Restore One Another In The Spirit of Meekness

Q: What does the Bible say about restoring someone who has sinned?

The Bible instructs believers to restore those who have sinned in a spirit of meekness (Galatians 6:1). In Galatians 6:1-2, the Apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of restoring a fallen brother or sister in a spirit of meekness. This restoration is not only about forgiveness but also about helping to restore them to their place in the community of faith. Spiritual individuals are called to gently guide those who have stumbled, as understanding one's own vulnerabilities can foster compassion and gentleness toward others. By restoring rather than condemning, believers fulfill the law of Christ, which calls for love and support within the body of Christ.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of spiritual restoration is true?

Spiritual restoration is rooted in biblical teaching, particularly in Galatians 6:1, where Paul commands believers to restore others in meekness. The doctrine of spiritual restoration is affirmed through Scripture, evident in passages like Galatians 6:1-2. The Apostle Paul instructs those who are spiritual to restore gently those who are overtaken in fault, underscoring the need for humility and self-examination before offering correction. This biblical approach reflects God’s mercy, promoting a culture of forgiveness and support among believers. When Christians understand their own struggles with sin, they are better equipped to assist others, making restoration a vital practice in the life of the church.

Q: Why is bearing one another's burdens important for Christians?

Bearing one another's burdens fulfills the law of Christ and fosters unity within the church (Galatians 6:2). Bearing one another's burdens is crucial for Christians as it reflects the love and compassion exemplified by Christ. In Galatians 6:2, Paul instructs believers to carry each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ, which centers on love. This practice promotes unity and support within the church, reminding believers that they are not alone in their struggles. By actively participating in one another's lives, sharing joys and sorrows, believers cultivate an environment where grace abounds and the body of Christ is strengthened.

Q: What does it mean to be a spiritual person according to the Bible?

A spiritual person is one who has received the Spirit of God through faith in Christ and lives according to the Spirit's guidance (Galatians 3:2-3). In Galatians, particularly in chapter 3, Paul defines a spiritual person as one who has received the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. This identity is not based on outward appearances or actions but on a genuine transformation that occurs when a believer puts their faith in the gospel. Spiritual individuals continue in the Spirit throughout their Christian walk, relying on His strength for daily living and growth. They demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in their lives by exhibiting characteristics such as love, joy, and meekness, which aid in the restoration and support of others within the body of Christ.

Q: How does conflict with sin help Christians grow?

Conflict with sin teaches believers dependence on God and encourages spiritual growth through perseverance (Galatians 5:16). The struggle against sin is a fundamental aspect of the Christian experience, as highlighted in Galatians 5:16. This conflict serves multiple purposes: it cultivates a deeper reliance on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance, teaches believers to walk by faith rather than by feelings, and encourages perseverance in the face of challenges. The hardships of this battle strip away self-sufficiency, fostering humility and reliance on God's grace. Furthermore, this conflict can create empathy towards others who struggle, nurturing compassion and understanding within the Christian community.

