Bear One Another’s Burdens

I have picked up and begun reading a book by Sissy Goff. Some of you may know is called Raising Worryfree Girls. Does any body know that book? It’s a good one. I’ve just as I said, I’m not done with it. But I’ve got a couple girls in my house. So we’ve been reading and reflecting on that. Something struck me as I was reading this week. My wife is reading it too. She was sharing something with me. Thinking about, you know, worry becoming this epidemic of anxiety and the depth of it in our society, and how much of it is. She commented, she sees the percentages of young men and young women dealing with anxiety and worry, that leads to anxiety is significantly higher than was in my generation, than the generations before mine. There’s a lot of thoughts as to why what’s causing that and what’s going on. But one of the realities she commented on was technology and technology use. She said, you know, seeing young men in her office, one of the things that she’s noted is that so many of them are finding so much of their enjoyment in technology, video games in particular, that they are kind of sequestered to the bedroom. It’s really sapping their strength and their ability to succeed in the real world. That’s leading to all kinds of anxiety and worry, because the reality is everyone knows they need to succeed in the real world. If I don’t feel confident I can when I walk into my bedroom, because I’ve so inundated myself, with the use of technology. It’s creating this real rise and worry among young men. She says for young women it’s a little different. But technology use often on social media is creating such social pressure for them. Such pressure to not just compare themselves is that’s what we’d expect, right? I compare myself to what I see somebody else life looks like on the screen. But actually, she says it’s through the pressure to keep up relationships through all these different social media channels. So she talks about something called Snap streaks, which I’d never heard of before. How many of you know what a snap streak is? Man? You guys are way smarter than I was. But now I’m caught up to you. So I didn’t know what a snap streak was. She said a snap streak is on Snapchat, it’s keeping a daily conversation going back and forth with someone. She said she had a young lady in her office that had 30 of these snap streaks going with someone and I you know, was aiming to get to something like 50 or 100 days in a row of this. So how long does that take you to manage that? She says oh hour to two hours every day to manage? So how does that feel? Is that producing more enjoyment those relationships? No, not at all? It doesn’t do anything to help those relationships. But if I had said why do you why do you find yourself doing it? She said, because if I don’t do it, I don’t think they’ll like me anymore. They will think I don’t like them anymore. It’s a really honest and innocent pressure, right? A want to maintain relationships, but the pressure that that technology is creating on that young lady now listen, I I don’t say that some of you have snap streaks going right now, I don’t say that to belittle that or to lessen or cheapen that anyway. But I do say the recognition that Sissy Goff is making is that technology, among other things in her book isn’t limited to technology, comments on all kinds of things that are causing a rise in worry and a rise in anxiety technology is one of them. We have to be way wiser in the way we manage technology, moms and dads will be way wiser. Way wiser. I’ll say that. Now listen, what does that have to do with Galatians? Six, one to five? What does it have to do with our text today?

Well, the subject of our text is burden bearing. That got me thinking, as I was reading this book, it got me thinking. I’m not sure that the American church I don’t mean our specific church or that we are part of the American church. I’m not sure the American church is equipped or prepared to deal with the epidemic that worry and anxiety is in our society, in particular among our younger generation, and the reason is probably multi fold. But I think one of the reasons we may not be very well prepared for it is because we have created in the American church and ability to just kind of sit on the periphery of relationships, and sit on the periphery of engagement in life. In the bottom we prioritize other things in our society, we prioritize our kids sports and band and theater and different activities, we prioritize our own social lives for travel or whatever it may be over life together in the body. I mean, so if that sounds harsh, I just just do a just do a quick assessment of your own kind of life and ask. How do I prioritize life connected to other believers? I would argue that often the American church is marked by shallowness of relationship with one another. We’re aiming for something very different here. But I would say in general, the American church is often marked by a shallowness of relationship. If we’re marked by shallowness of relationship, then we lack the very thing we need to battle, the war against worry, and anxiety, which is the depth of relationship a depth of being known and loved and cared for. That’s exactly what our text speaks to today, because it’s a very simple command we’re going to find in Galatians, six, one through five, a very simple command, Bear one another’s burdens. Bear one another’s burdens. Then what Paul is going to do is he’s going to give us both the reason that we’re supposed to do that. He’s gonna give us a command, then a reason why, why should we bear one another’s burdens? Then he’s going to give us how, what are something we need to do it just one thing in particular, but it’s a deeply important thing. Then he’s going to loop back around. He’s going to give a specific example of bearing one another’s burdens. That’s a pretty big one, and one that we need to practice as a church family. So command, reason for the command, what we need to obey the command. Then an example. Alright, fair enough. Everybody tracking. Alright, awesome. Let’s read Galatians six, one to five. And let’s see what the Lord’s word has for us today.

