Where's the gentleness?

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 6908 Location: USA

Galatians 6:1-3
1 ~ Bretheren, if any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual - who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit - should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiortity and with all gentleness. keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempeted also.
2 ~ Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfull and observe perfectly the law of Christ, the Messiah, and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it].
3 ~ For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another's load], when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.

Just wondering when Christians - or self-proclaimed Christians - decided this passage didn't exist?
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RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 6908 Location: USA

Hmmm.... I was sure this post would generate some sort of discussion.... guess we would rather shy away than face our faults head on - I know that is how I have always been.
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Dshadna · German Shepherd Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 344

Nobby · Posted: Sat May 17, 2003 2:19 pm Post subject: Where's the gentleness?

Hello Rev,
You are right! Most of us don't like to admit our faults!
Even though we all have them. We sometimes answer questions on this board very sharply! And gentleness goes out the window.
As Moderator on this board I sometimes have to carry out things that are very hard for me to do! Because I care about all of you, even though I haven't met you,
There's a saying: You can catch more flys with honey than you can with vinegar! Very Happy

When you answer with rath in your post you may recive the same.
A gentle answer many times will turn away rath!
This is my opinion. Smile

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Dshadna · German Shepherd Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 344

Galatians 6:1-3
1My friends, you are spiritual. So if someone is trapped in sin, you should gently lead that person back to the right path. But watch out, and don't be tempted yourself. 2You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.
3If you think you are better than others, when you really aren't, you are wrong.

Christians should guard against the tendency of the flesh to assume a critical and censorious attitude toward those who do not share our opinions about other matters than those which have to do with Bible doctrine and moral conduct. Rather than "pick to pieces" our brethren in Christ, it is our privilege and duty to do everything we can to encourage their spiritual edification. We ought to love and pray for one another and consider ourselves lest we be tempted.

Here we discover the basic rules for building a better world:
1. Don’t overact to the failures of others:
Remember there are different stages of life that bring on problems. Try to understand where a person is coming from. When I reach their stage in life I might find myself acting the same way they are acting. When I reach that stage I hope someone helps me carry my burden.

2. We must watch ourselves lest we become tempted through the sin of another:
The key to managing our lives is learning how not to fall into the same trap we are trying to get others out of by over reacting. It is important for us to keep a tight lid on our lives as we seek to guide the misbehaving person back to the right way. This may not be easy. This is especially true if the sin committed is against me.

3. We must understand the need to bear the burden of others wrong doing against us in a Christ like manner:
I shouldn’t try to dump the load back on another to see how they like it, but I must carry the load they dumped on me to fulfill Christ’s law. The burden of sin is too heavy for a person to bear alone. We need each other’s help to bear our burdens. The reason a person dumps his/her load on you is because it got too heavy for them to bear. Help them bear it! It will do you good. It will save their soul.

4. We must maintain the attitude of Christ’s forgiveness toward those who sin against us:
Christ makes our burden light by his willingness to bear our burden of sin. This is true whether we are doing what is right or what is wrong. He bears our burden regardless. Our attitude must be the same as his.

5. Don’t allow another’s burden to obscure your own burden:
We are only deceiving ourselves when we allow the sin of others to blind us to the sin in our own lives. Don’t allow their troubles make us feel superior. We might have a tendency to look down upon those who are failing. We may begin to think that we don’t deserve the abuse. But their failures and actions toward me do not enhance or diminish who we are.

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I don't know that it's that people don't believe this passage exists, but we live in a society where it tends to be *me first*. We've moved away from helping others, to simply trying to help ourselves. We unknowingly or uncaringly have literally driven others away from Christ by doing so.

If we take to heart what these verses are saying, we can in good faith and good consciousness begin to help others, and still maintain a level of helping ourselves. As Christ bears our burdens, so should we help to shoulder the burden of one who also needs it. Who knows, one day we may need them to be there to help us to shoulder our own burden, and I hope they will be there to help.

Something more to think about is that the body of Christ (the Church) only functions correctly when we are all working for the common good. In helping one another, we help the Church, (the body of Christ).

Nobby · Posted: Sat May 17, 2003 3:41 pm Post subject: Where's the gentleness?

Hi Dshadna,

I liked the post, I wouldn't change a thing Exclamation

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RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 6908 Location: USA

I agree Dshada, I wouldn't change and thing but I may add something...

Dshadna · German Shepherd Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 344

Ron · Posted: Sun May 18, 2003 9:31 am Post subject: Re: Ditto