One Anothering
One Anothering by Rev. L. John Gable
July 17, 2016
We come today to the end of our study of the book of Galatians, and it is my hope that it has been as beneficial for you as it has been for me. As we’ve seen this letter has been a tough one, both to read and I’m sure for Paul to have written. Recall, he is concerned about these people he pastored and first introduced to Christ because now they have strayed from the path of his teaching by following “another Gospel” which is no gospel, not really the “good news”, at all. Paul argues passionately, and I think we can say persuasively, that we are saved, made right with God, not by anything we do, in particular not in our obedience to the Mosaic Law and its requirements, but by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, nothing more and nothing less. Friends, we too must hear and hold on to that central truth of our faith, for this is the Good News of the Gospel.
As we come now to the end of this letter Paul gives some very practical advice for Christian living, as he typically does at the end of each of his letters. If you look at any of Paul’s writings typically the first ½ to 2/3s is theology/theory as he explains the faith, and the remaining ½ to 1/3 is praxis, ethics, the practical application of the theology into everyday living. This is what we are going to read today, as well as the postscript to the letter. As we do so, listen carefully to how much Paul talks about relationships, about how the Christian faith is intended to be lived out in community with others, not in isolation. Modern evangelical Christianity has often reduced the faith to a privatized “me and God” or “me and my experience with Jesus” kind of transaction. But this runs counter to the teaching of Scripture where Christianity is essentially understood to be a community affair. So much so that when Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God is among you, or within you” the “you” is plural, not singular. The Kingdom of God is among and within us, together. Donald Baillie puts this so well when he says, “The Christian religion is a relation between the individual soul and God, but it is a relation that can be realized only within that universal community which is the Church of Christ. This means I cannot be a Christian all by myself. I cannot retire into my own shell or into my own corner and live the Christian life there. A single individual cannot be Christian in their singleness. It is only in Christ that we can enjoy full community with one another, and it is only in our togetherness with one another that we can enjoy full communion with Christ.” I encourage you to keep this in mind because we will be returning to this theme again and again in the coming year as we begin to live in to our new Vision Renewal statement, one of the pillars being “building a stronger community.”
So, turning now to Galatians, chapter 6, we typically read the passage of
Scripture and then talk about it, but today I would like for us to talk about it as we read it. So I invite you to turn in your Bibles, or grab a pew Bible, to Galatians 6:1, which you won’t actually find because those who first transcribed the Bible couldn’t figure out whether the preceding verses belonged in this paragraph or the one before it, so they kind of left it blank, but we’ll start there anyway. Let us listen to this, the Word of God, through the practical wisdom and teaching of the Apostle Paul.
1My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Already we can see that Paul is making the point that the Christian faith is not intended to be lived out in isolation, but in relationship with others. We have a responsibility to care for and about one another, perhaps particularly for those among us who have fallen in to sin and transgression. Notice though, that the “calling out” of the individual is not for the purpose of judgment or punishment, but of restoration and reconciliation. That is why this kind of situation must be handled with gentleness and care. Scripture gives us very clear guidance as to how we should approach a brother or sister who has fallen in to sin, and it is always with the intention of restoration.
Candidly, I don’t think the Church has done very well with this in our history. We have largely come to believe that sin is privatized, “my” issue and none of your business, so we often leave well enough alone, which means the transgressor is him or herself often isolated and left alone in his/her transgression. However, Paul rightly understands the communal nature of sin. What harms the individual harms the whole body and undermines our collective witness for Christ. An individual brother or sister is acting not as a solo player, but as a member of the Body of Christ, so must be “called out” when his/her actions do harm to the Body or not reflect the Lordship of Christ or the values of the Kingdom of God. Admittedly this is the messy, often painful business of Church discipline, something no one ever wants to have to put in to place, but we can see its value “for the good of the body”; we can also see why it must always be done with gentleness and the desire for reconciliation and restoration.
Paul then adds this word of caution, Take care that you yourselves are not
tempted. This is a good reminder that none of us is immune to the sins and transgressions which tempt any of us, so we must beware. I am reminded of the story of the man who bought a pair of socks and asked the clerk what it meant when it said they were “shrink resistant.” She thought for a moment, then said, “They will shrink, but they don’t want to.” Mark Twain mirrors Paul’s advice when he says, “It is easier to stay out than to get out.” So, take care that you yourselves are not tempted.
2Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. This perhaps is the summation of this section of the letter. We each must help to bear one another’s burdens for everyone we meet is carrying a cross of some kind, but how do we do that? Perhaps physically, actually helping another with the work they are doing. Perhaps emotionally, by offering a word of comfort or support or encouragement. Perhaps financially, those of us who have more sharing with those who have less. There are many ways for us to bear one another’s burdens, but all of them involve “coming along side” the other. Sometimes, “just being there” is enough to help carry another’s load. In order to do that though, we have to get beyond ourselves, outside of our own insidious self-absorption with our own concerns if we are going to care for the needs of others. We have to get to know the other before we can begin to know their needs, or they ours. As we do so, we “fulfill the law of Christ”, which simply put is love of God and of one another.
3For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. 4All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride .5For all must carry their own loads. I think what Paul is getting at here is that each of us has a part to play, a responsibility to share in the work of the whole, for the good of the community. While there are many different gifts and skills, no one should think either less or more of themselves, but take an honest appraisal. Like his teaching in I Corinthians where he says, “the ear can’t say to the eye or the eye to the foot, I have no need of you. Together we are the Body of Christ and individually member of it.”
He speaks here of the need for humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. So, each of us has our individual part to play for the good of the Body and we must play it to the best of our ability.
6Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. This is a complete stand-alone line which has nothing to do with what comes either before or after, but I love it. It is a good reminder to us that no matter how either mature or recent we are to the faith, each of us has something we need to share with and learn from each other. No matter how old and learned we are we are always both teachers and students. I learn something in every Bible study I teach and I know you have insights on the meaning and truths of Scripture and for living the Christian life that I need to learn, so teachers and students must freely share with one another the good things they are learning. As a side note: Paul is also suggesting here that students should fairly pay their teachers, but we won’t get in to that today.
7Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.
8If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.
10So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. Paul continues his teaching from the earlier chapter contrasting the “works of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit.” He makes it clear that we can deceive ourselves and we know we can certainly deceive others, but God is not mocked. Ultimately we are all answerable to God in matters of our faith and the practice of our faith, so each of us individually and all of us collectively, must take seriously our responsibility to God and one another in fulfilling the law of Christ, and we must do it to the end. As long as there is time we must make time to do the good. I saw a video recently of a runner nearing the end of a long distance race who knew that he clearly had it won, so he began to wave to the crowd in victory. As he did so, he inadvertently slowed down, and was passed at the tape by another runner. Do not grow weary in well doing. Run the race to the end. Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, for as long as you can.
Paul then ends this letter with a postscript, as he typically does, but before we go there, let me underscore the importance of the lessons we’ve just read. In the Bible there are 58 commands that combine the words “each other” or “one another”. The significance of this cannot be overstated. When we come to faith in Christ we are called as individuals into community with one another; which means we are called to “one anothering”. To love one another; to meet with one another; to accept one another; to serve one another; to be kind to one another; to teach one another; to live in harmony with one another; to forgive one another; not to envy one another; to be hospitable to one another; to honor one another, and so on. When we come to faith in Christ we are called to “one anothering”; to belonging, not just to believing.
Paul closes by writing, 11See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand!, which is reminiscent of what John Hancock said when he scrawled his name, writ large, on the Declaration of Independence, so King George could read it without his glasses on. At this point Paul takes the pen from his scribe and writes for himself, in large letters, as if to say, in an age without bold face and all caps, “I really mean it!”
He then goes on to kind of recap all that he has taught in this letter. Like a dog with a bone, he just can’t let this one go quite yet, so he reminds them about the errant teachings of the Judaizers, about their false dependence on circumcision and the Law and works of the flesh, and then highlights the saving work of Christ on the cross. 12It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! Friends, if we have anything to boast about, it is not about ourselves or the good work we have done, but about Christ alone and the work He has done for us and our salvation. By grace, through faith, we become a new creation in Him, individually and together.
The letter then ends, very appropriately, with a request and a prayer. The request is that the Galatians will take this teaching to heart and that this will put an end to this controversy. It is almost as if Paul is saying, I’ve anguished enough over this issue with you, there is other work which needs to be done, so let’s get on with it, together. And the prayer is for God’s peace and mercy and grace to be with these people he still dearly loves. We read, 16As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. 17From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.
18May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
May that same blessing of God’s peace and mercy and grace be with you and upon all of us, together, now and always. Amen.