Series

November 24, 2002

On Friday morning I did what I normally do on mornings that are normal. I had a bite of breakfast, took a shower, kissed my family goodbye and prepared to go out the front door on the way to my study. I like this routine. It suits me. But sometimes, I admit, it can be too predictable, too neat, too inside the lines. On Friday morning, my rhythm was interrupted as Lisa, still in her housecoat, put a CD in the stereo for Luke, who was still in his morning diaper and t-shirt. As the music came on— Sesame Street tunes—Luke and Lisa began dancing in the living room. Luke waving his arms and stomping his one foot, an intense look of joy and discovery on his face while Lisa enthusiastically modeled some of her best dance moves so that Luke might pick them up. And me, I stood in the entry with one hand on my bag, the other on the doorknob. I was immediately faced with a decision: stick to the routine, or join the party. Do you know what I did? You guessed it: I joined the party. For the next several minutes, with Elmo, Big Bird and Ernie leading the way, we danced! It was delightful. We laughed and stomped and I think each of us in our own way enjoyed God’s presence.

This story illustrates our scripture text this morning. Galatians 6:1-10 describes what life in the Holy Spirit looks like when God’s people allow the Holy Spirit to move and shake them. At first read, Galatians 6:1-10, and indeed the Christian life can look like my morning routine sometimes look: formulaic, rhythmic, cut and dry. The black and white of the words on the page tell us very practically, very step-by-step, how to behave as a Spirit people. And we can learn a lot from that. It’s rich and instructive. I would’ve likely had a very productive day had I just gone out the door as usual.

However, what sometimes can get lost in the reading of the words on the page is that Paul is describing life together in community. Life set alight, passion aflame, love bursting, at the mercy of the Holy Spirit of the living God! It’s a dance. Life together, shaped and moved and led by the Holy Spirit of God makes for a delightful, joy-filled dance between God and the people he dearly loves. This morning I want to highlight from Paul’s letter to the Galatians results of the Holy Spirit having it’s way with a community of faith, a church fellowship.

Before we go there, we need to remember that last week we were left with a choice: live in the flesh (outside of God’s will), or live by the Holy Spirit of God. Our choice hung on one question: Do we believe that the Holy Spirit of God is an adequate guide for our lives? Now I’m going to speak today on the assumption that a) we do indeed desire to live by the Spirit because, b) we do indeed believe that the Holy Spirit of God is enough to lead us in our day-to-day life.

We’re now going to move into the last chapter of Galatians and into the most practical portion of the whole letter. Paul is done with theology and argumentation. Paul has let his passion for God and his love for the church run wild. He’s got Jesus on the brain and it’s the life of Jesus that orders his thoughts, and the Holy Spirit of Jesus that moves his pen. Here in Galatians 6:1-10, Paul says essentially: A Spirit-led people are in love with Jesus and love one another. And because of this, they restore one another, they live openly and honestly before their loving God, and they are deeply committed to nurturing and loving one another in the context of community.

In other words, a Holy Spirit people dance a joy-dance of love together because they are set free from the burden of sin, the hopelessness of life apart from God. A Holy Spirit people love one another so much that they can’t bear the idea of one of their fellow brothers or sister toiling under the weight of sinfulness. And they can’t stand the thought of being apart because in this Holy Spirit community of faith, love rules because God is the infinite center. Let’s look at the text…

Reading the Text

“[ 5:25 ] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. [6:1] Brothers (and sisters), if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you may also be tempted. [2] Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. [3] If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [4] Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, [5] for each one should carry his own load. [6] Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. [7] Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. [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. [10] Therefore, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 5:25-6:10, parenthesis added).

Now before we look at how this applies to our life today, we need to lay a very crucial foundation. A stinging criticism of Paul’s teaching about gospel freedom—cross and Spirit—some thought it left the door wide open for a free for all. If you didn’t have to follow the law, the Judaizers said, we’re looking at anarchy, utter lawlessness.

But Paul anticipates what they’re saying and he knows the answer to the criticism. Look at verse 2: “Carry each another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ”(v. 2, emphasis added). Paul’s saying life apart from the law does not lead to lawlessness. Rather, it leads to patterning one’s life after the ultimate expression of the Law, Jesus Christ, who through his death and resurrection, “bore the burdens” of one and all. Above all, Christ is the one “who loved us and gave himself for us.” This is the “law of Christ” which Spirit people are called to reproduce[i].

