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RESTORING FALLEN BRETHREN BY RYAN HICKS © 1996-2001 Ryan Hicks |
When the subject of restoring a fallen brother or sister comes up today one will generally find that many people will say that Christians are the worst for kicking someone while they are down. Sadly, this is what the majority of sinners see from the many professed "Christians" who are not Christian at all. And yet, the Bible teaches and demands a different reaction to the fallen believer.
Galatians 6:1-2
1 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.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Those that are in the faith should restore a fallen brother in the spirit of meekness. They should be quick to have compassion on one that has fallen away from the faith and is no longer in the grace of God.
We should not restore someone back to the faith with a haughty, arrogant, and prideful attitude; rather we should have genuine compassion and love for one who is overtaken in a fault.
Who knows how many millions of people have backslidden into sin and are now suffering eternal damnation due to another backslidden person acting haughty toward such a one. It is when another backslider tries to restore a brother back to the faith that people are "kicked when they are down." A true Christian will NEVER act in such a way, that is, unless they have fallen away from God's saving grace themselves.
Some of the most vocal faultfinders I have seen are people who are bound by the very sin they try to find in everyone else. This is not to say that rebuking sin, or exposing false brethren is faultfinding, so please do not misunderstand this point. I am talking about people who commit the very sins they judge others on. The fallen may be quick to say, "Do not judge me." Though, the saint of God should judge them that are within the church, as Paul says, "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth..." (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).
Matthew 7:1-5
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Romans 2:1-3
1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
It really is amazing to see one who is backslidden themselves attempting to restore another backslider to the faith and grace of God. It only proves that sin can blind one to such a point that the only sins that they can see and wish to deal with are those of others (Galatians 6:1-3). Instead of getting the beam out of their own eyes, they want to get the little speck of dust or mote out of their brother's eye. Such are hypocrites, and are inexcusable.
James 5:19-20
19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
When a Christian errs from the truth by committing sin they become a sinner lost in sin again, as children of God do "not commit sin" (1 John 3:9) and "sinneth not" (1 John 5:18). It is then up to those who are saved to convert such a one back to the truth. When the saved restore the fallen brethren back to the faith and grace of God they have saved that fallen brother's "soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).
The truths listed in the verses above give us a great reason for restoring a fallen brother or sister. If we desire to see lost souls saved we should be trying to see the lost souls of the fallen brethren be saved also. It is one thing to witness to the sinner on the street corner, but it is a tragedy to walk past a fallen saint, a sinner, every time in church and never give them the life changing truths of the gospel in hopes of restoring them back to their first love.
Galatians 4:19
19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Paul says here that he was travailing in birth again. This shows that he was travailing for the fallen Galatians to have Christ formed in them again. The Greek word correctly translated "again" here is palin, which means "again; once more; to restore once more." Paul had travailed for the Galatians to have Christ formed in them once before, but now that some of them had fallen from God's grace (Galatians 5:4) Paul travailed in birth again.
We should also travail and go to great lengths to see that a fallen brother or sister is restored to salvation. DO NOT leave it up to your pastor or another minister to do. If God can use you to restore a fallen brother please do so! Do not expect everyone else's consciences to be enlightened to the need of restoration among the saints. They may be wholly unaware, or it may be that they are unconcerned and rebels themselves. You cannot base your obedience on whether or not another will be obedient to the Lord.
Our restoring a fallen brother or sister a time for us to mock or degrade someone who was once saved and later rebelled against God by sinning. There is truly no appropriate time for that, as the eternal well being of the soul is of utmost importance. We should look at them with the love of God and do all that we can by faith to see them restored.
Far too often the church will rejoice over the salvation of those who have never been saved, and yet will act unimpressed when a backslider is restored to salvation. This is due largely in part to the majority of the church being indoctrinated with the damnable heresy of unconditional eternal security, or once in grace, always in grace (the doctrine of the false ministers mentioned in Jude 4).
Unconditional eternal security teaches that once one has been born-again they can never forfeit their salvation. It teaches that no matter how much sin and hatred for God one can possibly display after they have been saved that such a person is still saved and will be regardless of their will in the matter.
Such a heresy makes sin into good. It is like saying, "You sin, you win!" This teaching is a doctrine of devils (1 Timothy 4:1), and is helping Satan lead millions of souls to eternal damnation. The believer would do well to take note that it is the backslidden and apostates "that cannot cease from sin" (2 Peter 2:14), and that they truly saved by the blood of the Lamb are the ones that "hath ceased from sin" (1 Peter 4:1). This truth could not be made anymore clear except that one realizes that without holiness "no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). Let someone tell you that they can continue in sin and remain saved and the judgment will prove them to be a liar (1 John 2:4) who was "turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness" (Jude 4). Someone like this will receive the wages of sin which is eternal death (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23; James 1:15; etc.). Such a false teaching leads to many of the fallen brethren thinking their fallen state is of no importance to their soul, and that it is irrelevant because they have a false hope in the doctrines of men and devils.
After a fallen brother has been restored to God's grace we, as believers, need to instruct them in the word of God. They need to be taught certain principles and Scriptures so that they can stand strong and never fall from salvation again. Some of the best Scriptures to give to a newly restored believer or a brand new believer are listed below:
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Philippians 4:13 |
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2 Peter 1:4-11 |
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Hebrews 12:14-17 |
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Hebrews 10:35-39 |
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Hebrews 4:1, 11 |
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Hebrews 3:5-6, 12-14 |
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Jude 20-21 |
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1 John 2:3-6, 24-25 |
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James 1:19-25 |
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2 Thessalonians 3:6 |
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Ephesians 4:1-3, 20-32 |
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Galatians 6:7-8 |
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2 Corinthians 7:1 |
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Romans 6 |
If they will follow the plain commands of God as communicated in these Scriptures they will be able to live free from sin and never fall. This is truly God's highest desire for all men: that they would be free from sin and the curses that sin brings (Matthew 1:21; Acts 10:38). Help a fallen brother today and in doing so you will be helping to save a soul from death and hide a multitude of sins!
