Galatians
chapter 6 presents us with the opportunity to get involved in the lives of
others in a meaningful way.
Others,
it is all about others in the New Testament, from love each other, pray with
each other, build each other up, offer hospitality to each other. It is in moving away from self to others that
we discover true freedom. Spirit-led
believers are wired to minister to each other.
We were designed to grow in community with a sense of togetherness never
in isolation. We are called to restore
each other when we sin instead of being on the judgment squad saying “What is
wrong with them, how could they do something like that?” Paul quickly calls us back to our own sense
of vulnerability and the realization but for the grace of God, go I.
Paul always brought his
theology down to earth. And so it is with this last chapter and all last
chapters of his letters: Paul deals with practical, everyday concerns and
questions that the people were asking.
This chapter comes off like
a “Dear Abby. Dear Paul.” I will walk
through the last chapter of Galatians, issue by issue, concern by concern. The message
will be in the form of a “Dear Paul Column.”
Column 1
Questions on Restoring Relationships
v1-5
“Dear Paul. We have
this person who is a friend and part of our church. He has been doing some
things that we feel are wrong, and yet we are afraid to talk to him about it.
We are afraid to say anything unless we offend and hurt our friendship. Do you
have any advice? Signed, Concerned Friends.”
“Dear Concerned, (I will
use the New English Bible version for Paul’s responses) If a person should do something wrong on a
sudden impulse, the people who are wise and mature in Spirit must set the
offending person right again, but very gently. And look to yourself, each one
of you. You too may be tempted. Bear each others burdens and so fulfill the law
of Christ.”
As Christians, are always
confronted with others around us who we feel are doing something contrary to
the will of God, and we are afraid to say anything about it. We are safely
silent with our adult children, close friends, parents. We have learned to keep
our mouths shut or choose the “bystander effect”. We don’t want to be nosey; we don’t want to be
pushy; we don’t want to give advice when it is not asked for; we don’t want to
appear to think we are better than they are; we don’t want to strain our
friendship with them; we don’t want to make it “testy” between us. Or maybe we
are plain timid or chicken or gutless.
And so for a whole variety of legitimate reasons, most of us are
reluctant to tell another person our honest feelings about what they are
doing. And so we silently watch each
other. We silent watch a man have very little time for his wife because he is
too absorbed in his work. We silently watch a woman become so preoccupied with
her job that she doesn’t have time to mother. We silently watch children acting
rudely to their parents, We silently watch a friend drink too much and become
consumed by alcohol. We silently watch a friend consistently lose their temper.
And in almost all of
these situations, we say nothing. There is a certain stigma: don’t get
involved; don’t push your way into another person’s problems; don’t say
anything personally negative to another person if you value that person’s friendship.
The social guidelines are not only firm; they are rigid.
Because of this stigma,
nobody expects honesty or gives honesty.
And it is a shame, and the really unfortunate thing is that most find it
just easier to talk about people behind their back. “Did you see how he grabbed his kid’s arm” or,
“Did you see their facebook post?”
How unfortunate. How
unfortunate that honest, wise advice from loving people cannot be given,
weighed in on and considered.
Be a weight-lifter - as I mentioned with the children and at the
very least a spotter. Have wisdom, have
courage and speak the truth in love.
Paul counsels: “If you do
speak to others, be very gentle. If you do speak to others, be humble, don’t be
self righteous, being very aware that you too fall short of the glory of God
and succumb to temptations. If you do speak to others, it takes maturity to
gently reprove another person. It takes a combination of kindness, love and
insight, blended with wisdom, to speak a wise correcting word to a friend.
I remember leading a
missions team to Bolivia and one of the first things we did in our training
time with the missionaries there was follow through on the Matthew 18 principle
before we had communion. Often when we
prepare for communion we think of approaching maybe someone that we have sinned
against but the principle we followed through on was to approach those who
sinned against us. It is a lot easier
just to pray God forgive them, then for us to approach them. It is something that is done with prayer and
done very slowly, carefully and thoughtfully. After we addressed each other in
that way, it really led to a deeper sense of understanding. It also paved the way for a real impact as we
ministered together there.