So Galatians, six, one to five says, Brothers. If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you to be tempted, Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he has something when he is nothing, he deceives himself, but let each one test his own work. And then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor, for each will have to bear his own load, for each will have to bear his own load. Now that last verse, If you’re following along, you might think that seems like a contradiction, Bear one another’s burdens. And yet each will have to bear their own load. We’re going to come to that we’re going to explain that and help us understand it. But let’s begin with that very basic command. We all see it there in verse two, yes, Bear one another’s burdens. I’m skipping past verse one, we’re gonna start in verse two, because verse one, where he starts is the example of burden bearing, restore someone who’s in sin. That’s a specific type of burden bearing but the broader category, the overarching category of the command today is to learn to bear one another’s burdens. So let’s examine that first. Let’s talk about the reason why that’s the first thing we need to do is, why are we supposed to bear one another’s burdens? The answer that is found in the end of verse two in that phrase, and fulfill and so fulfill the law of Christ? All right, so what is burden bearing when Paul gives us this command, he says, I want you to bear one another’s burdens. He’s using an intentionally broad command, he’s not just saying, Hey, if you got a pickup truck, and somebody needs to move, make sure you show up, right? Practical acts of service, that’s burden bearing or, you know, emotional connection with someone who’s grieving or hurting. That’s, that’s burden bearing, he’s giving this very broad command, because what he wants you to see is that there are going to be a variety and numerous ways that God is going to give you the opportunity to bear someone else’s burdens. They all fit under the category, you are to bear burdens, which is a weight that someone experiences that is too great for them. It might be emotional, might be physical, might be circumstantial, in life, some life circumstance, whatever it may be, maybe health may be a burden, that have just a broken relationship, right? So he’s saying, when you encounter a brother or a sister or someone who is in Christ with you, and they are bearing a burden, I want you to bear with them. Figure out how you are to bear that burden with them. What opportunity is God bringing to you to do that? So it’s intentionally broad, that’s the first thing that I need you to see is not limited to, oh, I’ve borne their burdens, because I helped with this task. Right, you have to ask, what is the burden bearing opportunity so that I might then engage it well, and the reality is, some of us are more comfortable bearing one type of overburden rather than the other. Right? So obviously, I’m all about showing up to help you move. But I’m not sure I want to sit and have that hour long conversation about deeply emotional things. Some of us might be the opposite of that. But in each of those things, God is saying, What is your opportunity to bear someone else’s burden? Now? The implication is that it’s like I said, it’s broad. But let me just point it to other things. Number one, is this command bear one another’s burdens is given to a church, and it’s going to take everyone that hears this command in order for it to be kept. I would say the same thing for our church. It takes all of us to do it. What happens in a church where a few people say, I will bear the burdens of others, and no one else does. Well, let me let you a little secret. Everyone in this room has burdens that they’re bearing yours may be lighter right now. Praise God. Yours might be heavier right now, but everyone has them. If everyone doesn’t take up the call to bear one another’s burdens, the weight will be too great for the few who do. It takes everyone. Everyone in a church family must commit themselves. We’re going to be healthy, to bear the burdens of those whom God gives opportunity. If you just say, well, the staff is there to bear the burdens of the congregation. There are not enough of us to bear all of your burdens with you Well, you know, we’ve got counselors, they’ll bear the burdens of, they’re great. They’re wise, and they’re so helpful. But they can’t bear the way everybody’s burdens. It takes every single one of us, committing ourselves to it. I recognize what that means. For some of us. What I’m really inviting you too, today is to come in off the periphery of our family, to come in off the edges. To say, I will I will make my life in this place. I’ll let myself know others and I’ll let myself be known by others. I know that can be a scary invitation. But I’m just telling you, it’s the pathway to freedom. That’s what we’ve been talking about throughout Galatians. Right. So what is a free life look like? What does it look like to live in the freedom from death and the law and sin, controlling our daily activities, you can’t do it without each other.

