As Dave mentioned, we're so thankful for all who have made
it here this morning even though we're small in number and pray
that we can worship God in spirit and in truth today.
And I hope to bring our study in Galatians today to a close when
we're studying and and chapter 6.
And hopefully we can kind of bring it, bring it all together
and understand the importance of the letter that Paul wrote to
the church in galatia. We're going to be in chapter 6,
but I actually want to pick up in verse 25 of the previous
chapter in chapter 5 verse 26. And we'll start reading there.
And it says, let us not become conceited provoking one, another
envying, one, another Brethren. If a man is overtaken in any
trespass, you who are spiritual restore, such a one in a spirit
of gentleness considering yourselves.
Lest you also be tempted, bear one another's burdens and so
fulfill the law of Christ for if anyone thinks himself to be
something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
But let each one examine his own work and then he will have
rejoicing in himself alone and not in another For each one
shall bear his own low. Let him who teacher who let him
who has taught the word share in all good things with him.
Who teaches do not be deceived. God is Not mocked for whatever,
a man so's that he will also reap for.
He Who sows to his flesh will also will of the flesh reap
corruption. But he who sews to the spirit
will of the spirit reap everlasting life and let us not
grow weary while doing good. Good for in due season, we shall
reap. If we do not lose heart,
therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to
all especially those who are the household of faith.
Those are the verses that we're going to be covering this
morning and will finish the second half of the chapter up
this afternoon as Dave mentioned.
And from this text, I want us to understand that there's we have
this one truth of foundation. The greatest evidence of the
spirit filled life, Life is love for one another.
It's not the only fruit of the spirit but it's one that we can,
we can rest our foundation, love for one another and it's
important because we can get so many misunderstandings and
misconceptions of what the Holy Spirit does.
But the holy spirit is producing this out of us.
There are places in the scripture that talks about some
of the things, the spirit does. But what we see here in
Galatians 6, is that the fruit of the spirit is love And I
think we need to be reminded of what Paul said in First
Corinthians 13. When he said, if I speak in
tongues of men, but have not love.
Then I'm like a resounding gong. If I have prophecies that I
speak but I have not love. He says I am nothing.
The greatest. The greatest evidence of the
Spirit-filled life is love for one another.
And this is where we need to realize if evidence of the
spirit filled life is not primarily about The emotional
highs that we get, it's more about the Practical acts of love
that we showed to one another. And that's where Paul I think is
teaching some of what Paul is teaching here.
He says, here are some concrete sound waves, that we can love
one another. I want to show for enemies that
us of the family of God have against this for enemies of the
family, of God. They're simple, but I think they
can have huge effects if we're not careful.
The first one self-centeredness all these enemies of the family
of God are going to kind of have this influence of Pride about
them. If we look at verse 26 of
chapter 5, it says right before we then Galatians 6 has let us
not become conceited. Having vainglory in ourselves
centered on ourselves. Because when when we are
centered ourselves to things happen that he shows us here,
says we provoke one another and we Envy one another We begin to
provoke and we begin to Envy one another that word provoked.
It's a verb that is unique to the, you New Testament.
It literally means to challenge somebody like you want to
challenge somebody to a competition, you want to show
your Superior Peary already over them.
We provoke one another. We Envy one another And it
really is coming down to that. We're wanting to have a
competition with one another in the church.
It's a picture of the way, the world approaches the
relationships, then he says here, of course, in verse 26,
let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one.
Another then we get to Galatians 6, chapter 4 I'm sorry I skipped
forward in chapter 5 verse 15. It says, but if you bite and
devour one, another beware lest you be consumed by one another.
That's what he's talking about. He's talking about the
competition that, that members of the church can have between
themselves if they're conceded and they're provoking and
envying one, another. And when we get to verse 4 of
Galatians 6, Paul says, but let each one examine his own work
and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone.
And not in one another. Competition unhealthy comparison
to other people breeds conceit, and it breeds self-centeredness
c.s. Lewis.
He's the one who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia and other
books. He talks about this in his book
called Mere Christianity. He starts by saying, if you
think you're not conceited, it means you are very conceited,
indeed. He talks about Pride, he talks
about humility, how? It's the Great unattainable.
You try and you try and you try to be humble and then when you
reach humbleness you can be proud about it and then you got
to start all over again. We're conceited people 14 think
we're not conceited then we prove the point right there.
Then c.s. Lewis goes on to say.
Pride itself is the chief cause of misery in every nation and
every family. Since the world began each
person's pride is in competition with everyone else's pride.
Pride is essentially competitive in its competitive.
It is competitive by its very nature.
