INTRODUCTION: The nature of our awesome GOD favors restoration over retribution. He would much rather render righteousness to a person than render ruin upon a person. We know this to be true because mankind was not slain in the Garden of Eden for their sin; rather, it was the Son of man who was slain after the Garden of Gethsemane, and afterwards raised in resurrection righteousness from the Garden Tomb (PS 85:11).
Isn’t it interesting how our need and provision of salvation revolves around these gardens? Remember what our LORD told us?
JOHN 12:24
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
Sacrifices by the direction and blessing of GOD will always yield fruit. The LORD is our primary example of this, for He is our First Fruits and an indication of a great harvest to come!
1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-23
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.
Just as He laid down His life for us, we are also to lay down our lives for one another (1 JN 3:16). In ministering to the fallen, this is what we need to bear in mind. When there was no one righteous, no not one! Christ came, died and rose again. He is our example of what it means to truly love another! Our Righteous King is in the business of redemption and restoration!
1 JOHN 4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
GALATIANS 6:1-2
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The Greek word for “overtaken” is prolambano, and among other things it means to forestall [with the intent] to eat before others [can get to the food source]. The idea of taking the object by surprise is also included.
This is done in a favorable sense with Mary (the sister of Lazarus) who anointed the body of the LORD Jesus “beforehand” (MARK 14:8).
In the negative sense, we see prolambano used in 1 CORINTHIANS 11: “ahead of others”
1 CORINTHIANS 11:21
For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry, and another is drunk.
In the context of our verse here in GALATIANS, we see a brother who has been “overtaken in a trespass”. Overtaken, seized by surprise by whom or what? We could say, one’s own sin nature, or even Satan’s entourage of demonic tempters.
Do you believe that Satan has assigned a personal tempter for you? Scripture seems to indicate that there are guardian angels (MATT 18:10), so it wouldn’t be unreasonable that Satan has assigned specific demons for individuals (who would be familiar with the ‘case history’ of their subject/victim).
None of us saints can deny that we still sin – if we deny it, then we are just deceiving ourselves and make GOD a liar (1 JOHN 1:8,10). And if we are seized upon and fall into the trap of the devourer (1 PET 5:8) due to our being unaware, not on guard, then we are likely in need of rescuing, delivering, and restoration.
Scripture is replete with admonitions and promises to restore (2 SAM 9:7; NEH 5:11-12), just as GOD is intent on the restoration of broken lives being destroyed by the most destructive force in the universe: sin (PSA 51:12; ISA 49:6; 57:18; 58:12; JER 30:17).
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, GOD’s willingness to restore our lives outweighs any propensity to consign them to perdition; the Cross of Christ is the blatantly obvious evidence that this is indeed the case.
We should as the church, particularly the leadership represented by the elders be no less committed to the restoration of the fallen, “considering ourselves”. The old expression, “there but by the grace of GOD go I” applies here. We indeed are a people of like (sinful) passions (ACTS 14:15; JAMES 5:17).
It’s the understanding that any one of us, given the deplorable sin nature inherent to us all, and given enough time, opportunity and motive, we could be guilty of even the most heinous of sins; that fact should always keep us in a humble attitude, never adopting a superior stance when faced with a fallen saint.
GOD has been merciful, gracious and longsuffering in His dealings with us sinners, and even His own saints who repeatedly stumble into the same, old sinful patterns. As His vessels, we ought to let His virtues flow through us, to minister to the fallen saint
To balance this out, there are also times when those who are in open defiance require a biblical rebuke, tempered with patience (2 TIM 4:2).
We are to bear one another’s burdens, wash one another’s feet spiritually speaking, serve and esteem others more highly than ourselves (PHILL 2:1-8). This is Christlikeness in a nutshell (refer to 1 COR 13:4-8). This is fulfilling “the law of Christ”:
JOHN 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Being critical, judgmental, uncompassionate and selfish are the polar opposites to GOD’s grace in His intention to bring restoration. Restoration to a right standing before GOD is only part of the solution; a viable and vibrant relationship must also be restored.
Such an intimacy in abiding in Christ (JOHN 15) is essential as preventative measures against future “overtaking” by the enemy.
Bearing one another’s burdens – I’m reminded of the song, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”! If Christ willingly took the burden of ALL the sins of the world, and ALL of the holy judgment of GOD for that sin, then we Christians ought not to feel the least bit inconvenienced when called upon to help bear the burdens of another!
