Galatians 6

Good Morning Brothers,

We are winding down in our study of Galatians, as you can see, Paul is also.  He is focusing on restoration of brethren who were deceived, final warnings and a personal note. 

vs. 1-5  Restoration of a errant brother.  In the light of chapter 5, we saw that the fruits of the flesh were documented as well as the fruits of the Spirit.  When these lessons are taken to heart, it is obvious that people will have to be restored.  Here is how to do this.  Notice also that Paul does not say that if this brother is caught whoring, murdering, or engaged in pornography, you cannot forgive him.  Do you get the picture here, Paul says if anyone is caught in any trespass  we are to restore him.  There are guidelines for rebuking a brother in other areas of the Bible, but this is not for rebuke, this is not for correction.  This is a guideline for a brother who has already repented of his sin and is seeking to be restored.  We are to restore him to fellowship, in a spirit of gentleness, in other words, we don't restore him with conditions or with high standards or even with threats of what will happen if he screws up again.  We are to restore him completely, just as Christ restored us when we accepted Him as Savior, we are to restore our brother.  We are warned that we also are just one step away from temptation.  If we think that we are so righteous, then we need to be careful because we may follow suit.  When we restore an errant brother we need to carefully examine ourselves to see if we are in error ourselves, each one of us are responsible for our own walk in the Spirit. 

vs. 6-10  Paul approaches an entirely different topic here.  In the English it doesn't jump out at us.  It sounds as if these verses are speaking of sharing spiritual things.  In the Greek, the word for share indicates to share financial contributions, or giving things.  See Rom 12:13; 15:26,27; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:6, 13 and Phil 4:15.  These are all instances where this word is used.  It is also translated contribution and support.  We are to support those who teach us with our money.  Many times our pastors are the lowest paid people in our churches, it doesn't make sense does it?  I believe this is another set of verses that tell us that the tithe is alive and well in the new covenant.  However, we are not locked into 10 percent as in the Old Testament.  We are locked into what the Spirit of God guides us to contribute.  If we hog our money and invest it in ourselves, we will reap corruption, in other words things will go from bad to worse.  However if we sow our money into Spiritual things, we will reap eternal life.  Does this mean that giving money will save us?  No, I think the point here is that if we are willing to give our money, the rest of us will follow suit, we will truly make Jesus complete Lord in our lives.  Remember, money is not evil in itself, it is the love of money, and if we love it so much that we can't give it up, then perhaps money is our true god.  vs. 9, 10 We are to look for ways to do good for everyone, not just the people in our congregation.  Doing good also comes back full fold, I think that this is still referring to finances, it may seem when we are helping out those in need that we are flushing money down the toilet, but it says here that God is going to reward us for giving even to our neighbors and needy in the church.  This does not replace our obligation to support our teachers, it is in addition to them.  I am very stingy, so for me to put this message into shoe leather is only by the leading of the Spirit of God.  Praise God that He has already been working with me on this area, I have a lot further to go.   Praise God that He forgives us for our sins and uses His Word to show us our errors.  Refer to Malachi 3:8-15, God wants us to put Him to the test in this area.

vs. 11-13  Once again Paul comes full circle with his argument.  He is focusing on the circumcision and the purpose behind it.  Those who were preaching the circumcision were only interested in numbers, and in not suffering persecution for the sake of Jesus.  In other words, blend in, fit in to the mold set by the world.  The Judiazers were focused on patting themselves on the back for the number of converts that they had, not on the cross of our Lord Jesus.  When people take their eyes off of Jesus and focus on numbers or on what they can accomplish in the flesh, their efforts will reap fleshly things.  They measure themselves with standards set by others and do not submit to the will of God. 

vs. 14-15 Paul clarifies what we are to boast in, we are to boast in the cross, through which the world can be saved, through the cross we have been crucified in relation to the world and born as a new creation in Christ Jesus.  Nothing else matters,  if we walk in this way we will surely have brand marks upon us, yet we will have the fruits of the Spirit in our lives and we will not have to flesh out the fruits.  They will come as naturally as breathing.

Lord, as we all study Your Word this morning, I pray that we will all once again evaluate our lives and the motivation behind what we do.  I pray that we will submit to the Spirit's leading in our lives, and that we will follow the way of faith, and focus our lives on Jesus Christ.  I pray that each one of us will focus our lives completely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and that we will walk away from all forms of legalism so that Your Spirit will be able to work effectively in our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner