Chapter 33
Serving
One Another
“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which
are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so
fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he
is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and
then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every
man shall bear his own burden.” (Galatians 6:1-5)
The Galatians had foolishly
been trying to bear the heavy burden of the Mosaic law. They had entangled
themselves again with the yoke of bondage. They endeavored to establish
righteousness for themselves by the works of the law. None of them said, “We
are saved by our own works.” Satan does not work in such an open manner. These lawmongers at Galatia were
saying, “We are saved by grace, but only if we keep the law.” Others of them
said, “We are saved by grace alone, in so far as our justification is concerned;
but in order to be sanctified we must keep the law as a rule of life.” In
reality their doctrine was the same. They were attempting to mix law and grace.
They had forsaken the gospel way of salvation by grace alone.
Now Paul says to them, “Do you want a law to live by? Then live by the rule of the law of Christ ¾ love.” Here is a law that is a living principle. It touches the heart, influences the life, honors God, and is sympathetic towards and helpful to men. The whole law is fulfilled in this one thing ¾ love. Without it, all the pretentious, self-righteous piety men claim to possess is hypocrisy.
It seems quite remarkable to me that those self-righteous people, who apparently want all men to know that they make the law of Moses their rule of life, usually forget that which is the essence and spirit of the law — love. They are (in their own minds) so righteous that they become stern, hard, severe, critical, and judgmental, which is being unrighteous. Even the righteousness of the Mosaic law is a righteousness of love. But I have never found one of those self-righteous legalists who was tender-hearted, kind, and gentle. He looks at the killing letter of the law and becomes as hard and stern as death.
Let this be the law by which we live: —”Love one another.” Reject that which is hard, stern, and severe. “Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” In chapter 5 the Apostle urged us to serve one another by love, telling us that it is love that fulfils the law, not religious ceremony and a pretentious show of piety (5:13-14). Here, he tells us how to serve one another in love.
Paul
begins this chapter by telling us that when a brother or sister in Christ is fallen,
those who are spiritual (that is to say, believers, those who walk in the
Spirit) are to restore the fallen. — “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a
fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one.” He tells us how
to restore them. — “In the spirit of meekness.” He explains what the
spirit of meekness is. — “Considering thyself.” Then, he presses his
admonition home. — “Lest thou also be tempted.”
The church of God is a family. Believers
are brothers and sisters in the household of faith. The love that knits a
family together and makes it strong is manifest in the tender care each member
of the family has for the rest. In a strong, loving family the whole family
rallies to the needs of one. The greater the need is, the more the family’s
love is poured out to meet the need. And the need is never greater than when
one in the family is, by his own folly, fallen.
That is the need to which Paul addresses himself here. Believers
never have greater opportunity to show their love to one another, or greater
opportunity to exemplify that which James calls “pure religion and undefiled,”
than in seeking the restoration of a fallen brother or sister in Christ.
Those who walk
in the Spirit must take great care, when they look upon one who is fallen, not
to indulge the lust of the flesh, that pride and self-righteousness that is
quick to take the judgment-seat, looking down upon the fallen in a pretense of
pity that says, “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than
thou.” Let us ever hear our
Savior’s words, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Anytime we start to
look upon a fallen saint with such self-righteous contempt, we ought to ask
ourselves, “Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought
thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.”
It is the lust of the flesh that jumps
at the chance to distance ourselves from the fallen, put them out of the
church, and show the world that we are a “holy” people who do not countenance
sin. The instruction Paul gives us here is not in any way a detriment to proper
church discipline. Rather, it is proper church discipline. The purpose of
discipline in the family is not to exclude the fallen member, but to restore
him.
There are many who move from church to church,
looking for that perfect church. They attend a church only long enough to see a
problem, and then they are off to another in their endless search of a
congregation that is worthy of such fine people as they think themselves to be.
A story is commonly told that illustrates my point.