Pride gets no pleasure out of having something.
Only out of having more of it than the next man.
It is the comparison that makes you proud the pleasure of being
Above the Rest. Once the element of competition
is gone, pride is gone. And that's the picture that that
I want to see your name in competition with one another.
We think we're doing well, if we're doing better than the next
guy, we think we're doing better than, you know, this guys doing
great, we're not doing as good. We feel inferior to one another,
we feel inferior to that other person.
Well, I'm doing better here. And that guy is not doing as
good as me. That's that's in competition
with one another. And that's what Paul has
mentioned here. I think of myself to be pretty
fairly competitive person, particularly, with my children
with our children, you know, there's no way I'm going to let
my kids beat me with anything no way.
No, you're not going to beat me at a game.
No, you're not going to hit a ball farther.
No way. You're going to be faster than I
am. No way.
You're going to beat me at this board game.
No way. Especially the kids that Lizzie
and I have raised. The danger that we have there
though, as I think that that can creep into the church if we're
not careful, it can creep into our spiritual lives.
And that's not necessarily all a bad thing.
Competition's, not necessarily all bad and that's not what I'm
saying, but there's no room for competition in the church.
Let us not become conceited, Paul says provoking one another
envying one another. And that's what's going on.
Galatians here, this is what we can do.
We can think you know some of these the judaizers were saying,
you know, you have to do these additional things you to be more
self-righteous, you know. And and you know it's it's not
bad. And in a sense that in
everything in this world cannot be competition.
There's a healthy way in which we can look to others.
There's a healthy way in which were supposed to be able to look
to others. And to see Christ in each other
and to be encouraged toward Christ through each other.
So that's a good thing. But whenever we begin to look at
a man or woman in the family of God in the Christian family and
we begin to think in our hearts and thoughts we begin to assert
superiority over them or to think I'm doing better than that
guy. I'm doing better than them or
they're doing better than me. We have that that underlying
Foundation of Pride and competition that that we Not
want. We're missing the point.
We're not in a rat race. In the church, we're not
jockeying for position to be better than our brother or
sister. And I think this can clearly, if
we're not careful, this can expose itself clearest with
gossip in the church. In Galatians. 5, 15 is says you
keep on biting and devouring each other.
And the reality is is anytime that I speak About somebody that
is not building them up if you're not saying anything or
speaking to anybody about me, that's not building me up.
That is opening a door to competition and to gossip that
is not authorized in the scriptures at all.
It's exposing ourselves to self-centeredness that is at the
core of our sinful nature and we can see this to even in the
world that we live in, there's there's Christian magazines,
there's Christian Publications, that say Here's the fastest
growing Church in the nation. Here's the one with the most
members, these Christian Publications, are competing with
one another. And that's what we don't want to
see. What's the purpose?
Okay. What's the purpose of those
those people doing? And what's the purpose of who?
Is that glorifying? Is that glorifying themselves or
is it glorifying God who's getting the glory next?
Self-righteousness, is another enemy.
That was an underlying issue with the Galatians because of
the judaizers pushing some of the Old Law into into the
Christianity after Jesus established a church, they were
asserting their righteousness because of what they did, they
said, you need to do these things in order to be righteous.
And and it's also what Jesus sternly rebukes to the Pharisees
for doing, in Matthew, 23 and verse 4.
He says, for, they bind heavy burdens hard to bear and they
lay on them men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move
with them with one of their fingers, they were trying to,
please God. And they were always trying to
tell others about what they had to do in order to.
Please God do these things, additionally, we see
self-sufficiency as an enemy of the family of God.
We're going to get to verse 2 and in chapter 6 about carrying
each other's burdens. But but Paul right here is
implying that we have burdens that we are to carry.
Every single one of us has burdens in this room, we have
burdens to carry and and it is not intended for us to carry
those burdens alone. however, pride in all of its Glory that
it comes in and says, okay, Sunday, With all these problems
I've been dealing with all week Sunday, I'm going to come in,
I'm going to put on a going to put on a face.
I'm going to I'm going to not pretend that I have these
problems going on in my life. I'm going to be the best I can
be. So everybody can think that that
everything's good with me. That is not what is intended to
happen. It's not what the picture it's
Pride taking over ourselves thinking that we are
self-sufficient. We do need each other.
We are weak. We are weak without each other
and that's the picture. The myth, the myth of
self-sufficient, sufficiency that dominates our culture.
Today, we have to be careful to protect against that in the
church. The fourth enemy and this is
really a dangerous one self-esteem.
Self-esteem can be an enemy to the family of God.