Now, that leads to the next implication is not just that it takes all of us to bear one another’s burdens. But actually, it takes a willingness to let others bear your burdens. Because some of us are more in that other category. Like, I’m happy to bear other people’s burdens. But I don’t want anyone to bear mine. I like what John Stott commenting on this text, John Stott, who’s an old pastor passed away years ago. He says, this it’s a longer quote, but I love it so much to just stick with me, and we’ll put it up on the screen for you so you can see it there. But listen to what he says about that. He says, notice the assumption which lies behind this command, namely, that we all have burdens that God does not mean us to carry. God does not mean us to carry them alone. Some people try to, they think it’s a sign of fortitude not to bother other people with their burdens. Such fortitude is certainly brave, but it is more stoical than Christian when he means there’s stoicism is a is a Greek philosophy. Right? So think back to Plato, Aristotle, Socrates. He’s saying stoicism, this sort of stiff upper lip like be self sufficient. That’s kind of taught in that lays it that’s not, it’s not Christian, to say I’m an island unto myself. That’s stoicism. So he says more stocial than Christian. Others remind us that we are told in Psalm 55:22, to Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you. That the Lord Jesus invited him those who are heavy laden to come to Him, and promised to give them rest and Matthew 11:28. They therefore argue that we have a divine burden bearer who is quite adequate. It is a sign of weakness to require any human help. Well, this too, is a grievous mistake. True, Jesus Christ alone can bear the burden of our sin and guilt he bought in his own body when he died on the cross. But this is not so with our other burdens, our worries, temptations, doubts and sorrows, certainly, we can cast these burdens on the Lord as well. We cast we can cast all our care on him, since he cares for us. But remember, that one of the ways in which he bears these burdens of ours is through human friendship. You see what he’s saying? He’s saying this idea of, I’m not going to put my burdens on anyone else, is not a Christian idea. I firmly agree with John Stott on this, that is far from the Christian vision for what life is supposed to be like. Bear one another’s burdens, implies also that you let others bear yours. It implies also that you let others barriers human friendship, connectedness within the body, is part of how Christ invites us to those who are heavy laden to bring our burdens to him, and lay them down. The gift he gives is friendship with one another. Some of you have experienced that, haven’t you? When that comes into your life, you recognize the richness of it, and how necessary it is. So before we go further in with the why we’re still in the why I just want to ask for a moment of self examination. I don’t know the answer to this, but I’ll ask you to ask yourself, How are you doing with this? Do you run from the burdens of others when you see them? The opportunity to meet them? Or do you find yourself running towards them? Are there certain types of burdens that make you are less comfortable than others with which you’re more comfortable? I just want to ask you to let the Spirit examine you. In that before we just go any further, is the simple command. Bear one another’s burdens. How you doing? When’s the last time you bore a burden alongside someone, by the way, you can’t take it for them. But you can help them shoulder it. You can make it lighter weight of it for them. Now let’s keep going on the why okay.

