The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1972

<.1rigina l 111cu11ing oJ i1rc1,arc. 1 1akc rcacJy, pcrfec l 11 s n1cthing for its frill t1se a11d tlcsti nation is found among tl1c Papyri, in rather co,n11on use. For e a111 pi e. i 11 Papyrlt s Oxy viii , THE WORD OF RESTORATION in Galatians 6: 1 11 5~: 16, tl1c rec1pic11t of a letter is inforn1ed that lie will receive certain garment\ wh ich have been especia ll y made and prepared ( kateirti.\111e11a) for him. The word is used In the New Tc tamc11 t, Hebrew~ 10 : 5, of the c;pccial d ivine preparation of the body of the Lord in the virgin' womb for the virgin bi rt h. In Hebrew 11 : 3, it de ignate the plann ing and framing of the age in expert manner ( "The ages were fran1ed by the word of God,,). Again , in Hebrews 13: 2 1, the writer pray in hi s benediction th at G od will "make you perfec t in every J good work. . ." Paul appeals to the Corinthians that they ube perfectly joined together in the same mind . .." ( I Cor. 1: 10) . To the Thessaloni ans Paul expressed the desire that what– ever wa lacking in their faith might be made complete ( I Thess . 3 : 10) . But the word occurs also in Matthew 4 :21, where it describes the action of the Apostles in mending their fi sh– ing nets. And it has an old, common surgical usage - that of setting a broken limb, and repairing a dislo– cated joint. a lat1an 6 : l begin a new para– graph. but d e not intr duce a new ubject r change of theme from the pre,,iou conte t in chapter 5: 22-26. The fruit of the Holy Spirit doe not include pride. envy, and vainglory and urely doe not lead u to chal– lenge each other belligerently. Chri - tian libert , i devoid of all elfi hness, and doe lead anv of us to want more ... credit and prai e than others . True, piritual " br ethren· ' - who are get}u– inely what the word denotes - will not act in any uch manner. Such thing as envy, selfishness, desire for more credit, chal lenging each other as to ' 'r igh t " vainglory, and station, are beneath real brothers in the Lord . Those who are motivated by envy and unholy desi re would not be sorry to see a brother in Christ oven aken by some sin and blemished by it. But those whose char acter is genuinely piritual with hear ts not motivated by pride and envy wil l be deeply con– cerned over a br other who has be– come the victim of some transgress ion, and are the proper ones to help the sinning brother by the exerc ise of Christian love and wise counsel . This leads to the admonition in 6: 1. The case Paul visualizes and sets before us is that of a man who is ov ert a k e n ( proleimphthei) in a "fault' ' , lit. "surprised or detected in the act of committing a si n" - so that his gu ilt is unquestionable, pl aced beyond all doubt . The "fault" or sin , is rendered by the word paraptomati, and contrary to the views of many, is not a mild word and chosen fo r that reason , but denotes something solemn and serious, and pla inly wrong. In fac t, the verb form of this word occurs in H ebrews 6 :6, where the aorist participle parapesontas de– scribes the act of having fallen away from fhe true Christian faith. The sin here, in Gal. 6: 1, is not some slight, ''lesser" sin , one not so " bad" as others - but a transgression which cuts across what is right and goes 12 APRIL, 1972 contra ry to it . When a man is de– tected in uch an action as this, those ~ ho are piritua l . (hoi pneumatikoi ), 1n the congregation are responsible for re toring the guilty one. "Those who are spiritual " are those who are mature in the faith, possessing solid Chri tian character, conscious of the H oly Spirit 's leadership and guidance, able to counsel, and ready to forgive. To tress the fact that it is such as these who are expected to undertake the restoring, the emphatic pronoun (humeis) has been placed by the H oly Spirit before the articular plural noun ( hoi pneumatikoi ) so that the expression is to be rendered : "You, on your part , the spiritual ones - you restore !'' It is not for those who are unable to master their carnality and fleshly inclinations. God has placed men in every local church who are able to exercise themselves in this vital and c rucially important work. They a re to "restore" the sinning brother in a spirit of meekness, and watching themselves lest they also get to be tempted . Evidently, in view of the last verb in the verse, peirastheis, " tempt", the sin is of a nature which deals with the kind of wrong-doing which one may be " temp ted" (enticed, lured ) . The "restoring' ' is important. I t is described by the verb katartidze te, which is a most interesting word. Its B I B L E TRACTS WITH Now, from these uses, it is clear that the prominent idea in the word is not that of punishment, but of . reparation, amendment, correction , restoration , making right again where there has been injury, wrong , or loss. Believers who are tempted into do– ing what is wrong must be corrected and restored to their proper place. This is all a part of the preparation and maturing of such brethren for their full use and service, and for their destination. All of this goes into the fitting out of the whole man for a more effective witness . When an errant brother gets off the right path, and is delected in some act that is wrong , and therefore harmful and in– jurious, and detrimental to the whole · body - mature, brotherl y concern (Continued on page 1S) A NEW LOOK .. Our tracts have had a face -lift ing and we th ink you'l l li ke their appearance! new Send f o r a FREE packet TODAY and learn how you can have a part in hel ping us d is tr ibute th is g ospe l literat ure around the world. BIBLE TRACTS, INC. Box 508 Dept . 01801, Waterloo, Iowa 50704 NAME ADDRESS CI TY - ---- ----- STATE ---------- O Include your free booklet, AFTER MANY DAYS O Send rad io log for BIBLE TRACT ECHOES Paul J . Levin ZIP-- -- THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST