BIG IDEA:
2 PRACTICAL WAYS TO WALK IN LOVE BY THE SPIRIT
I. (:1-5) HUMBLY HELP YOUR BROTHER IN NEED
A. (:1) Gently Restore a Brother Whom You Find Sinning
1. The Responsibility = Applies to all believers — not just the leaders
“Brethren” — Don’t try to pass this responsibility off to someone else.
This is a family responsibility that requires the loving network of family relationships.
2. The Occasion = Sin that is evident to you
“even if a man is caught in any trespass”
Not saying that we are out spying on people trying to catch them.
3. The Qualification to Help
“you who are spiritual”
Those who are walking in the Spirit, led by the Spirit, controlled by the Spirit, evidencing the fruit of the Spirit — all of which will be needed for this interaction to be successful.
If you find yourself in some other less desirable state, the answer is not to forget about your responsibility to your brother, but rather to first address your own relationship issues and then in a renewed spirit to come alongside and help your brother.
4. The Mission
“restore such a one”
Not out to rebuke them and judge them critically; the mission is restorative.
straighten things out, set a broken bone, mend the nets
skill, firmness, gentleness needed for this work
5. The Attitude
“in a spirit of gentleness”
Not only important what we say and do, but how we say and do it. What is our tone and attitude, etc.
6. The Humility
“each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted”
B. (:2) Lovingly Help Bear the Burden of a Brother Who is Weighed Down
“Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.”
Look at both:
– the command of Christ
– the example of Christ
Wiersbe: “There is no contradiction between verses 2 and 5, because two different Greek words for burden are used. In verse 2 it is a word meaning ‘a heavy burden,’ while in verse 5 it 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.”
Piper: “We should probably define a burden then as anything that threatens to crush the joy of our faith –whether a tragedy that threatens to make us doubt God’s goodness or a sin that threatens to drag us into guilt and judgment.”
C. (:3-5) Balancing Perspective: Humbly Take Responsibility for Your Own Load
1. (:3) Watch our for Pride
“For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
2. (:4) No Place for Competition — Don’t compare Yourself to Others
“But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.”
Barclay: “He goes on to rebuke conceit and gives a recipe whereby it may well be avoided. We are to compare our achievement not with the work of our neighbours but with what our best would have been. When we do that, there can never be any cause for conceit.”
3. (:5) Bear Your Own Load
“For each one shall bear his own load.”
II. (:6-10) CONSISTENTLY KEEP ON GIVING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS
A. (:6) Priority of Mutual Sharing with Your Spiritual Teacher
“And let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches.”
Question of whether or not this passage is talking about material and financial support for those who are ministering the Word of God to you. It is definitely talking about making sure that you are not just a “taker” but also a “giver” as you have opportunity.
Wiersbe: “But we must realize the spiritual principle that lies behind this precept. God does not command believers to give simply that pastors and teachers (and missionaries, Phil. 4:10-19) might have their material needs met, but that the givers might get a greater blessing (Gal. 6:7-8).”
MacArthur: “Good things could include material goods, but that does not seem to be the sense here… Paul is talking about mutuality, not of one party serving or providing for the other but of both parties sharing together. The one who is taught the word and the one who teaches have a common fellowship and should share all good things together.”
B. (:7-9) Inescapable, Fundamental Principle of Sowing and Reaping
1. Validity of the Principle
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.”
2. Statement of the Principle
“for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
3. 2 Contrasting Applications of the Principle
a. Negative Example
“For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption”
b. Positive Example
“but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life”
4. Need for Perseverance
“And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”
C. (:10) Urgency of Doing Good Whenever We Can and To Whomever We can
“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”