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Pastor John and Pastor Jeff teach the book of Galatians
All right, yeah, I'll open in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this just incredible privilege that we have to open your holy word and hear your very words, what you say to us, Lord. Help us to be trained in righteousness by the hearing of your word today.
Pray for John today that you would help him in bringing the word in Jesus' name, amen.
One of the privileges that we get as elders, as board members in the church, when somebody says they would like to be a member, is to interview them. And it's a privilege, it's definitely not a burden.
It's a privilege. There are two venues, there are two directions of questioning. We really don't ask you to describe the hypostatic union. I mean, we don't say, is Galatians 5 talking about a believer or not?
We don't get into that. But we do seek, as best we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit giving us insight, is this person a believer? And we do that because the membership of the church are the ones who really have the ability to vote on the direction that the church is going.
And so if the church were 50 -50 believers, non-believers, well, Sandy and I were in a church down in Norfolk when I was in the Navy, and it was Baptist Church. They had just a dynamic minister. He was just preaching the word.
The word got out and our friends, our believing friends flocked to this church. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. But the pastor felt called to another ministry down in Florida, and so now they needed to refill the pulpit.
As the church was pursuing the question of how and who do we call our next pastor, the members who weren't happy with this pastor came back in huge numbers. These were non-believers. They were members of the church and they wanted their country club back.
And so it became really obvious quickly that with a majority of people at the business meetings who didn't really abide by the word of God, we're gonna carry the day. So we feel a privilege to be able to talk to people that want to become members as best we can.
The first thing we ask and we try to ascertain, are you a member of the Church of Christ Universal? That means are you a believer? That being said, the second series of questions is why do you want to be a member in the first place?
And it's fun to hear the direction people go as to why they would want to be members at all. Jeff, what would you say, why would you want to be a member of a church?
To be in the body of Christ, functioning as the Lord designed the church. To interact, the head needs the foot and the arm needs the leg and all the body parts need one another.
All the body parts need one another. And that's a very healthy answer. Another answer could be, you're welcome. Another healthy answer could be, I want to be held accountable. I want the brothers and sisters to know me and love me so much that I'm held accountable for what I'm doing, how I'm acting.
Another great answer would be, I think that God has given me gifts according to his design, not according to mine. And so what I have that I can do is a gift from God and I really want to be able to use these gifts to build the one another.
Any one of these, they're great answers. They get you there. And John, the benefit from others' gifts.
Yes, sir. And the benefit from others' gifts.
When we have our meditations and we can call on others to help us out in one way or another. That is so well said.
That is so well said. When we get into this little section here in Galatians, Jeff and I were talking earlier, and Tim, I've been really working on this section to the best that I can get to it. This section really describes healthy fellowship.
So that means to say that, and we're going to see how we interact with others, but yet how we take responsibility for who we are personally. And so if we look, our church membership is, I think it's over 100 now.
And that's a blessing from God. We each, and as Rick said, we each do come with our God-ordained gifts and so we can rely on each other for a lot of things. So I want us to look at this section here.
We're going to be the last verse of 25, which I think you're right when you cut off at 25, and 26 is, I think belongs in the next chapter. I think so. I think so. Anyway, they didn't ask me when they did.
I don't understand. Anyway, so we're going to look at six verses in this. So let's go ahead and start. If you would give us the whole section from 26 through verse five of six. And John, I'm going to ask if you would get Philippians two, one to four ready.
First Peter five, it's in the second paragraph. Janet, in First Timothy four. Barb, we're going to read verse one, verse six. We'll go on from there.
Give me that whole section. All right, Galatians 5, 26 and following. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 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 too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. And if anyone thinks he is 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.
The beginning of it in verse 26, as I look at that one, a healthy body, we're not in conflict with one another. The healthy body has a view that if I am placed on a pedestal, if I am given the right, it's not a healthy body.
A healthy body is we all, all work together. True fellowship is not self-centered. True self, true fellowship doesn't provoke one another and isn't envious of their accomplishments. True fellowship is just desiring and having a focus of the outside, not of the in.
Philippians 2, please, John.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, do nothing from selfishness. Let each of you look not only to his own interest.
And I think that last phrase, really it sums everything up. Look everybody, not on his own interests, but on the interests of others. A healthy fellowship is always wanting to promote and to build up, build up the other person.
Two quick questions. Are you satisfied and do you rest in God's love? That's a question you don't even have to answer, but it's one to consider. Are you satisfied, do you rest in God's love? You see, God's love is perfect, it's pure, and it promotes for the best.
But if God is going to be promoting somebody else when you think you should be promoted, Jonah did that, didn't he, at the end of the story? He got a nice gourd leaf, and then it's with a, I knew you were gonna do that, God, that's why I did not want to go to Nineveh, because I knew you were going to do that.
