Galatians 5:22-6:5 Fulfilling the Law of Christ WC
McCarter
*This is a compilation of notes from recent sermons with a few added remarks.
Introduction
To set the
scene for today’s sermon, we first need to review the steps of the apostle’s
argument which brings us to today’s point: do not follow the legalistic
doctrines of false teachers à do not return to slavery à you are free à do not use freedom for the flesh à through love serve one another à to love you must walk in the Spirit and thus produce the fruit of
the Spirit à a practical
example of walking in the Spirit, of bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and
lovingly serving fellow Christians is helping to restore a sinning
brother/sister.
At one time,
the great apostle Peter decided to head up to see Gentile country. A thriving
Christian community, of mostly Gentile believers, had developed in the city of
Antioch (of Syria, the third largest city of the Roman Empire at that time).
Peter apparently was spending a good bit of time up there. We are told that he
was in the habit of eating with the Gentiles. Of course, this was something new
for a Jewish man. No Jew would be caught exchanging much of anything or
communing in any way with a Gentile. They would not visit in a Gentile’s house,
much less eat with them. Not only would they not eat with Gentiles, but they
followed the OT law strictly when it came to the food regulations. They even
added many regulations to the OT law about eating.
Yet, Jesus
had personally taught the apostles that it is not what a man eats that defiles
him, but what comes out of his mouth, that is, what truly comes from his heart.
Jesus had also demonstrated that a Jewish man could commune with sinners,
Samaritans, and Gentiles. He did so on numerous occasions, eating with them,
talking with them, teaching and healing them. The Lord had even given Peter a
vision. One day while Peter was praying on a rooftop, the Lord gave him a
vision of a sheet coming down from heaven with all sorts of animals that were
unclean according to the Law, but the Lord said, “Take and eat . . . do not
call unclean what I have called clean.”
When Peter
went to visit Antioch, he was routinely going into Gentile houses, eating BBQ
with them, and having a great time of friendship. (I don’t know how you cannot
be happy while eating BBQ. Of course, I am an eastern NC, vinegar based,
chopped kind of guy, but I like it all–even if it is thick, ketchup based
sauce, or Lexington style, or SC mustard based!). When men from Jerusalem came
to Antioch, Peter changed his tune. This is what we call hypocritical.
The
hypocritical nature, the neglect of his brethren, and the overall lack of trust
in the true Gospel on the part of Peter caused the apostle Paul to confront him
to his face. There was a lot at stake, and Paul took it upon himself to do what
was right in calling out his brother. You see, we are all susceptible to
weakness and in need of correction, and we are all responsible for one another.
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
The Fruit of the Spirit (22-24)
In contrast
to the things of the flesh, the Spirit produces all things that lead to life,
namely love. These things are not by our doing, but the work of the Holy
Spirit. There is no Law against these things. If you belong to Christ, you have
the Spirit in you, and you have crucified the flesh. The “flesh” is the old,
Adamic, sinful, unredeemed nature. We have been transferred from that state
into a new state. We now operate in the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is
singular which means that there is one fruit that the Spirit seeks to develop
in us. So, the fruit of the Spirit is what? Love! “All of the other virtues
listed result in some manner from love” (Longnecker). Now, there is no doubt
that love (and the rest) come by the working of the Spirit in us, but do not
discount the our individual responsibility. V25 says, “If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” or as the NIV says, “let
us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Do Not Become Conceited (25-26)
In 5:26 we
get some very practical teaching on the subject. How is it that Christians are
to walk in the Spirit? Well, let’s first talk about what it does not mean. To
walk in the Spirit is not to be conceited, that is, to “have exaggerated self-conceptions”
(BDAG). A literal translation is “vainglory.” Of course, a person with that
kind of attitude is going to have trouble getting along with others. As one
commentator has said, “Now, when we are conceited, our relationships with other
people are bound to be poisoned” (Stott). This attitude causes us to either
provoke one another or envy one another.
To provoke
someone literally means to call someone forward with the sense of a challenge.
To call someone out insinuates that you are better than them, and you want to
prove it to everyone around. Some people love to be instigators. Some enjoy
dropping a bomb, as it were, and standing back to see how everyone responds.
