Download Here, Let Me Help You Carry That

Here, Let Me Help You Carry That
Lesson 25
Galatians 6:2-6
Gal 6:2-6
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives
himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride
in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one
should carry his own load. Anyone who receives instruction in the
word must share all good things with his instructor.
“What is terribly missing (in our churches) is the experience
of ‘body life’; that warm fellowship of Christian with
Christian which the New Testament calls koinonia,
and which was an essential part of early Christianity.”
Ray C. Stedman
I.
The Way Body Life Works
A.
Fellowship minimizers
1.
non believers
2 Cor 6:14-15
14
…For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness ?
15
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
2.
unconfessed sin
1 John 1:6-7
6
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus,
his Son, purifies us from all sin
3.
church structure
“There is always something unnatural and subhuman about large crowds. They tend to be aggregations rather than
congregations – aggregations of unrelated persons. The larger they become, the less the individuals who compose them
know and care about each other. Indeed, crowds can actually perpetuate aloneness, instead of curing it.”
John R.W. Stott, One People, p. 70
4.
disobedience
Our refusal to accept, much less carry out, our obligations within the fellowship.
1
B.
Fellowship maximizers
1.
love one another
John 13:34-35;
34
35
12
17
15:12, 17
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
This is my command: Love each other.
Gal 5:14
The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Rom 13:8, 10
8
10
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
2.
Gal 5:13
serve one another
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature;
rather, serve one another in love.
John 13:12-15
12
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.
"Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
13
"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
15
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
3.
Eph 4:30-32
31
32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
4.
James 5:16a
confess sin to one another
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
5.
Rom 15:14
forgive one another
instruct one another
I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness,
complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
6.
comfort one another
1 Thess 4:13, 18
13
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, ….
18
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
7.
Gal 6:2
bear one another’s burdens
Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
2
II.
Put that brick in my wagon
A.
Helping to carry the cargo
1.
Two assumptions
a.
2 Cor 7:5
we all have burdens
For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn —
conflicts on the outside, fears within.
b.
God doesn’t intend for us to bear them alone
1.
He is our burden bearer
Ps 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
Matt 11:28
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
2.
He often bears our burdens through others
2 Cor 7:5-7
5
For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn —
conflicts on the outside, fears within.
6
But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
7
and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him…..
2.
B.
Three Prohibitions
a.
add burdens
b.
ignore burdens
c.
judge burdens
Identifying the cargo
1. baros, denotes "a weight, anything pressing on one physically," Matt 20:12, or "that makes a demand on one's
resources," whether material, 1 Thess 2:6 (to be burdensome), or spiritual, Gal 6:2; Rev 2:24, or religious, Acts 15:28.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
a.
b.
c.
C.
Gal 6:2
temptation
guilt
shame
d.
e.
f.
age
infirmity
relatives
g.
h.
i.
Fulfilling the law in the process
Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
See
I., B., 1.
3
financial
vocational
social - loneliness
NASB
D.
Exposing those who don’t
Matt 23:4
(The teachers of the law and 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.
Acts 15:10
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples
a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
Jesus came to bear the burden of our sin, guilt, and shame.
Far from our adding to, ignoring, or judging each other’s burdens, we should be willing to bear them.
III.
Avoid Applause – it’s Addictive and Deceiving
A.
Character studies in self deception
Gal 6:3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
1.
Abimelech
Judges 9
2.
Absalom
2 Samuel 15 – 18
3.
Rehoboam
1 Kings 12
Prov 6:16-17
16
There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
17
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
B.
Self examination is essential
Gal 6:4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else,
Gal 6:4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. NKJV
2 Cor 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.
Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 10:12-18
2.
Avoid the two extremes
a.
exaggerated view of one’s importance
b.
exaggerated view of one’s inferiority
Moses (a)
Ex 2:5-14
(b)
Peter (a)
Mat 26:33-35 (b)
Ex 3:10-4:13
John 21:15-19
4
C.
Gal 6:5
In the Lord’s army, each soldier carries his own pack
for each one should carry his own load.
phortion, lit., "something carried", is always used metaphorically (except in Acts 27:10, of the lading of a ship); of that
which, though "light," is involved in discipleship of Christ, Matt 11:30; of that which will be the result, at the judgmentseat of Christ, of each believer's work, Gal 6:5.
Note: The difference between phortion and baros is, that phortion is simply "something to be borne," without reference to
its weight, but baros always suggests what is "heavy or burdensome." Thus Christ speaks of His "burden" (phortion) as
"light"; here baros would be inappropriate; but the "burden" of a transgressor is baros, "heavy." Contrast baros in Gal 6:2,
with phortion in v. 5.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Matt 25:15
IV.
To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents , and to another one talent,
each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.
The Sharing of Good Things
Gal 6:6
Gal 6:6
Gal 6:6
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.
And let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches.
A.
NIV
NKJV
NASB
Common interpretation
Gal 6:6
Those who are taught the word of God should help their teachers by paying them.
NLT
Gal 6:6
Let him who receives instruction in the Word [of God] share all good things with
his teacher [contributing to his support].
AMP
1 Cor 9:7-18
B.
Gal 6:6
Possible interpretation
Let the one who receives instruction and the one who instructs share together in all good things
RMV
Is the “body life” of the church enriched because you are a part of it? How is it diminished by your disobedience?
Do you look for burdens to bear?
You know no one without them. Yes, it is your Christian duty to do so.
Do you have a Biblical opinion of yourself?
What does your spiritual fitness report reveal?
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TNBS Questions
Lesson 25
Preparation for week 26
Read Galatians 6:7-10
1.
Read Gal 6: 7; Job 15:31; Obadiah 3; 1 Cor 3:18; James 1:22; 1 John 1:8
List at least 4 ways that people deceive themselves
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2.
Based on what you know of agriculture in the physical world, explain how the law of sowing and reaping is inviolate.
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3.
Why do you think people would acknowledge the truth of the law in the physical realm but not in the moral?
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4.
Read Prov 11:18; Hosea 8:7, 10:12; Rom 2:5-10 with Gal 6:7-8
State in your own words a Biblical principle you would give to an eight year old derived from these passages
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5.
From Galatians 5, what are other ways of saying “sow to please the Spirit” (Gal 6:8)? Put simply, what does it mean?
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6.
Read Ephesians 1:3, 18 with Galatians 6:8
What does “eternal life” mean other that just “never ending”?
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7.
Read Galatians 6:9
In what areas of your Christian life are you tempted to give up either from weariness or a sense of futility?
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8.
What would Paul’s counsel be and why would he give it?
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9.
What are two ways we can take the word “opportunity” in Galatians 6:9 ?
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10.
Why is the “household of faith” or “family of believers” given special consideration in Galatians 6:10 ?
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