Now we this phrase that we see. Why must we bear each other’s burdens and he says so that in so doing you fulfill the law of Christ. Now that’s the answer to the why question. So we’ve said what is burden bearing No, we have to ask, why do we do it? If the answer is fulfill the law of Christ, every time Paul is used to the idea of the law in Galatians, up to this point, he’s been referring to the Old Testament law, right? He’s been on this whole thing about talking about how we can’t be righteous by the law. He’s trying to kill legalism and put it to death. So we’re tempted to go back there when we hear this word law, but recognize that he didn’t say, the Old Testament law or the law of God, he said, the law of who? The Law of Christ. So what we see that he’s referring to is not the Old Testament law, but he’s referring to what Christ is and what he represents, in his very personhood. He’s saying everything Jesus is and taught, is the law of Christ, everything he is and everything he taught, is the law of Christ. It’s most and best summed up in John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35. When he says, just the disciples A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. By this, just as I have loved you, you are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, You belong to me, you’re marked by me by this all people will know it, how that you have love for one another. That’s the best summation of the teaching of Christ and the person of Christ. In one phrase, in one sentence, when he says, I’m going to tell you that you are to love one another in a new kind of a way in a way that wasn’t possible before the spirit indwelled you and filled you, and now is totally radically different. So when Paul says, I want you to bear one another’s burdens, so that you will fulfill the law of Christ. Here’s what he’s saying. The burden bearing is an expression of love, love one another, you want to show love, when are for one another bear one another’s burdens. Why do we love one another by bearing burdens, so that the world would see Jesus so simple. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another, can I let you on a little secret, you will not do it much burden bearing for long if you do it, because you think the person is worthy of you bearing their burdens, they will prove very quickly, they’re not if you bear their burdens, because you think I’m pretty necessary and important. I need to show that. So I’m going to take on the burdens of others, to show how great I am, you won’t do that very long, either. Because you’re going to come up short. So many times, you’re going to get frustrated, and you’re going to stop doing it. The only way to keep bearing burdens over and over and over again is to do it not for yourself and not for the person. But for Jesus is to do it because he’s worthy, not because they’re worthy. Instead of because he invites you to and command you to not because they need you to you do it because you treasure him. You are displaying the gospel, I’ll tell you in a minute. All there’s three really beautiful ways that burden bearing displays the gospel, but it makes Jesus known to the world. That’s our chief desire. It’s our chief. It’s the thing we want more than anything, and it’s the only sustainable motive for anything we do in life. Everything else. Pardon me, will peter out. But if our chief ambition is to glorify God through Jesus Christ with our very lives, then we do it because he invites us to do it, and it exalts the name of Jesus. That’s why we bear burdens as an expression of love. Amanda and I talk all the time to married couples, one of the things we say regularly to young married couples, we will look at the kind of roles that we play as husband and wife and the commands of Scripture. Ephesians five is really clear that I am to be the head of my house and the head of my wife, the way Christ is the head of the church. I’m to display what his love for his church is like. So I’m told very dauntingly husband, love your wife, as Christ loves the church. That’ll make a shake in your boots, if you understand what that means. Then she is commanded Wives submit to your husbands and respect your husband. As the church submits and respects to Christ, how do we do that? How do we fulfill that? Well, here’s what we found out. If we do it, only on the days the other person is worthy of us doing it for them. It’s not going to happen very long. If I only love my wife, the way Christ loves the church, when I feel like she’s doing her part of the equation, that I’m not going to do it very long. But if I do it because he commands me to do and he is worthy of me doing it, whether she does her part or not. That is sustainable. Guess what? I don’t have an out clause. I don’t get an excuse to say we’ll all start doing my part when she starts doing her part. That’s how marriages start cycling down. Somebody has to break that cycle. Husbands, it’s your job. Break the Cycle. Serve your wives, love her the way Christ loves the church, sacrifice what you desire what you want, so she has what she needs in what she desires. Make her more satisfied in Jesus because of the way you love her. Lead your family’s. Love your wives the way Christ loves the church. Wives, respect and submit to your husbands as the church submits to Christ, not because he’s a great leader, not because he’s worthy of you doing it. But because Jesus commanded you, and He is worthy. Do you see why that’s the only sustainable motive? The only one? Alright, this wasn’t about supposed to be about marriage.

