No matter how many battles against temptation we win, at some point we’re all going to fall at some point. The Bible reinforces that fact saying that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Is our case hopeless then? And what if our brother or sister in Christ sins? Is our relationship broken forever? As Christ has done—we should fully and freely forgive one another.

In our focus on how to resist temptation, we haven’t talked about what happens if (and when) we sin. Repentance and forgiveness could easily require another study. But as we conclude, we want to point out that when we give in to temptation, it’s not the end of the line. We are deeply grateful that, even though we are sinners, God’s grace remains. Because Jesus died on our behalf, we can confess, repent, accept God’s forgiveness, and resume our walk with the Lord (1 John 1:8–10).

Galatians 1 explains the community side of forgiveness. When a fellow believer has confessed and repented of sin, the church is to restore that person gently (v. 1). But we also need to be careful. Whatever caused them to fall might cause us to fall as well. If we think we’re not at risk because we’re spiritually superior, that’s prideful. Humility and accurate self-knowledge are therefore part of the watchful orientation Paul warns us to take (vv. 3–4).

To “restore” a repentant believer means to return that person to a state of full fellowship. Because of their sin, their fellowship with God and thus with His church was temporarily broken. When they repent, that fellowship is restored. An unrepentant believer, by contrast, is to be excommunicated as a last-ditch attempt to bring them back to the Lord (1 Cor. 5:1–5).

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