Are you so in love with God that you can rest in God's love, whichever direction he chooses to take it? If not, then things like envy, greed, dissatisfaction, not being content. The second way to put it is, am I satisfied knowing that God blesses each according to his sovereign will?
And what gets out of that equation when you can answer that question is, I've come into the church, and I've been in the church, I've been in the church, Tim, longer than you are. And who do you think you are telling me way longer?
I don't care. Is that enough? Who do you think you are telling me how we should be doing church? Why did he get that position? I wanted that position. These are things that creep into the church. And what gets us in that bind is denying the sovereign will of God.
Because if you accept the sovereign will of God, then you are so excited when a decision is made that you don't agree with. You're so excited that somebody gets a status symbol that you think you deserve.
And these are so bad that they creep in. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, or envying one another. Because what's missing in that verse is the sovereign will of God. So I think that's the first picture of a healthy fellowship in this passage, is that we totally accept the sovereign will of God, and we are totally convinced that God's love is all I need, and that's what I'm gonna rest in.
The rest of it is just stuff. The next one, give me verse one again, please.
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.
Now, we're going to split this verse into two. We're gonna split this verse into the picture of the body, but then we're going to have to drill down, because for the body to be healthy, the parts also have to be healthy.
We're gonna do that in a minute. But let's look at this first one here. If anyone is caught in transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. There are a couple of, there's a command, first of all, be aware of your brother.
Be aware of what's going on, and being willing to speak the hard truth actually is an act of love, but you've got to be aware of that. But to be doing this, you need to be spiritually motivated, not jealousy motivated or self-righteous motivated.
You have to be spiritually motivated, and your actions need to be with gentleness. Read that with love and kindness and consideration. I think the body of Christ remains healthy when transgressions are addressed, not swept under the carpet.
Yeah? And that's a great point, reference to this, discipline. One of them would be like, well, you take the nine marks as they want church discipline, and then you go also to this post-milk group. We watch you, you can come to our church, but we got our eye on you, and all this kind of stuff, because in order to get in, it's almost like, what I'm saying, I'm not gonna be able to put it in a concise thought, because it's more of a thought, not so much a statement, declaration, but we have to be careful being caught in something, because when we talk about nine marks, it talks about church discipline, and some of the others, this is a big topic now, church discipline, and I get it, given our culture.
You gotta be careful that we're just not going anywhere in the church, you know what I mean? But when you talk about church discipline, you gotta realize that in the guy in Corinthian, he was sleeping with his, this is like, that's turned him over.
Some of this church discipline today, or order of church, you know, we don't like what you're saying, so, hey, we're disciplining, we'll shun, and these things can be harmful, so how do you reconcile all this?
Because it's important and loving to bring people into the fold. We want, you know, you want spiritual growth.
So if we look at some of the examples I pulled out, John 8, verses three to five, the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman in front of Jesus, and she's an adulteress, she was caught in the very act of adultery.
And they not only saw, perceived, they ruled, they judged, and they came up with the punishment that had to be. There was no room for God to do anything, because they were gonna do it all, they knew what needed to be done.
And I think that comes into this issue of spiritual, as well as gentle. If you're looking for fault, so that you can call out fault, that is not an act of spiritual discernment. That's an act of fleshly discernment.
Matthew 7 is gonna say, why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye when there's a log in your own eye? First take the log out of your own eye, then you can see clearly to remove the speck that's in your brother's eye.
And to have an attitude of superiority, to have an attitude of judgmental legalism, to have one of these attitudes in your eye, that's a log in your eye. And if we are called to restore someone who has fallen away, that's almost an act of surgery.
And we're not told to shy away from that. We're told to do it. But if your vision is impaired, if you've got cataracts of sin, there's no way you can take that scalpel and surgically restore your brother, your sister who's caught.
And I totally agree with you, and I appreciate you thinking in terms of that, because also a log in the eye, in my opinion, could be pietist. You could be so pious that you're a pious, you're not gonna tell me anything.
And for all you know, the people that have things to say are the ones that go home and say, I'm, you know, worm mentality. I'm a worm, I'm not worth anything. Well, there's a glory to the believers, too.
We're gonna rule and reign. So I'm just painting a broad picture, like how do you put this?
Okay, so there are two sides to this pendulum. And this verse is gonna actually encourage us to don't go to either side. On one side, you're pious, you're holy, you know it all, you're legalistic, you're all that stuff.
And by the way, my spiritual gift is purity, and God put me in this church to make sure everybody is pure. Please, that's not who I am. That's conceit. That's conceit. That is conceit. That's one side of the pendulum.
And we're not to do, we're supposed to be doing this, those who are spiritual, that is not somebody who's spiritual, that's somebody who's conceited. The other side of the pendulum is I don't ever wanna go down that path, so it's not my job to see if Dominic is doing something he shouldn't be doing.
