DIGGING DEEP NO. 922 – February 15, 2022 BEARING BURDENS Gal.6: 1- 5

“One another” is one of the key phrases in the Christian’s vocabulary. “Love one another” is found at least a dozen times in the New Testament, along with “pray one for another” Jam.5: 16, “edify one another” 1Thes.5: 11, “prefer one another” Rom.12: 10, “Use hospitality one to another” 1Pet.4: 9, and many others. In our text for today, we read “bear one another’s burden” Gal.6: 2. The Spirit-led Christian thinks of others and how he can minister to them. The Bible describes two important ministries that we ought to share with one another. The legalist is not interested in bearing burdens; instead, he adds to the burdens of others Acts.15: 10. This was one of the sins of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day Matt.23: 4. The legalist is always harder on other people than he is on himself, but the Spirit-led Christian demands more of himself than he does of others that he might be able to help others.

Apostle Paul presented a hypothetical case of a believer who is suddenly tripped up and falls into sin. The word overtaken carries the idea of being surprised, so, it is not a case of deliberate disobedience.

Why did Apostle Paul use this illustration? Because nothing reveals the wickedness of legalism better than the way the legalists treat those who have sinned. Call to mind the Pharisees who dragged a woman taken in adultery before Jesus (Jh.8), or the Jewish mob that almost killed Paul because they thought he had defiled the temple by bringing in Gentiles Acts.21: 27- 29. Legalists do not need facts and proof; they need only suspicions and rumors. Their self-righteous imaginations will do the rest. Apostle Paul was really contrasting the way the legalist would deal with the erring brother, and the way the spiritual man would deal with him.

A contrast in aim – The spiritual man would seek to restore the brother in love, while the legalist would exploit the brother. The word restore means “to mend, as a net, or to restore a broken bone”. If you have ever had a broken bone, you know how painful it is to have it set. The sinning believer is like a broken bone in the body, and he needs to be restored. The believer who is led by the Spirit and living in the liberty of grace will seek to help the erring brother, for the fruit of the Spirit is love Gal.5: 22. By love serve one another Gal.5: 13. When Jesus sought to be a physician to the sinful, He was severely criticized by the Pharisees Mk.2: 13- 17, and so, the spiritual believer today will be criticized by the legalists. Instead of trying to restore the erring brother, the legalist will condemn him and then use the brother to make himself look good. This is what the Pharisee did in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican Lk.18: 9- 14. Love shall cover the multitude of sins 1Pet.4: 8. The legalist rejoices when a brother falls, and often gives the matter wide publicity because then he can boast about his own goodness and how much better he is than his brother. The legalist lives by competition and comparison and tries to make himself look good by making the other fellow look bad.

A contrast in attitude – The Spirit-led believer approaches the matter in a spirit of meekness and love, while the legalist has the attitude of pride and condemnation. The legalist does not need to consider himself because he pretends, he could never commit such a sin. But the believer living by grace realizes that no man is immune from falling; he has an attitude of humility because he realizes his own weaknesses 1Cor.10: 12. It takes a great deal of love and courage to approach an erring brother and seek to help him. Christian love would lead us not to expose a brother’s failures or weaknesses, no matter how much better it would make us look.

Gal.6: 4 – A man should prove his own work in the light of God’s will and not in the shadows of somebody else’s achievements. There is no place for competition in the work of God.

There is no contradiction between Gal.6: 2 and 5 because two different Greek words for burden are used. In the first, it means a heavy burden, while the second describes a soldier’s pack. We should help each other bear the heavy burdens of life, but there are personal responsibilities that each man must bear for himself. Each soldier must bear his own pack. If my car breaks down, my neighbor can help drive my children to school, but he cannot assume the responsibilities that only belong to me as their father. It is wrong for me to expect somebody else to be the father in our family; that is a burden and a privilege that I alone can bear.