How to help a Christian trapped in sin

Senior pastor, Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, Pennsylvania
Brothers, if anyone is involved in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of kindness. Watch over yourself, so as not to be tempted too. Galatians 6: 1

Have you ever been caught in sin? The word translated "caught" in Galatians 6: 1 means "passed". It has the meaning of becoming entangled. Overwhelmed. Caught in a trap.

Not only unbelievers, but believers may be stumbled by sin. Trapped. Unable to burst easily.

How should we react?

How should we treat someone who is overwhelmed with a sin? What if someone comes to you and confesses to you that they are trapped in pornography? They are either giving in to anger or overeating. How should we react to them?

Unfortunately, believers don't always react very kindly. When a teenager confesses a sin, the parents say things like, "How could you do that?" or "What were you thinking?" Unfortunately, there have been times when my children have confessed the sin to me where I have expressed my disappointment by lowering my head or showing a pained look.

God's word says that if someone is trapped in ANY wrongdoing we should kindly restore him. ANY transgression: Believers sometimes fall hard. Believers get trapped in bad things. Sin is deceptive and very often believers fall prey to its deceptions. While it is disappointing and sad and sometimes shocking when a fellow believer confesses that he has fallen into grave sin, we need to be careful in how we react to them.

Our goal: to return them to Christ

Our first goal should be to RESTORE them to Christ: “you who are spiritual, you should restore it”. We should point them to Jesus' forgiveness and mercy. To remind them that He paid for each of our sins on the cross. To assure them that Jesus is an understanding and merciful high priest who waits on his throne of grace to show them mercy and give them help in their time of need.

Even if they are unrepentant, our goal should be to save them and bring them back to Christ. The church discipline described in Matthew 18 is not a punishment, but a rescue operation that seeks to bring the lost sheep back to the Lord.

Kindness, not exasperation

And as we try to restore someone, we should do it "in a spirit of kindness", not exasperation - "I can't believe you did it again!" There is no place for anger or disgust. Sin has painful consequences and sinners often suffer. Injured people must be handled with kindness.

That doesn't mean we can't make corrections, especially if they don't listen or repent. But we should always treat others as we would like to be treated.

And one of the biggest reasons for kindness is to "watch over yourself, not to be tempted too". We should never judge someone caught in sin, because next time it could be us. We may be tempted and fall into the same sin, or into a different one, and find ourselves having to be restored. Never think, "How could this person do this?" or "I would never do that!" It is always better to think: “I too am a sinner. I could fall too. Next time our roles could be reversed “.

I haven't always done these things well. I haven't always been nice. I was arrogant in my heart. But I want to be more like Jesus who didn't wait for us to do our actions together before having compassion on us. And I want to fear God, knowing that I can be tempted and fall just like anyone else.