Restoration

“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” Galatians 6:1

Picture a group of people gathered to learn about the Word of God. The teacher has just sat down to teach when suddenly the leaders of the church burst in the room, dragging in a woman who has been caught having an affair. They begin to quote what they think the Bible says should be done with this woman and then they ask the teacher, “What do you say?”

This may sound ludicrous, but this is exactly what happened to Jesus in John, Chapter 8. Jesus was in the temple. He had just sat down to teach when the religious leaders brought to him a woman caught in the very act of adultery. Instead of confronting the woman privately, allowing her to repent, praying with her and restoring her, they choose to hurt and shame her in front of Jesus and the crowd of people that had gathered to hear him teach. They thought the woman should be stoned to death. They demanded an answer from Jesus, so he finally said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

When I think about those who have left the church because someone hurt and shamed them rather than restored them when confronted with sin, my heart breaks. The Bible instructs those who are godly to gently and humbly help other believers who are overcome by sin back onto the right path. We are all subject to sin. Some day the roles could be reversed and we could be the one in need of restoration.