Let's turn again tonight to the
letter of Galatians. Tonight we have come to chapter
6, and we'll be looking at the first 10 verses of this chapter. Galatians chapter 6. Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit
of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear
ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think 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. For every man shall
bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the
word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth,
then shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be
weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint
not. As we have therefore opportunity,
let us do good unto all, especially unto them who are of the household
of faith. As we look at these verses, I
want to remind us of these two truths that we have seen in chapter
5. In chapter 5 and verse 13, we
consider that the liberty, the apostle tells us, for brethren
you have been called unto liberty. We consider that the liberty
which we have in Christ is that we might serve one another in
love. For brethren, you have been called
unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh,
but by love serve one another. The liberty which we have in
Christ, there's much that we could say about that, but we
already have, and I would just say this, that liberty that we
have in Christ is not so that we might live a life of selfishness
and sin. And we are looking tonight at
verses which illustrate, I believe, serving one another, believers
serving one another in love. So that's the first thing I would
have us to remember. The liberty that we have in Christ
is that we may by love serve one another. And second, we saw
last time that the works of the flesh are named. The works of
the flesh are named But the fruit of the Spirit is not called works
which are named, but they are attitudes which issue in action. Attitude, the fruit of the Spirit,
are attitudes which issue in acts or work. And I believe we
may see the fruit of the Spirit in action in these verses, these
ten verses tonight. Remember, the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, and temperance. So let's look at these ten verses
under these five headings. First, gentleness and meekness. Let's see if we can't see that
in verse 1. The fruit of the Spirit, gentleness
and meekness. Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, You which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit
of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Gentleness and meekness. What
should happen? What should happen when a man,
a believer, a brother in the congregation is overtaken in
a fault? For instance, when he falls into
one of these works of the flesh that the apostle has mentioned.
What is to happen? Is he to be immediately written
off as lost? Is he to be criticized and slandered? To be put out of the church?
No. The Apostle Paul calls upon those
who are spiritual. Now what does he mean, those
who are spiritual? We'll look back to verse 25 of
chapter 5 and remember These letters were not written with
these divisions, these chapter divisions and verse divisions.
But what does it mean to be spiritual? Well, look, if we live in the
Spirit, if we live in the Spirit, if
we've been quickened and made alive by the Spirit of God, been
born again, if we live in the Spirit, well, let us walk in
the Spirit. So you which are spiritual, restore
such a one, in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself. Now, I see gentleness here, as
well as meekness, because we're told that the word restore. Brethren,
if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore
such a one. This word is translated restore. It gives the illusion of the
setting of bones that are broken or out of joint. When a believer,
a child of God, has fallen into sin, then he is like a bone that
is broken or out of joint. They're out of their place. If
we had a broken bone in our leg, we would or anywhere for that
matter, I just said leg, but if we had a broken bone anywhere,
we would want whoever attends us to do so with gentleness.
And I thought about something that Lance wrote in a letter
to us here recently from New Guinea. If I have my memory right,
he told of a young boy who was brought to their house carried
on a pallet, a makeshift pallet that they had prepared and he
had broken his leg and his foot was turned where very obvious
you could just look and see that the bone was broken and Lance
told the people that brought the boy to them to their home
they wanted Lance to drive him on to the aid station and Lance
explained that it would be much better for them to carry him
on, on that pallet. He wouldn't be hurt near as much. But Lance said, no, they insisted
that they put the boy in his vehicle and him driving to the
aid station. And Lance said, of course, he
drove all the way in first gear, just barely going along, you
know. And I know enough about the country there to know that
those roads are rough. There's bumps and holes. And
Lance said, every time that he hit a bump, that boy cried out
in pain. Just cried out in pain. As would
be natural and normal. So, gentleness. But I know this,
that when you set a person's bone, especially if it's a bone
out of joint, there needs to be gentleness, but also firmness. Firmness. I remember in Mexico
years ago, there was a man in a village where we went for services
and Many times he would go through his village and go on farther
out into the boondocks to another village and he would go with
me. He would go with us. And his arm would come out of
socket. And he would ask me to help him.
And I was, I know you won't believe this, but I was really too gentle.
