Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more