Turning with me back to Galatians
chapter 6, the Lord Jesus Christ, before
he went to the cross, told his disciples these words concerning
the Holy Spirit. He said in John 14, 26, but the
comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom
the Father will send in my name. He shall teach you all things
and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have
said unto you." He was going to the cross and
they did not understand exactly the depth. He told them many
times, I'm going to go to the cross. I'm going to die. Three days later, I'm going to
rise again. You know what happened? I mean
they, he was crucified, they scattered. Peter said, I'm going
fishing. The two on the road to Emmaus,
the Lord came to them. After he was risen, asked them
what they'd been talking about. And they said, evidently you're
not from around here. Jesus of Nazareth, we were sure
that he was the Messiah. Three days ago he was crucified.
And he told them, oh fools, slow of heart. to believe all that
the prophets' scriptures set forth. Beginning with Moses,
he expounded unto them in all the world those things concerning
himself. The Lord told his disciples,
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
in my name, he's going to teach you concerning the things that
you're going to witness very soon. And you know, even tonight,
the Spirit of God blesses the Word to our hearts. We hear it. Believers hear. Believers truly hear, and they
hear with the heart. The Lord said in John 10, 27,
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. Well, tonight, I'd like for us
to consider Galatians chapter 6, verse 5 verses of what our
Lord has to say. These are the words of God Almighty. These are God-breathed words. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, the breath of God, and they're profitable. I want you
to look with me in the first two verses. We're going to look
at two areas tonight. It's a believer and their attitude
toward others, and then a believer and his attitude toward himself.
The first two verses deals with the believer's attitude toward
his brethren. All men, but especially, he's
talking about brothers, sisters in Christ. The Apostle says,
brethren, you that are brothers, you that
are sisters in the Lord, you that are in the family of God,
knit together in Him, His body, Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, and if you have a margin, my margin says in that word,
if, it says although. Although. And when. I mean we're all frail. We're frail creatures of the
dust. And we're susceptible to stumblings,
falls, Although, if a man be overtaken, and that word overtaken
there is surprised. If he's surprised, I'll tell
you what he's saying. If he's overtaken in a deviation,
in a fault. He's not talking about rebels
against God that have one heart and one mind and that's to rebel.
That's all they're bent is to rebel. I know that we all as
believers, we all have an old nature. And this old nature is
still that old nature. It's the flesh. It's flesh and
it's always going to be flesh. And a believer is one that sees
that old nature in him. He knows it's there. And I'll
tell you what that believer desires. Because of that new man, he desires
faithfulness. He desires faithfulness. He desires. Paul said, oh that
I might know him. that I might be found in him,
following after him. A believer sees an old nature
and he desires faithfulness. But the apostle says, if a man,
although a man be surprised, and that is overtaken by temptation
because of the passions that are within. There's a war going
on. And that new man that sees and
knows and hates those indwelling actions of sin, he sees them,
he knows them, but I'm telling you, we're all prone to fall. We're all prone to stumble, not
fall from grace, I'm not talking about that, but to stumble. If
a man be overtaken in a fault, You think about it. How about
Peter? Others will forsake you. I'll
never forsake you. Not me. Not me. And what did
he do? He walked up, walked through
this door. One of the other disciples that knew the high priest went
in, saw Peter still standing at the door, came and talked
to this maid at the door. She let him in. And that maid
asked him, aren't you one of them that was there? No, that wasn't me. Two more
times, and every time it was more angry, more vehement, just
began to curse. He gave an oath, I promise you
I'm not him. Then he's swearing and cussing.
I don't know the man. The Lord in one of the gospels
said, We're going to be looking at
this passage here in a few weeks, Lord willing. Peter was in that
same room the whole time the Lord was being questioned. He
was there. He was listening. He could hear
him. He was in there with him. And he heard what they were saying
to him. They saw him slap him, put that
crown of thorns on him, spit on him and everything. And Scripture
says, and he stood with them, warmed himself. And that was
the third time they asked him. He said, you're one of them,
aren't you? And that's when he started cussing. And he said, I don't
know the man. The Lord took a look at him.
Just looked. And scripture says, and Peter
remembered. And he went out and wept bitterly. That's what he's
talking about right here. Surprised. I promise you, Peter
did not have the intent He didn't go in there with the intent.
