RESTORATION

"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. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." (Galatians 1:1-3)

The word “restore” was a medical term describing how doctors would reset a broken bone. When someone has a broken bone, a doctor must put it back in place so the injury can heal. That bone will never be exactly the same as before, but the only chance it has of regaining any usefulness is for it to be “restored.”

The same can be said of the believer who has fallen into sin, he has almost zero chance of being healed without our help. According to Paul, one of the important functions of the church is that we, “Bear one another's burdens...”

One of the most needed and yet most neglected ministries in the body of Christ is that of going after and seeking to restore a brethren who has fallen into sin. Many avoid doing it for a number of reasons: No one likes confrontation. They don’t know what to say or how to go about it. They don’t want to be judgmental or critical. They are aware of their own shortcomings and don’t want to come across as hypocrites. So they say, “It’s none of my business,” and let the person go on in his sin. Or, perhaps they tell the pastors and let him deal with it.

Restoring a brethren who has sinned calls for a faith that is both bold and humble, bold enough to confront sin and yet humble enough to see how prone we are to sin and humble enough to depend on the Lord so that we don’t fall into sin in the process of restoring a brethren.

A good Christian mourns his pasts failures, sins, and shortcomings. Since he doesn't do those bad things anymore, he is intolerant toward others who do still commit them. He is impatient toward others who still do bad things. He is trying to live right with God's help.

A spiritual believer on the other hands mourns over what he is. He mourns that he is a sinner. The apostle Paul exclaimed in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Paul mourned what he is, not the bad things he had done. A good Christian mourns the things he has done wrong, but the spiritual believer mourns that he is wrong. The spiritual person cannot bring himself to judge others because he sees himself as the biggest sinner. The spiritual believer does not point fingers at other sinners because he is continually aware of what he is, a woeful sinner! There is a big difference. 

The first responsibility of those who are spiritual is the restoration of one who has sinned. Paul's conditional clause, "if someone is caught in a sin", is framed in such a way as to point to the high probability that believers will sin. Sin in the church is not a hypothetical possibility, it is a reality. Paul is more concerned about the manner in which sinners in the church are treated than in the sin itself.

We can learn three things when trying to restore a fellow believer to keep us from sin while doing it. First, we should be spiritual, this is of the utmost importance. If we aren’t right with God and a mature believer our pride and deep-rooted sin will surface. Second, we should confront the person in order to restore them and not to shame them. Third, we must understand that the roles have the potential to be reversed and we could be the one in need of restoration. Think of those who have left the Lord because they were hurt and shamed rather than restored when confronted about their sin. How many of those would have remained in the Lord if these three principals were considered?

HOW TO DEAL WITH SIN: Psalm 32:1-5

There is a number of Greek words which are translated sin in the New Testament. Here are four of them:

A. Hamartia: Missing the mark (Romans 5:12).

B. Hamartama: Doing an evil deed (I Corinthians 6:18).

C. Paraptoma: Differing from the path (Matthew 6:14).

D. Parabasis: Stepping across a known boundary (Romans 5:14).

Most believers think that sin is sin and that there is no difference it is all the same. The truth is that there is a big and important difference. The Word of God uses various words to describe sin and to distinguish the different types of sin: transgression, sin, iniquity, and deceit. These four are four different types of sin and they have to be dealt with in different ways.

A. Transgression (parabasis): To go beyond a known limit. Before the Law there was sin but no transgression.

B. Sin (hamartia): To miss the mark, to fall short of what God wants us to do.

C. Iniquity (hamartama): Lawlessness, a person will not obey the law of God or man. Making excuses for sin. (Matthew 7:22-23)

D. Deceit (paraptoma): Guile, cunning, guilt. Deceit is concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading.

There are many believers who, because they did not know the difference between these four and how to deal with them; have been forgiven but have not had their joy restored. These four things can also be seen in Psalms 51.

In Psalms 32:5 we see how David dealt with these four:

A. He acknowledged his sin

B. He did not hide his iniquity

C. He confessed his transgression

D. He acknowledged the deceitfulness of his sin (the iniquity of my sin)

When we hide our transgression, we began to feel the weight of transgression upon us (Psalms 32:3-4). The weight of transgression is meant to drive us to confession (Proverbs 28:13).

The main objective of a believer that has sinned is to go past and beyond forgiveness and have his joy and his place in God restored. There is a joy of knowing our sins are forgiven, but there is a greater joy of having the approval of God towards us restored. Many believers have never known this joy.

In Psalms 51:11 the words “Thy Presence” means from his face. God’s face is not forgiveness, but his favor (acceptance or approval). One of the problems that a backslider faces when he comes back to God is that he knows he has been forgiven, but he doesn’t have the joy that he once had in the Lord.

He expects God to fill him with joy the moment he confesses and repents of his sins. How can God give him joy if he has disappointed Him? He has to earn His favor once again. I don’t know how a believer who has sinned and has not been restored to God’s favor can live in peace: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” Psalm 51:12.

When you are out of God’s favor you don’t have joy or liberty. You worship with your body and soul, but your spirit will not worship. The reason is that there is guilt and you are out of God’s favor.

Praise is the first thing to return to you when God gives you joy and it is the first thing to go when you sin (Psalms 51:15).

We might not like getting involved, but the responsibility of restoration rests squarely on the shoulders of those who ‘are spiritual.’ The right thing to do, the Spiritual thing is to restore them. We are called of God to help each other. It is our obligation. We are to provide the accountability and support they need that will help them be restored. Without that support, the person who has fallen into sin may not have the strength to overcome it. We need people who aren’t afraid to get involved in restoring a brethren.