Some are even more straightforward than that and enjoy directly challenging
someone. Christian people are not to challenge, provoke, irritate, or rival one
another. That is not operating in the Spirit. Those are things of the flesh,
the old sin-nature. The Spirit produces none of this sort. His fruit in us is
love. On the flip side, not everyone is an instigator, some folks envy others,
that is, they are jealous. You see, there are two sides to the “vainglory”
issue. In either camp, folks have the wrong view of themselves. They either
think too highly of themselves or think to lowly of themselves. Some think they
are better than others (not true) and others think that they are not as good as
others (not true). The positive command is “Walk in the Spirit” while the
negative command is “Do not have an exaggerated view of yourself.”
Restore Gently (1-5)
One very
practical part of walking in the Spirit is to look out for your brothers and
sisters. For example, if one is sinning, you should restore such a person. I
think the reasons for doing this (the
why) is obvious, but let me state a few just for discussion’s sake. We
should restore fallen brothers and sisters because:
(1) We
should pursue holiness in the body of Christ. (2) This protects the church from
temptation, sin, and apostasy. (3) This saves a brother/sister from ultimately
abandoning Christ and perishing.
What to do: Restore him/her. The word “restore” means
to put things in order, to cause something to be in a condition to
function well, to restore to a former
condition, to fix-adjust-complete-mend.
This term was used of a doctor/trainer who would set a broken bone back in its
place. It was also used of the disciples who repaired their fishing nets in
Matt 4:21/Mark 1:19. The point is that we cannot stand idly by as if a fallen
Christian has nothing to do with us. We are accountable to one another. Part of
loving one another is getting yourself dirty in service to one another. It is
too easy to say, “It does not involve me,” or “He deserves what he is getting.”
That is not Christian. We are to step in, do the hard work, and help to make
things right.
Who is to do it: Your first thought should not be to take
the issue to someone else and make it their problem or to gossip with your
friends about it. No, you are to bear the burden of your brother or sister.
Restoration is what has to happen, and you are the one responsible for doing
it. By the term “spiritual,” Paul is probably referring to those who are
walking according to the Spirit. Those mature Christians are the ones who
should restore fallen brethren. We should not just go around looking for
trouble to confront, neither should just any of us be the ones to confront
those who are sinning. But do not take that as an excuse to not confront and
restore a brother/sister. Use spiritual discernment about a situation, and do
what is right.
How it is to be done: There are two parts to this. First, it must
be done gently. Gentleness is a “fruit” of the Spirit (or in my interpretation,
an evidence of love which is the fruit of the Spirit). Second, it must be done
carefully, that is, without letting yourself become corrupted. We could say,
then, that we must restore our brethren while staying on guard ourselves. We
must guard against things from within and without. The things that come from
within are the things opposite to gentleness, namely, pride, arrogance, anger,
and conceit. The things that come from without are those things that our
brothers and sisters may have fallen into, and we may be tempted to do. So, we
must be gentle, and we must be careful, but the key is that you act! The great
reformer, Martin Luther, said of this passage, “Therefore, if you see any brother
cast down and afflicted by occasion of sin which he has committed, run to him
and, reaching out your hand, raise him up again, comfort him with sweet words,
and embrace him with motherly arms.”
This is an
appropriate example of burden-bearing: catching someone sinning and doing
something about it (ex. baby/puppy). The apostle summarizes the law of Christ
in one phrase, “Bear one another’s burdens.” That phrase teaches us a whole lot
about the Christian life that we should all hear and understand. First, we all
have burdens. Second, there are certain burdens that we cannot bear alone.
Third, we are responsible for supporting one another in burden-bearing.
Now, if you
are not willing to help others or to ask for help yourself, then you are
thinking too highly of yourself. None of us are above helping others or being
helped by others. Instead of having an exaggerated/faulty view of oneself,
everyone should test his/her own work. Here is a key point: you should not
compare your situation with the situation of another person. You can always
find someone who is doing worse than you, and then you think that you are doing
well. We should consider ourselves in comparison to God’s standards and
remember His grace. What does it mean that we should bear our own load? Is this
not in contradiction to bearing one another’s burdens? No, it does not
contradict what has previously been said. Verse five refers to you answering
for yourself on the Day of Judgment (Moo, Stott). On that Day, you will not be
compared to others but to God’s standard. Part of what will be considered is
how you related to your brethren.
Conclusion and Christian Application
For more
reading on this subject, go see what the Lord says in Matt 18:15-17.
(1) Walk in the Spirit, pursuing the
fruit that He produces and crucifying the things of the flesh such as
vainglory, provocation, and envy.
(2) Gently restore sinning believers for
the good of the brother and the church.
(3) Bear one another’s burdens even if
it gets dirty and difficult.
(4) Examine yourself and come to an
accurate self-image.