In Matthew 23:4, it
shares how the Pharisees tie up heavy
loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to
lift a finger to move them.” It was all
about keeping up appearances and a legalist is always harder on others than he
is on himself. He is more interested in
exposing others than in restoring them.
And this is the difference between a legalist and a gracer (a Spirit-led
Christian), it demands more of oneself so that you might be able to help
others.
Here is another letter.
“Dear Paul. We have this person who is really full of themselves. She love to
tell how good she is. She is also critical of others and pulls them down as if
to constantly compare herself to others. She is hard to be around because she
is always putting us down and building herself up. Signed. Getting Tired of
It.” …
“Dear Getting Tired of It. If a person
imagines himself or herself to be a somebody, when he or she is nothing; that
person is deluding himself. Each person should examine his own conduct for
himself. Then he can measure his achievement by comparing himself with himself
and not with anybody else.”
We are all aware of this
tendency in ourselves to compare ourselves to other people. It happens all the
time, when we measure ourselves against people.
It so easy to do, people just are driven to compare, compare clothes,
compare cars, compare homes, spouses, children, you name it and then we either walk
around depressed because we are not good enough or we walk around
And really it is a
foolish game to compare ourselves to others and yet that is what the. The competitive edge that we need to bring to
the table is our commitment to carry each other’s burdens. Christ is the power
who sets us free from the need to elevate ourselves, thinking we are better or
more worthy than others; that we are more superior. Christ is the personal
spiritual power who sets us free from feelings of inferiority; that we are not
as valuable as so and so who has the big bank account, the big brains, the big
house, the big car, the big job. Christ is the indwelling presence of God who
frees us from all that nonsense about superiority and inferiority, allowing all
classes and grades and types and styles of people to be friends and love one
another.
The hidden tragedy of
this whole disease of comparing one’s self to another (superiority complex, I
am better than others; inferiority complex, I am worse than others) is that a
person is not free to love the other person. A person is so busy comparing
himself or herself to others, we become preoccupied with that. To be free in Christ is that Christ liberates
us from the disease of superiority or inferiority.
Column 2
Questions on Giving v6-10
Dear Paul. Why do we give 10% anyways? Where does the money go?
Paul is addressing a need
in the church to faithfully provide for the pastor and the ministry of
instruction. The tithe is an OT
principle based on the people honoring God with their firstfruits, the top of
their crop!
Leviticus 27:30 "And all the
tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the
tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD."
This
Scripture states that all the tithe, whether it be seed of the land, fruit of
the tree, or one tenth of all that you earn, is holy unto the Lord. Deuteronomy 14:22-29 states that one-tenth of all that
comes into your possession, belongs to God. This was God's plan to instruct His
people as to the way of blessings that He had for them. God is a multiplier by
nature, and He could not multiply that which was not entrusted to Him.
The
Old Testament records two other tithes; one tithe was called the "festival
tithe," when they came to Jerusalem
The
reason God instituted the second and the third tithe through Moses, was that
His children needed to give above and beyond this tithe. It is these tithes
that God is referring to in Malachi
3:8 where His people have robbed Him in tithes and offerings.
In verse 10 of Malachi
3, He challenges the people to see if they can outgive
God. You can’t. You trust God with your finances and you
honor Him first, and make it your desire to be a generous person and He will
pour out blessings on you that you won’t have enough room to contain it. Because that is what giving does, it flows
over and it’s contagious
Offerings
were given above and beyond tithes. They
were given sacrificially. Some people
say well, I give to sponsor children and that is part of my tithe. Sponsoring children is great, but God put the
local church in place as the starting point for giving. The bench mark that God gave us to start with
is 10%
I am not going to tell you that if you give God $10-, you can expect to receive 10 times that in the mail like some do, but I will tell you that when you are faithful with your firstfruits and your giving to God, He will supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus! Philippians 4:19
1
Corinthians 16:1 Paul expands on his
answer.
I
am convinced that when people see the tithe as an instrument of blessing they
will not be looking for a way to give less, but a way to give more. God will
help them so that they can be generous on every occasion. The 10% tithe was a
guide that God gave us to start from.
You might
ask but Jack, we are not under law, we are under grace and I would agree;
however, the law wasn’t put away, it was simplified and it was written on our
heart, not on tablets of stone.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Giving is not just about
meeting the needs of the church, its about blessing!
Here is another letter
addressed to the Apostle Paul. “Dear
Paul. Sometimes Christianity does not seem to pay off. In the Bible, there is
all that stuff about God blessing the good people and punishing the bad people.
Yet I know a lot of so called bad people who have made it pretty well off. They
seem to mock God’s laws and nothing happens. Their lives don’t seem to be so
punished. I must confess that every once in a while, I feel like caving in and
doing what they are doing. What do you think? Signed, the Questioner.”
Paul responds: “Dear
Questioner. Make no mistake about it.
God is not mocked. A person reaps what he or she sows. If he sows in the field
of his sin nature, he will reap from a harvest of self destruction. If he sows
in the field of the spirit, the spirit will bring him a harvest of eternal
life. So let us never tire of doing good. For if we do not slack in our efforts, we shall in due time reap our
harvest. Therefore, let us work for the good of all people, but especially for
the good of those who are Christians.
You reap what you sow.
This is as fundamental as the law of nature
A consequence of living a
life in the sinful nature , is that people always get hurt. People always get
hurt. That is the way it has always been, and that is the way it will always
be.
Finally, one more letter
to Paul. “Dear Paul. What really counts? You have been writing letter after
letter after letter. Now, tell us plainly and clearly. What really counts for
you? What is really important to you? Sum it all up for us. Signed, the Heart
of the Matter.” …
Dear Heart of the Matter.
All the religious rituals that you have learned from childhood are not that important.
Circumcision? Uncircumcision? This is nothing. The only thing that counts if a
new creation; that you are a new person in Christ Jesus.”
The new creation. The new
person. The Apostle Paul, when it is all said and done, wants one thing: that
we are to be new people. He echoes this theme in several of his letters: From II Corinthians 5: “When anyone is united to Christ, that person
is a new creation. The old has gone; the new has begun.” From Ephesians 4: “You
are made new in mind and spirit. Put on the new nature of God’s creation.” From
Colossians 3: Put on a new nature. The new nature is constantly being renewed
in the image of God, the Creator.”
John Fisher
puts a spin on the NEW this way
A follower of
Christ looks at:
death and
thinks life,
losing and thinks winning,
tragedy and thinks opportunity,
brokenness and thinks humility,
accidents and thinks purpose,
coincidence and thinks destiny,
despair and thinks hope,
poverty and thinks wealth,
wealth and thinks poverty,
failure and thinks success,
the seen and thinks about the unseen,
history and thinks God's story,
science and thinks God's laws,
psychology and thinks Christ's wisdom,
anthropology and thinks God's image,
astronomy and thinks God's heavens,
the human body and thinks God's dwelling place,
war and thinks man's rebellion,
the cross and thinks everything made new,
truth and thinks Jesus.
losing and thinks winning,
tragedy and thinks opportunity,
brokenness and thinks humility,
accidents and thinks purpose,
coincidence and thinks destiny,
despair and thinks hope,
poverty and thinks wealth,
wealth and thinks poverty,
failure and thinks success,
the seen and thinks about the unseen,
history and thinks God's story,
science and thinks God's laws,
psychology and thinks Christ's wisdom,
anthropology and thinks God's image,
astronomy and thinks God's heavens,
the human body and thinks God's dwelling place,
war and thinks man's rebellion,
the cross and thinks everything made new,
truth and thinks Jesus.
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