Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Gal. 6:1-10  March 30, 2025

Message: “Sowing and Reaping.”        

by Pastor George Gnade

Introduction:

1. Today we come to the last chapter in Galatians. It repeats some of the lessons we have already learned. But it also makes us more aware of others.

2. The most important problem had to do with the Judaizers who insisted that new gentile Christians had to get circumcised and become good Jews in addition to accepting Christ. 

a. But that would imply we are still trying to earn our own salvation when our salvation is a free gift received by simply trusting in Jesus.

b. Paul will address that again in Gal. 6: 11-18. 

3. But this book also addressed other spiritual problems. 

a. In Gal. 5:13, Paul warns them not to use their freedom in Christ as an excuse “to indulge in sinful behaviour.”  This reminds me of Jeremiah 17:9. “The heart is deceitful above all  things…” So we must be careful.

b. In Gal.5:15, he also warned them about fighting among themselves. He wrote: “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” 

c. Satan is an expert in tempting us and dividing us. 

A. So these are the first two issues Paul addresses as he concludes this book.

1. In Gal. 6:1, it says: “Brethren, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently…”

a. Gently correcting someone is never easy. Remember Paul’s own comment in Gal. 4:16: “Have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?” 

b. All of us see things through our own eyes. As a result, we are all experts in defending ourselves. Often it is easier to agree to disagree than to prove who is right.

c. In my own experience, even when I felt I was right, I have learned  to forgive and forget for the sake of Christ, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

2. I am reminded of Rev. 2 where Jesus Himself is addressing the churches.

a. In vs. 1-7, Jesus compliments the Christians in Ephesus for taking a stand against false teaching and wrong behavior. 

b. But in vs. 4, He told them they had gone too far. He said: “You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first.”

3. Then in vs. 18-28, Jesus addresses the church in Thyatira for the exact opposite problem. 

a. First He complimented them for their “deeds, love, faith, service, and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first” (vs. 19).

b. But then in vs. 20, He corrected them because they were tolerating a women Jesus called Jezebel who was “misleading my servants into sexual immorality.” 

4. This shows how careful we all have to be in maintaining the proper balance. In Gal. 6:1, Paul explains the proper balance. It is to correct them but to do it gently.

B. Thirdly, in Gal. 6: 2-5, Paul addresses the responsibility of the church to care about others who are carrying a heavy burden. 

1. Why bring this up? I think he is saying: “In the midst of all your other concerns, don’t forget those who are hurting!”

a. In vs. 2, Paul writes: “Carry each other’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

b. The law of Christ is the new commandment that He gave us in John 13:34. Jesus said: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you should love one another.”

2. In the O.T., God taught us to “love the Lord” and “to love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 

a. What is new about Jesus’ commandment is the clarification that we are “to love others the way He loved us.” That included loving the unlovely. It included giving His life for His enemies so they would be drawn to Him and become His friends. 

b. There is the rub. There is the challenge. It takes a lot of prayer to love others the way Jesus loved us. 

3. In Gal. 6:2, the Bible commands us to “carry one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.” 

a. Now that we defined the “law of Christ,” now let us define what it means “to carry each other’s burdens.”

b. In the Greek, there are different words used to describe a burden. This word means “a burden too large for that person to carry himself.” 

4. Please contrast that with vs. 5 where Paul writes: “Each one must carry his own load.” 

a. This time the word used for “load” means some-thing he could do himself. In other words, if he could do it himself, he should. Otherwise he may be using you.

b. That is where trust and love often become the issues. Sometimes it is difficult to know what to do.

c. In James 2:14, we are warned about saying nice things, but being unwilling to meet a serious need. There-fore, I would rather help when I can than to simply say “I’ll pray for you,” and do nothing.

5. Now there are so many problems, no one person or one church can help everyone. But if we all seek to help those we know, it will surprise you how much we can do.

C. The fourth issue is found in Gal. 6:7. It says: “Don’t be deceived. God can’t be mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that is what he will reap.”

1. Having talked about the sins of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5, Paul is saying we have a choice to make.  “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. But the one who sows to please the Spirit, will from the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

a. While Jesus did His part in dying for us and the Holy Spirit promises to do His part in empowering us, we still have to put our hearts into seeking to please Him. 

b. When we do our part, we will be surprised at how good and acceptable and perfect God’s will for us will be. 

2. Does that mean the Christian life will be easy? Not at all. But it will be worth it! Listen to vs. 9: “Do not grow weary in well doing, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we faint not.” 

3. Will we grow weary at times? Yes. Will you be tempted to give up at times? Yes. But in faith, Jesus wants us to keep on keeping on. In the process, He will empower you and bless you.

In conclusion:

1. Paul summarizes these comments in vs. 10. He writes: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, but especially to those who believe.”

2. This is a good way to finish what we learned today because all of us have totally different opportunities.

3. So where we live and who we know will allow Jesus to reach 1,000’s of people at the same time all over the globe. As time goes by, each of us will be rewarded differently according to how we listened to Him and how we pleased Him. That is what this message is teaching us. Amen!