Life Group - Galatians Chapter 6

Welcome to Life Group. We invite you to join

us in this verse -by -verse study through the

Word of God. In this lesson, we'll be studying

Galatians chapter 6. Let's begin with verse 1.

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer

is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should

gently and humbly help that person back onto

the right path. Paul's wording here... It's not

talking about a determined, habitual, hardened

sinner. The idea is of someone who has fallen

into sin, finding themselves trapped in a place

they never thought they would be. Those overcome

by a weakness of their flesh. Their mind, will,

and emotions that were trained and patterned

by the influences of sin in this world before

they ever came to Christ. These people need to

be restored. Not ignored, not excused, not destroyed,

but the goal should always be restoration. What

is restoring? It's putting in order. It's restoring

to a former condition. And here it's also a picture

of setting a fractured bone or a dislocated joint

back into place. And we do this gently and humbly,

not aggravating the grief or not scolding, not

condemning, but lifting and restoring. Let's

continue in verse one. Goes on to say, and be

careful not to fall into the same temptation

yourself. Now, those doing the restoring must

guard. Against the temptation of pride. Thinking

that you're better off than the person you're

trying to help. Or you're more spiritual than

the person you're trying to help. But you also

need to guard against the same temptation. The

one being restored. The person being restored

had struggled with. You need to guard yourself

against that same temptation. Verse 2. Share

each other's burdens. And in this way, obey the

law of Christ. Verse 2 is a simple instruction

to obey. As followers of Christ, we should look

for brothers and sisters who have burdens and

help them with their burdens. It's not complicated.

It doesn't take a huge program or infrastructure

to do it. Just look for a burden to bear and

bear it. The assumption behind this statement

is that we all have burdens and that God does

not mean for us to carry our burdens alone. We

have each other to help. When we bear another's

burdens, we are fulfilling the simple law of

Christ. A new commandment I give to you that

you love one another as I have loved you. Verse

3. If you think you're too important to help

someone, you're only fooling yourself. You are

not that important. And this is pointing out

the sin of pride. Pride is self -focus. I mean,

why should we ever think that we're too important

to help another person? Now, pride doesn't always

say, I'm better than you are. But it always says

this, I am more important than you. So I deserve

more of my own attention and love than you do.

One of the easiest ways to fool ourselves is

through pride. To be proud is to be blind. Blind

to our own faults and failures. Blind to the

good in other people. And blind to the... Foolishness

of self -centeredness. Verse 4. Pay careful attention

to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction

of a job well done, and you won't need to compare

yourself to anyone else. This verse tells us

that we need to always take a careful and sober

examination of our works before God. If we don't

and carry on in some kind of self -deception,

we may begin to think that our works are approved

by God when they actually are not. And this verse

talked about satisfaction of a job well done.

Let's consider this on the day of reward. Our

rejoicing can be for our own work, too, and not

just for the work of others. Now, when I thought

about this, I thought about playing football,

and I thought about the people who are actually

on the field playing and the people who are mostly

on the sideline during the game. Now, after the

game, if the team wins, everyone celebrates the

victory. But there's a difference between being

on the bench and celebrating the victory or actually

being in the game and celebrating the victory.

And when it comes to our reward, we celebrate

the win for everyone, but it's different when

we... put effort into the victory. And then it

goes on to say we should never compare ourselves

with other people. Comparison can really only

result in two outcomes and both of them are negative.

One is pride because we look at someone else

and think that we're doing better than they are

doing. Or at least, you know, if it's someone

we respect and then we see ourselves as doing

equal to what they are doing, both of those are

pride. But then if we come up short when comparing

ourselves with someone else, then that leads

to self -condemnation. So comparison is never

a healthy thing. Verse five. For we are each

responsible for our own. That goes to tell us

that we just need to look out for ourselves and

what we're doing and avoid that comparison that

the last verse was talking about. But it also

should cause us to think that at the judgment

seat of Christ, we will be rewarded based on

what we have done, not on what others have done.

Verse 6. Those who are taught the word of God

should provide for their teachers, sharing all

good things with them. Now, within the context

of caring for one another, Paul instructs those

who are taught to support or share in all good

things with those who teach them. The teacher

and the one being taught, or the minister and

the congregation, is one of koinonia. And that

word means fellowship. It's often translated

fellowship, but it's also translated partnership.

Verse 7. Don't be misled. You cannot mock the

justice of God. You will always harvest what

you plant. Here Paul is reminding the Galatians

of God's principle of sowing and reaping. They're

giving to share in all good things with the one

who teaches. It isn't like throwing away. It's

like planting seeds. And whatever a man sows,

that he will also reap. Verse 8. Those who live

only to satisfy their own sinful nature will

harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.

Here the idea of sowing and reaping continues

and we need to understand something. A farmer

reaps the same as he has sown. What do I mean

by that? Well, if a farmer plants wheat, he harvests

wheat. If he plants corn, he harvests corn. He

doesn't plant corn and expect watermelons. A

farmer reaps the same as he has sown. And in

the same way, if we sow to the flesh to satisfy

the flesh or please the flesh, well, then the

flesh is going to increase because that's what

we're sowing to. The flesh is going to increase

in size and in strength, and I'm not talking

about like you're working out and lifting weights

so your muscles increase. No, I'm talking about

the negative patterns that are ingrained through

seeking and striving to please our flesh. Those

negative patterns in our mind, in our will, and

in our emotions will actually become harder to

gain victory over. If we continue to sow to the

flesh. Continuing in verse 8. Though it goes

on to say. But those who live to please the spirit.