That's not my job. I don't wanna go there because I don't want to go down that path. We don't have, we don't have spiritual authority to ignore when a brother is in transgression. We have to be in the middle, which is the spiritual path, and it's this path of gentleness.
First Peter 5, I gave that to somebody. Eight through nine. First Peter 5, eight through nine.
Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brother, by your brotherhood in the world.
By Christ, he's established for you.
Satan is, he's prowling, and on one side, you can't go in as the judge, jury, and executioner. That's not what this passage gives us latitude. But on the other side, we can't go in saying, somebody else will do it, it's not my job.
The reality is that Satan is on the prowl, and there are 16 of us in this room, 17 of us in this room. Satan is after every single one of us. Yeah, Bob.
It takes a very, in the dictions, it counts as, it takes a very special person to approach someone that you're familiar with, express your biblical, their sin nature, their sin itself. That's not an easy job.
It's not. It's very, very difficult to get the attention of someone.
I could be mistaken. I think that's one of the hardest jobs that believers have in the fellowship of the body is to have the other guy's back.
That's a hard job. No, you have to do that. You have to do that. He's a very, very, very, very special person with a very, very special relationship with whoever he's talking to, and whoever, I won't say relationship.
He has to understand a fellow who falls in a hole, and then finally a guy comes in and he jumps in the hole. And the fellow says, well, that's great. You're gonna get me out. He says, well, he said, I've been here.
I've been in this hole, and that's the.
Absolutely. Satan loves it when the church is afraid to call out a brother who has transgressed. Satan loves it. That's one of his tools. That's one of his tools. First Timothy, I'll give you another one to read in a minute, just for time.
First Timothy is gonna tell us in later times there will be deceiving spirits and all this other kind of stuff. And then in verse seven, verse six, we are encouraged that a good servant watches out for his brother.
Now, that being said, give me the rest of that verse, please. Give me the whole verse. The rest of 6 -1? Yeah, give me the whole verse.
All right. Galatians 6 -1. 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 too be tempted.
That's the power that gets you into the first half of that verse. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Because if you ignore that side of it, and you just concentrate on the first side of it, the opportunity for you to become judge, jury, and executioner grows because you're not worried about your own sin.
First Corinthians 10. Did I get that? Here, Barbara, if you would get it.
Maybe First Timothy 4. I know, but we didn't read it.
I moved on. So now you get to go to First Corinthians 10. I'm gonna have you read that. First John 1 -8 is going to give us the truth. If anyone thinks he is without sin, he deceives himself, and the truth is not within him.
And then it says in verse 10, similar, if anyone says he is without sin, he makes God a liar. Again, there's 17 of us in this room. If any one of us think we are without sin, you're making God a liar.
This is the reality. This is not what we, we should be seeking. The bar should be set at perfection. That's where the bar should be set. We should never set the bar below perfection. But the reality, even as Paul said, I don't do what I should do, that which I don't wanna do, that which I do.
We do struggle. And he was spiritual. And he was pretty strong. Yes, he was. Give me First Corinthians 10 .12.
Think you are standing firm, be careful you don't. There you go.
A spirit of self-awareness and submission to the Holy Spirit is foundational to this verse. A spirit of submission to the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is going to speak to you. The Holy Spirit is going to convict you.
The Holy Spirit is going to encourage you to confess your sins, repent. And that's, this is foundational. If you want to be in the first part of this, which we have to be, you must be spiritual and you must be acting in a spirit of gentleness.
And to do that, you've gotta be keeping watch on your own self. The construction of this verse, keeping watch on your own self is an imperative and it's a continuing activity. We never accomplish this.
We only pursue this. We never complete this task. We only do it on an ongoing basis. Keep on keeping on watching for yourself. Because we have to do the first half, we must do the second half. Give me verse two, please.
In Acts 15, Carol, I'm gonna let you get Acts 15 ready. Go ahead.
This gets tougher. Galatians 6 .2, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. What burden? Bear one another's burdens. What burden?
Yeah. You know, we talk, what burden? We have things that, because they have things they cannot share, but it's in there. And sometimes it's just like, oh, I understand. We have platitudes, but how do you bring out that to let that go?
Only love can do that. You can't bring, you're not gonna bring out that in me to say.
I'm going to sound like a 3 -0. I'm gonna keep asking the question. What burdens are we talking about? Temptation. Huh? Temptation. Temptation. Temptation. She's got it. She nailed it. This has nothing to do with saying, I have a brother who is going through really difficult times at work and life is really on him.
And this is a good thing. This we should be doing. We should be encouraging one another in tough times. But that's not the context of this passage. This passage started out in verse one. It says, if you have a brother who is caught in transgressions, you who are spiritual should restore that one in gentleness, but keep watch on yourself.
