Three Principles of the Spiritual Walk (Galatians 6:1-10)
“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, English Standard Version)
In our last look at Galatians, Paul
talked about walking by the Spirit. We
learned that means living our lives according to the promptings of the Spirit
and according to the principles found in God’s word. One of the clearest indications of whether or
not we are walking in the Spirit is how we react to and treat others—particularly
those who are struggling with sin. In
Galatians 6:1-10, Paul talks about that very thing. Paul discusses three activities that
Christians who are walking by the Spirit ought to perform.
1. True Christians Exhort Struggling
Believers (“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are
spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself,
lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill
the law of Christ” Galatians 6:1-2). In our “live and
let live” world, there is a tendency, even within Evangelical circles, to
overlook the faults of others. “Who are
we to judge?” people say. Whenever a
Christian points out the faults of another, they are very quick to whip out
Matthew 7:1 (“Judge not, that you be not judged”). We have shied away from confronting the sins
of others. That’s un-Biblical! While we aren’t to judge the motives
of others, we are clearly called to judge the actions of others. When you see a fellow believer engaging in
sinful behavior, the loving thing to do is to correct them. That is precisely what Paul exhorts us to do
in this passage. Paul says, “You who are
spiritual should restore him.” The word
“spiritual” refers back to the previous passage when Paul was talking about
walking by the Spirit. The spiritual
person is the one who is walking unhindered in the Spirit. They are bearing the fruit of the Spirit in
their lives and not fulfilling the desires of the flesh. When a brother or sister in Christ stumbles,
it is incumbent upon those who are spiritual to restore that person—to bring
them back into fruitful service to God.
Notice how the fallen believer is to be
restored—with a “spirit of gentleness.”
It is not right, or godly, to confront a fallen believer with harsh
words or finger wagging. Why? Because we are all recovering sinners, when
one of us falls, it affects us all. In
fact, that’s Paul’s next point. We are
to keep watch of ourselves so we don’t fall too! Paul concludes this point with a general
principle—we are to bear one another’s burdens.
The idea of a “burden” is a load, or weight, to great for any one person
to carry. Think of certain behaviors
that are particularly addictive; no one should have to bear that burden alone,
and that is what Paul is exhorting us to do—help struggling believers bear
their burdens.
2. True Christians Constantly Evaluate
Themselves (“For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he
deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his
reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For
each will have to bear his own load” Galatians 6:3-5).
Following closely behind the previous section, Christians always
evaluate themselves (cf. 2 Corinthians 13:5; Philippians
Finally, Paul gives us the principle
for this passage in v.5 (“For each will have to bear his own load”). Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking v.5 contradicts v.2. It doesn’t.
We are to bear one another’s burdens and we are to bear our own
load. The difference is in the words
“burden” and “load.” Whereas a burden is
too much for one person to carry, a load is what we’re all expected to carry.
3. True Christians Sow Good Seed (“One
who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will
he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the
flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit
reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in
due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the
household of faith” Galatians 6:6-10). The final
activity Christians who are walking by the Spirit perform is the process of
sowing good seed. The concept of sowing
seed is another Biblical picture to teach us that our actions have
consequences. One way to sow good seed
is to sow back into the fields from which you harvest (v.6). In other words, if you’re being spiritually
fed from a particular teacher or church, sowing good seed would be to show
appreciation for what you’ve learned, or to serve in the church that is feeding
you. Another way to sow good seed is to
do good whenever we have the opportunity (v.10). We are to do good to everyone, but especially
to fellow believers. In fact, the love
Christians show to one another is supposed to be one of our main witnessing
tools (cf. John
The principle behind this is in
vv.7-9. This passage of Scripture gives
us a spiritual law—our actions (whether good or bad) have consequences. There are a couple of things to draw from
these verses. First, what you sow is
what you’ll reap. That’s what Paul means
when he says, “sowing to the flesh” and “sowing to the Spirit.” Don’t think you can sow unrighteousness and
reap blessing. On the other hand, sowing
righteousness will always result in a harvest of blessing. Another point to draw from this principle is
that you never harvest in the same season in which you sow. We get that from v.9. Many people who have sown unrighteousness
think they’ll get away with it because they haven’t reaped the consequences
immediately. What does v.7 say? “God is not mocked.” There is no “crop failure” with God; you will
reap what you sow!
Application Time.
I love these practical portions of Scripture because they almost speak
for themselves. The principles are
simple. If you want to walk in the
Spirit and enjoy the freedom that Christ brings, Paul has given us three basic
principles: 1) Bear one another’s burdens; 2) Continually evaluate your own
walk; and 3) Sow the good seeds of righteousness. Easy, right? Well, no, that’s why we have the Holy Spirit
and God’s word to guide us. Holy living
comes from holy thinking, and holy thinking comes from transforming our minds
with the word of God.
Bottom Line.
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves
another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).
Have a blessed day!