Get that maintenance man in there. He'll be wanting to take a break
now. He's union, you know. Galatians chapter 6, I want to
begin reading here in verse 1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, Ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit
of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bury
ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
For if a man thank himself to be something when he is nothing,
he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own
work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and
not in another. where every man shall bear his
own burden." The Apostle Paul had been reminding us here in
this fifth chapter about the warfare between the old man,
the flesh, and the spiritual man, and the Spirit of God within
the new heart. It's sort of like Israel when
they went across Jordan into the land of Canaan. They possessed
the land, There were still many of the Canaanites that lived
there in the land, the enemies of the Lord, the enemies of the
Jews, and they always sought to conquer one another. That's
the way it is with the believer. He really has two men within
him. He has this new man that has been created in the image
of Christ, and he has this old man. He's the oldest man, more
experienced. And he's still there inhabited
in the land, and he wants it back. He wants it back. And the
new man has come to set up his possession there in the soul,
and he fights for the land. So there's a warfare. And he
tells us here in verse 16 of that chapter, the only way that
this old man can be subdued is by the Spirit of God. work into
subduing. Even the new man cannot subdue
the old man. We're to keep him crucified,
but without the Spirit of Christ within us, we cannot win this
battle. That's what he says in verse
16. This I say then, chapter 5 and verse 16, walk in the Spirit,
and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, for the flesh
lusts as he warms against the Spirit, and the Spirit he wars
against the flesh, and these are contrary one to the other,
so that you cannot do the things that you would." That's why you
and I should be so careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God, by which you are sealed into the day of redemption. He's
our strength. He's our help. If we grieve Him,
we cannot win this battle. We cannot keep the old man crucified. Now there's many good reasons
that I could give you this evening that this warfare accomplishes. The Lord takes this which is
evil in our eyes and He brings something good out of it. The
warfare has some good advantages for us in it. The Lord could
save a man. give him a good hope through
grace and take him to heaven. But he just don't do that very
often. He did that once or twice. He did that with a thief. But
the Lord's usual way is to save a man, to make him a new creature,
and leave him right flat in the midst of this world to fight
the good fight of faith. To endear hardness as a good
soldier, to labor in prayer, to live by faith, to hold out,
to hold on, to wait on the Lord, And then after his course is
run, then take him and give him rest in heaven. Now that's the
Lord's usual way. He leaves him here and teaches
him. Solomon said he teaches his hands
to war. The hands of faith. Teaches us
to live by faith. And that's one good thing the
warfare does. See, if the children of Israel
had gone into the land of Canaan and everything was just laid
out for them. And all they had to do was go
there and possess that, and rest, they would have got so fat, and
they would have got so lazy, and they would have got so backslidden,
because every time they got lazy, they backslid. So He left enemies
in the land, and they had to fight to get the land, fight
to keep the land. And when you and I are converted
to the Lord, He leaves this old man just like
he is. Don't change a thing about him.
And this new man is struggling with him. He's having a conflict
with him. But that conflict teaches us
to live by faith, not by sight, and surely not by feelings. Remember
when the Lord first saved you, how you lived by feelings? You'd
get the feeling real good and you were so saved. and you start
trusting in your feelings, then down you would go and you felt
like, am I His or am I not? But after a while, you realize,
I've got to quit living with my feelings. I've got to live
by faith. And you begin to live by faith.
Then you begin to get established in it. You've got more even keel. You wouldn't live so high and
down so low. You live by faith. The life I
now live in this flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. I'm
looking to Him, living upon Him. That's one of the advantages
of this warfare. And secondly, it strips us, doesn't
it? Boy, this warfare has a stripping
effect to us. I can understand what Paul meant
when he said, O wretched man that I am. In my flesh dwells
no good I can understand that, can't you? I've experienced this
warfare. I know something about the plague
of my heart, and some of you do too, because God's left it
there. He's not taking that away. And
thirdly, it encourages us to hope and to wait upon the Lord. Things aren't easy in this conflict. It's a battle. It's a war. And
we find ourselves waiting, don't we? Waiting. Waiting. And what do we do? We hope. We're
saved by hope. But hope that's seen is not hope.
A man don't hope for that he already possesses, does he? Because
