Galatians Chapter 6 Part 1 | Chris Osburn

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,

Galatians 6:3

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.

Romans 7:18

So Paul says John 15:5. This is Jesus speaking.

John 15:5

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

Galatians 2:20

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.

Galatians 6:2

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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