He said, no, you've got to move it, you've got to pull it into
place. I was afraid I was going to hurt
him or something. So I know there needs to be gentleness
in setting a bone or putting a bone back in place, but also
there must be firmness. It may be easier for our flesh
when a brother or sister, for that matter, is overtaken in
a fault, it may be easier for us just to do nothing. Just to
do nothing and just see what happens. But what is best for
the person who is overtaken in a fault is that he be restored. We should be gentle, but being
gentle is not doing nothing. It's being gentle David in one
of the Psalms said, let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness. And let him reprove me, it shall
be excellent oil, which shall not break my head. And then with
the spirit of meekness, we see meekness, so The fruit of the
Spirit, here's two of the fruit of the Spirit in this verse I
see is meekness, it's mentioned, but also gentleness by that word
restore. And we recognize meekness in
this text that a man who is spiritual, who's walking in the Spirit,
yet he must remember, we all must remember, that we carry
about with us the flesh or what the Apostle Paul calls in Romans
a body of sin. And we should remember that if
our brother or sister has been overtaken in a fault that they
have fallen, we are not immune. If the devil has tripped them
up, he may well trip us up. Remember the Apostle Paul wrote
in Romans chapter 11 and verse 20, Be not high-minded, but fear. And that's an exhortation for
us every day of our lives. Be not high-minded, but fear. Fear lest we fall, lest we be
overtaken in a sin. So there's two. Now here's two
more in verse 2 that I see. Love and peace. Love and peace. Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ. The Judaizers who had come among
these Galatian believers, they were doing everything they could
to turn them back or turn them to the law of Moses. But notice
Paul speaks of fulfilling the law of Christ. What is the law
of Christ? What is the commandment of Christ?
Look back with me to John chapter 13. John chapter 13 and verse 34,
the Lord along with His disciples, He said, A new commandment I
give unto you, that you love one another. A new commandment
I give unto you, this is the law of Christ, that you love
one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another,
By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have
love one to another." Now, with that in mind, look over to 1
John, chapter 2. A new commandment our Lord said
I give unto you, that you love one another. And here in 1 John,
chapter 2, verses 7 and 8. 1 John 2, verse 7. When John tells us the new commandment
is the old commandment. The law is that thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. Why then is it referred to now
as the new commandment? It's new in this sense. It is
manifested by Christ giving himself. I mean, we see love. If you want
to know what love is, you look at Christ, don't you? Christ
not only gave himself for his people, but the scripture says
he gave himself, he died for his enemies. A new commandment,
it's the old commandment, but now it is enforced or illustrated
by the Lord Jesus Christ giving himself even for his enemies. And this is what the Apostle
Paul said in Romans 5 and verse 10, for if when we were enemies,
I know we live in a day where people, they don't like to hear
that. They don't like to hear that
at one time all men were God's enemies. And if you're here tonight
and you have not been reconciled unto God by the blood of Jesus
Christ, you still, you may not see yourself as God's enemy,
but let me tell you something, God sees you as an enemy. If, Paul said, for if, when we
were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. So
the example of Christ's love in giving himself even for those
of us who were by nature enmity with God. Not at enmity with
God, although that is true, but the scripture declares that we
are enmity with God. Enemies of God by nature. And yet Christ demonstrated his
love. It's the old commandment, but
it's a new commandment in the sense that it's enforced and
illustrated by Christ. So back in our text in Galatians
6, bear you one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. We see love there. That's the
law of Christ. Fulfill the law of Christ. But
we also see peace, or I do. Now, you may think, well, you're
just forcing these truths upon the scripture. Well, I see peace,
because the apostle tells us, bear ye one another's burdens. Christ has borne our burdens,
the burden of sin, and we have peace with God. That's one of
the blessings, isn't it? Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. We don't like to be at enmity
with anyone, do we? At odds with anyone. But certainly
not with God Almighty. We have peace with God. That's
not the burden of sin. That's not the burden that Paul
is speaking of. We can't bear one another's burdens
when the word burden refers to sin. There's only one who could
bear the burden of sin and bear it away. That's what John the
Baptist said, wasn't it? Behold the Lamb of God which
beareth away, or taketh away, the sin of the world. And that
was pictured for us in that scapegoat in the Law of Moses, in the work
of the tabernacle on the great day of atonement. That scapegoat
was to picture the carrying away, the bearing away of the sins,
the iniquities, the transgressions. of the children of Israel, because
the atonement had been made. Remember, the atonement was made
first, right? The blood of the goat was taken
in and put on the mercy seat first, and then the picture of
the sins being carried away. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. But we have peace with God. But
these burdens that we are to bear, It means afflictions that
come upon us and upon those that we love, upon our brethren. You
know Paul in Romans chapter 12, there's so much practical teaching
there for us as God's children in Romans chapter 12. But he
admonished us to do this, rejoice with them that rejoice. Weep
with them that weep. And you know sometimes we bear
one another's burdens just by being there. Just by being there
for them. I learned that lesson several
years ago when someone had experienced the loss of a loved one. And
it was very sad, easy to be very emotional of course. And I made
the comment, I said, I just, I don't know what I could say.