GALATIANS 6:3-5
3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.
If we are honest with ourselves, we’ll recognize our insignificance in light of the enormity of GOD and His Person. Anyone who had an encounter with the living GOD abhorred themselves, readily admitting their own sinfulness (ISA 6:1-5; LUKE 5:8).
Throughout my walk with the LORD, I’ve had people approach me and testify that I am “something special” when they heard me pray or preach or seeing me being personable with others, and while I understand their desire to encourage me, I always had to clarify the matter and say that “I’m just a clay pot that has the treasure of JESUS in me; He is the special One, I’m the mundane one! And if you recognize anything worthy of praise in me, that goes to the credit of the LORD Jesus Christ! And if you recognize anything base or banal in me, then I’ll take the credit for that!”
I’ve always endeavored to never take myself too seriously (and failed at this more times than I can count). But the intent is that my estimation of myself being accurate (to some degree at least), that I’m nothing special, not anyone that people should listen to, not anyone who can contribute anything of value to others, I want to point people to the One Who IS special, One that people NEED to listen to, One Who has EVERYTHING valuable to contribute to others: the LORD Jesus Christ.
Or as Casting Crowns puts it, ONLYJESUS! And the fact is, “I’m Just a Nobody,Trying to Tell Everybody, All About Somebody That Saved My Soul”!
That’s just one of the countless things that I love about the LORD Jesus! As He looks over the rich, the powerful, the intelligentsia, the popular and the famous, He approaches the rejects and nobody’s of the world, the weak, the inept, the disparaged and invites all of us “nobody’s” to follow Him (JAMES 2:5).
And it’s not that the former group is intentionally excluded by our LORD – they are welcome to follow Him too, if they will but humble themselves and admit that in His Light, they truly are nobody of significance like the rest of us. But the problem of the proud is also the blessing of the lowly, because:
PSALM 138:6
Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.
And the heart of GOD isn’t satisfied with His creatures groveling before Him like some tyrannical master, but with those who understand their place in His created order, and those who willingly acknowledge this truth by word and action, He exalts to places of honor:
JAMES 4:6,10
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
1 PETER 5:5-6
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
Satan is eager to exalt the proud to places of prominence in the here and now, in this fallen world, but in the world to come, those proud ones will be cast into the depths of hellfire.
So as the saints of GOD, we need to examine, to discern the sort of work we’re doing for the LORD: Is it according to the will of GOD? Does it bring glory to His Name? Does this serve others well? Does my service follow the biblical principles of truth as found in the counsel of Scripture?
I’ve seen too many ministries where the central person has their name prominently on the building, or has their face plastered consistently everywhere so that they become the focus, rather than the LORD Jesus Himself. Not all of them start out that way – but little by little our flesh, or Satan, nudges us to touch just a tiny bit of the glory of GOD until we find ourselves comfortable doing so.
Then we begin to like receiving more adulation and praise; we begin to “believe our own press” and think we’re “GOD’s Man of the Hour.” We become too at ease with the place of authority we’ve been granted, and assume that everyone should listen to what we have to say, because, after all, “I’m GOD’s anointed”!
I have to keep myself in the one place where I have absolutely nothing to brag about, nothing at all to think of myself more highly than I ought, where I know who and what I am in the light of GOD’s grace:
Under the shadow of the Cross – it’s there that I won’t be tempted to glorify myself, only JESUS!
The other place I need to be is “abiding in the Vine” – if I as a mere branch abide in the Vine that is Christ, it’s a certainty that I will bear good fruit; as I submit to the will of the Father, as He prunes off those parts of my life that aren’t bearing fruit, I will then bear more fruit, and then much fruit as I continue to abide in Christ – and that will bring my heart’s desire about: the glorification of the Father!
In the words of Keith Green, “…help me to never seek a crown, for my reward is giving glory to You!”
We know Christ abides in us by means of the spiritual rebirth (JOHN 3:3,5; 1 COR 3:16; TITUS 3:5; 1 PET 1:23) but as His disciples, how do we abide in Christ?
By continuing in His Word (JOHN 8:31); by walking (that is, living life daily) in the Spirit (GAL 5:16,25), by intimate fellowship and prayer to our LORD (1 JOHN 1:3; COL 4:2).
JOHN 15:7-10
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
There seems to be an apparent contradiction between vs. 2 and vs. 5.
We are told to bear one another’s burdens, but then we’re told that each of us shall bear his own burden. How can we reconcile these two? By carefully examining the context!
