Have you ever been lost? Not just a little off course, but so utterly unaware of your location that unless you get help, there’s no way you’re getting out? That’s exactly what happens when a fellow believer is caught in a transgression. Perhaps they become disoriented and can’t find their way back to fellowship with the Lord, or worse, they are unaware and deceived into thinking they are safe. Let’s look at the temporal and eternal damage caused by sin and how to help a wandering believer find their way back to God. James 5:19-20
Most of us have heard the saying, “All sin is sin.” That checks out with the Bible. But in the context of a fellow Christian wandering from the truth, we have to distinguish between those who make a practice of sinning, essentially living in rebellion, and those who are deceived into a trap.
In 1 John 3:4-10, the apostle John warns about the person who claims to follow Jesus, while their daily life is marked by habitual sin. This isn’t a slip or a stumble (unintentional); rather, an intentional going headlong into whatever sin pleases them. But what about the believer who has slipped, or as Paul put it, caught in a transgression? We should do everything we can to restore them with gentleness.
Before we continue, we need to take a quick look at the nature of sin, who it affects, and where it ultimately leads. Sin is always a trap. It might look satisfying on the surface, but remember that Satan comes as an angel of light. Here are a few facts about sin:
- We are born sinners
- Sin separates us from our Creator.
- Sin seems pleasant for a season.
- Sin always leads to death.
If Satan had a resume, it would consist of three words: Steal, Kill, and Destroy. He destroys everything, including families, marriages, ministries, testimonies, lives, and souls. John 10:10. The problem is that, as people, we think we can manage our sins, like we can have them under control, instead of them controlling us.
The FAA is inspecting all of Boeing’s 737 Max jets for what they call “tolerable cracks” in the fuselage. I’m sorry, but if my loved ones or I are flying at 35,000 ft, no crack in the body of an airliner is tolerable to me. But a lot of professing Christians are doing the very same thing by being okay with “tolerable cracks” in their life. In reality, the crack is really a foothold for Satan to destroy you with. The harsh mathematical reality is: Sin = Death
Knowing that practicing sin always leads to suffering and eventual death, and if left unrepentant, even eternal separation from God, it is so important to do everything we can to restore a wandering person to the truth. As we consider how to bring a wandering believer back, we need to understand the power of spiritual deception. The person might be so stuck in the temptation and sin they are involved in that they don’t see a way out. Sometimes they rationalize sin and even try to blame another person for their sins. In the worst cases, people wander away into false teaching and even religious cults that seem like biblical Christianity, but are actually a different gospel. Galatians 1:6-9
The motive for trying to restore such a person must be love. It’s not to prove we’re better or operate from pride and arrogance, but rather to operate from a place of personal humility. Galatians 6:1-3. My wife summed up the heart of a person willing to restore in a spirit of gentleness:
Speaking and restoring with gentleness isn’t talking to another believer from a higher moral standard like we’re better, rather, it’s knowing we’re on the same level. In fact, that we’re made of the same stuff, and capable of the same sin. -Erika Green
If we approach them from a place of prayer and the Spirit’s leading, the Lord will help us to meet them right where they are. We don’t coddle or enable sinning, but warn them with truth and love from God’s word that their sin will ultimately destroy them.
What happens, and what should our response be if they remain in their sinful life and unrepentant after repeated warnings? There does come a time when separation from them, both personally and even from the local church, must take place. We have both Old and New Testament examples of this in Hosea 4:17, Matthew 18:15-17, and 1 Corinthians 5:5. This is to let the reality of just how far they’ve gone sink in.
This isn’t abandonment, but loving from a distance through praying, interceding, and fasting for heart-level repentance and restoration in their lives. I’ve seen personally where wayward people have returned to the Lord, but the sad reality is that some do not. We have to leave the burden in His hands, because as long as they are alive, there’s always a way back to God through repentance, which brings restoration.
Dear friend, it is my deep hope that as we approach the soon return of Jesus and the window of opportunity closes, we must do everything we can to restore those who wander from the truth with all gentleness, love, and humility. This includes the countless souls who haven’t yet responded to the gospel of the Lord Jesus. Let’s go out and compel them to come in while there’s still time.
All for Him,
Howard