I don't know what I could say. And someone told me this. You
just being there is a blessing. Just being there for them. You don't have to say anything.
Just be there. And that's what Paul is speaking
of here. Bear ye one another's burdens. And we're able to do that, I
believe, because of love and because of the peace of God which
he has given us, which passeth all understanding. Third, temperance. Temperance in verses 3-5. Galatians
6 verses 3-5. For if a man think himself to
be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. For let
every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing
in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall
bear his own burden. Temperance. How highly should a man think
of himself? How highly, according to the
Word of God, how highly should a man think of himself? Well, if we think of ourselves
to be something, the truth is we are nothing. We're nothing.
Remember, the apostle also said in that chapter of Romans, for
I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
think. We all have a tendency to do
that. And this is the reason the Apostle
said, but let every man prove his own work. Don't judge yourself
by someone else. No. Prove that every man prove
his own work and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone
and not in another. Men have the tendency to say,
well, you know, I'm doing more than they're doing, or I'm not
as bad as they are. No. Prove your own self. Look
at your own self. Not to look down, especially
upon a brother or sister who has fallen. Look at your life.
Look at your heart. Look at your heart and the conduct,
your conduct, by the rule of the Word of God and don't compare
yourself with someone who has fallen and rejoice that you're
not like him. Examine your life with the Word
of God and then rejoice in yourself. If you find cause to rejoice,
rejoice in yourself. In 1 Corinthians, when this verse
tells us not to, for if a man think himself to be something
when he's nothing, he deceiveth himself. The apostle again said,
for who maketh thee to differ from another? Anything that we
have, everything that we have, especially when it comes to grace
and knowing Christ and serving Christ, who maketh thee to differ
from another? And 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? Temperance, self-control. And fourth, in verses 6 and 8,
I want us to see here faith and joy. Faith and joy. Let him that is taught in the
word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Now I say faith
and joy because in these verses the Apostle Paul speaks of giving
and supporting the gospel ministry. That's what he's talking about
in these three verses here. Again in 1st Corinthians 9 Paul
wrote that The Lord hath ordained that they that preach the gospel
should live of the gospel. Those who are taught the word
of God, they should communicate or give to those who teach. If a man gives unto you spiritual
things, then it's only right that you minister unto him physical
things. And Paul uses the analogy here
of planting and reaping. Whichever man soweth, that shall
he also reap. Everyone knows that a farmer
will reap. If there's a harvest, he's going
to reap. the seeds that he planted. If he planted seed corn, then
he's going to reap corn if there is a harvest. If he plants wheat,
he's going to reap wheat. Now Paul commended the churches
of Macedonia in this matter of giving because he said how that
in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy It's
a joy to give, isn't it? This is one reason I'm so thankful
the Lord taught me years ago that the New Testament does not
teach tithing for believers. I know there's men who teach
that, and I have to admit, I did too. That's what I was taught.
