An Exploration of Galatians: Helping other Believers in Christ
Galatians 6:1 - How do we go to or even know about others trapped in trespass in our closed, individualistic society? I don’t know…I think we are lost.
”Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.“
Galatians 6:1 NASB1995
We have now reached the last chapter of Galatians. When I started this exploration, I knew it might be lengthy, but did not envision that it would still be going three months after I started it (the first devotional was on October 28, 2023). I have loved every minute of it and have learned a lot, so I hope my readers have learned something, too.
Paul starts out chapter six advising the brethren, if they are spiritual (walk in the Spirit) to gently restore a person if they are caught in trespass and to also look out for temptation. So what is “trespass”? Let’s check our lexicon in the Blue Letter Bible. Trespass comes from the Greek word παράπτωμα or paraptoma, meaning a side-slip (lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional) error or (willful) transgression:—fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass (Thayer’s Greek lexicon). Those definitions make sense but also note that it can mean a lapse or deviation. To gain understanding this verse, I found an excellent explanation from Ray Pritchard (Keep Believing Ministries) on Precept Austin:
First, they are trapped by sin. The word “caught” was sometimes used for a bird or an animal caught in a trap. It describes a believer who has been suddenly overcome by some temptation that came upon him unawares. A perfect example is Peter who, after boasting that he would never desert the Lord, denied him three times. It is the picture of a believer whose leg is caught in a trap of sin. The bone is broken and the person is trapped with no hope of escape. What will you do when you hear your brother, your sister, crying for help? Will you walk away? Or will you come and help them?
Second, they require the help of spiritual people. The phrase “you who are spiritual” in this context describes those who are walking in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, producing the fruit of the Spirit, and keeping in step with the Spirit. Since this is not meant to describe a certain class of super-spiritual saints, it really applies to everyone who loves the Lord and wants to please him. One writer comments that truly spiritual Christians would never use that term to describe themselves. But the mark of their spirituality is that they are alarmed at what sin has done to a brother or sister in Christ, and instead of walking on by, they stop to help out.
I picture in my mind’s eye a vast army of the Lord’s servants, marching along together. They are laughing and singing as they go. As you march with this happy band, your friends are to your right and left. Together you sing “Shout to the Lord” and “Our God is an Awesome God.” Suddenly you notice the friend to your right is no longer there. Looking back, you see him in the distance, lying by the side of the road, his foot badly mangled by a trap labeled “Lust.” His face is contorted in pain, his left leg covered with blood. You can see that he cannot free himself. With pitiful cries, he begs you to come and help him. What will you do? The army marches onward. Will you go back and help your buddy? Or will you march on with the happy throng? If you are truly spiritual, you go back and help your friend for that’s what buddies do for one another.
Needed: Gentle Hands
Third, they must be restored gently. The word “restore” was used for setting a broken bone and for mending a fishing net. If you’ve ever had a broken bone, you know how painful that can be. And if the doctor is rough, he can make your pain much worse even as he tries to help you heal. That’s why the work of spiritual restoration must be done “gently” or as the King James Version says, “meekly.” It has the idea of doing something quickly, quietly, and with enormous kindness. When a friend is down and hurt by sin, you don’t announce it to the world. You don’t try to ruin his reputation. No, you go to his aid and do what you can to help him recover.
Fourth, they must be approached carefully. Here is a warning we all need to consider. Paul says that we should be careful in our helping lest we should fall into the same hole as our friend. Satan is tricky. He knows that if he can get one Christian trapped in sin, he may soon get another and then another. This is why doctors wash their hands so often. Not only must they avoid giving germs to their patients, they must also guard against receiving germs from their patients. In our attempts to help struggling Christians, we must be careful lest we start making excuses, offering rationalizations, avoiding confrontation, and letting sympathy replace truth.
I honestly could not have written an explanation any better than this one. Do we do these things today? I’m going to say, resoundingly, NO, or at least probably not. At our previous church (ELCA - Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) people mumbled through the confession liturgy, but there was no prayer group to help those suffering in sin, but only to pray for those who were ailing physically or had other personal issues like grief. In fact, sin was becoming less and less of a topic at that church (if you know what is going on with the ELCA you would not be surprised by that development).
