A Sinning Brother

This caught my eye today; it is in Galatians 6:1-3, talking about a brother that is caught in sin.  Question: if a brother sins against you, how would you respond?  Would you lord over him, belittle him and reject him in un-forgiveness?  Would you still love him, or would you take on the self-righteous role, thinking that you are better than he is and you would never do something like that?  Would you take on the form of a Pharisee with their piety and arrogance, or would you show some compassion and love? 

It says this about a Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14, “Jesus told this story to some people who thought they were very good and looked down on everyone else: ‘A Pharisee and a tax collector both went to the Temple to pray.  The Pharisee stood alone and prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people who steal, cheat, or take part in adultery, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week, and I give one-tenth of everything I get!’  The tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even look up to heaven.  But he beat on his chest because he was so sad.  He said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  I tell you, when this man went home, he was right with God, but the Pharisee was not.  All who make themselves great will be made humble, but all who make themselves humble will be made great.”

It is easy to look down on others and act holier than thou, but you will only be fooling yourself.  Remember this statement, “But for the grace of God there go I.”  A brother that sins needs support from other believers, he needs to know that he is loved and not rejected.  The Pharisee was there to impress people, the Publican was there to repent and to seek God’s forgiveness and deliverance from his sin and to beg for mercy.  Self- righteousness leads to pride and can cause you to despise others.  Believers should pray for God’s mercy because we all need it.  None of us are totally without sin and we all desperately need God’s mercy, grace and forgiveness every day.  

Galatians 6:1-3, says this about this subject, “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.  And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  Share each others burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.  If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.”

We all need each other and we need to bless and encourage one another.  Jesus said this is how to handle a brother or sister that sins against you in Matthew 18:15-17, “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense.  If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.  But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.  If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church.  Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.”

It seems that we hardly keep people accountable; if we did it the correct way I think there would be a lot less transgression in the body of Christ.  Confronting the person should be out of a concerned heart and not out of vengeance.  This is talking about believers and not un-believers.  My suggestion would be to bathe the whole situation in prayer, seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance before you go.  Something to think about, God bless and have a great day!!