Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20080831.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Galatians: Defending The Truthfulness Of Paul's Teaching On God's Grace
Part XI: Applying The Doctrine Of God's Grace To Christian Living, Galatians 5:1-6:18
C. Godly Graciousness Toward Fellow Believers In General
(Galatians 6:1, 2-5)
  1. Introduction
    1. Righteous living under the Mosaic Law could be measured in the keeping of two key rules -- one's loving the Lord with all his being, and then loving his neighbor as himself, Matthew 22:36-40.
    2. In the dispensation of the Church where the believer was no longer under the Law, but was to live a righteous life by means of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:3-4), the believer would also need to relate graciously to fellow believers in general, and this truth is clarified in practical terms in Galatians 6:1, 2-5:
  2. Godly Graciousness Toward Fellow Believers In General, Galatians 6:1, 2-5.
    1. The commands Paul gives in Galatians 6 apply his call in Galatians 5:25 that if we positionally live in the Holy Spirit's power, we must "walk," or live in dependence upon His power to live a godly versus a sinful life that overcomes the vainglory and envy that provokes fellow believers to sin, cf. Galatians 5:15-16.
    2. Accordingly, Galatians 6:1, 2-5 address the need for believers to relate in the Holy Spirit's power with godly graciousness toward fellow believers in general so as to counter such ungodly behavior (as follows):
      1. In the Holy Spirit's power, believers should restore fellow believers overtaken in sinful defeat in an attitude of meekness, considering themselves lest they also be tempted, Galatians 6:1:
        1. The one's taking the initiative to restore the fallen are "spiritual," and, in the context, this refers to believers who are depending upon the Holy Spirit for godly living, cf. Galatians 5:16, 22-23.
        2. The one "overtaken" in the fault (KJV) is "caught by a sin," the idea being one who has failed to escape a certain sin due to great temptation for him; this is one who is weak for having failed to rely upon the Holy Spirit's power for victory over that sin, Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 609.
        3. Thus, believers who rely upon the Holy Spirit need to exercise meekness in reproving, rebuking and exhorting fellow believers who sin (2 Timothy 4:2) in having failed to rely on the Holy Spirit to handle some strong temptation; they need to consider their own vulnerability to temptations lest they themselves be similarly tempted not to rely upon the Holy Spirit for victory over sin!
      2. In the Holy Spirit's power, believers should also thus become burden-bearers for spiritually less mature believers to ease their battles with temptations to fail to rely upon the Holy Spirit, Galatians 6:2-5:
        1. The term "burdens" in Galatians 6:2 is from the Greek New Testament word bare, an overwhelming load for which a party needs the help of another to bear it, Ibid., p. 609-610.
        2. Conversely, the term "burden" in Galatians 6:5 is from the Greek word phorton, meaning the bearable pack that a marching soldier was assigned and was thus expected to carry, Ibid., p. 610. This latter burden is guaranteed to be easy and light by the Lord in Matthew 11:28-30.
        3. Thus, Galatians 6:2-4 in view of Galatians 6:1 addresses the spiritual believer's need to help ease an overwhelming weight of temptation for weak believers. This ministry necessitates that the godly fulfill the law of Christ to love fellow brethren (John 13:34) by laying aside their own conceit that lends toward competition that only offends the weak. In such humility, the spiritual are to lighten the temptation load immature believers face due to their failure to trust the Holy Spirit, Gal . 6:2.
        4. Paul noted that self-conceit makes one spiritually fail anyway, Galatians 6:3. Rather, if one sees he successfully relies upon the Holy Spirit for victory over temptation, he should rejoice within, but not parade that fact before the carnally defeated as that can only goad them to more sin, Gal. 6:4; 5:26.
        5. Finally, Galatians 6:5 reminds the spiritual that God will hold them responsible to trust the Holy Spirit for victory over their own sinful natures, so they best avoid self-conceit in their interactions with those who are weak in the faith, and that by relying upon the Holy Spirit to that end, Gal. 6:16.
Lesson: Believers who rely on the Holy Spirit for victory over their own sin natures must (1) watch that they keep relying on the Spirit, and (2) help ease the temptations to sin of those weak believers who live in the flesh by humbly, gently reproving, rebuking and exhorting them to be restored to godliness.

Application: May we live dependent upon the Holy Spirit especially in how we relate to one another!