Galatians 6, verse 3 says, if anyone thinks he is something,
when he is nothing deceives himself, If anyone thinks he is
something, when he is nothing deceives himself.
We live. In a world that says, if we want
our relationship with others to be good, then we need to think
highly of ourselves. Isn't that what the culture told
tells us? You've got to think good of
yourself before you can help somebody else.
It's important to have the doctrine of high self-esteem,
says, it's important to have high self-esteem, it's all over
the place, it's in other world religions.
The founder of Buddhism, said, you yourself as much as anybody
in the entire universe, deserves your love and affection.
Then you've got experts on relationship and researchers on
personal growth. You say, if you weren't good,
and this is an exact quote. If you aren't good at loving
yourself, you will have a difficult difficult time.
Loving anyone else since you'll resent the time and energy, you
give another person that you aren't giving to yourself.
That'll that'll put you into into counseling on its own, just
thinking about that. It's all then when you think
it's all about you, if you can't do it by yourself then you have
no business talking to anybody else because you're going to get
angry about that. When you do that.
Self-esteem, High self-esteem. Another one said there is
overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem,
the more likely one will be to treat others with respect
kindness and generosity. So they linked they linked High
self-esteem with respect with kindness and generosity towards
others. If you want to be kind and
respectful and generous toward others, and you have to have a
high self-esteem, focus on yourself, focus on the steaming
yourself. Think, highly of yourselves.
It will make your relationships better.
That's what. The world teaches.
Romans 7:18 says, there is nothing good in me.
So Paul says John 15:5. This is Jesus speaking.
Apart from me, you can do nothing.
How's that for positive thinking about yourself?
There are many things that we can Embrace and I in no way want
to be critical of the entire psychology as a whole.
There are benefits to psychology that we can understand and we
know that help. This is my opinion.
What if? What if the way that we love
others is not thinking about in a steaming and revolving our
thoughts around ourselves? But what if love for others is
about realizing that there's nothing good in us apart from
Christ. Therefore, you need Christ for
every good thing in. You and the key to relationships
with other people is not a high self-esteem, but a high Christ
esteem. What if the value and price and
esteem in Christ in joining Christ and surrendering,
everything in us to Christ is the key to loving others.
This is the whole picture of Galatians 2:20 that that he
says, I am crucified with Christ, I no longer live but
Christ lives in me. That's the beauty of what Christ
does. At the spirit is Spirit lives in
us, and it produces the fruit. The fruit of love, the family of
God is marked by Christ is steaming in our hearts and in
our minds. And as a result Christ is
producing love for each other. So, don't focus on ourselves.
Focus On Christ. What Christ has done and what he
does in US fixing our eyes and our thoughts, and our hearts and
her fictions on Christ in the process will begin to discover
what it means to love one another, with a Spirit-filled
love. One essential to the family of
God to combat. These is self-examination.
This is how we combat these. In verse 4 and 5 of Galatians.
I have Galatians 3 here but it's actually Galatians 6.
I have that wrong. It says.
But let each one examine his own work and then he will have
rejoicing in himself alone. We'll talk about a little bit
later and not in one another for each one shall bear his own
load. Well, Paul is saying he's saying
instead of looking at your thoughts and your actions, and
your attitudes and view of how you're doing, come in comparison
to one another and people around, you put your thoughts in
your attitudes and your actions before the lens of the Holiness
of God. So don't compare your.
What you're doing to somebody with somebody else.
Compare that with God? What is God expected?
What does God want from us? It's easy to compare ourselves
to others but to put our thoughts in our attitudes and
our actions before the Holiness of God and to have any other
have any? And every facet of them that is
not God. Honoring and Christ exalting
exposed ourselves that we are very, very needy people.
We are in need, we find ourselves in need of grace and
mercy before a holy God. And in the process we discovered
that there's a reservoir of grace and mercy that we can
didn't show to all those other around that are around us.
When we see ourselves rightly before God, then we're free to
begin to see others rightly before God, and we're not
interested in provoking. Our brothers and sisters were
not interested in envying each other, and instead, we're
looking to love them. Just as Christ loved us.
So, 55 commands of the family of God, when we get to Galatians,
6, Paul is telling us how to love one another, but the
majority of the first five verses of Galatians, 6 are
telling us how to guard ourselves and then support.
And, and there's an importance that we, if we, if we don't
guard ourselves in our Purity and our Holiness, then we will
not know how to love each other. And what I want to show is based
on the scriptures that were studying today, there are five
commands of the Christian family of God.
And I want to split these up into two sections.
The first, the first two, verses one through five and then the
last three verses verses six through 10.
