knows that his works are proved by the Holy Scriptures, the word of God gives sufficient evidence that it is genuine, reliable, and real, then there is great rejoicing. That is why Paul says, "He hath rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another," which means at the end of the day, you alone have to stand before the Almighty God all by yourself
, and He will verify your works. Remember 2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that
- is the bema seed of Jesus Christ and on on that day
every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
So, if our works are wood, hay, and stubble, they will be burnt up, just like as the(?) smoke puff. That's it, gone. But if our works are gold, silver, and precious stone, which means they are genuine, real, and reliable, then they will pass the test, and we will receive the reward our Lord Jesus will give to us. That is why verse 5 says, "For every man shall bear his own burden." In verse 2, Paul said we should bear one another's burdens. Now, in verse 5, he says that everyone shall bear his own burden. Was he contradicting himself? You see, here the word "burden" is a different word from the "burden" in verse 2. In verse 2, the burden is a heavy weight. It has to do with sin, and sin is a heavy burden. But here, the meaning of the word "burden" is a little load, a different word.
Every believer has a certain load to carry in the responsibility he has in God's ministry. God has given to us certain responsibilities in regards to our services, in regards to the things we do for the Lord. You and I have this load to carry. When someone in the church refuses to carry his or her particular load, that additional weight will be put onto the other believers. And God has not designed another individual who is exactly like you to carry that load for you. Every one of us has to carry his or her own burden. But when every believer carries his or her own load, the church will be spiritually healthy.
My friends, there is work that God has for you alone to do. He has called you, not someone else, and no one else can do it for you except you yourself because He has called you specially to do this particular work. There's a saying that in most churches, it is the 25% of the people doing the 100% work in the church. If that statement is true about Bethlehem Church, then it is more sad. How can 25% be doing the 100% work? Where is the 75%? If one day we stand before the Almighty God, it will be revealed who are the 25% and who are part of the 75%. If that statement is true, God forbids every one of us is a part of the church. No one is a spectator.
So, my friends, love is the vital key in restoring the sinning believer. In fact, in every aspect of our lives, without love, we will never be involved in the ministry of restoration and for that matter in all the other ministries of the church. Without love, we will be proud. Without love, we will not be willing to restore one another. We will not care about one another. Without love, we will not be willing to bear one another's burdens. Without love, we will not live for the glory of God. Without love, the church will be cold, the church will be indifferent, every man, every woman, and every child will only care about his or her own things. How can that be? We who have experienced the amazing love that our God has shown to us. How can we not have love in reaching out and restoring the brethren who has fallen into sin?
I pray that this divine love will be manifested throughout every believer in this church until our Lord Jesus returns for as long as our church would exist. If God carries, this love, divine love, must be manifested out of each and every one of our lives to the glory of God. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for the opportunity that we can consider this portion of Scriptures. Just as Thou hast taught us to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh, Thou hast also taught us what it means to manifest the fruit of the Spirit, and that is love.
Love plays such a key and vital role in our lives. Without love, we will not be involved in Thy ministry, especially in the ministry of restoration. We will only care about ourselves and not others. How much more a fallen believer, someone who has repented and wants to be restored to fellowship. Without love, who cares? Without love, we will be proud, we will be provoking one another, that leads us to envy one another. Without love, we would not be willing to restore one another, we will not be willing to carry one another's burdens. And ultimately, we will not live our lives to the glory of Thee.
And we pray that Thou, who hast taught us this blessed Lord’s Day, that we ought to have this love, we who have experienced Thy divine love, ought to manifest out of our lives the love that Thou hast shown to us. That Thy love will be shared abroad from our hearts. And we pray that this divine love will always be clearly manifested throughout the believers in this church that Thou hast established. And to our Lord Jesus returns, maybe love one another, restore one another, bear one another's burdens, live our lives to Thy glory. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.