Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness… The exercise of discipline is ever a delicate and dangerous work. Those who have not themselves fallen are apt to be a little puffed up by the sense of their superior purity, and so to neglect to treat outcasts with true Christian considerateness. I. THE DUTY OF CHRISTENS TO SEEK TO RECLAIM THE OVER-TEMPTED. 1. The light in which many sins are to be viewed — a slip into a pit. Sin not indulged in because loved, but because the sinning one has been surprised, overtaken, entrapped by it. 2. The difficulty of rising after such a fall. Despair settles down on the soul; disgrace; self-reproach. Souls that are in the wild, wide forest of sin, with night coming down, are not likely to find their way out when the notches on the trees — such as the Indians make for guidance — have grown over or been obliterated. Souls that have lost their balance on the narrow ledge of the lofty mountain path, are very likely to fall into the abysmal gorge at their side. Then is the time for Christians to step in and take the erring one by the hand, bestowing interest, affection, fellowship. II. THE MANNER AND SPIRIT IN WHICH THIS IS TO BE PERFORMED. The spiritual must act in a spiritual manner. 1. Setting an example in all good. No moderate indulgence in sin, no laxity, no half-measures. 2. The spirit of meekness. This gives us a fellow-feeling, and makes us act as brothers. 3. Consideration for ourselves. We may one day need the helping hand we are now extending to another. Let us, then, do as we would be done by. No boastful, self-sufficient spirit becomes those who are themselves within reach of temptation. (F. Hastings.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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