Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:1-10

In previous chapters of Galatians Paul has led the Galatian believers to understand the historical and theological background for the crisis in their churches and given them general principles about life in the Spirit. Now he spells out specific responsibilities for those who are led by the Spirit so that they can rebuild their broken relationships.

The responsibilities of those who are spiritual are directly related to the problem of division in the Galatian churches. You can see in chapter 5 that when Paul describes the problem in the churches, he speaks of “biting, devouring, provoking and envying each other” (Galatians 5:15, 26). The false teachers’ campaign to force all the Gentile believers to become Jews would have divided the churches into hostile groups: the Jewish Christians who zealously campaigned for the necessity of circumcision and observance of the Mosaic law, the Gentile believers who zealously pursued the goal of living like Jews, and the Gentile believers who were either not willing or not able to live by the Mosaic law. Paul’s list of responsibilities in this section shows how those who are truly led by the Spirit can bring healing and unity in their divided churches. The responsibilities include both the believers’ corporate responsibilities to one another and the individual believer’s personal accountability before God. Our public care for one another must be matched by integrity in our private walk before God. Note how corporate responsibilities and individual accountability are woven together throughout this section:

1. corporate: restore him gently
2. individual: watch yourself
3. corporate: carry each other’s burdens
4. individual: each one should test his own actions . . . each one should carry his own load
5. corporate: share all good things with his instructor
6. individual: do not be deceived . . . a man reaps what he sows
7. corporate: do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers

Restoring Sinners, Examining Yourself (verse 1).  The first responsibility of those who are spiritual is the restoration of one who has sinned. Paul’s conditional clause, if anyone is caught in any transgression, is framed in such a way as to point to the high probability that members of the church will sin. Sin in the church is not a hypothetical possibility, it is a reality. Paul and his readers both knew of believers in the church who had been trapped by sin. The kind of sin in view here is not specified by Paul. It could be any one of the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). Paul seems to be more concerned about the manner in which sinners in the church are treated than in the sin itself.

Moral failure in the church shouldn’t come as a surprise, nor should it be considered fatal to the life of the church. What is important is the church’s response when such failure occurs. The church may respond with harsh condemnation under the law and portray a very legalistic atmosphere. That response will crush the sinner and divide the church. That seems to have been what was happening in the churches in Galatia. The zealots for the law were merciless to sinners. But Paul wants to show that the occasion of sin is the opportunity for Spirit-led people to display the fruit of the Spirit in order to bring healing to the sinner and establish or re-establish unity in the church.

To Be Continued

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