Let’s keep going. Just think about burden bearing for a moment. Then we’re gonna move to our next two things. If we bear one another’s burdens. Think about how that displays the Gospel. The Gospel says, Everyone is lost in sin and burden bearing says everyone has a burden, right? Everybody, everybody has a burden that needs to be born. The second thing it reflects about the gospel is when I bear your burdens, I’m saying and admitting none of us can carry that weight alone. That’s exactly what the Gospel says, I can’t carry the weight of my sin alone. Somebody needs to carry it for me. I need someone to intervene. Not only that, but burden bearing is so sacrificial, that it’s a beautiful expression of the love of God displayed at the cross. That love is sacrifice in its very nature. That love is sacrificial, it lays down its life. It’s what it does. The reason why it’s so important because it prevents a command like bear one another’s burdens from becoming a. It’s this beautiful life giving life shaping joy giving command. If we follow in the power of the Spirit through faith in love, it brings life if we follow it as a command for the sake of a command, we slip right back into legalism and moralism. As we do that, it now becomes a dead command. It kills us because we seek our righteousness through it, which is exactly what Paul has been arguing against the whole time. So we must cling to the right reason for obeying this command, which is we do it to glorify Him, not because it’s a command for commands sake.

Alright, let’s go to what we need then to obey. So I’m gonna imagine for a moment, you’re convinced we have to bear each other’s burdens. How? What’s gonna keep me from doing that? While Paul gives an answer in verses three, four, and five. It’s an important not the only thing we need to be able to do this. But it must be so important. There’s the one thing he chooses to highlight. So look, in verse three, for if anyone thinks he has something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Now what he’s saying there is not you think you’re something and you’re really nothing, alright? What he’s saying is the thing that could prevent you from bearing one another’s burdens, is if you think it’s beneath you. A lack of humility. If you think that someone’s burdens are beneath, you’re bearing them with them, that will prevent you from doing it. Can we all agree with that? If I like the needs of my neighbor, the needs of my brother and I got, I’m too important to get my hands dirty with that one, then I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to bear one another’s burdens. That’s exactly what he’s saying. Your lack of humility will keep you from bearing the burdens of others. You think it’s a mistake to think that way. It’s a mistake to think that way, there is no one’s needs that are beneath you know, type of person that’s beneath you. There is no estimation of ourselves that we’re supposed to give that says, Well, you know, I’ll let somebody who’s a little less important, bear that burden. When God brings you the opportunity, you step into the burden bearing. So that’s what he suggests there. Then verse four, and five, what he’s giving us as a way to grow in humility. So verse four, he says this, But let each one test his own work. Then his reason to boast will be himself alone and not in his neighbor. So he’s saying, give an honest assessment of your own life, what you’re doing and then why why would that produce more humility in verse five tells us, for each will have to bear his own load. Now what he’s talking about there is standing before Jesus at the final judgment of our works. Now, my think that how does this not contradict you say, bear one another’s burdens. Then in verse five, you say, each one have to bear his own load, and the key is in the difference between the word burden and the word load, okay? The word burden is the idea of a crushing weight too big for anybody to bear. The word load is the idea of a soldier’s pack that he puts on to wear in the battle. It’s his equipment, it’s what he needs to go and fight the fight. In other words, when he says each one will have to bear his own load. He’s saying, God has given you tools, gifts, skills, talents, treasures, time is given that to you, that’s not a weight too great to bear. It’s the weight he’s given. You have the tools to serve Him, and you will be held accountable for how you use them. One day you and I will stand before Jesus and our eternal destiny will be determined not by what we do. But by whether we place our faith in Jesus Christ. By that alone. This is a good place for an Amen. All right, we got to ask for it, it’s fine. But there will also be a judgement of our works. First Corinthians chapter three, verse 10, through 15 talks about this, there will be a judgment of our works, how have I used the things God has