we don't possess it yet, we wait for it. We're waiting for the
hope of redemption of these bodies. And sometimes, just like a soldier
having to stand watch all night, he longs for the morning. He
hopes for the morning. And fourthly, It encourages an
attitude of thanksgiving. Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? I thank God. Oh, I thank God. Through the Lord Jesus Christ,
I thank God for it. We have deliverance coming, don't
we? We have deliverance coming. It's coming. And faithfully,
and this is what leads me here to my text this evening, when
we struggle with our corruption, When we struggle with sin within
us in this old nature, it makes us more sympathetic
one to another. We understand what each other
is going through. Understand how a man can fall
and yet be a believer because we sit within our own self. Helps
us to be more patient, to be more understanding, to more sympathize
one with another. And that brings me here to my
text this evening. The Apostle Paul said this, Brethren,
if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore
such a one in the spirit of meekness. If a man, if a brother or sister
be overtaken in a sin, and they're broken, they're repentant, They
need encouragement, they need forgiveness, they need restoring.
What does He say? Ye which are spiritual, restore
such a one in the spirit of meekness. Restore such a one. And who is
it that's going to restore a fallen brother or a fallen sister? He
said you that are spiritual. Now what does that mean? Who
is a spiritual man? And if you're like me, you've
heard all kinds of things about what a spiritual man is. He's
a man that you find down at the grocery store, walking down the
aisles, hollering, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Is that a spiritual
man? Every time you see him, he's
always outwardly rejoicing or at least pretending to. Who is
a spiritual man? Well, look here in the book of
Galatians. Just let me read you some of
these scriptures that speaks about being spiritual. Look in
chapter 3. I don't know of another epistle
where Paul speaks more of the Spirit of the Lord than he does
here in Galatians. But look in Galatians. You're
the spiritual man. I just want to read you some of these Scriptures.
Look in chapter 3 in verse 2. This only would I learn of you. Received ye the Spirit? Well,
I hope we have, don't you? If we don't have Him, we're none
of Christ's. Have you received the Spirit? How did you receive
the Spirit? Was it that you married Him? Did God give you His Spirit because
you worked for Him? You sure didn't purchase Him.
That's an evil thing to think that. Do you have the Spirit
of God's Son? How did you get Him? Have you
received Him? Did you do that by the works
of the Law? Was it your own personal obedience
to the law of Moses? Or by the hearing of faith? We
received the Spirit. And how did we receive Him? We
believed the Gospel. We believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that's how we received the
Spirit. That's how we begun, ain't it? We believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ and we received the Spirit. Every believer has
the Spirit of Christ. And look what he said in verse
3. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are
you now made perfect by the flesh? We begin in the Spirit, we must
continue in the Spirit. And look what he said over in
chapter 3, in the same chapter, look in verse 13 and verse 14. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written,
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. And Christ was made
a curse for us, that verse 14 might be fulfilled. That the
blessing promised to Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ. And here's the promise. That
we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. See how the Spirit received?
You say, boy, I just prayed and I prayed and I prayed. Well,
you may have. But you didn't receive the Spirit because you
prayed. I believe in calling on the Lord
as much as anybody here does. But listen, this is a spirit
of faith. And a man can call on the Lord
until he's dead. But until he believes in the
Lord Jesus Christ, he'll never receive the Spirit. He's the
spirit of faith. Look what he said over here in
chapter 4 in verses 4 through 6. Look at this. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman made under the
law, to redeem them that are under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons... Now wait a minute. How did we
become sons? How did we become sons? Look
back up in chapter 3 right quick. Look in verse 26. Ye are all
the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ. That's the way we become sons
of God. Born sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Verse
6, And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of
His Son into your heart, crying, Abba, Father. Now if you're here
tonight and you're crying in your heart, Father, Father, you
know something? You're a spiritual person. If
you've heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you've
truly believed on Him to the saving of your soul, you've begun
in the Spirit, and you're a spiritual person. You're not in a physical
kingdom, you're in a spiritual kingdom. So you're a spiritual
person. The kingdom you're in, you can't
see it, you can't feel it, you can't hear it, you can't touch
it. It's a heavenly kingdom, a spiritual kingdom. And the
