Galatians – Part 10

Series – January 2023 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Galatians– Part 10

We have now come to Galatians 6:1-10. We read ( KJV ): “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, 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. 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 men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

These first ten verses deal with the godly care that ought to be seen among believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. A brother or a sister may be overtaken in a fault. “Overtaken” means to be suddenly seized or surprised. “Fault” in this passage is to have transgressed, gone beyond the mark, or overstepped. The apostle is not writing here about situations requiring discipline or excommunication. Instead, these are times when the spiritual ones are expected to come to the forefront and restore in the spirit of meekness the brother or sister who is caught in a fault. “Restore” is setting things right, but this is describing neither doctrinal sin nor immorality.

As to doctrine: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed; for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2 Jn. 9-11). Note that when a person must be rejected it is if he brings not the doctrine of Christ. The doctrine of a church or of church leaders is not mentioned, because the doctrine could be wrong; but the doctrine of Christ can never be wrong! This is what we must look for: what does one think of Christ? If one is right as to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ according to Scripture, then it is likely that individual is right about many other things.

We are told not to eat with, not to keep company with, professing Christians who are caught in immorality (1 Cor. 5:9-13) and to have no fellowship with such behaviors (Eph. 5:11-12).

Galatians 6:2 says we ought to bear “one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” This is love in action – not simply with words, but in truth and in deed. It is to put my feet in my brother’s shoes, to enter into his burden, to lift his load, and make his burdens mine. When we do this we fulfill the law of Christ.

This law is different from that of Moses given in the Ten Commandments. The law of Christ is the law of love. The Lord Jesus told His disciples, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Jn. 13:34-35). Love is the disciple’s badge, for it shows that we follow Him. This was what the Law and the Prophets were all about: love for God and for one’s neighbor (Mt. 22:37-40). When we fail to love one another, it is usually because we have deceived ourselves into thinking too much of ourselves.

Looking at verses 2 and 5 of Galatians 6 together we see that while we ought to bear one another’s burden, every man still has his own responsibility for his own. There is no contradiction between these two verses. The burden in verse 2 has to do with the daily trials and testing of life with which all Christians have to do. But the burden in verse 5 speaks about my responsibility as a Christian before God. In this my brother cannot help me, nor answer to God on my behalf. I will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of myself to God for the way I lived on the earth (2 Cor. 5:10).

Galatians 6:6 (NKJV) takes us to further expressions of love and godly care: “Let him who is taught the Word share in all good things with him who teaches.” The saints who are being taught the Word of God should share with their teachers all good things, as the Lord blesses and prospers them. This truth was also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9 as the apostle asked questions such as: “Whoever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? … You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain … If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? … Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (vv.7,9,11,13-14).

The apostle had not used this nor commanded that these things be done for him. It has been the practice of the apostles and all truehearted Christian workers to take their personal needs to the Lord alone, counting upon Him to supply their need. He has never failed them. To tell our needs to the world is unthinkable, for this is not the way of the people of God in the Old or New Testament times. God always supplies His people’s needs by the hands of His people.

Galatians 6:7-8 takes us to the general knowledge of sowing and reaping. Even a child is aware of how this works, but how much of this truth we take to heart is another question. We sow bad seeds and then expect to reap good things. The Christian can either sow to the Spirit or to the flesh. In fact every man, woman and child is sowing something. All our activities are done either in the Spirit or in the flesh and will result in either life everlasting or corruption. We cannot mock or fool God, for He knows us completely and sees what we have been doing – all the time. If we plant corn, we will reap corn; we will not reap peas. In the same way you cannot live and die like a devil and then expect to fly away to heaven.

Verses 9-10 encourage good works. It is very fitting for a Christian to do good. The whole course of the life of the Lord Jesus on earth could be summed up in that one word: “good.” We are told in Acts 10:38 that He went about doing “good.” “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal. 6:9). We must remember that no farmer reaps the same day he plants; there must be a time of working and waiting and then the reaping.

Do good to all men, not only to your family and friends, but to the unsaved, and “especially to those who are of the household of faith” (v.10). Those in Christ must be the object of our special care. The household of faith is not just those who are in the circle of churches with whom we meet together, but it extends to the whole Church of the living God.

Going on, verses 12-13 (KJV) tell us, “As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.” The preacher of the law desires to boast about the great number of those who are circumcised and are keeping the law; this boosts the preacher’s fleshly pride. It is not for the glory of Christ. Such a one might say, “Do you know Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So and their children? Oh, they are a fine family; they keep the law.” But the apostle has said that those preachers do not keep the law themselves.

The Lord Jesus told the Jews, “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill Me?” (Jn. 7:19). When the Lord Jesus said, “None of you keepeth the law,” was there an exception? I believe it was without exception, and I believe it was also true of the whole nation of Israel from the very time the law was given. Moses, through whom the law was given, and all who came after him, failed. Only the Lord Jesus Christ never failed.

But the Jewish leaders were hypocrites, for while they were zealous of teaching the keeping of the law, they were seeking to commit murder. They were of the same bunch Paul had to deal with at Galatia – zealous of teaching and preaching the law but not keeping it. Their interest was not that Christ might be glorified, but that it was for a show in their flesh – to glory in numbers of membership. However, the Lord is with even the two and three who are gathered unto His name alone (Mt. 18:20). They love Him, own His name and keep His word.

Galatians 6:14 sums this up by saying, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” There can be no room for boasting except in the Lord Jesus Christ!

By Milton Jamieson

Look for part the last part of this Series Next month.