Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well.

~Galatians 6:1 NASB

Many years ago, I had a schoolteacher friend who fell into sin with a student. He was exposed and went to prison. Our supervisor told us not to communicate with him because he had disgraced our school and the teaching profession. Somehow, however, my supervisor’s exhortation did not sit well with me. What about restoring with gentleness?

I decided to visit my friend when he was still in the county jail. As I spoke to him over the phone through the glass partition, I thought, if not for God’s grace, I could be where he was. Maybe not for the same sin, but for many others. And the very least of those sins, spiritually speaking, carried the death sentence. That thought changed how I looked at my friend.

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 1:2 NASB

Some people who try to restore someone forget that we are no longer under the law of Moses, but the law of Christ, which is the law of love. And the one who loves his neighbor fulfills the law (Galatians 5:14). Thinking we are something when we are nothing can lead us not to deal with another’s sin through gentleness.

Pride deceives us into believing we are not vulnerable to temptation. People who are judgmental about others’ sins often end up committing the same sin.

We are never so weak as when we think we are strong in our own strength.

Find yourself restoring others with gentleness, not judgment.

Father, when I see others fall into sin, help me to restore them with gentleness, not judge them. 

 

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2026: Restoring with Gentleness: Ken Barnes: All Rights Reserved.