Consider yourself lest you too be tempted

Welcome to our meditation regarding a Church in a world of change and what that Church's position should be. And we've talked about a call from God for a balance between holiness and grace.

In this passage that we discussed earlier in chapter 6 of Galatians verse 1 Paul says that: "If anyone is caught in any fault, we who are spiritual" says the apostle Paul "with a spirit of meekness restore that person considering ourselves, lest we too be tempted "into the same sin as in the case of that other person with whom we are dealing. We see here the pastoral wisdom of the Apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit.

I said that we live in this XXI century full of changes where science has advanced a lot and every day people explore more and more the mysteries of the human brain, mind, nervous system, genetics, Anthropology, Linguistics and all these disciplines that give man a very broad knowledge of human nature and the human condition.

And that has caused this modern culture to be distancing itself many times more and more from God and from the things of the Gospel because always when man gains more and more knowledge, spiritual pride and a sense of independence on the part of God arise. And already then people begin to see the Bible and the things of the Gospel in a critical and rational way and they begin to question the things that Scripture says and then they begin to allow themselves a number of freedoms with the commandments of God and the teachings of the Lord's word.

We are not in a Christian society or anything like that, quite the opposite. Many people today view the Church with skepticism and even cynicism, certainly with some suspicion and mistrust. So the Church finds itself in the dilemma that when we speak of the call to holiness that Scripture presents to us, people see us as Pharisaics, as we believe we are better than anyone, sanctimonious people, people who are not up to date with the complexities and knowledge of psychology and science and do not listen to what we say.

And this is a great challenge for the Church in the 21st century where God calls us to win this world without compromising the Word of the Lord and for me as Pastor and in my own Church and in this super developed society here in the state of Massachusetts and In New England in the northeastern United States where I minister, it is always a challenge for me how to find the balance between the grace of God, presenting a complex and sophisticated Gospel but that does not compromise the teachings of Scripture?

I know that in Latin America and in other parts of the world where you are watching me and reading these programs it is the same and I believe that it is needed, the Pastors, the leaders need advice and the people in the seats need advice on how to behave with that world out there?

And I believe that God calls me more and more every day to that balanced posture where on the one hand we present the clear call to holiness and on the other hand we also provide the world with a gentle, loving, patient, merciful posture that knows that people when enters the Gospel comes with wounds, addictions, compulsivities of the mind, systemic sins that have stuck to them in a deep and powerful way and that it is not so easy to get rid of them simply because one entered the Gospel, we are already supposed to be a A paragon of virtues and that we are perfectly sanctified, one would think seeing the attitude of so many churches and it is not like that.

And that is why many times the world correctly criticizes us and sees us as Pharisaic people who do not understand the complexities of human life and it is true because the process of personal transformation, the renewal of the mind of which the Apostle Paul speaks is something that it takes a long time many times. And we cannot produce saints overnight, it is the journey of a lifetime and it takes churches, pastors, counselors, lay spiritual fathers and mothers who know the complexity of the sanctification process.

And I think that one of the first things we have to do is look at ourselves, that is why Paul says here that if we are going to restore someone who has failed, let us consider ourselves, he says: "Consider yourself lest you too be tempted. "

It helps me as a Pastor in the process of counseling and the discipline of the Church remember that I am human, look at myself first, know that I struggle with my own sinful tendencies and that I myself have not come close to it. level of holiness that God expects of me and that I have to take a holiness pill every day and ask the Lord to have mercy on me. Many times I feel like the apostle Paul: "Wretched me, who will rescue me from this body of death?" so we can say many.

I believe that it helps in the life of the Church to have people in authority who are aware of their own process, what we have experienced and what we experience every day. If we are honest with ourselves we will understand that producing a man, a mature woman, wise, holy, in control of himself is a thing of a lifetime and that therefore our churches have to be places of restoration, places of mercy, love, patience, kindness towards the believer without compromising the call to holiness.

I am not talking about debauchery, listen to me, but I am talking about a balance between the two things and it will be a tension that we will always live. Sometimes it will seem that we are contradicting ourselves in one direction or another and as Pastors we will be under a lot of pressure from many laypeople who will want us to always cut heads but we have to have the moral courage to say: no, we want to. express the balance of Christ Jesus in our pastoral treatment in the Church and that is why I believe that texts like this one by the Apostle Paul are important.

We will continue our meditation very soon, may the Lord bless you.