Did you know many water safety classes include instructions on how to save a drowning person who is resisting rescue? It’s hard to understand why anyone would resist rescue when drowning but statistics show it’s true.

And did you know Lot and his family also resisted rescue when God sent two angels to warn them the day before the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? The men who were pledged to marry Lot’s daughters thought Lot was joking when he passed on the angels’ warning. With the coming of dawn, Lot still had not removed his family. Even when the angels warned him to “Hurry,” he hesitated. Finally verse 16 of Genesis 19 says, “The angels grasped [Lot’s] hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters, and led them out of the city.” Why would people go to such lengths to avoid being rescued?

In Galatians 6:1, believers are instructed: “if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back on the right path.” In essence we are being instructed to “rescue” believers who have been overcome by sin. Have you ever attempted to do that? It has been my experience that believers who have been overcome by sin often fiercely resist being rescued and fiercely resist admitting they need to be rescued. Formerly sane people caught in sin seem to become temporarily insane. Or as someone once said, “Sin makes you stupid.”

In this politically correct society in which we live where daring to disagree with the status quo is considered “intolerant” at best, hate speech at worst, I find myself all too quick to excuse myself from following the instructions of Galatians 6:1. I tell myself, “It’s no use─they wouldn’t listen anyway,” or “It will just cause an argument, and it won’t make any difference in the end.” However, increasingly I’m reminded that the angels “took hold of [Lot’s] hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters” and led them to safety when destruction was imminent. In the end, Lot’s wife turned back and was lost but the angels had made a valiant effort to save Lot and all his family. In the same way when the Holy Spirit burdens us because friends or loved ones are courting certain destruction by the pathway they’re on, can we do any less?

Another translation says, “If someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.” It’s important to remember in any attempt to rescue a believer, the goal is to restore them, not to criticize, condemn, or prove them wrong. I saw a plaque with Galatians 6:1 which said, “Are you a restorer or an accuser of the brethren?”

Any attempt to rescue a believer who is caught in sin needs to be bathed in prayer. We need to pray for wisdom about the timing of the attempt, pray for the person’s heart to be softened, and pray for God to give us His words. Does bathing a rescue attempt in prayer guarantee the person will be restored? No. But according to Ezekiel 33, God will hold us accountable if we don’t warn them when we are prompted to do so by the Holy Spirit.

Father, show us how to gently restore our brothers or sisters who are caught in sin. Fill us with your perfect love that casts out fear which makes us unwilling to take the risk. Amen.