Sowing and Reaping: Galatians 6

 

What Would Jesus Buy for Christmas?

 

In ‘Saving the world one cashmere sweater at a time’ Agnieszka Tennant writing in Christianity Today, shares some of the inner tensions associated with buying Christmas presents. “Ah, the seduction of sumptuous cashmere. Lulled into a lustful stupour, I recently stood in the sweater aisle of a clothing store and wondered, What would Jesus buy? Immediately, I knew the answer: Jesus would shell out £125 for the cashmere sweater that had me spellbound. Next question? Just to be on the safe side, I counted off the reasons why this purchase would make the world a better place.

One: The pullover felt dizzyingly soft against the skin. (I'd stop here if I weren't a Christian.)
Two: The sweater felt just as easy on the conscience.
The shop assistant informed me that the soft fibers had been combed gently—and not sheared—from the shedding underlayer of Kashmir goats on Mongolia's frigid high plateaus. Not only did the animals not suffer, they practically got a massage. Animal welfare: check.
Three: No harmful pesticides were used—so none seeped into the ground—as a result of the garment's production.
Creation care: check.
Four: My purchase would move the world a little closer to ending poverty-level wages. The Mongolian herders—for whom the goats are a sole livelihood—were compensated fairly,
the clerk said. Social justice: check.
Five: The sweater wasn't even for me. It was a gift for my husband. Magnanimity: check.
Six: I was sipping a cup of fairly traded coffee bought at an independently owned store that gives back to the community. Righteous intoxication: check.

Surely Jesus would be the kind of consumer I try to be: compassionate and fair to people and animals involved in production processes, concerned about the effect of products on the environment, and, at times, lavish in his choices (as the woman who anointed his feet with expensive perfume knew).
I think the apostle Paul could identify with us in these tensions. In the closing sentences of Galatians, he writes,

“People reap what they sow. Those who sow to please their sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

 

Its true isn’t it? Christmas merely brings into sharp relief our values and motives.  Perhaps that is why many find Christmas such a stressful and demanding time instead of the celebration and the blessing God intends. We reap what we sow. We reap at Christmas what we have sown through the year. In the investment we have made in time for God, for his people, for our family.  “People reap what they sow. Those who sow to please their sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

 

That just about summarises the message of the letter to the Galatians. We've seen that Paul had four main things on his mind.

 

1.  A Defence of his Apostleship of the Gospel - He is a Servant of Jesus Christ.

2.  A Rebuke for Deviation from the Gospel - Paul opposes the legalists hypocrisy.

3.  A Restatement of the one true Gospel - Justification is by faith not legalism.

4.  A Description of the Spirit-filled life, a life of liberty and freedom.  The Holy Spirit enables us to fulfil the law of love, to overcome temptation, and produce the fruit of love, joy, peace...... Now in Chapter 6, Paul gets down to specifics. 

It is all about how we should care for one another.  Paul could just as easily have been Christmas in mind when he writes, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:9-10)

How can we ‘do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers’? We can draw out three vitally important ministries that are indispensable to a local church. Three ministries every Christian should make their priority. Don’t be fooled by their simplicity. They can only be fulfilled in the power of the Holy Spirit. Simple to describe but supernatural in origin. What are they? Bearing Burdens, Sharing Blessings, Glorifying Jesus. 


1. Bearing Burdens (Galatians 6:1-4)

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If any of you think you are something when you are nothing, you deceive yourselves. Each of you should test your own actions. Then you can take pride in yourself, without comparing yourself to somebody else.” (Galatians 6:1-4)

 

The legalist is not interested in lightening or carrying our burdens, instead he wants to add to them. He makes us feel guilty.  This was one of the strongest charges made against the Pharisees by Jesus. "They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.." (Matthew 23:3-4)

Whereas the legalist is always harder on other people than on themselves, the Spirit-led Christian demands more of themselves than of others. The word "caught", suggests that this was a surprise and not a case of deliberate disobedience.  Why does Paul use this illustration? Because nothing reveals the wickedness of legalism better than the way legalists treat those who have sinned.  There are several examples in the New Testament. In John 8 we read of how the Pharisees dragged a woman out, caught in the act of adultery and expected Jesus to approve her stoning to death.