placed in my hands. When I know that, I’m going to face that judgment, it does two things. It both one reminds me my eternal destiny is not based upon my performance, praise God. That humbles me. Then it also reminds me that when I stand there, I will be assessed for what I have done with what he’s given me my time, my talent, my treasure. When I think about that, I think about two things, immediately I go, even when I use them, well, I’m not really worthy of the reward you’re going to give me. That humbles me, because he’s going to give me a reward. When I haven’t used them, well, I think, Wow, I’m going to face the one who is perfect and be before him, and that humbles me. So he’s saying, Get your eyes up, not on this day, but on the day. That’s what Paul is going to call it the day, the day of Jesus, that we stand before Him. As you think about that must be part of every believers regular prayer life, in prayer to regularly take ourselves, in our minds and in our hearts into the throne room of God and to see the day that we will stand before Jesus and he’ll return for us. We’re encouraged to do it by John, by James, by Peter by Paul again. Again, John says, One day he’ll appear and won’t be like him, because we’ll see Him as He is what John doing. He’s saying, think about that day, set your sights on that day, remember who you’re going to be on that day. Right? So what Peter says in Colossians, when he’s talking about that, we will no longer be what we were will be completely what we then are made to be. Right. So listen to what First Corinthians 3:10 to 15 says. So according to the grace of God given to me like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it. So Paul there is talking about that he preached the gospel, that others came in and helped people grow in Christ, they were their teachers. Let each one take care of how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds on the foundation, with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay straw, each one’s work will become manifest, that means visible for the day, we’ll just close it, because it will be revealed by fire. The fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you see the judgment that’s coming? It’s not to be feared. It’s to be embraced with joy. Do you see that everything God has placed in your hands as an opportunity to serve Him, and He’s promised reward for it. He doesn’t need to do that. But he’s so generous, and so gracious that he says, Come to me expecting reward for spending your time or spending your money well, using the gifts I’ve placed in your hands. So the question for all of us is, am I using them? So again, the command bear one another’s burdens, why not for your own sake, not for the sake of the person whose burden you’re bearing. But because Jesus is glorified and seen when we love one another the way he loved us? What are you going to need to do that? You’re going to need humility. As long as you consider it beneath you, you won’t do it. How will you grow in humility, and here we could, I could take you to 25 other texts, okay. But he gives us one thing to grow in humility here. He says, growing humility by remembering that you will stand before the Lord, you will receive reward or loss based upon how you use the things that he places in your hands, though your eternal destiny is secure, not based upon your performance.

Now, let’s go to the third the last category. Now we’re going to loop back to verse one. So in verse two, we have the command with the reason for the command. Then we have the what do we need to do the command humility. Now go back to verse one, where he started with a specific example of, of this burden bearing and let’s look at it and there’s a couple of things I want to highlight for you. So verse one brothers, and it’s so important that he starts with that phrase, brothers, and we can say brothers or sisters, because what he’s doing is before he says, Bear one another’s burdens, he’s saying those of you who are in In Christ, you are family. Now I know it’s very common for sports teams and all, you know, theater groups and whatever else to talk about themselves as family all we’re a family. That’s a great, it’s a fine thing. But it’s a metaphor. It’s all it is. It’s great for those relationships, you build them and you grow in them. Those can be really enriching. Fantastic. But it’s just a metaphor. When the scriptures call us brothers and sisters, it is not a metaphor. It is a spiritual reality. We’re the only people for whom this is not metaphorical. It is absolutely true. In fact, I am your now praise God, my sister, who I’m very close with knows the Lord. So we are brothers and sisters, if she didn’t, I would be more your sibling than hers. Because our relationship, our blood tie will end. But my tie to you, and thankfully my tie to her will never end. Those who are in