You who are spiritual… restore… considering yourself (I)

The full quote is “If anyone is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). Last day, in talking about church discipline, I mentioned two errors. The first is not dealing with issues in the fellowship that need to be dealt with. The second is dealing harshly and without mercy. I want to suggest this morning, that anyone who operates in either of these ways has not sufficiently “considered themselves.” And I also want to suggest that likely they really don’t know who they are in Christ. Going back to some of this year’s earlier blogs, I am reminded of the fig leaves Adam and Eve used to cover themselves. They were trying to hide not only from God, but also from each other and from themselves.

There’s a lot of this about! Again, we have looked at the mandate of Jesus to heal broken hearts, to set the captives free and to bring us life in all its fullness (Luke 4:18; John 10:10b). It’s a process to get there, but we won’t ever get there, if we don’t even start the process. And starting the process has a lot to do with dealing with the things in life that need to be dealt with. Dealing with the things that need to be dealt with is, to my way of thinking, the essence of what sanctification is all about. Sanctification is a lot more than just getting rid of our more visible faults. The secular label for this understanding of sanctification, is recovery. And if truth be told, we all need to be in ongoing recovery, ongoing sanctification. If we don’t think this is true, then perhaps we need to ask ourselves if our lives can best be described as being “in all its fullness.” If not, then likely we have allowed the fig leaves we have donned to blind us to our need. It’s called denial!

Twelve-step programs are not the only recovery tool, but especially when the higher power of such programs are identified with Jesus, they are extremely useful. When Jesus is our higher power, we can tap into the principals, promises of the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Twelve step programs are not just for alcoholics and drug addicts, but for anyone with hurts, habits and hangups. In other words they are useful for each and every one of us. In terms of this morning’s post, they are useful for “considering yourself.” In particular, the fearless moral inventory, and the admonition to share it with at least one other person (steps 4 and 5), is a good start in helping us to come out of hiding, and to the take off fig leaves in a safe place. It is a good start on the road to becoming spiritual, and a great help in considering ourselves!

Father, perhaps the most essential part in our considering ourselves is to know ourselves, and to walk in the truth that while we are flawed, we are also totally and fully accepted. And You have provided everything that we need to walk in the light as You are in the light. But we do need to guard our hearts, to be neither overconfident not on under confident and like Jesus to grow in wisdom and stature with God and man. We need each other, and we need You Lord. Thank You again this morning Lord that You are committed to complete the work that You have started in us, as we fully cooperate with You. And we give You honour and the glory and praise in Jesus Name Amen