Will harvest everlasting life from the spirit.

Now the farmer reaps the same as he has sown.

But not exactly. Because an apple seed doesn't

just grow more apple seeds. It grows a tree that

produces apples that have seeds. So when we sow

to the spirit with spiritual and material things,

what we reap in return is not only more material

things, but also something better. Something

spiritual of the spirit. We reap everlasting

life. Verse 9. So let's not get tired of doing

what is good. At just the right time, we will

reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

Now, Paul is writing this letter to the believers

in Galatia, but we know from what he has said

earlier in this letter that he was clearly including

himself in what he just wrote. When he says,

let's not get tired of doing what is good. because

you will reap a harvest if you don't give up

he was speaking to himself as much as to the

galatians because of the legalists and because

of the false teachers coming in paul's work among

the galatians had not really been rewarded so

he need to remember and not lose heart himself

not get tired of what is doing good and not want

to give up As we wisely manage our actions and

resources before God, under the principle of

sowing and reaping, we're going to need some

patience. This is because the harvest does not

come immediately after the seeds are sown. But

we can be sure we reap what we sow. We reap more

than what we sow. And we always reap in a later

season than the one we sow in. Now that makes

sense when we put it in the context of a farmer.

And Paul here is saying it works the same way

in spiritual things. Verse 10. Therefore, whenever

we have the opportunity, we should do good to

everyone. especially to those in the family of

faith. So we're not supposed to give up or quit

easily. And we need to seek to do good with our

actions and with our resources. And we need to

seek to do good to all. And it says, especially

those who are of God's family. Verse 11. Notice

what large letters I use as I write these closing

words in my own handwriting. We know that Paul

dictated his letters for a helper or secretary

to write them down. He would then personally

write a short portion at the end, both to authenticate

the letter and to add a personal touch. We find

this in 2 Thessalonians 3 .17. He says, Here

is my greeting in my own handwriting, Paul. I

do this in all of my letters to prove they are

from me. And most commentators suggest that Paul

used large letters deliberately and for emphasis,

much as we would use capital letters or underlined

words today. Verse 12. Those who are trying to

force you to be circumcised, He uses that word

force, and that's our key word here, because

there was nothing wrong with a Gentile being

circumcised, but there was everything wrong in

forcing a Gentile to be circumcised by saying

he could not be right with God without becoming

a Jew coming under the law of Moses. Continuing

in 12, those who are trying to force you to be

circumcised want to look good to others, Paul

writes. So the legalists pretended to be motivated

by concern for the ones they tried to bring under

the law. But Paul saw through their deception.

Their true motive was actually a selfish one.

Continuing in 12, they don't want to be persecuted

for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can

save. So here Paul is saying that their unwillingness

to stand up to the threat of persecution from

those promoting works righteousness made them

stand for false doctrines. Verse 13, And even

those who advocate circumcision don't keep the

whole law themselves. We know that no one can

keep the whole law, and breaking one law makes

a person a lawbreaker, purpose of the law was

to reveal our need for Jesus. Continuing in 13,

they only want you to be circumcised so they

can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

We know that the legalist's selfish motive in

forcing the Galatians to become circumcised was

so they could wear the submission of these Gentiles

as a badge of achievement. Verse 14. Now, let's

consider how strange Paul's words are here. The

words cross and glory did not go together. In

fact, they were direct opposites. The cross was

the most humiliating, shameful way to be executed.

And human logic says to boast or glory in your

achievements, like convincing Gentiles become

Jews. That would be what you would boast about

instead of boasting of the cross. But Paul, he

thinks and writes with this heavenly logic and

this surpasses anything of this earth. Continuing

in 14, because of that cross, my interest in

this world has been crucified and the world's

interest in me. has also died. Now, last lesson

in Galatians 5 24, Paul wrote about having crucified

the flesh with its passions and desires. So Galatians

5 24 says, those who belong to Christ Jesus have

nailed the passions and desires of their sinful

nature to his cross and crucified them there.

So here Paul puts the attractions of this world

on the cross too. He considers himself dead to

the world. So the world could not have any influence

over Paul if it was dead, and Paul could not

respond to any influence from it if he was dead

to the world. So back to Galatians 6 verse 15.

Galatians 6:15

It doesn't matter whether we have been circumcised

or not. What counts is, whether we have been

transformed into a new creation. For the legalists,

circumcision was the big issue, because it was

the initiation into living under the Mosaic law.

Even though it was important to the legalists,

Paul's explaining here, and he knew it didn't

matter at all. If you were circumcised, but not

a new creation, you did not belong to Jesus.

If you were uncircumcised but were a new creation,

you belonged to Jesus, and that was the point.

Verse 16, May God's peace and mercy be upon all

who live by this principle. They are the new

people of God. So here Paul concludes, those

who live by this principle, meaning those who

live by the principle of righteousness through

faith, will experience God's peace, Verse 17.

Paul is saying something like this. I've suffered

enough already. Verse 18. May the grace of our

Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

We know that Paul's greatest desire was for the

Galatians to walk in a grace relationship with

God instead of falling for the false doctrines

of works righteousness. Grace is God's acts of

undeserved kindness and favor towards us. His

grace, it reveals His desire to be in a relationship

with us. And this relationship is like as if

sin never even happened. Thank you for joining

us for Life Group. Allow God's Word to build

your faith and transform your life.