Christ, have been called children of God, see what kind of love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called what servants, friends, slaves, no children of God. That is what we are. That’s what John tells us. Now, if that’s true, and he is our Father, and we are His children, what am I to you? And what are you to me? They’re brothers and sisters. Again, I can’t emphasize this enough. It’s not a metaphor before he says, Bear one another’s burdens, he reminds them how they’re related to one another, I’m much more likely to want to bear your burden. If I’m reminded that you are my sibling, that I’m tied to you forever, and you are tied to me forever. I want to love you. It’s the kind of the thing where like, you know, you have a brother or sister and they’re kind of annoying a little bit. You’re thinking like, oh, but then the second somebody else starts picking on him. They know that’s not okay. You don’t get to pick on them. Right? You stand up. You’ve all if you have kids, you’ve seen this right? Where your kids will pick on each other incessantly. Then some other kid around the block says something you like they’re ready to sock them. Because you’re like, How dare you? This is my family. Nobody else gets to say that right? Same kind of idea here. He’s just reminding them brothers, brothers, sisters, all right. That’s a lot to say about one word, sorry, let’s keep going. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Then here’s another humility piece, keep watching yourself less you to be tempted. So the kind of burden bearing he’s saying it part of bearing one of these burdens, is helping each other to come out of sin. He’s saying, by the way, you’re gonna need to remember that like, you’re not above the temptation that they have succumbed to, you’re not going to be very good at helping someone come out of sin. If your attitude is, well, I would have never done that I can’t believe they were so stupid. To fall into that, let me come help you out. You need to remember the phrase there, but for the grace of God, go i There is no sin that you are above, not a single one. There’s no sin, no temptation, which you might not succumb to given the right circumstances and situation and prayer lessness and, you know, whatever it might lead there. So we begin there, keep watching myself knowing that I could, I could go down that exact same road.

Now, I want you to notice something here says I want you to restore them and how in a spirit of what gentleness. Now Quay did an awesome job last week, did he not loving us understand the fruit of the Spirit? As we were thinking about the fruit of the Spirit, right? Love, joy, peace. Think about this. He could highlight as he says, I want you to restore this brother, this sister who’s walking in a way that they shouldn’t. Who’s going astray? I want you to, I want you to help them. course correct. I want you to restore them. I want you to do it in the spirit of and he could have said love or peace or in spirit of patience, because it’s gonna take a lot of that. But what does he say? gentleness. Now, the other thing I want you to note is he says, If anyone is not comes to you and confess their sin and admit they’re wrong, if anyone is what caught in their sin, see, some of us might think, well, if someone comes and confesses, then I’ll meet them with gentleness. But you know what, if they’re caught in their sin, they don’t get gentleness and he’s exactly prescribing the opposite. He’s saying they’re caught red handed. This is not someone who came and said, Hey, I did this I was wrong. You didn’t know about it and I need to tell you about it. I need to confess it to you know, this is the person who did not admit it, and then was caught in it and what does he prescribed for them? gentleness. Now I do believe implicit in the text is repentance. So having been caught, this person responds and says I was wrong. I said, I don’t know. You know, you can be firm and gentle at the same time. I don’t know that this text is aiming at the person who says, I deny that I ever did anything wrong. I’m running away from that. That’s a different scenario. But here’s someone who’s caught red handed, and he says, gentleness, gentleness, can you all just say gentleness for me? Okay, you said it. You’re accountable now. Gentleness, gentleness, gentleness, gentleness, there is no place for harshness, firmness. Yes. Let me tell you, the mark of a healthy church, one of the marks of a healthy church is one of two things that are implicit in this passage number one, that they actually confront sin that they actually deal with, they don’t ignore it, they don’t sweep it under the rug. They don’t have to say they’re all the way down from you in relationship with one another, to church leadership and enacting church discipline. When that is necessary, a healthy church confronts and deals with