If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. —Galatians 6:1.
In a day when intervening in someone’s life is no longer politically or socially correct, these verses ring out like a gunshot on a still night. Sin is still real and is just as deadly as ever. Yet because we fear being branded judgmental and self-righteous, we let many trapped in sin progress to their spiritual death (Hebrews 2:1-3; 3:12-13; James 1:14-15). Paul calls us to nonjudgmental, gentle intervention because we recognize the gravity of sin and the sinner’s need, without feeling arrogant about our righteousness. We approach the situation humbly because the phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I,” applies to us. Nevertheless, love doesn’t remain silent when someone’s behavior is self-destructive, evil, and taking them to “hell in a handbasket,” as the old saying goes. Instead, genuine love intervenes humbly, gently, and graciously to redeem.