Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
When someone in the body of Christ is having trouble and you go into restore that person to the way of God, it is sort of like being a member of a bomb squad and going in to disarm a bomb that is filled with explosives. You can be blown up unless you do this in the right spirit.
Paul says ... Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Gal. 1:1
The right spirit would be to understand that this could happen to anyone no matter how many years of Bible teaching they have had. It could certainly happen to me. Last night after working with a member of our church group, I sat and asked God to protect me. We are all subject to falling into traps. God is our protection by the Holy Spirit.
The wrong spirit would be to go in with the attitude of "you stupid idiot ... how could you let this happen."
Romans 3 ... 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
We certainly have to see correction but we also have to know our sins have been paid for by Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins.
If the person has the Holy Spirit there is always good hope for restoration.
But if that person willfully turns from the doctrines of Christ and says, "I don't care what the Bible says ... I know what I believe," then there is very great danger that person will not be able to be restored unless God changes that person's mind.
Heb. 10 speaks of "willful" sins ...
26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Heb. 10
Heb. 6 ... 4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Most problems I deal with in the church are not "willful" sins but rather that church person has allowed devils to confuse them and they have to learn to recognize the way of God over the way of the devil in the situation. When they see that, I've seen them restored to God if they have the Holy Spirit.
Their situation is still dangerous for we must eat and drink the Word of God correctly ... If we partake of the Word of God incorrectly we bring destruction upon ourselves. Paul explains: 30For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (die). I Cor. 11
So when we bring correction to a person who is born again, our goal is to restore that person to the way of God in the issue.
We have the following interesting example given by Paul in dealing with a fornicator in the church.
I Cor. 5 ... 1It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. 2And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
This church group handled this incorrectly. They were "puffed up" ... "How could you do such a thing?" Basically thinking they were incapable of such a sin.
Paul said instead of being puffed up, they should have mourned, grieved, been exceedingly sorry that this sin happened in the church.
Then Paul told them to take the following action concerning this man who committed the fornication while in the church.
3For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
You can't keep him in the church and let his sin spread throughout the church. Turning him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh would be similar to what we read in I Cor. 11 ... because of this sin that person would be weak and sickly and "many" die. v. 30
6Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Then Paul says to put such a person out of the church ... hopefully he will be ashamed of himself when he is put out of the church and he will grieve himself to repentance before his flesh is destroyed.
Paul says ... 9I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. I Cor. 5
Paul is also telling us it is not our position to judge the world. But we are to judge sin inside the church when that person is called a "brother".
Some church groups want to counsel the sinner or pray for the sinner in the church. Paul likens his sin to leaven and says it will spread throughout the whole congregation affecting everyone. Some in the congregation will sin with the concept of the lust of the man's sin. Others will sin being self-righteous thinking they would never sin as he did, lifting themselves up and sinning this way. Regardless sin will spread when he is left in the congregation. He must be put out of the church.
Paul tells us to put that sinner out of the congregation.
I Cor. 5 is very interesting for it looks like the "spirit" of the man will be saved as a result of turning him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.
I have encountered this level of sin in the church and I have put such people out of the congregation when that sin has been established... specific sins of fornication, covetousness, idolater, railer, drunkard, extortioner, (I have done this several times with fornicators in church and once with an idolater. Once there was a woman in our church group who was a drunkard but I didn't find out about this. I would have put her out of the congregation as Paul said to do. Before I found out, she had repented and no more drunkenness. God told her she was at the valley of decision and she would be destroyed unless she stopped drinking and she stopped drinking and she is still with us in the church today.)
But when the sin is following the wrong spirit thinking it is God, that is usually another matter and I can work with that person when he is born again to restore him to the church through the Holy Spirit.
With most people who come to me with problems in congregation it is usually that they have not been diligent to keep themselves by taking thoughts captive and devils move in and lead them when this is the case.
When that person is born again, I have found they can be restored.
I Cor. 13 ... Paul says ... 5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 6But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.