In Acts 21:27 a Jewish mob almost killed Paul because they thought he had defiled the temple by taking a Gentile into a restricted area. Its probably why 23 year old Michael Blakey was stoned to death outside the Anglican Church near Dharamsala, in Northern India this week.  Legalists do not need facts and proof. They need only suspicions and rumours. Their self-righteous imaginations will do the rest.  Lets get a little more personal. How would you feel knowing the person sitting next to you had killed someone?  What about someone who may have had an illegitimate child? Or someone who lost their driving licence for being over the alcohol limit?  If at this very moment we could watch a video of each others lives, one at a time, how would it change the way we treat one another? In this paragraph Paul is contrasting the way the legalist deals with a fallen brother or sister, and the way a Spirit-led believer should.  There is, first,


1.1 A Contrast in Motive   6:1-2

The legalist seeks to exploit a brother or sister’s failure. The Spiritual person seeks to restore them in love. The word "restore" means "to mend a net or set a broken bone." If you have broken a bone you will know how painful it is to set it, but how necessary if it is to heal properly and be usable again. Repentance from sin is not theoretical, nor sadly is it exceptional. It is painful, embarrassing and messy. Paul likens it to the pain of a broken bone in the body. The whole body suffers and the broken bone needs to be restored. Believers led by the Spirit and living in the liberty of grace will be motivated by love for their fallen sister or brother, because the fruit of the Spirit is love. Jesus described himself as a physician to the sick. He was severely criticised by the Pharisees (Mark 2:13-17), and so will we today be criticised by legalists.  Instead of trying to restore the erring brother, the legalist will condemn him to make himself look good. This is precisely what Paul has condemned in chapter 5. “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:26).  "provoke"  = to challenge in a contest, to compete with. The legalist lives by competition and comparison, and tries to make himself look good by making others look bad.  The believer led by the Spirit is motivated instead by love and compassion.  A contrast in motivation.

1.2 A Contrast in Purpose    6:3-5

The Spirit-led believer approaches the matter in a spirit of meekness and humility, whilst the legalist has an attitude of pride and condemnation. The legalist does not need "to watch himself" (6:2), because he pretends he would never commit such a sin.  The believer led by the Spirit knows that no-one is immune from such a fall.  There but for the grace of God go I.... We need an attitude of humility because if we are honest we know our own weakness.  It also takes a great deal of love and courage to approach an erring brother and seek to help him, not knowing how we will be received. Jesus compared this to eye surgery. (Matthew 7:1-5), and how many of us feel qualified for that?

In Matthew 18:15-35 Jesus gives us principles on how to approach the matter. He tells us that if a brother or sister has sinned against you, go and talk to them privately, not to win an argument, but to win your brother or sister. If they listen to you then the mater is settled. But if they will not agree with you, then Jesus says, take one or two spiritual people along with you. If that will still not settle the matter, then the whole church must be informed and you must treat the person as you would a seeker. In need of repentance. Discipline is an intrinsic part of discipleship, and we all share the responsibility to help disciple one another.  The legalists had no time with this. They condemn and gossip.

Its very easy to do this under the disguise of "Prayer needs". Paul says in 6:4 "Each one should test their own actions."  That means in the light of God's word and not the shadows of someone else's achievements or failures. Bearing burdens, that's our first vital and practical ministry to one another.

 

2. Sharing Blessings (Galatians 6:6-10)

“Nevertheless, those who receive instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. People reap what they sow. Those who sow to please their sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:6-10)

 

From the very beginning of the church "sharing" was one of the hallmarks of their fellowship.   The word in Greek is Koinonia = to have in common. That is, to share, for example, material blessings with one another. Paul gives several reasons.

2.1 The Principle from Reason  6:6

“Nevertheless, those who receive instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.” (Galatians 6:6) What we do with our material resources is evidence of our spiritual values.  Giving should be a response to what we have received. That's why some churches have the collection after the sermon. Others prefer it at the beginning, because then its an act of faith not works.... We encourage giving by bankers order because giving should really be in secret.