We’re not left without direction. This is one of the great paradoxes in the Bible: when we are set free by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we become slaves to another way: Jesus’ way. But this is not slavery in the way the world understands slavery. Being slaves to Jesus Christ is to be filled and led by his Holy Spirit. And when we are filled and led by the Holy Spirit of Christ, we take on a new look. We move away from things of the sinful nature: selfishness, jealousy, gossip, slander, divisiveness, discord and the like. The Holy Spirit shapes us into people who are loving, peaceful, patient, gentle, kind, joyful, good and self-controlled. The Holy Spirit makes us like Jesus. Jesus is the foundation; he is our guide.

And so when we come to Galatians 6 and read the “how-tos” of Spirit led community, we understand that it means that we are following a model set by our Jesus Christ (because the Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus himself sharing his life in ours). We read in Galatians 6:1-10 that a Holy Spirit people treasure one another in community, that they live honestly and openly before God, and that they carry one another’s burdens and restore each other gently. Where did Paul get this idea? Jesus. Jesus restores, Jesus points us to God, and Jesus established the church—the community of faith—because he knew that for his beloved people to thrive and grow in wholeness and love, they’d need to be surrounded by others on the same journey. He knew that life together was essential for life in the Spirit. Now we can look at the direct applications for our life today.

Application

First, however, here’s a quick reminder about the context of Paul’s teaching. The Galatian church, because of the Judaizer’s false teaching, was in the midst of a deep crisis threatening to divide the fellowship. There were people who’d been wooed by the safety and security of following the law, and the idea that Jesus was only part of the puzzle and that I can complete the picture with good behavior and effort. When that came up against the truth of the free gift of grace through the cross, trouble. So Paul is addressing this to the whole church of Galatia .

The Big Idea: A Spirit People Live Life Together in Love

The Holy Spirit first came upon Jesus’ disciples after they had been gathered together for quite some time praying and worshiping God. Immediately the Holy Spirit moved among them and led them to form the church where, as you well know, they devoted themselves to certain things (prayer, Bible study, fellowship and communion) and the Holy Spirit, through their community of faith, through their devotion to these things, shaped them into a beautiful expression of God’s love. So beautiful were they that the world around them stood up and took notice. Their attractiveness drew many to the Christian faith. All of this was done in the context of loving, spirit-filled community.

· When the Holy Spirit is permitted to have its way in your life, you want to be active and alive in a community of faith (i.e., a local church).

“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, emphasis added).

Life in Christian community is the best place for working out our faith. In community the Holy Spirit grows its fruit in us. Notice Paul said, ‘let us do good’. Goodness, you remember, is evidence that the Holy Spirit is active in one’s life; it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. In community, where others of the faith are journeying with Christ, we have endless opportunities to show goodness to one another. In other words we don’t have to travel far to find opportunities to live out our faith.

When a Spirit-led people participate in Spirit-led community, they express what God is all about: loving, saving, healing, and caring. Having said that I want to point out two things: firstly, this does not make it ok to be exclusive and insular. By doing “good, especially to those who belong to the family of believers”, Paul isn’t giving permission to create a Christian bubble. What he’s saying is that this is the place to become world Christians. We focus on one another, not because that’s all we have to focus on. Rather it’s because we have endless opportunity. And acting on the opportunity to be caring, healing and forgiving to one another, shapes us into that beautiful expression of God’s love that is so attractive to the world.

Again the model is Jesus himself. Jesus spent the majority of his ministry nurturing a small group of devoted followers. Was this because he wanted them to keep to themselves once he went away? Of course not. Jesus poured himself into the small group of disciples to prepare them to take the love and grace of God to the waiting world. In this close community of faith, the disciples became beautiful.

Having said that, an important fact to remember is this: spirit-led community will grow (in number and depth). Remember again the early church. It was when people were surrendered to the Holy Spirit that the Lord added daily to their number. We live in an age where there is great emphasis placed on numbers. Entire church growth strategies have been created to increase the number of people in the pews on Sunday morning. But any church growth strategy is only as good as the freedom the Holy Spirit has to work. So the question that has to be asked is, does the Holy Spirit have the freedom to work in our midst? For only when the Holy Spirit is alive and active in a local congregation, will growth be sustained and true.

We can be sure that if we are truly surrendered to the Holy Spirit, we will not only become more loving of one another; we will also develop in intense ache for those yet to come to faith in Jesus; the Holy Spirit can lead in no other direction. This is the mission and purpose of Church: those who belong to the church, passionately long to spread the love of God to those who have yet to know God’s love, and then are empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit to love their neighbor as Jesus taught. In short, being truly the church is being truly concerned about those outside the church.