But there's no joy in tithing. There just isn't. There's no
way you can make it a joy. People pay their tithes. Does anyone rejoice on April
the 15th when they have to write out that check or however they
pay the IRS? No one rejoices about that. Why? Because it's a tax. But to give, to give is a joy. It's a joy to give. And I see
that here in this passage where Paul is dealing with this matter
of giving and supporting the gospel ministry. In that passage in 2 Corinthians
where he deals, if a person asks me, well, what is my responsibility
as a believer, as a child of God concerning giving, where
do we point them? Well, we certainly do not point
them back to the Law of Moses concerning tithing. We point
them to 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and chapter 9, where Paul goes
into this in great detail. And remember, it is there that
he said, For God loveth a cheerful giver. A cheerful giver. And that's the first thing I
would mention in that passage. Paul declared that God loveth
a cheerful giver. And second, he declared, he that
ministers seed to the sower, both minister bread for your
food and multiply your seed some. And the thought I have is a farmer,
when it's time to plant, now he's got some seed corn. And
he can take that corn and he can grind it up and make bread. And that's what he would normally
do. But he knows that if he uses that wheat or corn, whatever
it is, to make bread, he doesn't have anything to sow. And when
that corn's gone, he has no food. So what does he do? He takes
that corn, and he puts it out in the field that's prepared,
sows it, because he believes and he hopes and he prays that
he's going to have a harvest and Paul is here saying concerning
God and God's people when we give he said he that ministers
seed to the sower both minister bread for your food and multiply
your seed sown a farmer he must believe That when he takes a
seed that could be used for bread and puts it in the ground, buries
it in the ground out of his sight, that it's going to increase.
Ultimately, it's going to increase. Otherwise, he would never do
it. And when we give and support the gospel ministry, and it's
a privilege, isn't it? What a blessing it is to have
to give. You know, some people are in
a situation where they just don't have anything to give. What a
blessing if God's blessed us and enabled us to have something
to give. And then to know that where we
give, that the man who received the funds, that they're preaching
the gospel. There's no merit in just giving
money to men, missionaries I'm thinking of especially, who do
not preach the gospel. We want to support men that preach
the gospel, that love Christ. Give and support the gospel joyfully
and in faith, believing. Cast your bread out on the water
and after many days it shall return unto thee. You know, I
think of a verse in Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 11, and this
verse says this, there is that scattereth and yet increaseth. Now that just seems impossible. There's a man who scatters and
yet he increaseth. And then here's another man who
withholdeth more than his meat but it tendeth to poverty. And
we've known people like that. They never learn to give. They
never learn to give. And my experience is that most
of those people suffer financially as long as you know them, as
long as we see them. Give, the scripture says, and
it shall be given unto thee. What does it say? Good measure,
pressed down and running over. I've learned this, and you have
too, I know. You can't out-give God. You just
can't do it. Alright, here's the fifth. Goodness
and long-suffering, verses 9 and 10. Let us not be weary in well-doing,
for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. As we have therefore
opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially unto them who
are of the household of faith. You know, it's easy to grow weary
in any work. In any work that you do, it's
easy to grow weary in it. And we see from this verse, even
in doing well, even in doing well, it's easy to grow weary. Our flesh, And we all have that
which is born of the flesh. We continue to carry that with
us. But our flesh sometimes suggests
that it's useless. It's useless. No one cares. And
Satan always has his fiery darts to throw at us as well. And we just have a tendency to
grow weary. Let me give us, in closing tonight,
three thoughts. to help us not to grow weary
in well-doing. First, prayer and the Word of
God. That's a must, isn't it? Prayer
and the Word of God. If we keep our hearts right with
God in prayer and reading the Word of God, that's the best
remedy against growing weary in well-doing. We leave off prayer,
leave off the Word of God, and it isn't long before we are weary. Number two, keep focused. Keep focused on who we are serving. That's very important. Keep your
focus on who you are serving. Do all that you do in the name
and for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you start looking
at the people you may be trying to help or doing good for and
they show no appreciation and all of that that goes with it,
you'll go weary. Keep your eyes focused on the
fact that I'm doing this first for Christ. He's my master. He's the one that I'm serving. And we have this promise along
that line by the Apostle Paul when he said, Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, for as much as you know your labor is not in vain
in the Lord. Now, we think sometimes it is,
but we know this. And number three, first, prayer
and the word of God. Second, keep your focus on Christ,
your master. And third, remember this, that
the time of your opportunity for doing good is limited. It's limited. One of these days,
time's going to be up. You're not going to be able to
do good for anyone, to anyone. You're going to be gone out of
here. The time, the opportunity is limited. It's only in this
life that we may do good to others. Well, I pray the Lord would bless
these thoughts to all of us here tonight. The fruit of the Spirit,
these attitudes, and again, let me say this, we're not passive
in this. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit
in us. That's true. But we have a responsibility. We're not passive in this. For
it's God who worketh in us both the will and the do of His good
pleasure. Let's sing a verse or two of
a hymn before we're dismissed.