I'm going to go in there and deny him. Peter had told the
Lord, I won't deny you, I won't deny you. If a man be surprised, be overtaken
in a thought, ye which are spiritual, you which are born of the Spirit,
You that are brethren, believers, trusting in Christ alone, you
that have no confidence whatsoever in your flesh, ye which are spiritual,
restore such in one. That is, mend. Mend affectionately,
prayerfully. with a faithful instruction from
God's Word. That word right there, restore,
it's a word that we could understand like the setting of a bone. A
bone that's out of joint. A bone that's broken. Tenderly. Tenderly. It hurts already, you
know. Restore such in one. How? The scripture says, in the spirit
of meekness. Meekness. Submission to Christ. Now listen, here's how a brother,
a sister, that has stumbled, been surprised, the passions
within. Caught them, caught them off
guard. Wasn't planning on it. Their heart, they really, they
want to be obedient. But I'm telling you, in the heat
of a moment, just caught. You that are spiritual, restore
in the spirit of meekness, submission unto Christ, and with a lowliness
of mind, esteeming that brother overtaken in a fault better than
yourself." Not harshly, not sharply. He's already been overtaken.
He's already distressed. He needs encouragement. Be lenient
with him. Help him. He's a brother. She's a sister. Restore such
a one in the spirit of meekness. How? Considering thyself. Take an aim. That's the word
considering there. Take an aim at yourself. Think
about this. This one fell. This one that
I know, I've got some confidence in. I love him. I love her. And they were surprised. They
tripped. Overtaken in a fault. Consider
thyself, lest thou also be tempted, tested, tried, disciplined. Take a look at what happened
to someone else and remember, we just as quickly will trip,
we just as quickly will stumble. We are sinners, saved by the
grace of God, frail creatures. redeemed by blood and we're living
in this world and we're tied to a body of flesh that Paul
said, oh wretched man, that I am. That which I would, I don't. That which I want to do, I want
to be obedient. I want to walk and I don't see
myself doing it. We're all susceptible. Strive,
scripture says, for strive for the restoration of those that
have been overtaken in a fault. Endeavoring to keep the unity
of the spirit and the bond of peace. Let us be eager to protect
and to keep the oneness of spirit. If a brother or sister be overtaken
in a fault, you that are spiritual, Restore such in one in the spirit
of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Then he says in verse 2, Bear
ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Carry those burdens. Consider
those burdens to be your own. That's one of my brethren, that's
one of my brothers or sisters. Consider and bear another's weaknesses. That's what, their burdens, their
weakness. Consider that case of that distressed
brother to be your case and be patient with them. I know this,
there's a scripture I found where it was talking about we don't
bear with those. It's in Revelation 2.2. I think
this will give you a good understanding of what that word bear means. When it says bear ye one another's
burdens. Revelation 2.2 to the church
at Ephesus said this, I know thy works How thou canst not
bear them which are evil. It means endure, tolerate. We don't have sympathy with the
evil's doctrine. and their practices of rebellion
against God or rebellion against the gospel. We don't mix with
them. We don't fellowship. We don't
have any fellowship. I know we're in this world. And you work with
and you're around many. I know that. But when it comes
to the gospel that we believe, we don't compromise the gospel
of God's grace. But with brethren, we bear one
another's burdens. We are tolerant. We do lift up,
we do have sympathy. He says, bear ye one another's
burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Now, let me tell you
what he just did not say. He did not say, bear ye one another's
burdens and so fulfill the law of Moses. Let me show you this. John 13.
John 13.34. One verse. Look at this. The
law of Christ is what He said. Bear ye one another's burdens
and you'll fulfill this law. John 13.34. The Lord said, John 13, 34, He
said, a new commandment I give unto you. Here it is, that you
love one another. As I've loved you, that you also
love one another. The law of Christ. Look at, back in Galatians, look
at Galatians 5, 14. All the law is fulfilled in one
word, even in this. I shall love thy neighbor as
thyself." Under the inspiration of God's Spirit, Paul sets forth
that the whole will of God for our attitude toward others, our
duty toward others is reduced to this one commandment, love
each other. That's it, a new commandment
I give unto you. love each other. Anything that
does not proceed from love for another is useless. If it's not because you love,
the scripture says, Romans 13 8, owe no man anything but to
love one another. At what point do we finally pay
off that debt? You never do. You know, you loved
your brethren last week, you'll love them tonight, and by the
grace of God, you'll love them next week. Oh no man anything
but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ,
We hear the word law and here's what we think. We think the law
of Moses is what we're thinking. The Lord Jesus fulfilled God's
law. That law that was given at Sinai. The Lord himself obeyed that
law. His obedience is the righteousness
imputed to his people. So in Christ, we have obeyed
the law of God. But here, the scripture is setting
forth, fulfill the law of Christ. He's talking about loving one
another. A man that loves his brother,
loves him for Christ's sake, loves him because of a new heart,
loves him because God Almighty has given him a new spirit, a
new mind. That man that loves his brother
will not kill him in body, in character. He won't steal from
him. He won't try to steal his wife.
