FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:1-10

Carrying Burdens (verse 2). Paul turns again to the corporate responsibility of all Spirit-led Christians: Bear one another’s burdens. “Through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13) means to bear each other’s burdens. After all, bearing burdens is the work of servants. The term burdens may refer to all kinds of physical, emotional, mental, moral or spiritual burdens: for example, financial burdens, the consequences of cancer or the results of divorce. The list of burdens crushing fellow Christians could be extended indefinitely. And no doubt the command to carry each other’s burdens covers every conceivable kind of burden and calls for us to be sensitive enough to perceive even the unseen burdens that our brothers and sisters try to hide.

But in the context the command seems to be directed primarily to the burdens of sin referred to in Galatians 6:1. When we carry each other’s burdens in this way, we will fulfill the law of Christ. Paul’s reference to the law of Christ here establishes a striking contrast between fulfilling the law of Christ and keeping the law of Moses. Keeping the law of Moses was the preoccupation of the teachers of the law and all who followed their message in the Galatian churches. But their focus was on how the observance of the Mosaic law separated God’s people, the Jewish nation, from “Gentile sinners” (Galatians 2:15). Circumcision, purity and dietary laws, and sabbath and festival regulations were boundary markers established by the law of Moses to preserve the unique identity of the Jewish people. Maintaining the ethnic identity of the Jewish people by observing these boundaries was viewed as a fulfillment of the purpose of the law of Moses. All who lived within these boundaries would certainly enjoy the blessing of God; all who lived outside of these boundaries by neglecting to observe them were under God’s curse. The teachers of the law insisted that the Gentile believers had to live within these boundaries to be reckoned among the people of God. Their zeal for the law made them intolerant of all nonconformists to these standards.

Paul knew from his own experience in Judaism before his encounter with Christ how destructive such zeal for the law could be (Galatians 1:13-14). His conflict with “false brothers” in the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:4-5) and with Peter in the church at Antioch confirmed how quickly zeal for the law could divide the church by classifying Gentile believers as “Gentile sinners” and excluding them from the people of God. And now the zealous teachers of the law are inciting Christians in the Galatian churches to bite, devour, provoke and envy each other. Ironically, their preoccupation with keeping the Mosaic law resulted in breaking the central commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31).

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:1-10

Restoring Sinners, Examining Yourself (verse 1) – Continued

However, you will notice that the exact methods of restoration are not described by Paul. They will vary according to the individual circumstances. But Paul does specify the manner of restoration: restore him in a spirit of gentleness. “Gentleness” is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23). Gentleness is not weakness; it is great strength under control. When gentle Christians see someone caught in a sin, they do not react with violent emotions or with arrogance. Even when sinful actions are scandalous and harmful, the emotions of the gentle person are under control, and the will of the gentle person is devoted to loving the sinner all the way to total recovery. Only the Holy Spirit can empower a person to respond in such a “spirit of gentleness.”

Gentleness is not only consideration of the needs of others but also humility in recognition of one’s own needs before God. So Paul moves from his command for restoration in the plural form, addressed to all, to a command for self-examination in the singular form, addressed to each individual. Corporate responsibility must be undergirded by the personal integrity of each individual before God. Keep watch on yourself, Paul commands. Close observation of the inner life is necessary because everyone is vulnerable to temptation: lest you too be tempted.

Awareness of my own vulnerability to moral failure not only puts me on guard against temptation but also enables me to respond with a spirit of gentleness to someone trapped in sin. The specific temptation in view here seems to be the temptation to react with arrogance and anger to the sin of the offender. Both Galatians 5:26 and 6:3-4 speak directly to this temptation. It is understandable that the Galatians’ desire to live under the law (Galatians 4:21) had produced moral watchdogs who were pouncing on sinners to, “bite and devour one another” (Galatians 5:15). Their sins of conceit (Galatians 5:26) and their “fits of anger” (Galatians 5:20) were just as serious as the sin of the offender whom they were so harshly condemning.

In contrast, those who are led by the Spirit are aware that they themselves are “only sinners saved by grace through faith.” All their responses to other sinners are, and should be guided by the personal insight of their own weakness and their total dependence on the redemptive love of God.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:1-10

Restoring Sinners, Examining Yourself (verse 1) – Continued

In order to bring healing to the sinner, we must have a compassionate view of the one who has sinned. Paul doesn’t define the kind of sin, he doesn’t need to, but he does describe the consequence of sin. He views the sinner as one who is caught in any transgression. When a person sins, other people are hurt; other people are victims of that sin. But we must remember that sinners themselves are also in some sense victims of sin. Abusers have also been abused. They have been overtaken, ambushed and seized by sin. Paul is not excusing the sinner of personal responsibility. But he is recognizing the terrible captivating force of sin. Just as Jesus said, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34), so now Paul says that the one who sins is trapped by sin. When we view moral offenders as those who are enslaved and entrapped, we can have a more compassionate attitude toward them. We will want to help them break that bondage of sin over their life.

Paul appeals to those who are spiritual to help the one who is caught in a sin. The spiritual he speaks of here are not some elite leadership group of spiritual giants. All the way through the letter Paul has been emphasizing that all of his converts in Galatia have received the Spirit (Galatians 3:2-5, 14; 4:6, 29; 5:5, 16-18, 22-23, 25). All of those whom he addresses in verse 1 as brothers (understand Paul is also including sisters, according to Galatians 3:28) are spiritual, since all who are the children of God have received the Spirit of God, according to Galatians 4:6. In other words, Paul is calling on all who have believed the true gospel and received the Spirit to be actively engaged in the ministry of restoration. One way to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) is to restore one who has been trapped in sin.

Paul’s directive to the spiritual is to restore the sinner. The verb “restore” could be used in physical or material contexts to signify resetting a broken bone or mending a torn net (see Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19). In spiritual contexts it meant perfecting in spiritual maturity and equipping for service (2 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; Hebrews 13:21). In 1 Corinthians 1:10 Paul uses the same verb to express his desire that the divided church in Corinth “be united in the same mind.” In other words, in the same thought processes. The church had been broken and torn by divisions; it needed to be reset as a physician would reset broken bones and mended as a fisherman would repair torn nets. Here in Galatians 6:1 the verb restore calls for spiritual therapy so that a broken member of the body can once again work properly and perform its vital functions for the benefit of the whole body.

As long as any member of the body is broken, the whole body suffers. If the broken member of the body is amputated, the whole body suffers the loss. What is needed is restoration. The goal is the recovery of Christian brothers and sisters who have sinned so that the whole body will be healthy and productive again.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved