Gal. 6:1 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.
When people think of Biblical confrontation, their mind usually goes right to Matthew 18, and church discipline. This view of actually unbiblical, because confrontation of sin (and restoration of Believers) should be a day to day ministry of the church.
This isn’t a public confrontation found in Matthew 18, but a personal confrontation of sin carried out by a loving friend.
The word “overtaken” in Galatians 6:1 gives the idea of someone falling into a trap or pit. This sin comes from a moment of weakness instead of a stubborn habit. In those situations, individuals must be restored, or “pulled out of pit spiritually.”
A confrontation of sin is part of this restoration process since the person in that pit must display genuine confession and repentance. But the goal of it is restoration of the individual, in a spirit of humility.
Confrontation must be a normal part of ministry since we all fall Into pits of sin from time to time….
And often those in the pits need help getting out.
I have a friend my age who struggles with alcoholism. He will stop drinking for a period of time (sometimes weeks), but then drop back into the habit. A big part of this is because drinking here is a social thing, and many of his friends will be at a local rum shop most of the day.
I was pretty worried about him because he hadn’t been around for two-weeks. This usually means my friend was spending most of his time drinking close to home.
He responded to some text messages last week, and then I saw him on Thursday. In love I confronted him about spending all of his time drinking with people who often took advantage of him. And encouraged my friend to come spend time at my house if he needed a place to relax.
Since then my friend has been calling, sending text messages, attending a church service, and came by to read Scripture this morning.
There is nothing truly magical about what I did in that situation. I just loved him enough to stop, and through loving confrontation, pull him out of the pit.
If we open our eyes as Christians we will see countless of our Brothers and sisters in Christ have fallen into pits of sin. And they are desperately calling out for someone to help pull them out.
Johnhwilburn.org 