Restoring a brother or sister

Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.
-Galatians 6:1

I read an article about a Christian leader who did something wrong and went through a couple of years of tumolt at his church and then left and is now a speaker for a different ministry.  

Ironically, this leader was involved in the exposing of the failures of another leader a couple years before his wrongdoing surfaced.  This connection got me thinking about Galatians 6:1 and what I am about to share.

How do we publicly report another Christian's sin, if at all?  When does this bad news need to be broadcast?  How can we avoid gossip, maligning, or slandering someone? Telling on someone can be a sin.  Does God have a justice system, rules, or wisdom laid out in scripture?

We can do the right thing the wrong way.  We can say the right thing with the wrong tone.  We can say the right thing but do another thing.

The key word or phrase in the prescription for restoring someone in Galatians 6:1, is 'gentle spirit'.  To understand a verse, we need to look at the text and the context.  

The context is the letter to the Galatians.  They were struggling with Judaism versus Christianity.  The message of Galatians is about living by the Spirit versus living by the law.  And the question answered by Galatians is "who can I share a meal with?" (NT Wright, What Paul Really Said; pp. 120-2)

The point of having a gentle spirit when you help someone overtaken in a wrongdoing is that you will get yourself in trouble if you do not maintain a gentle spirit.  You will open the door for your own temptation.

To get a deeper idea of what Paul was saying here, let's read this verse in the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition.  This is how Bible Gateway describes this version:

It attempts to take both word meaning and context into account to accurately translate the original text from one language into another. The AMPC does this through the use of explanatory alternate readings and amplifications to assist the reader in understanding what Scripture really says. Multiple English word equivalents to each key Hebrew and Greek word clarify and amplify meanings that may otherwise have been concealed by the traditional translation method. 

Brethren, if any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.
-Galatians 6:1 (AMPC)

Did you catch that phrase, "without any sense of superiority"?  Acting superior is what you do not want to do.  When someone has done wrong, when we think, when we judge that they have done wrong; we might get offended.  After all, what they did was offensive.  We might rightfully feel righteous indignation.  

Wait a minute.  We feel indignation, and righteous indignation is when we are disgusted by what someone did or even said because we judge it was wrong.  But we don't want to misjudge a person or become self-righteous in our indignation.

I will tell you that I peeked at some other translations and the word gentleness is translated meekness in the King James and several others.  Gentleness means meekness.  A Gentleman is gentle, while having all the manly strength.  A man who is not a gentleman might be selfish, egotistical, and proud in a bad sense.

Let's look at The Message translation of Galatians 6:1.  The Message is a paraphrase that tried to bring in today's (the 1990's) vocabulary and is a "readers translation" (readable).  This is the end of the description that Bible Gateway gives this version:

The goal of The Message is to engage people in the reading process and help them understand what they read. This is not a study Bible, but rather ""a reading Bible."" The verse numbers, which are not in the original documents, have been left out of the print version to facilitate easy and enjoyable reading. The original books of the Bible were not written in formal language. The Message tries to recapture the Word in the words we use today.

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out.
-Galatians 6:1 (MSG)

"Saving your critical comments for yourself", is how The Message renders what being gentle with someone means.  I think that's helpful.

That is some of what the text says and I have focused on the key word gentle.  

The context that leads up to Galatians 6:1 is chapter 5. Here is the second half on chapter 5, to 6:1:

For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.

I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.

-Galatians 5:13-26, 6:1

 Here are some notes on how the context frames the text:

1. serve one another through love. 
2. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.
3. I say, then, walk by the Spirit
4. But if you are led by the Spirit
5. inherit the kingdom of God.
6. the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 
7. those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
8. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

These are eight positive points.  Having crucified your flesh may not sound positive, but the result is.  The positive of belonging to Christ comes with the given that you have crucified your flesh with its passions and desires.  The normal Christian life is, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20).  Do you belong to him?  Then you have been and are being crucified with him.

Much of the rest of this passage and much of Galatians talks about what the flesh does and wants to do that is at odds with the Spirit of God.

And the way of Christ, of his disciples is to serve one another in love, loving our neighbor as our self, walking by the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, inheriting the kingdom of God, and bearing the fruit of the Spirit.  Notice that it (fruit) is singular and not plural.  These are either nine aspects of what the fruit of the Spirit is or the fruit is love and the following are eight aspects of how this love manifests.

And in the list of what describes the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness.  Spiritual people live by the Spirit (not the flesh) and keep in step with the Spirit.  God the Holy Spirit is a person whom I live by and am led by.  He can do very powerful things but one of the things about Him that He imparts to us is gentleness.  If you are not gentle with other Christians, check yourself.

We are especially to be gentle with brothers or sisters who are overtaken in a wrongdoing, been caught in misconduct.  We do this with no feeling of superiority or harsh meanness or condemning.  If we are not gentle, but superior, we open the door to our own temptation and fall.

To illustrate how this works or if you want to learn more about how to live in the way of Christ, as a restorer with a gentle spirit, I want to tell you a story from a book called Love, Acceptance & Forgiveness by Jerry Cook with Stanley Baldwin.

In this book's opening chapter, they tell the story of a pastor who lived in the area, who Jerry had only met in passing.  That pastor fell into adultery and left his church.  A year and a half later, that pastor called Jerry on a Sunday morning and asked permission for him and his new wife to attend.  They had previously been humiliated and asked to leave when they tried to attend other churches.

Jerry said, "of course, come", and they did.  Many of the fallen pastor's hurting flock were now attending Jerry's church.  Long story short (get the book!) the former pastor met with the elders many times and went through a season of genuine, sincere repentance and was eventually restored to the ministry.