The Power of Galatians 6:1

“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” Galatians 6:1

The intention of the Apostle Paul in the Galatians 6:1 text is to admonish the church about the seriousness of God’s attribute of mercy and grace by extending forgiveness to those who are caught in sin. The inability to forgive is the temptation Paul is referring to in this passage. The blood of Jesus Christ, His work on the cross, and His sealed promise of the Holy Spirit is remedy for the forgiveness of sins. It is not the forgiveness of SOME sins, it is not the forgiveness of A FEW sins, but it is the forgiveness of ALL sins no matter what has been done. The church must learn to forgive.

The leaders of the church can hardly afford to set aside the gospel of Christ, even for a moment, by justifying their lack of forgiveness because of a political cause. The Principle of Solidarity is very much a part of God’s doctrine; as goes the head so goes the body. If leaders are going to take up what they believe to be a righteous cause they need to know full well what are the doctrines, motivations, and intentions of that cause. Once you have signed on to it. In God’s eyes, you own it!

The Principle of Solidarity: In Joshua 7, the men of Israel are defeated at Ai. Joshua inquires of the Lord about the defeat. The Lord tells him there is sin in the camp of Israel which caused their defeat. In order to weed out the sin, Joshua orders the drawing of lots from tribe to tribe as commanded by the Lord. The lots uncover Achan from the tribe of Judah disobeyed the Lord and held onto things under God’s ban from Jericho. His disobedience caused all of Israel to have to pay a price; the death of 3,000 men in battle to Ai. The Lord commanded the death of those who committed sin in order to cleanse the nation of being a part of any wrongdoing. When Joshua discovered that Achan had sinned the scripture says, “It shall be done that the one who is taken with the things under the ban shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord…” Joshua 7:15. So in accordance with the command of the Lord Achan was put to death; he and his whole family. “Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan, the silver, the mantle, the gold, and his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him” [7:24]. And there in the valley of Achor they stoned him and burned him with fire. Achan’s sin caused the death of his family and the contraband he hid for himself. As goes the head, so goes the body. When leaders sin the whole body shares in the consequences of that sin. Why the contraband? They became tainted due to Achan’s sin. Your gifts are God’s property and not your own. When you use them to support evil they must be burned to weed out the sin that tainted them.

Several things occurred that play a significant role in this judgment: (1) Achan broke covenant with God [7:15]. (2) He disgraced the nation [7:15] (3) God ordered the destruction of the contraband [7:24] (4) His family was stoned and set on fire [7:25].

As the leader of his household by willfully disobeying God he placed his whole family in jeopardy. When leaders sign on to a political or worldly event they are not only attaching their name to it but the name of the church they are in, the family they belong to, and any contraband used for the cause [in most cases their gift of oration and prayer]. If you as a leader are signing on to a political cause that is openly causing violence and destruction in America you are in violation of God’s covenant, you are in violation of your office to the church, your gifts are in jeopardy of being dissolved, and the metaphorical stoning and fire will be a spiritual let down to you.

Why I am expounding on this? Many pastors, ministers, and church leaders have tried to justify the recent violence and activities in the streets of America by allowing their empathetic hearts to dictate over the teaching of Galatians 6:1: WE MUST FORGIVE! They have defended the recent activities by declaring, “We have hurting brothers and sisters.” And no doubt, we do. However, they are all too silent on the home front when violence breaks out or is, in fact, encouraged! I’ve seen videos of a two year old little girl being beaten up by three children ganging up on her and having been encouraged by an adult video taping the event. I have seen videos on an elderly woman with a walker being blocked from crossing the street by three thugs in the recent street violence. I have seen a girl on a subway train being brutally beaten by four boys for no reason than the fact that the color of her skin was not like theirs. I have seen a woman hit in the back of the head with a two by four trying to defend her business while five other men kicked and punched her. There have been shootings, killings, burnings and a tremendous amount of destruction to private property by a political group that many pastors are attaching their names to for the cause. When you attach your name to the organization, you own the violence that goes with it!

We must teach forgiveness. The forgiveness factor in Galatians 6:1 has the power to change people’s lives for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the heart of God to extend forgiveness. The pastors and church leaders must speak out and call for a calming of tempers and a disbanding of the violence and destruction. The church has this window of opportunity to lead others to the saving arms of Christ by preaching forgiveness. It does not matter what the injustices of the past were, it does not matter what the injustices of today are, it does not matter what the injustices of tomorrow will be. Jesus paid for those injustices on the cross! As much as all of that hurts and takes its affect on each of us, the truth is Jesus paid the ultimate price for these sins. His death on the cross gives us the victory over the past, present, and future evils of this world. Come Lord Jesus come!