In Galatians 6 Paul encourages those who live obedient and Spirit-led lives to come alongside other believers that have been caught in wrongdoing and restore them with a gentle spirit. This is a tough topic because we can’t accomplish this by simply pointing out the sin in someone’s life. They probably already know they are in sin and are drowning and suffocating in it. We need to empower them to repent and change by pointing them to Jesus, but this can only be done in love. It’s not enough to simply say we love them. This is something we have to walk out, but if we are prideful or feel like we are superior to those who are stuck in sin, we will not be able to operate in love. No matter how true our words are, or how much scriptural evidence we have to point out their sin, we will not be able to reach their heart unless we ourselves are humble and in check. This is why Paul reminds them (and us) of the importance of watching out for ourselves so that we aren’t tempted. The danger is not necessarily that we will fall into the same sin, but if we are prideful or feeling superior, we might blindly walk into other sin and justify it by comparing ourselves to others. Paul encourages them (and us) to carry one another’s burdens because the weight of sin threatens to crush those who are caught in it. If we are not helping them carry the load, we might be in danger of adding to the weight of their sin and crushing them with our judgment and our disapproval. When believers lovingly walk with those who are entangled in sin and lead them out by empowering them, they are fulfilling the purpose of the church. This is what Jesus did when he removed the weight of our sin from us. When we truly understand his love for us, we are free to repent and change without the crushing weight of guilt and judgment. When we change, we are free to empower others to change- as long as our change doesn’t deceive us into a prideful state of thinking we accomplished this on our own.