only way you can get in it is being born by the Spirit of God
to be in. And if you're in that kingdom,
you're a spiritual person. You've got this Spirit of God
in your heart. Over here in chapter 5, look
at this. Chapter 5 and look in verse 4 and 5. Christ is become
of no effect unto you, whosoever of you who are justified by the
law, you are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, through
the Spirit's help, through His strength, through His grace,
wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." If you're a spiritual
man, That means by the Spirit's help, by the grace of the Spirit,
you're continuing to pray, you're continuing to read, you're continuing
to watch, you're continuing to endear, you're continually waiting
to be made righteous. You say, Bruce, I thought we
already was righteous. We are in our hearts. We have
the righteousness of Christ. But this ain't righteous. But
we're waiting to be made perfectly righteous, body, waiting to be
made like Christ. When He shall appear, we shall
be like Him. That's what Paul means, righteous.
And we're waiting for that. We're waiting for that. We seek
perfection here, but we'll never attain it. We seek to be like
Christ here, but we'll never be completely like Him until
then. Until then, what do we do? We wait. That's the whole
problem with these Galatians. They were teaching you can be
perfect now. You can keep the law to perfection now. But we
can't. We're waiting through the help
and strength of the Holy Spirit. And he said here in verse 18,
if you be led of the Spirit, then you're not under the law.
What does the Spirit lead us to do? Well, I tell you this
much, He's always leading us to Christ, ain't He? And at His
job, when He's come, He'll teach you of Me. He'll glorify Me.
And He teaches us to subdue this old man. Crucify this old man. Put him off. Put him away. Live
soberly and righteously and godly in this present evil world. And
then verse 25. If you live in the Spirit, if
you live by the Spirit, if you've been born of the Spirit, you
live by His grace and by His strength, Let us also walk by
that Spirit, by His grace and strength. There's a spiritual
man. It has to do with being born
to the Spirit, being taught of the Spirit, walking in the Spirit.
It don't have to do with running the aisles and shouting and hollering
hallelujah, speaking in tongues and all that. Ye which are spiritual, restore
such a one. What do these people do when
they see a fallen brother? They restore him. And He said,
you not only forgive him and encourage him, but restore him.
And that word means to replace, resupply, or to put back in place. You put him back in his place.
You don't say, well, you've fallen now. You've lost your place.
Well, we've got a good example of that here in Galatians, haven't
we? Remember when Peter fell here in chapter 2? Fell, awful
fall. Paul said, they walk not uprightly
according to the truth of the gospel. That's a bad CNN. And
Paul rebuked him for it, but you know something? He never
removed Peter from the apostleship, did he? Never did that. Restored him. Restored him. Glenn, if you fall, what are
we to do? Restore you to our affection.
Restore you to your place of confidence and respect in this
congregation. We don't cast you away. We don't
sharpen a stick like they used to poke the old bulls to get
them to go. Remember what you did. Remember what you did. We're
going to hold this against you. We don't do that. We restore
them in the spirit of meekness. If you're spiritual, you do.
If you're not spiritual, you'll hold it against them. You'll
accuse them. and doubt. Why does a spiritual
person manifest long-suffering and gentleness? Why does he restore
a fallen brother or sister? He knows how difficult this way
is. He's experienced it. He's in the midst of this conflict
himself. We're not told here what fault
this is. We're not for sure what it is.
I'm glad the apostle didn't tell us. We're asked to pick one of
the worst things that we can imagine. It was the work of the
flesh, no doubt about that. We go back here to chapter 5
and verse 19. It was probably one of these. The works of the flesh are manifested,
which are these, adultery, fornication. That's one we're probably picking. That's probably what he done,
fell into adultery. Well, what about this one? What
about wrath? What about strife? That's the
works of the flesh, ain't it? What if he got angry? What if
he lost his temper and told somebody off? Is that sin? We don't know what it was, but
whatever it was, he had sinned and needed restored. So what
does Paul say? You that are spiritual, restore.
Forgive him. He's broken. He's broken. And
he said here in the last part of verse 1, considering yourself,
lest ye also be tempted. Now this implies the person fell
through temptation, doesn't it? Whatever fault he was overcome
with, it was because he was tempted. He was tempted in such a way
that it finally got the best of him. And Paul was saying here,
you restore him and consider yourself. You could also be tempted. If you'd have been tempted as
severely as he was tempted, you'd have probably done the same thing
he did. If you'd have been tempted as suddenly as he was tempted,
you'd have probably fallen too. Consider yourself. That was Peter's
whole problem, wasn't it? It wasn't prolonged temptations
that got that man down. The time that he fell was when