won't lie on him, won't cheat him. Why? Because he loves him. I know this. I wish I could love
as I ought. I wish I did. I wish I could.
I would desire to. But though we don't love as we
wish we did, as we ought, as we will, We do love each other. God's people love each other. I was listening to a message
the other day by Brother Henry, and he said, they say that believers
ought to love each other. He said, they do. He said, they
do. They do. Believers ought to treat
each other with respect. He said, they do. They do. Boy, that's convicting, you know.
Lord, help me. God's people do love each other
because they love the Lord. Loves of God. Peter, lovest thou
me more than these? Lord, thou knowest all things,
thou knowest that I love thee. That's the first point. That's
the attitude toward each other. Now here's the attitude toward
ourselves. Starting in verse 3. If a man
think himself to be something, When he's nothing, he deceiveth
himself. If a man thinks himself to be
something by himself, of himself, he thinks himself to be something.
He can do all for himself. If a man has that attitude, he's
nothing. He's nothing. He didn't create
himself. He doesn't sustain himself. If he thinks that he's established
righteousness before God because he's something special, that's
Pharisee. God, I thank you that I'm not
as other men are. You know what he just said? I'm
something. And you're not. The Lord says,
the man that thinks that, he's nothing. And he deceives himself,
he's deceived. 1 Corinthians 4, 7, What hast
thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? You know, if you think that you're
something, you think that you're not susceptible to stumble, like
this brother right here that was overtaken in a fault. I'd
never do that. You'll never catch me doing it.
You'll never catch me with that kind of attitude. But, verse 4, let every man prove
his own work and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone
and not in another. Now, let me tell you, I'll just
very briefly tell you what he said right there. One of those
scriptures I had to read and read and read. I think the Lord
has given me some light on it. Let every man prove his own work
and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. Examine yourself. Let every man prove his own work.
Let a man examine himself, not by another, I mean, somebody
that has stumbled, of which I'm the very one that would be prone
to do the same thing and more, but if one has stumbled and I
compare myself to what he is going through, well then I look
pretty good. You don't see me down there. But
if I examine myself by God's Word and not by a fallen brother,
a brother overtaken in a fault, if I examine myself by God's
Word and I find myself, now here's what he's saying, let every man
prove his own work. And then he'll have rejoicing
in himself alone and not in another. There's a thought that's in there
that's implied, and here's what it is. If a man be found harsh
and haughty and disrespectful to a brother that has slipped,
then according to God's Word, I'm disobedient. I'm the disobedient
one. I'm to lift up a fallen brother
and help him, pray for him, encourage him, put my arm around him, tell
him, say, listen, I love you. Man, I tell you what, I love
you. I want to be right here with you. Let's talk about it.
Let's pray about it. But if I find myself, and I have,
by the grace of God, a spirit of humility, of forgiveness,
of tenderness, and forbearance, then here's what I can come to
the conclusion, that I am what I am by the grace of God. Because
I'm going to tell you something, I wasn't born with that attitude.
