March 10, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Galatians? Here’s today’s reading:
Galatians 6 (NIV)
Doing Good to All
1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves............Continue Reading
There seem to be both personal and collective applications for Chapter 6. Personally, we are called to test our own actions, not compare ourselves to anyone else, and sow to please the Spirit. Collectively, we are to “carry each other’s burdens” and “not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
We are reminded often in the Word of God how we are to walk in Christ for he is our example. Although we also are to follow Godly examples. Here in verses 1,2 Paul is exhorting the believers to counsel and help each other through hard times. To bear each other`s burdens. When counselling there is to be a meek spirit by the one counselling so he won`t fall himself because of pride. verse 3 . We all need to be walking in the fruits of the spirit. Verse 7b [whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.] How do we know how to follow Jesus. We can understand how to follow Jesus by reading His Word and following his teachings. In one of my favorite books of the Bible which is Colossians 3;16,17 it reads [ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.] [ And whatsoever ye do in word or deed , do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.] Of course not only the Word but prayer and fellowship.
Galatians 6
14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
A great verse to remind us to stay humble. That everything we do must be done for God’s glory never our own. For all we have and all we are comes from God and we should want to share the truth of that knowledge and the care that He so generously shows us back to others.
Galations 6
Galations six
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. This includes those people who are not believers so they will see our goodness and want to know the reason for our hope which is in Christ Jesus.
How important it is for us to recognize that we are a provision in each others lives to help each other sin less. If we find sin in another believer’s life we should address them gently, point out the sin and help them to turn from it. There is no room for pride when we are addressing others, we carry their load and assist their growth with humility. There is room for the right kind of pride when addressing ourselves though. As much as we might have a role to sharpen others, we should strive to sharpen ourselves even more. And when we are doing well, we can pat ourselves on the back, all the time recognizing that we are not the ultimate source of anything (so God gets the real credit) and we should not compare ourselves to others.
Another defense against sin is the reality of the bad consequences that come from sin and the good consequences that come from righteousness. God will always make sure that we receive what we are due and He has also set in motion consequences that will come based in the nature that we function from. If only people would realize that the destruction and dysfunction that is in their lives, their relationships and in society is because they are living in sin and reaping the consequences that come from it. No wonder so many people are depressed and anxious. That is what the sin nature breads. One of the most important dynamics we can understand about life is found in these verses. We are a product of our choices and what nature we function in makes a big difference on what we internalize and what we project. And we as believers in Jesus are the only ones who even have a choice. All an unbeliever can do is function in the sin nature. But that is why we as believers continue to strive to do good because those acts of goodness give expression to the new nature/the Holy Spirit and we can have confidence that at some point good things will flow from our good decisions.
But it is ultimately not what we do on the outside that matters, but on the inside. Outward acts of obedience must be fueled by the new nature within. Otherwise it’s like putting lipstick on a pig. The lipstick might look nice, but it is still a pig. So glad in Jesus, we are not pigs any more!