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Help for the Erring, October 11
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.
Galatians 6:1
.
God is love, God is life. It is the prerogative of God to redeem,
reconstruct, and restore. Before the foundation of the world the Son of God
was given to die, and redemption is the mystery that was “kept in silence
through times eternal” (
Romans 16:25
, R.V.). Yet sin is unexplainable,
and no reason can be found for its existence. No soul knows what God is
until he sees himself a sinner in the light from the cross of Calvary; but
when in his great need he cries out for a sin-pardoning Saviour, God is
revealed to him as gracious and merciful, long-suffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth. The work of Christ is to redeem, to restore, to seek
and to save that which was lost. If we are connected with Christ, we also
are partakers of the divine nature and are to be laborers together with God.
We are to bind up the bruised and wounded soul; and if a brother or a sister
has erred, we are not to join with the enemy in destroying and ruining, but
to work with Christ to restore such a one in the spirit of meekness.
The foundation of our hope in Christ is the fact that we recognize
ourselves as sinners in need of restoration and redemption. It is because
we are sinners that we have courage to claim Him as our Saviour. Then let
us take heed lest we deal with the erring in a way that would say to others
that we have no need of redemption. Let us not denounce, condemn, and
destroy as though we were faultless. It is the work of Christ to mend,
to heal, to restore. God is love.... He ... gives Satan no occasion for
triumphing by making the worst appear or by exposing our weaknesses to
our enemies.
Christ came to bring salvation within the reach of all.... The most
erring, the most sinful, were not passed by; His labors were especially for
those who most needed the salvation He came to bring. The greater their
need of reform, the deeper was His interest, the greater His sympathy,
and the more earnest His labors. His great heart of love was stirred to its
depths for the ones whose condition was most hopeless and who most
needed His transforming grace.
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