Frederick the Great of Prussia once toured
a prison, interviewing many of the inmates. One prisoner after another insisted
that he was innocent of the crime for which he was imprisoned, asserting that
he had been falsely accused and convicted. Finally, he spoke to a prisoner who
frankly admitted his guilt and acknowledged that his imprisonment was just.
Frederick called for the prison guards — “Quickly! Release this man, lest he
corrupt all these innocent men!”
In all things, our Lord Jesus teaches us
to be compassionate and tender, not harsh and severe. We are to restore the
fallen “in the spirit of meekness.” Paul’s own explanation of this “spirit
of meekness” is given in his next words. — “Considering thyself, lest
thou also be tempted.” When we remind ourselves that we are nothing but
sinners saved by grace, that our only righteousness is Christ, and that we are
kept from doing the very same thing our fallen brother or sister has done, only
by the grace of God, we are compelled to be gentle in dealing with the fallen.
The absolute truth of the matter is that
we are all sinners (Rom. 6:23). If we say we have no sin, or that in anything
we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8, 10). “In many things,
we offend all”(James 3:2). Sin is not necessarily a matter of willful
rebellion against God. It is often, as stated here, being “overtaken in a
fault.” Stumbles and falls do not imply willfulness, but weakness. That is
not an attempt to excuse sin; but it is an indication of how we are to look
upon the sins of our brothers and sisters in Christ, — not as crimes to be
punished, but as weaknesses requiring help. When a child falls, you do not beat
him, or even scold him. You pick him up, help him, and do whatever needs to be
done for him. Regardless of the nature of the fall, when a brother or sister is
“overtaken in a fault,” those who trust Christ, those who walk in the
Spirit, those who know they are sinners saved by grace alone, are to restore
the fallen.
Here
is another way we are to serve one another in love. — “Bear ye one another’s
burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (v. 2). Pastor Scott Richardson
once said, “Life in this world begins with a slap on the bottom and ends with a
shovel full of dirt in your face; and everything between the two are but bumps
and bruises and heartache.” That is exactly the way Solomon describes it. Isn’t
it? — “For all his days are
sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh
not rest in the night. This is also vanity. There is nothing better for a man,
than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good
in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God” (Eccles.
2:23-24).
Life can be difficult. For some people one
heartache seems to follow another, often in rapid succession. Faith in Christ
does not change that fact. Believers suffer the same heartaches and sorrows
that other people suffer. Many who walk with God in faith, trusting Christ,
like David, have spouses who despise them and children who crush their hearts.
Many who are made perfect in Christ, like Job, endure bereavement, bodily
sickness, emotional anguish, being misunderstood and misrepresented by friends,
and at times feel utterly forsaken by God. The fact is we all need help along
the way as we make our pilgrimage through this world.
Life in this world is full of trouble
and care. If
a brother or sister is weighed down by some burden, we are to be alert to their
needs and do what we can to help. We must not allow them to carry the crushing
load alone. And we must take care not to add to their burden, like the
Pharisees (Matt. 23:4), indicating that their burden is somehow connected with
their own lack of faith and righteousness, or some secret sin.
We
must not divorce verse 2 from verse 1. The two are connected. Paul is
specifically telling us that we are to bear our fallen bother or sister’s
burden of sin, and to bear it as our own, in love ministering to the needs of
the fallen, forgiving the fault, and helping them to recover. Someone once said, “Christians are
the only ones who shoot their wounded.” That is not true. Religious people may
shoot their wounded, but Christians mend the wounds.
The
way we treat those who have fallen is a very real indication of our own
relationship with Christ. By thus bearing one another’s burdens, Paul says, we
“fulfil the law of Christ” (John 13:34-35). The Judaizers
at Galatia were attempting to bring the Galatian believers back under the law of Moses. Here Paul makes
a clear contrast, telling us that we are to live and be motivated not by the
law of Moses written on tables of stone, but by the law of Christ written in
our hearts.