2.2 An Illustration from Nature  6:7-8

“People reap what they sow.” (Galatians 6:7) The farmer who sows potatoes can expect to reap potatoes. The same applies in child rearing, work relationships, and Christian stewardship. The law of the harvest says, we always reap what we sow. We always reap more than we sow. We always reap later than we sow.  But one thing is certain - we will reap what we sow. We describe our financial stewardship as a form of investment. Another way to describe it, from this passage, would be ‘seed sowing’  When you give to the Lord’s work at Christ Church with your tithes and offerings you are sowing to please the Spirit. God has blessed us with income, investments, savings, assets, resources. They belong to him. We have a choice. We can be diligent, frugal and generous, or we can be materialistic, greedy and selfish. Paul warns, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.” We reap what we sow.

If you have not yet responded to the Pledge Sunday Challenge, please do so. Sow a proportion of your income, a tithe of your income in 2007, to the Lord’s work in and through Christ Church and reap a blessing that will last for eternity. Though financial giving is a small part of our ministry, it is nevertheless a pretty good indication of our spiritual health as a church. Lets view our material resources like seed.  If we sow generously, sacrificially, as Paul did, the harvest will be great, if not in this life, then in the life to come. Remember we can never out give God. He never gets into debt.  The principle from reason, the illustration from nature.


2.3 The Promise from God  6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) How do we become "weary" or ready to faint?  Perhaps when we don't see results as quickly as we would like? Perhaps when we are depending on secular indicators of success? Is it through lack of patience or from using the wrong criteria? Our motivation must be faith, hope and love.  Our strength and stamina comes from God. We must turn to him for refreshment, for rest, and the resources we need to persevere in doing good.  For, we will - we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

“Therefore” says Paul, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:9-10)

 

Bearing burdens and sharing blessings. These are our primary responsibilities toward one another.  These should be our priorities as members of Christ Church. What could be a more practical way of showing we care for one another in the Church.  In Paul's final summary he dwells on one more thing.

 

3. Glorifying Jesus (Galatians 6:14-16)

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.” (Galatians 6:14-16)

 

Paul brings this letter to a close by polarising the ultimate motivation of the legalist, and the motivation of the Spirit-led believer.  The legalists boasted in circumcision, Paul boasted in the crucified and risen Saviour. The legalists gloried in Moses, Paul in Jesus Christ. It is the same today. Legalists glory in their traditions, their denomination, their hero's, their experiences. But we are to glory in Jesus. Paul keeps coming back to the cross of Jesus Christ.


It’s the focus in each chapter (2:20-21; 3:13; 4:5; 5:11, 24; 6:12)  Jesus is mentioned 45 x in Galatians = one third of all the verses contain some reference to Jesus.  This is a good test of our motivation. What or who do we talk about most?  Our church or our Lord?  Our achievements or Jesus Christ? Who gets the glory? Whereas the legalists boasted in the scars resulting from circumcision, Paul boasted of the ‘marks’ or scars he received resulting from identifying Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:17). In Paul's day it was not unusual for followers of a heathen religion to be branded with some mark. It was like an indelible badge identifying themselves with that religion. Slaves also were branded so that everyone would know who the owner was. Paul was literally saying "I have been branded for Jesus Christ" There is nothing more important to me.

In the end it is not his apostolic authority that he stresses, but the wounds he bore for Christ's sake. They were the evidence of his true apostleship. Bearing burdens, sharing blessings, glorifying Jesus. After the storm and stress of this letter, there comes the peace and serenity of the benediction. 

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters, Amen.” (Galatians 6:18) Paul has fought, he has argued, rebuked, challenged and cajoled these young Christians into realising that they were saved by God’s grace, they were sustained by God’s grace, and one day they would be sanctified by God’s grace, and so that is his last word to them, Grace. Why ? Because no other word matters. When you think of Galatians, think of Grace.  And demonstrate grace at Christ Church  in bearing burdens, in sharing blessings and in glorifying Jesus. Lets Pray.