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Caught In Sin

                 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)

 

            I frequently begin responses to questions on a social media site with “The first step in any discussion is the definition of terms.” In today’s case, we have a few terms for which we probably think we know the definitions, but just to make sure we’re all on the same page:

            Sin: that which separates us from God and from others. Often, it takes the place rightfully held by someone else. We might replace God with ourselves, people, objects, etc. We can also move people up to a level they should not occupy or lower them to the place of something that is not appropriate for a person.

            Restore: put back into proper position, relationship, and status.

            Gently: using no more force than absolutely necessary. This means that quite a bit of force can be used. For example, gently disarming someone who is using a gun to others might involve punching them or even shooting them, but probably doesn’t require a nuclear bomb or a tank.  But if you can talk the person down, that’s even better.

            Tempted: Enticed. Generally, we think of temptation as an enticement to sin, which seems to be the use here, but one can also be enticed to do what is right.

                Caught: This brings to my mind the image of the woman caught “in the very act” of adultery. I’m not sure where the boundaries for adultery were in that culture. She might have been flirting, or she might have been having sex with someone who was not her husband. No matter the sin involved, one or more people witnessed it. This wasn’t about someone hearing from someone who was told by someone who heard it from someone else. And it wasn’t a gray area. And "caught" may also mean that the person cannot break free from the sin. Restoring someone could take 30 seconds, or 30 years. 

So, you or I come upon someone actively sinning in some way. Our response is to bring that person back into proper relation to God, other people, and even themselves using no more force than necessary.

And all of this must be done with care to ensure those restoring the sinning person aren’t tempted to sin themselves. It seems as though this is often seen as the person who catches someone in sexual sin falling victim to sexual sin, but the person who catches someone in sexual sin and restores that person might be tempted to pride or hatred, or envy of the sinner. It doesn’t have to be the same sin.

We are required to act – to fail to do so is sin. But we need to be prayerful and careful that our acting is wise.

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