Together

Last week we looked at what James said a Pure Faith is. This week I want us to look at one way that Paul describes the Christian faith. So if you have your Bible’s this morning, turn them on or open them up to Galatians Chapter 6.

[Context of Galatians]

[Illustration]

[Context of Galatians]

Paul writes to the church in Galatia because they were having some pretty serious problems. Some of those include: turning away from the gospel, and working to receive salvation instead of resting in God’s grace. Galatians is an interesting book because we can clearly see Paul’s attitude toward the Galatians. He is fed up with them! Most of Paul’s letters begin with some kind of blessing or praise of the people he is writing to… But not the Galatians!

Look at what Paul says in chapter 1 real quick!

Galatians 1:1–7 CSB

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead—2 and all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia. 3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5 To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

gal 1 1-7

Paul kind of says, “Hey guys, it’s Paul, the guy sent by Jesus and God the Father. Grace and peace to you… I can’t believe you guys! You’ve messed up this bad all ready? Did you not listen to a word I said? THERE IS ONLY ONE GOSPEL! The one you are following isn’t it!

Have you ever tried to teach someone how to do something? You teach them, show them how to do it, then let them try, and it seems like they didn’t hear a word you said!

So some of you know I used to ride motorcycles and four-wheelers a lot. One time I took a friend to our track and let him ride our four-wheeler while I was on my dirt-bike. And this track was a circle with an option to go through the middle of the circle. I told my friend that when we’re going around the circle, if one of us goes through the middle, then we’ll probably run into each other and crash.

Several years ago, my grandfather got a new tv, which of course came with a new remote that looked a lot different than his last one!

Well, most of you can see where this is going! So I’m coming around the circle on my bike, and my friend cuts through the middle. You couldn’t have timed it more perfectly!

So some of you know I used to ride motorcycles and four-wheelers a lot. One time I took a friend to our track and let him ride our four-wheeler while I was on my dirt-bike.

I come around the corner and see my friend headed for the same spot I am! Everything turns to slow motion. I hit the brakes but it’s too late! I slam into the side of the four-wheeler, which doesn’t move because it’s a lot heavier than my bike. But I go flying across my handle bars and land of the other side of my friend. Luckily, I was fine. But I was not happy with my friend that day!

That is the kind of thing that Paul is dealing with. He’s spent 5 chapter addressing some of the problems with the church in Galatia and now he’s going to address one more in chapter 6. His point here is that:

The Christian life is lived in community with accountability and faithfulness.

Bear one another’s burdens (1-3).

Let’s jump into verse 1...

Galatians 6:1–3 CSB

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

In this passage, Paul mentions a few different characters, or categories of people. Paul mentions someone being “overtaken in any wrongdoing.” This is someone that has fallen into sin. Literally, someone who has been caught living in sin.

Then Paul says, “you who are spiritual.” These are the people that are spiritually mature individuals, those who have been following Jesus for a while and are further along in their faith. These individuals have a deep relationship with God and care deeply about His church.

So now that we know who Paul is talking about, let’s see what he says about them!

Galatians 6:1 CSB

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.

So Paul is talking to the spiritually mature and telling them to restore those who have fallen into sin, with a gentle spirit.

To restore something means to bring it back to its former condition, right? If you are restoring an old car, you’re not going to make it look modern. You’re going to make it look how it did when it was brand new.

But how do we do that for people? How do we correct someone in love without seeming like we’re attacking them?

The word “restore” Paul uses here, is used in Matthew and Mark to talk about mending fishnets. Now, the mending and repairing of large fishnets would take some time, especially in the time of Jesus. These large fishnets were hand-made and they took time to fix. And it’s the same with people today. Restoring those who have fallen into sin takes a few things: it takes time, it takes relationships, and it takes love.

Paul gives us an example of how to do that. He tells us to:

Bear one another’s burdens.

He says that when we do this, we fulfill the law of Christ!

All of us have burdens don’t we? We all have fallen into sin a time or two in our lives, and we’ve all had bad things happen to us that have made us feel like we’re carrying a big rock on our shoulders. In fact, that is exactly what the word burden means, it’s a heavy weight one carries.

As the Church of Christ, we are to come along side one another and help each other carry those burdens. We are to help each other through hard times. Sometimes that may be physical assistance, it may be financial help, advice, or sometimes we just need someone to listen to us and love us!

But some Christians today feel like they’re too good to stoop down and help lift someone else up. Paul says in verse 3,

Galatians 6:3 CSB

3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

In other words, anyone who thinks they are “too good” to help others is really nothing himself.

So, Paul tells us that we are to help others, but what about those that seem to not want our help, or those that do not seem to be doing anything to help themselves.

Carry your own load (4-5).

Paul knew that there were some people like that then and there are still people like that now. So he continues in verses 4-5.

Galatians 6:4–5 CSB

4 Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. 5 For each person will have to carry his own load.

Now wait a minute… Paul just said to bear one another’s burdens, now he’s saying to carry our own load? This is where good biblical study helps us understand what Paul is saying. Some people claim that Paul contradicts himself here, but in reality he is making two different points!

First, we are to bear one another’s burdens. Remember a burden is a heavy load that someone has to carry.

Now, the word load here in verse 5 refers to a soldier’s daypack. This is a load that a person can carry by themselves. So does that mean that we only help others with big problems? Well, not necessarily.

J. Stott shows the difference in these two ideas by saying:

“We are to bear one another’s ‘burdens’ which are too heavy for a man to bear alone, but there is one burden which we cannot share—indeed do not need to because it is a pack light enough for every man to carry himself—and that is our responsibility to God on the day of judgment. On that day you cannot carry my pack and I cannot carry yours.”

we are to bear one another’s ‘burdens’ which are too heavy for a man to bear alone, but there is one burden which we cannot share—indeed do not need to because it is a pack light enough for every man to carry himself—and that is our responsibility to God on the day of judgment. On that day you cannot carry my pack and I cannot carry yours.”

Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 418.

In other words, the load that we all have to carry ourselves is the choice of our salvation. We have to own our faith. No one else can carry us on the coat-tails of their faith.

You have to:

Carry your own load.

Many church members today have grown up going to church because that’s just what you do. Unfortunately, many church members do not have true faith in Jesus because they never made the choice to own their faith. They never made the jump from knowledge about God, to a relationship with Him!

If that is you today, I urge you to make your faith your own! Don’t wait anymore, begin your relationship with Jesus today.

Support the church and your pastors (6).

Now verse 6 has baffled theologians for many years. It baffles them not because they don’t know what it means, but because it doesn’t really fit in the passage. Paul just kind of throws this sentence in:

Galatians 6:6 CSB

6 Let the one who is taught the word share all his good things with the teacher.

Commentators and theologians mostly agree that this verse has to do with supporting the church and its Pastor financially. Now we know Paul was a tent-maker and funded his missionary journeys that way. But the pastors of the churches that Paul planted in the towns he visited were what we would call full-time pastors. They were leaders of the church and they needed to eat too.

That is why Paul says:

Galatians 6:6 CSB

6 Let the one who is taught the word share all his good things with the teacher.

Then Paul just moves on! One commentator

You will reap what you sow (7-8).

Paul then jumps back to his theme of faith and doing what is good. Verses 7-8 say:

Galatians 6:7–8 CSB

7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

How many of us have ever tried to get away with something?

I remember when I was younger, maybe 13 or 14, I walked into the kitchen and asked my mom if I could go to a friend’s house. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal, it was just down the street, I walked there all the time! Well this time my mom said I couldn’t. So I asked why? My mom told me that I hadn’t done what she had asked me to do. And me being a dumb teenage boy, I said, “Huh? What am I supposed to do?”

Apparently she had told me to clean my room, and I obviously wasn’t listening. So I leave the kitchen to go clean my room. I get to the other side of the wall, and I roll my eyes because I’m annoyed that I have to clean my room. Then, from the kitchen, with no way she could have seen me, my mom says, “Don’t roll your eyes at me!”

I froze! I had no idea how she knew, but I quickly got myself upstairs and cleaned my room!

Sometimes, we feel like we can do things that God doesn’t like and get away with them. But Paul says that God is not mocked! In other words God sees everything that we do and will repay us for what we do!

If we do evil, we will receive evil. If we do good, we will receive good.

But is this limited to good and evil? What about the kind of middle ground? Like what if we aren’t living evil lives, but we’re just living for ourselves, living for our own desires and wants. Verse 8 says:

Galatians 6:8 CSB

8 because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

If we live selfish lives and work for physical things (money and possessions), then that is what we will receive, but that might be all that we receive, because we’re missing out of the Spirit.

If we live lives concerned with eternity and the kingdom of God, then we will receive eternal blessings, we will receive communion with God and eternal life.

It is important to understand that:

You will reap what you sow.

Now this isn’t always easy to remember, right? We forget this fact sometimes. We get tired of always doing the right thing. We have moments where we want to live for ourselves and carry out our desires.

Never give up doing good (9-10).

So Paul gives us some encouragement here at the end of this passage.

gal

Galatians 6:9–10 CSB

9 Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

The church in Galatia was between legalism and what one commentator calls libertinism.

Legalism

Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms Law, Legalism

Religious legalism focuses on obedience to laws or moral codes based on the (misguided) assumption that such obedience is a means of gaining divine favor.

Libertinism

Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies Antinomian

thought that salvation by faith in Jesus Christ freed them from all moral obligations and that they could sin with impunity

However, Paul reminds them that they are called to do good not out of obligation or to earn their salvation, but out of love for God and others.

But sometimes it’s hard to always do the right thing, it’s hard to always do good. But Paul tells us to keep going, to never quit, because we will reap the benefits later on! When it’s hard to do the right thing, remember that if we don’t give up and give in, we will be rewarded, maybe not immediately. In fact, most of the time, when we do the right thing we will receive a negative consequence. But one day, we will benefit from doing good! So,

Never give up doing good.

Paul closes by saying that we should “work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.” Paul returns to the very beginning of this idea of looking out for one another and living in community with other believers.

Conclusion

So remember, The Christian life is lived in community with accountability and faithfulness.

As our service comes to an end this morning, I want to challenge you all to do good! As a community of believers we need to examine our own hearts, care for one another, and never give up! God has given us such a great responsibility to share His message with the world! It’s such a great responsibility that we need others to help us and hold us accountable.

When we show others that being a Christian is more than a set of rules we have to follow, when we show them it’s about a relationship with God and relationships with other people who care about us, people will be drawn to that!

So, maybe you’re here today and you’re serving, doing good, and are a part of the community of believers here at Flat Rock, my challenge to you is Don’t Quit! Keep serving God faithfully!

Maybe you’re here today and you have a relationship with Jesus but you aren’t a part of a community of believers to help you grow as a believer and be the best you can be! We would love for you to join us here at Flat Rock! Come talk to us and we can get you more information on our church and some information about how you can become a part of our community.

Maybe you’re here this morning and you’re thinking to yourself, “This community thing sounds goods good, but I’m not even sure I have a relationship with this guy named Jesus.” I want to invite you today to come and talk with one of us. Many of the people in this room can introduce you to Jesus and tell you how He can give you what no one else can!

So during this time of invitation, spend some time analyzing where you are and what step God is calling you to take this morning.

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