sin. But it always does. So here’s the second thing in order to restore, never to condemn, never to be harsh, never to just step on, never to shame, never to push out, always to bring back. Now sadly, sometimes people respond in such a way that they run out. I just want to say to you, friends, you don’t have to run. The safest place to be is in a church who will confront sin, and then seek to restore. I promise you as long as I am, have the gift of being your pastor, I will strive with everything in me to make sure that we are a body that seeks to restore to bring you back. Now listen, I don’t have a prophetic word. But let me do a number. Let me just play a numbers game here. Some of you are hiding stuff. Some of you right now are hiding things and you don’t have to. You don’t have to. It’s crushing you. It is a burden to great to bear. You don’t have to, you can be free. But that freedom comes with confession and repentance. Then letting your brothers and sisters bear the burden with you to restore you to fellowship with the Father. To join him and not being mastered by this sin that just as guiding you around. There’s freedom to be found. But it’s never going to be found in quiet isolation is never going to be found in hiding. Ever, ever, ever, ever. I know I’m saying that in a strong way. But it’s true. I’ve never seen a believer overcome sin by hiding it and keeping it quiet. Ever. But boy, I’ll tell you I’ve seen freedom come freedom through confession. It’s scary man. and I were talking last night. We were sharing with the kids some of our some of our worst moments. I mean, as a great dinnertime question. What were some of the most worst, you know, worst moments. We were both recounting these moments where we just we did dumb things. It cost people that we cared about and some of them like cost people monetarily like lots of money, some of this dumb stuff that we did. We both as the kids were listening to us, we want things we said we were like, and you know what we’re like ever when this happened, what I can remember so clear as day is I just, I didn’t want anyone to know, just this impulsive moves, hide it. Don’t tell anyone. It just was so instinctual to want to do that. By the grace of God, both of us were able to say, but we knew we knew we had I think probably knew we were gonna be found out anyway. Which was God’s grace to us, because maybe we would have were not so great that we would have been really great about bringing it forward. But we think we knew we’re gonna be found out anyways, we were like, Hey, I did this. It’s just excruciating. To admit it. I’m sorry, would you forgive me? I’m talking about, you know, and you kind of do the well, you know, I’ll try to pay you back for all the money I conned and, and every time you know, we’re able to hit our kids, these are other believers and they just said to us grace, it’s forgiven. That’s paid. Do you know what that did to us? It made us free. We’re not we weren’t scared anymore. Because we’ve been met with grace and restored when we were wrong. So I just say that to say I know that if you’re hiding something right now I know how scary that is. All of us know how do we all know how scary that is? Yes, you people are gonna think less than me. I can admit it is. I’m just telling you your that line of thinking is trash. It just takes your right into isolation and, and imprisonment.

We’re talking about spiritual imprisonment. But there’s freedom. The other way is it’s hard to convince yourself but I promise you, and we will be infringed. You and I have to create the kind of church where when people bring forward their sin, they are brought to restoration and given grace. Because we are gentle. All right. So that’s, that’s our text for today. A simple command, with a reason for it. I think we need in order to be able to do it, humility, and then an example of it, restore one another, in a spirit of gentleness. My prayer is, live this out, Bear one another’s burdens, and watch the freedom that spreads among us and the joy and the just the God honoring place that we continue to grow into being as we live this out.

All right, let’s pray together. And then we’ll continue in song to close out our worship service. Lord, we love you. We love your word. As Ken reminded us, it does not return void and it will not and so I pray that You by Your Holy Spirit would apply your word to us. We just yeah, let us yield to it not resist it in any way. We’re, we’re prone to want to do that with hard stuff. Thank you for giving us a simple command because we’re just not you know, we’re not quick on the uptake here a lot of times and so, Lord, help me help us help all of us. Really hear this very simple, sweet, life giving command. The better one was birds. May it mark us as a church family, in increasing measure in the days ahead. We pray in Jesus name for his sake. Amen.