I was born with an attitude that's going to look down my nose on
you. And I'm going to criticize you,
and I'm going to make fun of you, and I'm going to talk about
you as soon as I can. I'm going to come right over here, and
I'm going to talk with this person about you. And then when you
get up, I'm going to talk about him. And then what's going to happen
is you two are going to talk about me. That's the way it's
going to be. But for the grace of God. So
he said, listen, let every man prove his own work. And if he
finds himself with a spirit of kindness, then shall he have
rejoicing in himself alone. He didn't come from it. But inside,
God Almighty's done something for him. Helped him. And not
in another. Verse 5, last verse. For every
man shall bear his own burden. Here's what that phrase right
there means. Every man's going to have his proper reward. Every
man's going to bear his own burden. Every man's going to get what's
coming to him. That's what it's saying. Everybody, turn to 2 Corinthians
5, 2 Corinthians 5.10. Here's what's going to happen one of these days. 2 Corinthians 5.10, For we must
all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone
may receive the things done in his body. according to that he
hath done, whether it be good or bad." Now here's what he just
said. Every man is going to bear his own burden. Every man is
going to have his proper reward. We must all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. Turn to Revelation 20. Here's
what's going to happen on that day. We've read this many times,
but it definitely bears reading again. Revelation 20, verse 11
to 15. The Apostle John said, I saw
a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face
the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no
place for them, that is of hiding. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God. And the books were opened, another
book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the books according
to their works. The sea gave up the dead which
were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead that were
in them, and they were judged, every man according to their
works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this
is the second death, and whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Now there's coming
a day when all men and women are going to stand before God
and the books are going to be opened. The books. The books of the Lord's omniscience. I'm going to turn to Matthew
9.4. If you want to turn, I'll just read this. Matthew 9.4.
The books of the Lord's omniscience. Now, I'm sure that that's a terminology
that's setting forth the certainty or the accuracy of what's going
to be brought up. Whether it's an actual book.
I doubt that, but it's setting forth that all these things are
going to be brought forth. They're recorded. How are they
recorded? Well, first of all, I know this,
they're recorded by the Lord's omniscience. Listen to Matthew
9, verse 4. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts,
said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts. Now let me ask
you this. A man that dies without Christ,
when do you think the Lord will forget that? The books are going to be opened,
the books of his omniscience. Every thought that a man or woman
outside of Christ has ever thought in rebellion, which is sin, is
going to be brought up. Books are going to be opened.
The book of man's rejection of the gospel. Listen to Matthew
chapter 10. Matthew 10 verse 14-15. The book of the rejection of
the gospel. And whosoever shall not receive
you nor hear your words, When you depart out of that house
or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto
you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment than for that city. Those that have rejected
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, I'll not have that man
rule over me. The book's going to be open. The Lord's going to bring it
up. He's the judge. The book of the law of nature.
Nature itself declares the handiwork of God. Is that what scripture
says? So therefore they're without excuse. All the books are going to be
open. And the book. And those that
are without Christ are going to be judged out of the books
according to their works. Can you imagine standing before
God and knowing that everything that I've ever thought and said
and done without a mediator, without a substitute, without
the blood, no covering, no righteousness before God. And God Almighty
is going to deal with every man, every woman out of those books
of His omniscience and the law and creation. They're going to
deal with them in themselves. Every man is going to bear his
own burden, but for all who by faith, regenerated by the grace
of God, robed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, given
a new heart, made willing in the day of God's power, called
by that power and grace to come to Christ, and in their heart
cast themselves upon the Lord alone, trusting in no work that
they've done. Not trusting in their profession,
not trusting in their faith, not trusting in their baptism,
not trusting in taking the Lord's supper. No works of righteousness
that we've done. But according to His mercy, Christ
has borne their burden, their weaknesses, their sin at Calvary
and has put away their guilt and robed them in His obedience,
in His righteousness. And now, in Him, He having put
away their guilt and given them the robe of His righteousness,
Romans 8 once says, there is therefore now no condemnation
to them which be in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. Now here they are. They have
no sin. No sin to answer for. They're
before the judgment of God. And God Almighty, who looks at
them in Himself, He who is the judge, is their husband. He died for them, redeemed them,
covered them in His own blood. These are the ones He's going
to say unto them, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter in. to the kingdom prepared
for you for the foundation of the world. Every man's going
to bear his own burden. He's going to receive his proper
reward. And here's the reward of those
that God Almighty has everlastingly loved, chosen in the Lord Jesus
Christ before the foundation of the world, that they should
be holy. And standing in Him, they're holy. They're holy. There is no sin. No record of
sin. That's a new man right there.
Created in righteousness. And you want to know what that
man is going to receive? Everything in his Redeemer. Everything. Everything. Every man is going to bear his
own burden. He's going to receive his proper reward. And in him,
We have life. Life. Life eternal. May the Lord
bless these words to our heart. For Christ's sake.