he was suddenly tempted. That little maid, he followed
the Lord, and the little maid said, you're one of them. He
had no idea he was ready to face that woman. She came out of nowhere
and she said, you're one of them. What could he do but deny? And
then in chapter 2, he got in another sudden temptation and
he fell. Sometimes you and I are apt to fall when we least expect
it. And other times we're apt to
fall because we think, I just can't bear this anymore. And
we finally give way to it. And Paul said that man has failed
because he's been tempted. You forgive him. You restore
him. Consider yourself. Consider yourself. It's him today. It may be you tomorrow. If a
man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore
such a one in the spirit of meekness. Consider yourself, lest ye also
be tempted. And he says here in verse 2, Bear ye one another's burdens. Bear one another's weaknesses.
Bear one another's faults. Bear one another's disadvantages. Boy, the children of God have
a lot of infirmities. And sometimes, I tell you, they're
so real and they're so manifest, they cannot be hid. And you and
I have to be tender-hearted one with another because of it. We're
not perfect people. We're full of weaknesses and
disadvantages. And if we don't bear with one
another and be kind one to another, we ain't going to ever get along,
are we? Bear ye one another's burdens. It's not always easy
to bear a burden. Sometimes it's heavy. Sometimes
it's grievous. But if the church is going to
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of truth and enjoy
fellowship one with another, we must bear with one another,
with our burdens, with our infirmities. Now Paul is speaking here concerning
the church. I know that. Concerning believers. But you know it's this way in
all aspects of life. We have to bear one another's
infirmities and burdens and weaknesses. You and I don't like politicians
very well, do we? I could never be a politician.
And you couldn't either. I don't see, especially in our
day, how a Christian could be a politician. They have to compromise
all the time. One of our representatives went
and met in a post office meeting that Joe was having. He told
him, when he first went to Congress, he thought, boy, I'm going to
change some things. And the first thing he said he started doing
was have to compromise. Because everybody's wanting to
get their way. And you can't fully have your
way. So what do you have to do? You have to compromise. And you
just have to live with it. You just have to bear it. You
can't get your way all the time. We see this in our judicial system.
We complain sometimes it's not strict enough. And maybe in some
areas it's not. But you know our judicial system
could be too strict and do more harm than it could by being too
lenient. There are young people, teenagers,
that have got into trouble that need a break. And if you deal
too harshly with those people, and you put them in jail and
stick them in there for years, they'll come out worse criminals
than ever. Sometimes it's good to give somebody a break. And
if you're too harsh, you do more harm than good. So what do we
do in our society? We don't have a perfect society.
So we bear with one another, don't we? In spite of infirmities. Ain't this so with family relations?
Parents with children? Oh, we teach them. We train them. And then we bear with them. You
get too strict with them, and you expect perfection out of
them, you'll be disappointed and they'll be discouraged. When
we've done the best we can with our children, we have to find
that we have to bear with our infirmities. Because they've
got them. They've got them. Bear with them. Bless their little
hearts. Teach them and be patient with
them. Patient with them. Husbands and
wives, I've quit expecting perfection out of her. I have. Lord, give me patience to bear
with her. And I'm sure she found out about me before I found out
about her. We have to bear one another's burdens, our weaknesses,
our infirmities. We try to improve. God helps
us to improve. But when we've improved the best
we can, we still have infirmities. We still have weaknesses. And
we have to bear with one another. Our Lord is the best example
of this, ain't He? In bearing one another's burdens.
Oh, He was a perfect example of this. And so fulfill the law
of Christ. Ain't that what He said? The
law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? Bearing
one another's burdens. Loving one another. You study
the history of our Lord's life upon this earth. Oh, how He bore
with the burdens of His people. And you know He can see infirmities
in us when we can't see them in ourselves. How He had to bear
with His people. They're ignorant. Lord, forbe
it from You. You can't go to the cross. How
ignorant. Pride. Lord, let me sit on Your
right hand and let brother John sit on Your left hand. A bad
attitude. You want us to call them far
from heaven and destroy these sinners? It's a wonder the Lord
just hadn't washed His hands with them. I'm so weary with
bearing with you fellows, I'm just going to wash my hands of
you. He never said it. He never said it. Having loved
His own which were in this world. How long did He love them? How
long did He bear with them? Until the end. And just before
He went back to the cross, this is what He told His disciples.
He said, You love one another as I have loved you. You bear
