Galatians 6:1-18 Walk According to the Rule WC
McCarter
Introduction
This entire
sermon contains several points of application. We have made it to the end of
the book of Galatians, and, as usual, the apostle now gives several final
exhortations. Sometimes it feels like a letter like this ends like a machine
gun with rapid fire of things to do and not do. If you are the type that likes
to hear the dos and don’ts, here they are for you! If you think these sound
like a lot of rules, don’t be mistaken: we are not saved by keeping a list of
dos and don’ts, but there are proper responses to the Gospel and godly ways to
live in this world.
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Do Not Become Conceited (5:25-26)
In 5:25 the
apostle said, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” In
5:26 we get some very practical teaching on the subject. How is it that
Christians are to walk in the Spirit? Well, let’s first talk about what it does
not mean. To walk in the Spirit is not to be conceited, that is, to “have
exaggerated self-conceptions” (BDAG). Another good translation is “vainglory.”
Of course, a person with that kind of attitude is going to have trouble getting
along with others. As one commentator has said, “Now, when we are conceited, our
relationships with other people are bound to be poisoned” (Stott). This
attitude causes us to either provoke one another or envy one another.
To provoke
someone literally means to call someone forward with the sense of a challenge.
To call someone out insinuates that you are better than them, and you want to
prove it to everyone around. Some people love to be instigators. Some love to
drop a bomb and stand back to see how everyone responds. Some are even more
straightforward than that and enjoy directly challenging someone. Christian
people are not to challenge, provoke, irritate, or rival one another. That is
not operating in the Spirit. Those are things of the flesh, the old sin-nature.
The Spirit produces none of this sort. His fruit in us is love. On the flip
side, not everyone is an instigator, some folks envy others, that is, they are
jealous. So, you see, there are two sides to the “vainglory” issue. In either
camp, folks have the wrong view of themselves. They are either thinking too
highly of themselves or thinking to lowly of themselves. Some think they are
better than others (which is not true) and others think that they are not as
good as others (which is not true). The positive command is “Walk in the
Spirit” while the negative command is “Do not have an exaggerated view of
yourself.”
Restore Gently (1-5)
One very
practical part of walking in the Spirit is to look out for your brothers and
sisters. For example, if one is sinning, you should restore such a person.
What to do: Restore him/her. The word “restore” means
to put things in order, to cause something to be in a condition to
function well, to restore to a former
condition, to fix-adjust-complete-mend.
This term was used of a doctor/trainer who would set a broken bone back in its
place. It was also used of the disciples who repaired their fishing nets in
Matt 4:21/Mark 1:19. The point is that we cannot stand idly by as if a fallen
Christian has nothing to do with us. We are accountable to one another. Part of
loving one another is getting yourself dirty in service to one another. It is
too easy to say, “It does not involve me” or “He deserves what he is getting.”
That is not Christian. We are to step in, do the hard work, and help to make
things right.
Who is to do it: Your first thought should not be to take
the issue to someone else and make it their problem or to gossip with your
friends about it. No, you are to bear the burden of your brother or sister.
Restoration is what has to happen, and you are the one responsible for doing
it. By the term “spiritual,” Paul is probably referring to those who are
walking according to the Spirit. Those mature Christians are the ones who
should restore fallen brethren. We should not just go around looking for
trouble to confront, neither should just any of us be the ones to confront
those who are sinning. But do not take that as an excuse to not confront and
restore a brother/sister. Use spiritual discernment about a situation, and do
what is right.
How it is to be done: There are two parts to this. First, it must
be done gently. Gentleness is a “fruit” of the Spirit (or in my interpretation,
an evidence of love which is the fruit of the Spirit). Second, it must be done
carefully, that is, without letting yourself become corrupted. We could say,
then, that we must restore our brethren while staying on guard ourselves. We
must guard against things from within and without. The things that come from
within are the things opposite to gentleness, namely, pride, arrogance, anger,
and conceit. The things that come from without are those things that our
brothers and sisters may have fallen into, and we may be tempted to do. So, we
must be gentle, and we must be careful, but the key is that you act! The great
reformer, Martin Luther, said of this passage, “Therefore, if you see any brother
cast down and afflicted by occasion of sin which he has committed, run to him
and, reaching out your hand, raise him up again, comfort him with sweet words,
and embrace him with motherly arms.”
This is an
appropriate example of burden-bearing: catching someone sinning and doing
something about it (ex. baby/puppy). The apostle summarizes the law of Christ
and what he has been saying here at the end of Galatians in one phrase, “Bear
one another’s burdens.” That phrase teaches us a lot about the Christian life.
First, we all have burdens. Second, there are certain burdens that we cannot
bear alone. Third, we are responsible for supporting one another in
burden-bearing.
Now, if you
are not willing to help others or to ask for help yourself, then you are
thinking too highly of yourself. None of us are above helping others or being
helped by others. Instead of having an exaggerated/faulty view of oneself,
everyone should test his/her own work. Here is a key point: you should not
compare your situation with the situation of another person. You can always
find someone who is doing worse than you, and then you think that you are doing
well. We should consider ourselves in comparison to God’s standards and
remember His grace. What does it mean that we should bear our own load? Is this
not in contradiction to bearing one another’s burdens? No, it does not
contradict what has previously been said. Verse five refers to you answering
for yourself on the Day of Judgment (Moo, Stott). On that Day, you will not be
compared to others but to God’s standard. Part of what will be considered is
how you related to your brethren.