Vs. 2 is referring to coming to the aid of others in need, as in bringing a fallen saint to restoration (vs. 1); whereas vs. 5 is in connection to our labor (vs. 4) for the LORD, in service to our King. Each of us have a calling by GOD, where He would have us labor in His Kingdom. I am not responsible for your calling, anymore than you are responsible for mine.
In this sense we bear our own burden (or “workload”), while helping those in need by sharing their burdens.
GALATIANS 6:6
Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.
This is where justification is found for ministers, particularly pastors should be provided for with financial offerings:
The Jewish people have provided much in the way of blessings for us Gentiles. By their careful transcriptions of the Holy Oracles of GOD (ROM 3:2), we are provided with the Holy Scriptures. Through their genealogy, we have the Messiah, the Son of Abraham, the Son of David provided (MATT 1:1). Because of this, the Gentiles were obligated to provide for the Jews who were impoverished in Jerusalem for their allegiance to Y’shua (which the religious authorities were set against).
ROMANS 15:26-27
26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. 27 It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.
Then there are the ministers of the Gospel:
1 CORINTHIANS 9:11-14
11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless, we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 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? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel (MATT 10:10; LUKE 10:7; 1 TIM 5:17).
There is an obligation for pastors to see to the spiritual needs of the flock of GOD that is entrusted into his care. By the same token, if the size of the congregation is large enough to warrant the pastor to a full time position, then they are obligated to provide for his living, ensuring that his physical needs (and that of his family) are met.
There are some pastors who have a financial situation that permits him to forego his salary either in part or whole and these will return the surplus back into the ministry of the church, and, or mission work or some other form of ministry.
Then there are those pastors who “fleece, not feed the sheep”. They take advantage of the congregation and live a life far above the means of the means of any individual congregant. Somehow, they feel entitled to live such a life, when Christ, and even the apostles lived lives of poverty.
I think that this has been a black mark on the church when sermons are centered around “money” and “tithes” and “giving until it hurts” all as a means of the pastor lining his own pockets at the expense of their congregation.
It’s my personal opinion that the best ministries are those who let GOD know the needs of the church and no human being(s). GOD knows our needs on an individual basis, or on the basis of an entire congregation and the ministry needs.
GALATIANS 6:7-9
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
One could sow barley into a field, and once done, someone could ask them, “Did you sow wheat into that field?” And they answer, “Yes, I did.” The inquirer cannot be mocked. They won’t believe you once the seed begins to sprout. It will become quite evident that you lied, that you planted barley, not wheat.
If we live our lives sowing to the flesh, GOD won’t be fooled by what we say with our lips, or because we attend church faithfully every Sunday. If we sow to the flesh, that is, if we live our lives for ourselves and our own sinful ways, it will become as obvious as wheat sprouts. It will be self-evident that we haven’t been living a godly life. By their fruit we shall know them (MATT 7:16; and this test works on everyone, not just false prophets!).
Christians can sow to the flesh just as readily as non-Christians, and both will reap corruption (rotting decay and deterioration, spiritually, mentally, physically speaking). The difference between the two is that the Christian (if they are genuinely born again) will repent and return to the LORD, confessing their sin, and begin to walk in the Spirit once again. The non-Christian will continue in that ‘death-style’ until they are either converted to Christ by repenting and confessing by faith the LORD Jesus (ROM 10:9-10) or until they die.
These two have entirely different destinations!
Only those who are born again can sow to the Spirit (the sinner cannot engage in this until they become a child of GOD; JOHN 1:12-13). Sowing to the Spirit in this context is reading/studying and applying the truth of GOD’s Word to one’s life in a practical way. By engaging in prayer, and godly fellowship with other born again disciples. The result of this sowing is “everlasting life” that emanates from the very Spirit of GOD as we are edified spiritually by the aforementioned disciplines. Everlasting life manifests itself by a life full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (GAL 5:22-23) and living the crucified life (GAL 5:24).
Farming is not the sort of job for the impatient! It’s hard, grueling work that takes time. The harvest doesn’t come the day after planting. But for the saint, “doing good” will yield an abundant fruit “in due season”. We shouldn’t “grow weary” and “lose heart”, but remain diligent, plowing, sowing, tending, weeding the field of our lives and just as sowing and watering has been done faithfully, so too GOD will be faithful in “the increase” (1 COR 3:6-9).
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