As Christians share the ministry of reconciliation to the world, they need to remember the ministry of restoration for each other. This is the amazing message that God has already done the work through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to restore the relationship between you and God. If any of your sins have separated you from God, help each other return to him for forgiveness.
Brothers and sisters, if a person gets trapped by wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should help that person turn away from doing wrong. Do it in a gentle way. At the same time watch yourself so that you also are not tempted. Help carry each other’s burdens. In this way you will follow Christ’s teachings (Galatians 6:1-2 GWT)
- Principles of intercession, interceding, and intercessory prayer – It is the opposite of sin missing the mark of God’s will. Intercession paints the word picture of guiding the believer to hit the bullseye of God’s will.
- 10 Ways Prayers are Hindered (#5 is Shocking) – Examples of how prayers are hindered when you don’t love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and you don’t love your neighbor as yourself
- Matthew 7:3 the mote in your friend’s eye – Before Christians try to judge the tiny mote of sin and failure in their friend’s eye, they must judge their own sins first
And the Lord’s servant must not be a man of strife: he must be kind to all, ready and able to teach: he must have patience and the ability gently to correct those who oppose his message. He must always bear in mind the possibility that God will give them a different outlook, and that they may come to know the truth. They may come to their senses and be rescued from the power of the devil by the servant of the Lord and set to work for God’s purposes. (2 Timothy 2:24-26 PHILLIPS)
Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest. (James 5:13-18 NET)
My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20 NET)
There is no sin so horrible that the sinner cannot be restored. Anyone can be rescued from the power of the devil because the power of God is greater. Jesus Christ is on our side. Stop running and yield yourself to him.
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. (1 John 2:1 NLT)
Are you part of the ministry of restoration?
Do you know someone who has wandered from the truth and been trapped by wrongdoing? Are you ready to throw the first stone? This is not the ministry of restoration. Or do you have Christlike interceding love to restore that person? Jesus Christ wants you to be part of the ministry of restoration for your brother or sister.
Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 WEB)
- and the sin which doth so easily beset us
- The six words “which doth so easily beset us” represent one Greek word, euperistaton, of which the meaning is uncertain, because it occurs nowhere else. It means literally “well standing round,” or “well stood around.”–Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The sense of humor in the play on words in this verse reminds me of the Apostle Paul. He is drawing a comparison between the word picture of the vast lofty uplifting cloud of witnesses listed and alluded in Hebrews 11 and the one little sin that so easily wraps us up in a tiny claustrophobic package. He is using the language of athletes who wear special clothing for each sport that supports and protects without extra weight and heat.
Which are you? Are you part of the cloud of witnesses in someone’s life? This is the ministry of restoration. Or are you part of the sin that hinders them by just standing around? There is no God-given ministry of hindrance.
- Ready to restore – God calls every Christian to counsel some people, somewhere, at some time about something, but He does not call him to counsel every person, under every situation, at all times about everything. This classic text will help you be ready for the ministry of restoration.
- When You’ve Been Wronged: Moving From Bitterness to Forgiveness by Erwin W. Lutzer — Imagine walking through a maximum security prison and seeing the cell keys hanging inside the cells. By choosing not to forgive, we voluntarily sentence ourselves to diminished, pain-filled lives. Why would anyone do such a thing? Because forgiveness seems an inappropriate response to offense. To experience a broken promise, betrayed confidence, personal rejection, false accusation, injury, or abuse, is to be wounded. Such wounds cry out for justice. But what if justice is not possible? Or if it doesn’t undo the damage done? What then? In this concise, quickly-read volume, noted pastor and author Erwin Lutzer carefully illustrates how it is possible to right the wrongs of your life. Whether you’ve been wronged–or have wronged others–he makes it possible to experience the freedom of forgiveness, and the restoration of a clear conscience.