And when we see the command, that says, love one another.
It's not a work of the flesh, it's the Fruit of the Spirit.
Number one. So with that background, the
First Command that he gives us is to confront one another in
your sin. He gives that to us in the first
verse of chapter 6. He says Brethren if a man is
overtaken and any trespass, you who are spiritual restore, such
a one in spirit of gentleness considering yourself.
Lest you also be tempted That is not an option.
It is not an option for those of us who are Christians, who have
a Spirit-filled life to look at another brother or sister that's
living in sin and say that's that's their problem.
I'm not getting get involved with that.
When we know that as Sin is happening with another brother
or sister, it is Our obligation, it is our duty.
And it is telling us right here in verse one that we need to
confront that sin. That's not an option.
There's, of course, and we're doing it for the reason of
restoration, we go to that brother or sister in love in
gentleness, as it says here, there's a way to do that
understanding the mercy and the grace of Christ and our Ships
with other, we've got to figure out how to go to that brother or
sister and try to restore them because of the sin that they
have in their life. It's a Biblical command for us
to confront one another and their sin.
The second command is to comfort one another, in your struggles.
Verse 2 of Galatians 6 says bear one another's burdens and so
fulfill the law of Christ. kind of the same thing you saying in
verse 1, but just in a more General fashion because in a
sense of a brother or sister is caught in sin, I can almost
guarantee you that that there's a weight of that sin in their
life. That's in causes anxiety and
heartache when they understand the weight of that sin in their
life, he's burdened B he's carrying that weight and that's
how we help him by restoring him or loving him.
Helping him climb out of that by the grace and the mercy of
Christ, the spirit of Christ in his life.
So there's a there's a sense in which that he's referring to
help him what you want another in sin.
But also there's a broader there's a broader meaning to
this to carrying each other's burdens.
We all have burdens, as I mentioned early, maybe it's in
our temptations that were struggling with maybe it's
self-examination. That there are some sins in our
life, some things that we just can't seem to get out from
under. We keep going back to the same
sin over and over and over and over again that same sin.
We just can't seem to get out from under, we're not intended.
To fight those battles alone. At all, it could be a physical
struggle. It could be illness, could be
emotional struggle, it could be struggles with depression, or
worry or doubt, anxiety, confusion, that you're wrestling
with a decision about that. You have in front of you.
Maybe it's a family struggle, struggle with your kids,
struggle with your parents, a struggle with your spouse.
Maybe struggles at work. Unemployment, Financial
struggles. It's all kinds of different
struggles and burdens that it could be maybe grief or pain
loss desertion or loneliness. All the burdens that we bear.
Our Most likely represented all across this room.
Every one of us, the person sitting next to you, in front of
you behind, you is barring some sort of burden and what we are
taught here is we are not taught that we have to deal with that
burden on our own. That's not what the family of
God is. That's not, that's not the
intention, it's a command. It's not an option in the
church, it's an obligation that for us to carry each other's
burdens, This kind of Burden carrying that in here and verse
2. I don't think that burden that
we're carrying can necessarily be accomplished by just being
together once or twice a week. One day a week.
I don't think that's, I don't think that is reasonable to
think that we can carry each other's burdens just for the
little amount of time that we are together on a Sunday.
We can't bear somebody else's burdens that way.
And they can't bear our burdens that other way.
We there's a sense in which we are commanded to be in
situations and relationships where we can do that.
In 2nd Corinthians 7. Yeah 2nd Corinthians 7 verses 5
through 7. Listen to what Paul says, this
is the same man. Paul, he wrote second
Corinthians. He also wrote Galatians that
were studying to. He says, they're in shorting the
verse 5 of chapter. 7, of second Corinthians.
He says for indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no
rest. But we were troubled on every
Your other on every side outside were conflicts inside were
fears. All saying, I've got these
burdens, we have these burdens, we were traveling.
When we came to Macedonia, he goes on to say nevertheless God,
who comforts the downcast comforted Us by the coming of
Titus and not only by his coming but also by the consolation with
which he was comforted in you when he told us of your earnest
desire, your mourning your zeal? so for me, so that I rejoiced
even more I hope we see the connection there, Paul realized
that that God was the God of All Comfort.
When he received comfort from Titus, and then also when he
received comfort from the church from the church members, so we
pray for one another, we surround each other and say,
yeah, we're going to carry these burdens for each other in this
way. And guess who?
The glory goes to. The glory goes to God because
God is the one who comforts he Comforts us through his family.
The family of God the Christian family through each other.
This is why you know Christianity.
