Dr. Montia Setzler, Senior Pastor
November 15, 2015
Series: Game Changer
The Sinner’s Guide to Confronting Sin
Galatians 6:1–5 (HCSB)
1 Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won’t be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else. 5 For each person will have to carry his own load.
1. CONFRONTING SOMEONE ELSE’S SIN IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.
v 1a “Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person…”
- Confronting the sin of others is dangerous
- One does not need to be perfect, but the need to be spiritual is critical. Why?
- The reality of spiritual attack in confronting sin.
- The possibility of the lack of spiritual authority.
- The appearance of the lack of integrity and hypocrisy.
2. THE PURPOSE OF THE CONFRONTATION IS REDEMPTIVE NOT PUNITIVE.
v 1a “Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person…”
James 5:19–20 (HCSB)
19 My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his life from death and cover a multitude of sins.
- The purpose of the confrontation is restoration not punishment.
- The goal of the confrontation is to stop the downward spiral of sinful behavior.
3. THE PROCESS OF THE CONFRONTATION MUST BE GENTLE AND WITH LOVE.
v 1b “…you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit…”
- Gentleness is called for because the person has been made vulnerable because of sin.
- We confront sin out of love for the person caught up in it.
4. CAUTION! THE DANGERS OF CONFRONTING SIN ARE REAL.
v 1c “…watching out for yourselves so you also won’t be tempted.”
- Be careful, you could be tempted to fall into the very sin you are confronting.
- Be confessed up, prayed up and armored up before confronting the sin of others.
5. WE CONFRONT SIN BECAUSE THIS IS OUR BROTHER OR SISTER WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.
v 2 “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
- There are many “one another’s” in the scriptures, but carrying each other’s burdens rises to the top.
- We carry one another’s burden because we care for each other.
6. CAUTION! BEFORE CONFRONTING SIN IN SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE, EXAMINE YOUR OWN. vv 3-5
- Be sure to look inward before confronting sin outwardly.
- None of us are perfect, so examine your heart, motives and purity before confronting sin in someone else.
We are sinners who have been called into a relationship with other sinners. When habitual sin enters the picture, left unabated it can work its way into the life of the church. We are called to care and love enough to confront sin that has become a lifestyle.