At our current church, the same thing goes: We are called to repentance and there is a prayer team, but I’m pretty sure that the prayers are for healing or personal grief or difficulties in most cases. Those prayers are done privately so there may be people asking for help with addictions and other deeds of the flesh, but I have no insight so I can’t speak with any authority. The small groups (we participated for a short time in a prayer group) never discuss temptations or trespasses that may be troubling people. Our American mindset of complete independence of the individual means that our confessions of trespasses are almost always done between us and God. We’re embarrassed to tell other people that we may be struggling in a trap. We may even be embarrassed in our own families to confess that we need help! That’s why TV shows like “Intervention” were so popular for years and years. Catholics do have confession, so at least they can confess a trespass to a clerical authority figure.
Now a little bunny trail: Steve and I have struggled with something now for a while and it is in our prayers each week. We have no real close friends. We have acquaintances and people we keep in touch with on social media, but we are almost always the ones that have to suggest a get-together for dinner or another activity (and we do this over and over again without it being reciprocated and this has gone on for years and years). Our family members are mostly gone, so major holidays are spent on our own. I have never had a person I worked with contact me since I retired to get together and chat or to see how I’m doing or even send me an email. At our church, many of the parishioners have known each other for decades, but we are relatively new (five years) so we’re still strangers and “outsiders”.
We have never traveled with another couple or group of couples and no one has suggested it. I have pretty much blamed myself for this state of affairs because I am a challenging person to deal with (know-it-all, talkative, opinionated, suspicious and standoffish when initially meeting someone, preferring to stay at home and write and do things rather than be a social butterfly), whereas Steve is a guy that everyone likes, but it still seems to be only superficial. The Holy Spirit is trying to replace those flaws in me with better fruit, but it has not resulted in more companionship.
I’m not telling you this to get any sympathy - we have run into many other older adults who have had the same problem. In fact, recently in one of our exercise classes through the new senior center in our neighborhood a lady told us without any prompting that she feels really isolated and is wondering where she can find some friends. Also, the fact that we never had children meant that the path to friendships with other parents as children grew up was closed to us. And we really have never known our neighbors beyond a name and casual conversations before going into the house (and those houses have changed owners several times).
My point in talking about this loneliness is that it is extremely pervasive in our rugged, individualistic and technology-addicted society. We are not set up to know other people to the degree that our parents or grandparents did. People reject other people for their political stances, or their beliefs, or their opinions. We become avatars on social media arguing with strangers about nothing. This creates a “retreat” mindset that results in many people being closed off from others, so a confession of trespasses or a request for help is never, ever going to happen. A favorite saying between casual acquaintances if one is concerned about the other person’s misdeeds is “MYOB”.
One other thing to think about from the commentary above: Although Peter was very close to and knew the other disciples and some of the regular followers of Jesus for over three years, traveling and living with them, I don’t recall seeing that he went to them for help after he denied Jesus three times. He kept that great sin close to his heart in his personal anguish, realizing that only Jesus Himself could restore him personally after the Resurrection.
This passage from Paul is great advice. I am at a loss to figure out how to do it properly. One other aspect to consider when helping others who may have stumbled into sin are current legal ramifications. According to an article on Wikipedia, 22 states have banned what they “conversion therapy” for minors who may be confused or concerned about their sexual identity. These laws apply mostly to therapists, but pressure is also on churches and their counseling processes to always affirm the same-sex attraction or the request to be transgendered. You cannot legally counsel as a licensed therapist in the other direction. There are also some restrictions in some extreme pro-choice states on counseling minors who are seeking an abortion to consider other alternatives. Fear of dealing with overbearing authority figures who intervene in personal processes will drive isolation of people from one another.
Well, perhaps we can think about this situation. My next devotional examines Galatians 6:2-5 - Bearing each other’s burdens and bearing our own load. So this has more of the same community effort that is sadly lacking in 21st century America.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord: Please help us to be more aware of others and when they may be struggling with sin. We don’t call things “sin” in this society anymore but there are many who struggle, so we need to find ways to help without rationalizing their behavior and falling into the sin ourselves. Also, Lord, please help us (especially me) to find a way to good and lasting friendships. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 2/1/2024 to review the lexicon for trespass.
The personal testimony of Bruce Hurt, creator of Precept Austin can be found Here
The complete sermon by Ray Pritchard on Galatians 6:1-5 can be found at Keep Believing.