When we become a Christian I don't see how a Christian can be
can live in isolation. It doesn't work with what we're
studying this morning, it doesn't make sense to an honest,
anonymously, attend a church or congregation and makes no sense.
We're family where we we will miss God and his comfort and his
greatness. If we neglect commands like
Galatians 6, verse 2, Bearing one another's burdens.
So we want to praise God for his comfort and for showing that he
Comforts us through one another. That's how God Comforts us as
well. Three more commands verses six
through ten. I want to show you some of the
when we come to this last part there's actually a lot of debate
and discussion between Scholars and commentators who I was
looking at that have a lot more biblical knowledge than I do.
Will pause it. What at Paul is actually
addressing here. What's going on in Galatians
contest? What he's addressed because when
we get to verse 6, most of the scholars think that Paul is
talking about when he says let him who was taught the word
share and all good things with him, who teaches?
Most scholars believe that this is in reference to who's
teaching the one who's teaching the word to the congregation,
make sure that he's financially provided for.
Many people think that verses six through 10 are all about how
we use, all of our finances. And then when we get to verse 7
and 8, he's talking about how sowing and reaping and it's the
same picture and imagery that Paul uses in second Corinthians
9 talking about giving material positions and giving material
resources, and we get down to verse 10 of chapter 6, and it
says, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.
and that actual phrase is actually use there in the New
Testament was a euphemism in the first century for giving alms to
the poor There's a lot of people who believe this is all about
how we use our finances and, and I believe that's part of it.
But I also believe it's about using the rest of our resources
as well. Not just our finances, but what
can we do? How can we use our resources?
What talents do we have? That?
We can help somebody else. With what resources can we give
to somebody who needs? Who's in?
Need our gifts, our words, our actions.
How do we use that to help our brothers and sisters?
Next. Share your resources.
General generously. Verse 6 says, let him who is
taught the word share in all good things with him.
Who teaches Paul is using a word here, Koinonia from the Greek
for Fellowship in the New Testament, to talk about the
relationship between those who teach in the church and the ones
who are taught in the church. There's a sharing there's a
relationship and what Paul's doing here.
He's reminding the Church of how important it is that the word is
taught. And how important it is, the one
who is the primary teacher and and studies can has the time to
study and teach that he's financially provided for.
That's why we support Frank, he does so much work behind the
scenes at a lot of us don't see, but we support him.
That way he can have more depth more knowledge in what he
teaches. Then the other teachers here, I
don't get paid. You guys are getting what you
paid for this morning. So That's why he's provided for
so he can focus more on delivering us the word of God.
Fourth command. So your resources eternally
verses 7 and 8. Say do not be deceived.
God is Not mocked for whatever a manso's that he will also reap.
You plant, corn, you sow corn? You don't get strawberries, you
plant, pistachios. You don't get cotton?
What you're doing, what you're planting, that's what you're
going to sew. We will reap eternally what we.
So here. 2nd Corinthians 9:6 and 15.
When we wouldn't have to go time to go there and swarm but you go
there we see Paul talking about sewing, our financial resources
not to the flesh, but to the spirit, when we come, you know,
personally, we have a choice, we have a choice.
We can invest in that, which pleases the Flesh and bears,
Earthly fruit, or we can so that, which pleases, the spirit
and bears, eat Eternal fruit. The final command that we have,
is spend your resources selflessly, spend your resources
selflessly, it says, and let, not let us not.
Grow weary while doing good for in due season, we shall reap.
If we do not lose heart, Don't give up.
Give everything. If you can what you can to those
around you who need who need it more than we do.
Use your talents, use your resources, use your gifts,
whatever, may be in your realm of what you have control under.
Give to those who are in need around you.
I want to encourage us all. We lived a spirit, we live a
spiritual life, it will not be easy.
Of course, we will not want, you know, we won't always see the
immediate fruit. From what we do here, but we're
planning for eternity, we're working for eternity work, we're
sewing here. What's going to be reaped
eternally? That covers the first 10 verses
of chapter 6 that I have Force, we will want to close the
service out, within a type of any type of invitation.
We want to invite those who may be under the gospel, call in any
way if you need to be baptized for the remission of your sins.
And we ask, we have for that opportunity.
Now here, the word believe that Jesus is the son of God.
We confess his name That he is the Son of God and were baptized
for the remission of our sins. We change the way that we're
living. We're not living for the
worldly, things anymore. We're living for Christ because
what he has done for us, and that changes who we are.
It's not us trying harder to change.
I'm going to work harder to make a little difference here.
Make a little difference there. No, it's a new life, completely.
Your old life is gone. The old man is gone.
A new man. Now lives for Christ.
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