with one another as I bore with you. You forgive one another
and you restore one another. Peter, you restore your brother
like I've restored you." Isn't that what he told them? The law
of Christ is loving one another and bearing one another's burdens.
Seeing a fallen man that has denied Him three times and cursed
and swore that he don't know Him and restored Him. That's
the law of Christ. That's the law of Christ. These
self-righteous Pharisees had come down here to Galatia. They
knew nothing about love. They didn't know anything about
love. The love of God that's shed abroad in the heart, they
didn't know anything about that. You don't have the love of God
in you. Ain't that what He told them? You're mixed up in your
ceremonies. You have your feast days and
your Sabbath days and all you're concerned about is what people
think about you. About you looking good before
this world. That's all you're concerned about.
People bragging on you and praising you. But they didn't love one
another. Boy, they thought if anybody
makes it all the way to heaven, surely I'm one too. Surely I'll
be. I'm better than everybody else. They had such hard, unforgiving
hearts. Paul said here in verse 3, look
what he tells these fellows. For if a man think himself to
be something when he's nothing, he deceives himself." That's
what Paul told us. Why would a man think himself
to be something when he's really nothing? Why does he think he's
so important for anyone? When he's not important at all.
The reason for it, he don't know himself. He don't know himself. He don't know what he really
is. I heard a preacher one day. preaching to his congregation.
I'm not for sure what denomination he was. But he was trying to
convince his people, his congregation, that they weren't sinners by
nature. All he was telling them was that you are a sinner only
after you sin. After you sin personally, then
you become a sinner. All sin, he said, is without
you. And you don't have to let it
in He don't know the plague of his
own heart. That's his whole problem. If he did, he would not thank
himself to be something. He'd know that he's nothing.
But until God opens his understanding and lets him see himself and
judge himself as the Word of God judges him, he'll continue to deceive himself
and perish in that deception if God don't have mercy upon
him. If a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing,
he deceives himself. Paul said in Romans 12.3, we
should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to
think, but to think soberly. Soberly. How does a man think
soberly of himself when he thinks that he is nothing? If he thinks
that he is more than nothing, He seeks to think soberly of
Himself. You and I are dependent babies,
aren't we? That's all we are, dependent babies. We have nothing
but what we receive. We know nothing except what the
Lord has taught us. We can't even will to do anything,
let alone do it, except He first put it in our heart. We can come
no farther than He draws us Aren't we dependent babies? That's all
we are. God supplies all our needs according
to His gracious riches in heaven. And if a man thinks otherwise,
he's deceiving himself. He's just deceiving himself. Now look in verse 4. But let
every man prove his own work. And then shall he have rejoicing
in himself alone, and not in another. Let every man prove
his own worth." In other words, stop trying to be the judge and
the jury and the executioner of everybody else. Get your mind
off of everybody else. Examine your own selves. Prove your own selves. Are you
self-righteous? Are you judgmental? Or are you
gracious and humble? Prove your own selves. Who are you to judge and condemn
another man's servant? That's what Paul is telling us.
To his own master he stands or falls. Stop trying to make yourself
look good by exposing the mistakes of others. Prove your own self. Be concerned about your own heart,
your own motives, your own attitude. Prove yourselves. I ain't got
time to be approving you. I ain't got time to judge you
if I'm going to prove and judge myself. Some people like to compare themselves
with others. Well, they say, at least I'm
not as bad as old so and so. That got overtaken in that thought.
Well, how do you know you're not? How do you know? If you've not taken sufficient
time to prove yourself, how do you know whether you're bad or
right? That person, listen to me, That
person who has examined himself, he's examined himself, and has
proved by Scripture and conscience that he's walking in the light
as God is in the light, he don't have anything to prove to anybody
else. If he proves by Scripture and
by conscience that he's right in the sight of God, he does
not have to commend himself to nobody. He's proved it within
himself that he's right with God. And you take a man that's
proved it in his own heart that he's right with God, he don't
have to prove anything to anybody else. Paul said this, our rejoicing
is this, the testimony of our conscience. That in simplicity
and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace
of God, we have had our conversation in this world. Boy, I tell you
what, now, if you can say that, my conscience bears me witness.
That by the grace of God, I've lived my life in this world.
Right before God, in the sight of God. You've proved that yourself. He said this, We have renounced
the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor
handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God. I've walked before God. I've
walked before God. I've walked in the light as God
is in the light. And a man who can say that and
have his conscience bear witness with it, and God bear witness
with his conscience that he's telling the truth, I tell you,
he's a happy man. He's a rejoicing man. Martin Luther used to say, it's
not right and safe. It's neither right nor safe to
go against these two things, Scripture or conscience. You
cannot be right in going against these two things, Scripture or
conscience. And when Scripture tells me I'm
right, and when my conscience tells me that I'm right, I'm
a happy man. I can rejoice. That's what Paul
said. Prove your own selves. Prove
your own selves. In verse 5, look at this. For
every man shall bear his own burdens." What he's saying here, this is
something that you're going to have to bear yourself. Nobody
else can bear it for you. Some burdens we can help each
other bear, but this one you and I have to bear alone. The
clearing of the conscience before God must be between you and God. Prove your own selves how that
Jesus Christ is in you. You can't prove that to me and
for me, and I can't prove it for you. You have to prove that
yourself. Nobody else can repent for you.
Nobody else can believe for you. Nobody else can walk for you.
Nobody else can know the Lord for you. You've got to know Him
yourself. That's the burden that you must
bear. Nobody can give an account for
you at the Day of Judgment. You must give account of yourself
to God. That's what Paul said. Every
man must bear his own burden. Such things are a burden that
you'll have to bear yourself, every man, he said. And when
you have, and you have confidence that all is well between you
and God, I tell you, it's a source of great rejoicing. You ain't
got nothing to prove to anybody else. And you're so busy proving
this to yourself and rejoicing in it, you don't have a whole
lot of time to nose around in somebody else's business. You
don't have a whole lot of time going examining everybody else
and judging everybody else. And besides, you're too busy
rejoicing yourself. Oh, Peter, bless his heart, he
had a time with this, didn't he? He got so nosy sometimes
trying to straighten everybody else out and judge everybody
else. He asked the Lord one day, he said, what's going to happen
to John? What's this man going to do? And the Lord said, what
business is that of yours? Ain't that what he told him?
What business is that of yours? He's nothing to you. He's my
servant. Go mind your own business. That's what he told him. Get
you to share the Lord telling Peter that. Peter thought, boy,
I'm going to find out what old John's going to do. Lord, what's
this man going to do? What's old Glenn Whitehead going
to do? Lord, what about old Glenn Whitehead? What's that to you,
Bruce? You mind your own business. He's my sir. Lord, what's old
Glenn going to do next week? Lord, is he going to get into
something you think? What about old Glenn? None of your business.
You take care of yourself. You prove your own self. Boy, it takes a big burden away,
don't it? I ain't worried about Gail. I just pray for her. I ain't worried about Bob. I
just pray for him and love him. And I ain't going to go nosing
around in her or his business or nobody else's business. I've
got my own to take care of. And you've got your own to take
care of. Prove yourselves, brothers and sisters. Walk with the Lord
yourself. Clear your conscience with Him
yourself. Make sure you're right with God
yourself. Don't nose in other people's
business. Leave them to the Lord. Leave them to the Lord. May God bless His Word to our
hearts. Father in Heaven, we do bless Your name. We bless
You for this precious instructions that You've given us. What precious
instructions they are. What a great burden they remove
from us to keep our own hearts clear with You. Rejoice in ourselves. We bless You for this. Thank
you for this, dear people. Thank you for their faithfulness.
They're so faithful to hear and support this work, your work. And we bless you for it. Please
keep us this weekend. Please keep us this week. Bless
us as we go our ways. Bless us as we prepare for this
worship this weekend. Bless us as we enter into this
service. remembering your broken body
and your blood that redeemed us. For your sake we pray. Amen.

Restore One Another In The Spirit of Meekness

What does the Bible say about restoring someone who has sinned?

How do we know the doctrine of spiritual restoration is true?

Why is bearing one another's burdens important for Christians?

What does it mean to be a spiritual person according to the Bible?

How does conflict with sin help Christians grow?

Sermon Transcript

About Bruce Crabtree

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Restore One Another In The Spirit of Meekness

What does the Bible say about restoring someone who has sinned?

How do we know the doctrine of spiritual restoration is true?

Why is bearing one another's burdens important for Christians?

What does it mean to be a spiritual person according to the Bible?

How does conflict with sin help Christians grow?

Sermon Transcript

About Bruce Crabtree

Comments

More from Bruce Crabtree

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Bruce Crabtree

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book