All
pride is self-deception. — “For if a man think himself to be something, when
he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (v. 3). If anyone imagines that he is
better than his fallen brother or sister, or that he would not do the things
the fallen has done because he is stronger, more spiritual, more righteous, or
more holy than the one who has fallen, he is simply deceiving himself (1 John
1:7-10). — “Man at his best state is altogether vanity.” — “In my
flesh dwelleth no good thing.” We owe our being, our knowledge, our
mercies, our preservation, and our gifts to God alone (1 Cor. 4:7). In
ourselves, and left to ourselves, we are nothing and know nothing. All such
pride and self-righteousness is an abomination to God (Pro. 6:16-18). Such an
attitude in anyone, John Gill correctly observed, is an indication that, “He is
destitute of the grace of God, he deceives himself and the truth is not in
him.”
“But
let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself
alone, and not in another” (v. 4). — Here Paul calls for self-examination.
We are not to sit in judgment over others, but over ourselves. It is so easy to
compare ourselves with others, whom we look upon as weaker or less gifted
believers because they have fallen, and to think we are something special, that
we are strong, or that we are better than them. What arrogant folly! Let us
each prove the sincerity of our faith in and love for Christ by the Word of
God. If we are honest, we will find plenty to judge and condemn in ourselves,
without having to compare ourselves with others and condemning them.
When Paul says, “then shall he have
rejoicing in himself alone,” he is speaking ironically. His meaning is just
the opposite of that. We know that is the case because he declares in
Philippians 3:3 that all who are born of God “rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh.” He is not here telling us that we are to
look within ourselves for personal righteousness, that we may have assurance of
salvation. We are to look outside ourselves to Christ alone for assurance (Heb.
11:1; 1 Cor. 1:30-31). — “For if a man think himself to be something, when
he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.”
If we will heed Paul’s admonition, we
will have every reason to be ashamed of ourselves. We will own and acknowledge
our sinfulness and shame, while at the same time rejoicing in a conscience void
of guilt before God, because Christ has redeemed us and given us perfect
righteousness, complete forgiveness, and absolute acceptance with the holy Lord
God (Heb. 9:12-14; 10:22; 2 Cor. 1:12). It is in this sense that we are to
understand Paul’s words. A believer may rejoice “in himself,” in the
vindication of his own character before men, though not before God, as Job and
David did. The fruit of the Spirit in us is the result, not the cause, of our
justification and righteousness before God.
Believers do not point to the sins and faults of others, rejoicing
in those things to their own praise, using them to convince themselves or
others that they are not like the fallen. That is the attitude of the self-righteous
Pharisee and hypocrite.
Judgment Day
Believers
understand and live in the awareness that every person will be judged for his
own works, not for another’s. — “For every man shall bear his own burden”
(v. 5). In the Day of Judgment we will answer for ourselves, not for
others. Yes, there is a day coming when we shall be judged according to our
works (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15).
“It is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). The Judge, before whom we must
stand, is the God-man, whom we have crucified (John 5:22; Acts 17:31; 2 Cor
5:10). We will be judged out of the books, according to the record of God’s
strict justice.
When the books are opened,
what shocks of terror will seize the hearts and souls of those who have no
righteousness and no atonement before the holy Lord God! With the opening of
the books, every crime, every offense, every sin they have ever committed in
mind, in heart, and in deed shall be exposed! “Judgment was set; and the
books were opened” (Dan. 7:10).
I realize that this is
figurative language. God does not need books to remember man’s sins. However,
as John Gill wrote, “This judgment out of the books, and according to works, is
designed to show with what accuracy and exactness, with what justice and
equity, it will be executed, in allusion to statute-books in courts of
judicature.” In the Scriptures God is often represented as writing and keeping
books. And according to these books we all shall be judged.
What are the books? — The
Book of Divine Omniscience (Mal. 3:5) — The Book of Divine Remembrance (Mal.
