God Speaks
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. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
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. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 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. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
11 Notice what large letters i use as i write these closing words in my own handwriting.
12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.
14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.
17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.
18 Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Dr. Wiersbe contrasts the legalist versus the Spirit-led Christian in how they deal with a believer who sins. The legalist condemns and shames (sometimes only on the basis of rumors and suspicions), while the spiritual person seeks to restore as in setting a broken bone. The legalist is seeking to use the erring brother “to make himself look good.” (emphasis in the original) * “The legalist lives by competition and comparison and tries to make himself look good by making the other fellow look bad…. It takes a great deal of love and courage for [a Spirit-led believer] to approach an erring brother and seek to help him.” Dr. Wiersbe explains that there is no contradiction between Galatians 6:2 and 5. Two different words are used in the original Greek. In Galatians 6:2 it is a heavy burden (one that is difficult for a person to carry alone), whereas Galatians 6:5 uses the word for a soldier’s backpack. “We should help each other bear the heavy burdens of life, but there are personal responsibilities each man must bear for himself.” Each believer in Christ should seek to “sow to the Spirit” and not give up until they see a harvest of goodness in their own lives and in the lives of others around them. We should be like Paul where the only boasting we do is in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. As Galatians 6:15 says, “What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.” (NLT) May the peace, mercy, and grace of God rest on the readers of this blog so that we all live out the principles taught in the book of Galatians.
* The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, by Warren W. Wiersbe, pp. 576-582.
Prayer: Thank You, Father God, that You do not abandon us when we sin, but You gently convict, firmly correct, completely forgive, and carefully restore. You want us to do the same starting with ourselves. Please help us not to sow to the flesh, but to the Spirit. Then we will produce a good crop, if we don’t give up. Let us take every opportunity to do good to everyone, especially to those in the household of faith. Whatever dispute we are in contact with, please show us Your perspective and how to live in light of the peace, mercy, and grace You supply through Jesus Christ. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will “carry my own load,” meaning I will take personal responsibility for how I relate to Jesus and other people.
- I will help someone else “carry their burden,” meaning I will reach out to help and/or teach someone else some of the tips I’ve learned that help me follow Jesus more closely.
- I will ask myself the next time I need to make a decision, “Am I sowing to the flesh (doing things in my old human way) or sowing to the Spirit (doing things the way the Holy Spirit is directing and empowering me)?”
- I will not give up on anything or anyone I know is right according to the scriptures.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.