GALATIANS 6:1–10
Restore, Carry, and Sow
Paul has just told Christians to walk by the Spirit.
He has described the fruit the Spirit produces: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
But what does walking by the Spirit look like when another Christian fails?
Paul gets very practical.
His first instruction is not:
Condemn him.
It is:
Restore him.
When Someone Is Caught in Sin
Paul writes:
“If someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.” — Galatians 6:1
Notice Paul's goal.
Restoration.
The purpose is not to embarrass the sinner.
It is not to prove that we are more righteous.
It is to help bring that person back.
And how should it be done?
Gently.
That shouldn't surprise us.
Gentleness is part of the fruit of the Spirit Paul has just described.
Watch Yourself
Paul immediately adds:
“But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”
The person helping someone else must remember his own weakness.
There is no room for:
“How could you possibly have done that?”
A Christian restoring another Christian knows:
I can fall too.
That knowledge should produce humility.
Carry One Another's Burdens
Paul continues:
“Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” — verse 2
That's an interesting expression:
“the law of Christ.”
Paul has spent much of Galatians explaining that Christians are not under the Law of Moses.
Yet Christian freedom does not mean we have no obligations to one another.
We belong to Christ.
And Christ taught us to love.
So when another person's burden becomes too heavy, we help carry it.
What Is “The Law of Christ”?
Paul does not stop here to give us a complete definition.
So we should be careful not to build more into the phrase than Paul gives us.
But the immediate context is clear.
Restore gently.
Carry one another's burdens.
Love your neighbor.
Serve one another through love.
That is the kind of life Christ produces in His people.
Don't Think Too Highly of Yourself
Paul says:
“If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.” — verse 3
It is easy to feel superior when someone else fails.
Paul won't allow that.
Instead:
“Each one should test their own actions.” — verse 4
Before examining everyone else, examine yourself.
That sounds remarkably similar to Jesus' warning about trying to remove a speck from someone else's eye while ignoring the plank in our own.
Carry Burdens—But Carry Your Own Load?
Verse 5 can sound contradictory:
“Each one should carry their own load.”
Didn't Paul just say:
“Carry each other's burdens”?
Yes.
But the thoughts are different.
There are burdens that become too heavy for someone to carry alone.
Help them.
At the same time, each of us remains responsible before God for our own life.
Christian fellowship does not remove personal responsibility.
We need both truths.
Help one another.
And:
Take responsibility for yourself.
Share With Those Who Teach
Paul then says:
“The one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.” — verse 6
The gospel is spiritual.
But those who teach it still live in the physical world.
Paul expects Christians to support those who devote themselves to teaching God's word.
Then he moves to a principle that reaches much farther.
We Reap What We Sow
Paul writes:
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” — verse 7
Everyone understands the picture.
Plant corn and you don't expect wheat.
The harvest grows from the seed that was planted.
Paul applies that principle to life.
What are we planting?
Sow to the Flesh or Sow to the Spirit
Paul says:
“Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction.”
Then:
“Whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” — verse 8
This continues the contrast from chapter 5.
Flesh or Spirit.
Those are not merely theological ideas.
Every day we are planting something.
Our choices are seeds.
And seeds eventually produce a harvest.
Notice “Eternal Life”
Paul is writing to Christians.
Yet he speaks of eternal life as the harvest toward which they are moving.
He tells them to continue sowing to the Spirit.
That fits the warnings we have already seen in Galatians.
Paul does not encourage Christians to become anxious about every failure.
But neither does he teach that how Christians continue to live is irrelevant.
Keep walking.
Keep sowing.
Don't give up.
“Do Not Become Weary”
Paul says:
“Let us not become weary in doing good.” — verse 9
Why might we become weary?
Because doing good doesn't always produce immediate results.
We help someone and see no change.
We teach and wonder whether anyone is listening.
We serve and nobody notices.
We pray and wait.
Paul says:
Don't quit.
“At the Proper Time We Will Reap”
Paul continues:
“For at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Notice that last phrase:
“if we do not give up.”
Christian perseverance matters.
The harvest is ahead.
So keep walking by the Spirit.
Keep sowing good seed.
Keep doing good.
Do Good to Everyone
Paul concludes:
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.” — verse 10
How broad is Christian goodness?
All people.
Then Paul adds:
“especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Christians have a special responsibility toward one another.
But our goodness doesn't stop at the church door.
Do good to all.
What Does Walking by the Spirit Look Like?
Paul has made it very practical.
Walking by the Spirit means:
Restore the fallen gently.
Watch yourself.
Carry another person's burden.
Examine your own life.
Share with those who teach.
Sow to the Spirit.
Don't grow tired of doing good.
Don't give up.
Do good to everyone.
The fruit of the Spirit isn't merely something we memorize.
It is something people should be able to see in the way we live.
Paul Is Almost Finished
Paul now takes the pen himself and gives his final words to the Galatians.
And where does he finish?
Right where much of the controversy began:
Circumcision.
But Paul puts circumcision beside something much greater.
The cross of Christ.
Then he says something that summarizes much of the letter:
“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.”
That's where we finish Galatians.
Read the paragraph.
Follow the argument.
Check the context.
Read First. Conclude Later.