Life together in spirit-led community will inevitably dull our self-centeredness and make us more loving of God and neighbor. When we surrender to the Holy Spirit, it will begin to release us to trust God’s power instead of our own, and we are free to give ourselves to others.

“Brothers (and sisters), if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you may also be tempted. [2] Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. [3] If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. [4] Each one should test his own actions” (Galatians 6:1-4, emphasis added).

This verse is understood more clearly when it is read, “Brothers and sisters, when someone is caught in a sin. Paul’s assuming that this is going to be a regular practice among Christian brothers and sisters. There is inevitability about sin in community; it’s going to happen.

And Paul picks up on Jesus’ earlier teaching in Matthew 18 that describes the process of confronting and restoring a brother or sister behaving in a sinful way. There again, it’s not “if”, but “when”.

There used to be an anti drunk driving campaign with the slogan, “Friends don’t let friends drink and drive.” People were encouraged to imagine themselves confronting their friends and preventing them from getting into a car after they’d been drinking. It was supposed to make the consequences of drinking and driving real and personal.

The church could use a similar slogan when addressing sin: “friends don’t let friends carry the burden of sin alone.” People who share Spirit-led community, care deeply for their brothers and sisters in that community because the Holy Spirit is growing them together in love. And so watching a brother or sister caught in a sinful behavior hurts them. Paul’s message here is clear: in the same way sin is unavoidable, confronting and restoring is not something to avoid..

“When someone is caught in a sin, you fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, point it out to them, and restore them gently. But check yourself so that you are doing it in love. Don’t confront someone who is sinning by pointing out how good you are, how right you have been. Don’t gloat over your righteousness. Instead allow yourself to be grieved for your brother and sister who sins. Let mercy and gentleness be your guide because the situation will be reversed someday and you will be the one needing mercy and gentleness. God has forgiven you; do likewise to your brother and sister. Restore them gently because he or she is one of you, and you are part of God’s family.”

Illustration: The Good Samaritan. The parable of the Good Samaritan tells how a traveler is robbed and badly beaten and then left to die by the side of the road. Twice people passed by and did nothing to help, choosing instead to pretend the bleeding person wasn’t there. Finally someone came along who gently picked the person up, took him to a hospital, and left his credit card information to cover any cost.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a great illustration of what Paul is talking about in Galatians. He’s saying, “don’t be like the people who passed by and did nothing. Instead be the one who gently helps the beaten person back to health.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, “Nothing can be more cruel than, in the name of tenderness, one does nothing when a brother is consigned to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin.”

When we ignore the sin of a brother or sister, we betray selfishness in us. We avoid confrontation because it is hard, and puts us at risk of rejection. But brothers and sisters, you remember that selfishness is evidence of life in the flesh. Self-preservation comes from following our sinful nature.

Friends, if we have chosen to follow Christ Jesus, we do not need to follow our sinful nature anymore! It has been crucified. Instead, we are to be led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is big enough to guide us through confrontation and restoration.

Illustration: Brick Wall. Sin, like a brick wall prevents closeness and hinders relationship. How true or real a Christian community would we have if we allowed brick walls of sin to be built up? But when the Holy Spirit is permitted to guide and shape us, moments of confrontation and restoration knock down the walls and clear the way for forgiveness, healing, holiness, caring and love. This is why Spirit people must be confronting and restoring people.

As I conclude this morning, I not only end this message, but we’ve come to the end of our walk through the book of Galatians. Go back to the very beginning. Do you remember why I chose to title this series, “Traveling Light”? It was because Galatians teaches us that the only way we can be free, truly free, and not some cheap worldly imitation, is through the cross and by the Holy Spirit of Jesus. At each stop along the way, Galatians has presented us with a choice: struggle through life under the heavy baggage of our own strength, or surrender to the Holy Spirit of God and allow him to love and shape us. I believe that God has used our time in Galatians to remind us that His way is best and encourage us as God’s people to allow His Holy Spirit to move and shake us.

When the Holy Spirit has its way in our lives, God’s people are unburdened. It’s not Jesus plus, plus, plus. It is Jesus only. Then we can live life full of the Spirit. Life set alight by the Holy Spirit of the living God is a delightful, joy-filled dance between God and the people he dearly loves.

When we believe this, when we allow the Holy Spirit to have his way in our lives, in our church, the heavy load of human effort and struggle is gently removed, we’re free to love, free to give, free to trust, free to fail, free to change, free to sing, free to create, free to forgive, free to confront, free to restore, we are free, free, free. Let’s pray.

[i] Gordon Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 464.