As John
Stott has written, “Further, if we obeyed this apostolic instruction as we
should, much unkind gossip would be avoided, more serious backsliding
prevented, the good of the church advanced, and the name of Christ glorified.
Do Good to All (6-10)
The reason
for verse six is hard to discern because we do not know everything about the
Galatian situation. The overwhelming majority of interpreters believe that
verse six means that the churches are to financially support their teachers
(Moo), but why does Paul say that here? It could be that this is a stand-alone
statement that Paul wanted to make a point of here. Although, it is likely that
since, “Paul has just put a strong emphasis on individual responsibility” he
then assumed that it could, “easily be misinterpreted as a reason to hold back
from supporting those who teach” (Moo). We know that the Lord Jesus taught in
Luke 10:7 that a “laborer is worthy of his wages,” and the apostle echoed that
statement in 1 Cor 9:14 by saying, “the Lord has commanded that those who
preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” Whatever reason it may have
been for Paul to say this, verse six makes clear, as one commentator has said,
“. . . there was in the Galatia churches a recognized group of people engaged
in gospel instruction, and . . . it was incumbent on those taught by these
people to provide the instructors with financial support” (Moo). This is part
of obeying the command to bear one another’s burdens, but it is a sharing
exercise. The teacher shares spiritual/biblical things with his congregation,
and the congregation shares material things with their teacher.
Of the
sowing and reaping idea, I think we all can understand it. This is a
straightforward principle of life whether we are talking about a farmer and his
crops or a person’s spiritual life. If you plant a rose bush, you will not have
an apple tree to bloom. Likewise, if you sow to the flesh you will not bear the
fruit of the Spirit. This is what you get: if you sow to the flesh, you reap
corruption, but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap everlasting life. Our
focus must be on the good. We must not grow weary in doing good.
A farmer
works hard, often from sun-up to sun-down. He does not see the fruit of his
labor for a long period of time, but it does eventually come. Likewise, we must
not be impatient. In due time we will reap what we have sown. We have all sorts
of opportunities of which we should take advantage to do good. Let us look for
those opportunities and act when the times comes. We should do good to all,
especially to the household of faith, that is, our Christian brethren.
Boast Only in the Lord (11-18)
Paul now
makes things personal as he comes to the very end of the letter to the
Galatians. Paul has apparently been using a secretary to write the letter as he
dictated it to him, but now he grabs the pen and writes the last paragraph
himself. He reiterates the fact that the Judaizers, the false teachers, were
only wanting the Galatians to be circumcised. Why? They wanted the Galatians
circumcised for two reasons. First, so that they would not be persecuted
because of the offensiveness of the cross of Christ, and, second, so that they
could boast in their number of law-abiding disciples. How does Paul respond? He
says, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” If any boasting is going to be done, it is boasting only in the Lord.
The cross is our atonement, renewal, and salvation. If you are in Christ, then
circumcision or non-circumcision means anything. Why? Because we are a new
creation. We have died to the world. We have died to the Law. We have died to
the flesh, our old person. We are new in Christ.
Verse 16
says, “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon
them, and upon the Israel of God.” What rule is he referring to? The word
“rule” refers to a standard, a principle, and a philosophy. In this context,
the apostle must be referring to the “new creation” idea. Of course, this is a
“big idea” (Moo). The old age is marked by wickedness, sin, the flesh,
circumcision, and the Law while the new age is inaugurated by the cross of
Christ and the things associated with Him such as the Spirit, faith, and love.
Those who are new creatures, operating in the new creation will experience the
peace and mercy of God as the new Israel. Christians are the chosen people. We
are those who experience the blessings of God. We are the ones who will inherit
His kingdom and all His promises.
Paul no
longer wants the agitators to trouble him, and he no longer wants the Galatians
to listen and follow their heresies. Paul must have had several scars that he
attained from persecutions from various rivals to the cross of Christ. He
reckoned those scars to be the marks of the Lord Jesus in his body. There was
no question of Paul’s loyalty. His allegiance was with Christ.
Paul ends
the epistle the same way he started it (1:3) “Grace to you and peace from God
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ” and (6:18) “Brethren, the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” If there is anything that the
Galatians needed it was the grace of Christ with their spirit. They needed to
know it, and they needed to trust it. There is no justification before God or
satisfaction in this life or the next without the grace and peace of God.
Conclusion and Christian Application
In Galatians
6, we have a list of Paul’s final exhortations. Like a machine-gun, he fires
numerous direct applications.
(1) Gently restore sinning believers.
(2) Bear one another’s burdens.
(3) Examine yourself and come to an
accurate self-image.
(4) Support your true, Gospel ministers.
(5) Do good to all, especially other
Christians.
(6) Boast only in the Lord and His
cross.
(7) Walk (live) according to the
standard of the new creation.
(8) Do not trouble your spiritual
overseers by following false teachers.