Like you, I was deeply saddened as I listened to Gov. Mark Sanford confess his marriage infidelity, express his sorrow, apologize, and ask for forgiveness. As unfortunate as it is, it provides Christians, individually and corporately, the opportunity

to "do good to all, especially to those who are in the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10). Let me explain how.

Was his affair with another woman wrong? Yes, of course it was a sinful act as it is for any of us.

Should he be held accountable? Yes, of course he should as any other person who commits a sin should be, accountable both to God and man.

Now, I am commenting no further on Gov. Sanford personally. I will leave that to God and to the responsible persons.

What I want urgently to talk about with you is this. When a fellow Christian loses their battle with temptation and commits a sin and if they fulfill God's prescribed process of confession, repentance, and seeking for forgiveness, how then should fellow Christians react to the person's sin?

All too frequently we react wrongly in the following ways:

— Do not rejoice because they have "messed up."

— Do not desire their being punished severely and beyond reason. Jesus said only the one without any sin can throw the first stone. (Romans 8:7)

— Do not judge a fellow believer who sins as worthless and of no value. To make a sin or make a mistake does not make a person worthless or of no value. It was while we were yet sinners that Jesus considered us of enough value to die for us (Romans 8:5).

— Do not judge them to be a "hypocrite." Hypocrisy resides in the heart and only God is able to know what is in a person's heart (I Sam.16:7).

— Do not use another person's fall to elevate your opinion of how good you are. The Bible says, "There is none good, no not one" (Romans 3:10).

How then is a Christian to react when a brother or sister falls? God's will is very clearly set forth in the Scriptures. Here are the ways we should react when the fallen person has followed God's will of dealing with their sin: confession, repentance and seeking forgiveness:

— Love them and reaffirm it to them (2 Corinthians 2:7).

— Forgive them. Whether you forgive another person their sin or not, is not an option It is a must that those who themselves have been forgiven must forgive others (Matthew 6:14).

— Restore them (Galatians 6:1). Some are willing to forgive but not restore. Scripturally, forgiveness is never an end in itself. It is a means to restoration. God sent his only begotten son to sacrifice Himself on the cross to create a way for our forgiveness SO THAT WE CAN BE RESTORED IN OUR RELATIONSHIP TO HIM (2 Cor. 5:19).

Is it easy to love, forgive, and restore a fellow Christian who has sinned and hurt your deeply? No. Of course it isn't. But we are not required to do it in our human strength. God helps us and makes it possible by shedding His unconditional love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:20).

No, it is not easy, but it is do-able and it is essential. Jesus did it hanging on the cross to those who crucified Him. But can humans? Yes. Stephen did as the people threw stones at him, beating the breath from his body.

Individual Christians and the body of believers seldom had a greater opportunity to validate the truthfulness of their faith and message than by how they react when one of their own falls in sin.

Why was I so burdened for us to have this talk? Because there is nothing more disgusting, pathetic, or damaging than a believer or a church who preaches the Gospel of undeserving grace and unconditional love BUT DOES NOT PRACTICE IT when a repentant brother or sister sins. Someone has said the Christian army is the only army that kills off its wounded.

And this, my friends, should never happen. But too often it does!

(Dr. French O'Shields is a Gaffney native and a retired Presbyterian minister.)