Calling People Out: Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
Calling People Out: Galatians 6:1
Brothers: Paul reminds the Christian that this is an issues within the context of family. This command is reserved for those who are loved and saved by Christ, who have Jesus as their savior, and have been adopted by God the Father. This is the framework for the rest of the command. So ask yourself, “Who am I confronting?” Don’t forget that you’re talking to a brother and sister who has the same blood that has been afford to you.
If anyone is caught in any transgression: The first thing you want to note here is that within this community there will be people who will fall short of the standard of following Christ. It is an inevitable reality this side of eternity and as believers we ought to remember this fact. However, you might be tempted to say, “well…if everyone sins, then i don’t have to do anything about it.” Untrue. This command actually says that the Christian has the obligation/responsibility to look out for their brother/sister when they are “caught in any transgression.” A lot of people are too much of a coward to call anyone out. They don’t want to deal with conflict. They don’t want to upset anyone or any organization. So they’ll let someone else do it or passively “hope that things will work out.” Ultimately, this is cowardice and unloving. A true brother/sister would go out of their way and call out sin when found. But…there is a way to do that.
you who are spiritual should restore him: What he is NOT saying is that there are super Christians and lesser Christians. He’s talking about those who “know better” - those who aren’t blinded by that sin. The reason why he puts it this way is to highlight this fact: that you “know better” because God the Spirit allowed you to see it. But the reason why you call out this sin is for the purpose of restoration. This should always be the reason why you call out sin - it is NOT to win an argument, it is NOT because you want them to be like you, it is NOT because they have offended you and this is revenge, it is NOT for you to feel better about yourself. It is because you love them as a brother/sister and more than you want to be right…you want them to be restored. To whom? First off, to the Lord. You want their relationship to be made right with Jesus because you know that if that is corrected, then they might live life to its fullest again. But also, you want their relationship to be restored to the Church. So you gotta always make sure that your heart is in the right place when you call someone out. So ask yourself, what is the purpose of calling someone out? What kind of outcome do you want to see happen?
in a spirit of gentleness: and here’s the key, the spirit behind calling someone out ought to be done with gentleness. This word “gentleness” means “the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance.” Also related to this word is “humility, meekness, considerateness.” It goes back to loving the person, who is living in sin, enough to where you’re concerned for their life. You boldly expose their sin and confront them about it…all the while pleading with them to leave what is killing their soul. So when you call someone out…the spirit in which you do this is always with the undertone of love; never arrogance nor anger.
Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted: Paul ends this command with a warning to the confronting believer. He reminds them to watch their own spirit as they go about calling other people out. You may begin with good intentions, but if your heart isn’t in the right place, you’ll almost always fly off the rails when consequences don’t turn out the way you want them to. I’ll always say that you can’t help out things turn out or how people react…but you are always responsible for your own actions. You’re responsible first and foremost to the Lord - because you have given up your life to follow Him and trust that He is worth following. Paul’s warning is that in calling someone out, you may easily slip into a hypocritical stance and inadvertently be guilty as well.
Questions:
1. Are there believers in my community that are in sin that I need to call out? What excuses have I been making for not doing so?
2. How can I prepare my heart for the process and the consequences of my interaction with people who needs to be called out?
3. If I need to “call someone out,” what suggestions can I give them in order for them to grow? How can I help them in their growth?
4. Have I been guilty of calling people out based off of my selfish, arrogant heart? Who do I need to ask forgiveness from?