3:16) — The Book of Creation (Rom. 1:18-20) — The Book of God’s Providence
(Rom. 2:4-5) — The Book of Conscience (Rom. 2:15) — The Book of God’s Holy Law
(Rom. 2:12) {This book of the law has two tables. The first table contains all
the sins of men against God (Ex. 20:3-11). The second table contains all the
sins of men against one another (Ex. 20:12-17).} — And the Book of the Gospel
(Rom. 2:16).
But there are some against
whom no crimes, no sins, no offenses can be found, not even by the omniscient
eye of God himself! — “In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the
iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins
of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve” (Jer
50:20). Their names are found in another book, a book which God himself wrote
and sealed before the worlds were made. It is called, “The Book of Life.” In
this book there is a record of divine election, the name of Christ our divine
Surety, a record of perfect righteousness (Jer. 23:6, Cf. 33:16), a record of
complete satisfaction, and the promise of eternal life.
The question is often
raised, “Will God judge his elect for their sins and failures, committed after
they were saved, and expose them in the Day of Judgment?” The only
reason that question is ever raised is because many retain a remnant of the
Roman doctrine of purgatory, by which they hope to hold over God’s saints the
whip and terror of the law. There is absolutely no sense in which those who
trust Christ shall ever be made to pay for their sins! Our sins were imputed to
Christ and shall never be imputed to us again (Rom. 4:8). Christ paid our debt
to God’s law and justice; and God will never require us to pay. God who has
blotted out our transgressions will never write them again. He who covered our
sins will never uncover them!
The perfect righteousness of
Christ has been imputed to us. On the Day of Judgment, God’s elect are never
represented as having done any evil, but only good (Matt. 25:31-40). The Day of
Judgment will be a day of glory and bliss for Christ and his people, not a day
of mourning and sorrow. It will be a marriage supper. Christ will glory in his
Church. God will display the glory of his grace in us. And we will glory in our
God.
Those who are found
perfectly righteous, righteous according to the records of God himself, shall
enter into eternal life and inherit everlasting glory with Christ. They
that have done good, nothing but good, perfect good, without any spot of sin,
wrinkle of iniquity, or trace of transgression, shall enter into everlasting
life. (Rev 22:11).
Who are these perfectly
righteous ones? They are all who are saved by God’s free and sovereign grace in
Christ (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Rom. 8:1, 32-34). Heaven was earned and purchased for
all God’s elect by Christ. We were predestined to obtain our inheritance from
eternity (Eph. 1:11). Christ has taken possession of heaven’s glory as our
forerunner (Heb. 6:20). We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ
(Rom. 8:17). Our Savior gave all the glory he earned as our Mediator to all his
elect (John 17:5, 20). And in Christ every believer is worthy of heaven’s glory
(Col. 1:12). Glorification is but the consummation of salvation; and salvation
is by grace alone! That means no part of heaven’s bliss and glory is the reward
of our works, but all the reward of God’s free grace in Christ! All spiritual
blessings are ours from eternity in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
All who are found guilty of
sin in that great and terrible Day of Judgment shall be cast into the lake of
fire and there be made to suffer the unmitigated wrath of almighty God forever!
One by one, God will call the wicked before his throne and judge them. As
he says, “Depart ye cursed,” he will say to his holy angels, “Take him!
Bind him! Cast him into outer darkness!”
In that day there will be no
mercy, no pity, no sorrow, no hope, and no end for the wicked! To hell they
deserve to go! To hell they must go! To hell they shall go! Let all who read
these lines beware. Unless you flee to Christ and take refuge in him, in that
great day the wrath of God shall seize you and destroy you forever! I beseech
you now, by the mercies of God, be reconciled to God by trusting his darling
Son! In that great and terrible day let us be found in Christ, not having our
own righteousness, but the righteousness of God in Christ.
In that great day, “every
man shall bear his own burden.”