We've gotten through this question of there is sin. This is a reality. There is sin. And if we want to have a healthy fellowship, sin can never be allowed just to abide. Sin can never be allowed to be undealt with because it's sin.
And quite frankly, sin multiplies. It's like a cancer. It multiplies. We got that in verse one. Verse two now, those of you who are looking to your brother who is under a burden, those of you who are under a burden, bear it with them.
And Judy, you're right. It's the burden of temptation. It's the burden of temptation. Did I give Acts 15 to somebody? Go ahead. 14, good to the holy. So I spent a ton of time on this one verse. I will honestly spend, I spent time reading it.
I went back to the Greek. I have something called an expositor's Bible dictionary. It goes to the word in the Greek and it shows all of its various applications. And it's like, my head is exploding on this one.
And then I went to different commentaries and it didn't help me any. Then I go back to the context of this passage. What is this passage? This passage is talking about living life that pleases to God.
It talks about, let's not be conceited. If somebody's caught in transgressions, you keep an eye on yourself. And Judy, you're right. This is the reality. See, and what happened there in Acts was we are not going to be putting all these other obligations on the people.
But this burden, we do want you. We want you to keep these aspects of holy living. And the burden is that we struggle keeping the aspects of holy living. We're tempted. And we should be supporting one another in the realities of life, that life is tough and life provides temptations.
Life provides burdens that we can only get through because we don't struggle against flesh and blood, but we struggle in the spirit. And each one of us, there's 17 of us in here, each one of us, in the way that Satan knows through experience that we each have our vulnerabilities, there will be temptations.
And what a beautiful thing it is if you're in so close of fellowship with another brother that Jeff could come up and put his arm on my shoulder and say, I know you got a problem with anger, bro. How's the battle?
What an encouragement that is to have a brother, a sister who knows you so well and that you're transparent enough and vulnerable enough. How can somebody help you in your burdens if you're not transparent to let them know where that burden is in the first place?
In 7, that's that passage, Paul said it, I don't wanna do what I'm doing and that which I should do, I can't. I can't even quote the verse, but you got the point. In the battle for the heart, we need one another.
That's the, I think that's the message of this verse. There is a battle going on for our heart. I think I know you guys well enough to know that you are children of God. As many as received him, so then became the right to become children of God.
Satan can't take that away from you, but he sure can mess things up. Temptation, have each other's back. And it says here, bear one another's burden. So fulfill the law of Christ, that by the way, is love.
And if I could go to my brother and I can say, you know, I want you to be a little bit gentler, a little bit softer in how you, it's love, bro, it's love, that's what it is. And it is not an act of love just to stand back and say, it's not my job.
Give me verse three. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Nobody in this room's got a problem with this verse, so why don't we just go right on to the next one? Somebody thinks he's more than he really is. In God's eyes, he's a fool. There can be no way to read this other than that.
If you are believing that you are something that God doesn't know that you are, if you think you really are and God doesn't, you're a fool. There's no other way to read it.
What's the difference between ambition and conceit?
I love that question. Somebody want to take a shot at that? Pastors are not allowed to answer. So, what's the difference between ambition and conceit? I wish I had written that. I wish I had the ambition to do it, but if I did, I'd be conceited, anyway.
Are you calling me conceited? No, what's the difference between ambition and conceit? Good answer, that's a really good answer. Repeat that. Hang on a second, hang on a second. He asked, an ambitious person is somebody who is desiring to accomplish something.
A conceited person knows they've already got it. Believes they've already got it.
Believes they've already got it. Yes, believes, yeah. To me, I would refer to two Bible verses. And one would be when Jesus attends to the church of Laodicea. And the second would be the man who built it.
Somewhere between there.
Sandy, I'm gonna ask you to get to John 15, verses five and six. Does Joe want to read? I thought he didn't. Okay, Joe. Yes. 15, verses five and six. Now, before we get there, Proverbs 12, a fool. The way of a fool seems right in his own eyes.
But a wise man listens to counsel. Ambition versus conceit. Ambition is I believe that God has a calling for me and it's my heart's desire to follow God's call for me. That's ambition. Conceit said, I got something that I can take care of and this is my ability.
I'm going to do it and people are gonna see that I did it. Conceit. Putting it a slightly different way. Joe? John 15, five and six. Yep. Yes, I am the vine. Ambition. I am attached to the vine. Ambition.
What is accomplished through me is accomplished because I'm in the vine and God is doing the work through me. That's ambition. Conceit, I don't need the vine. And what happens, you get chopped off and you get burned.
He is saying here, if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. One of Satan's weapons against healthy fellowship is the path of self-worth. Because if you're down the path of self-worth, you have no need to abide in the vine.
Well said, Napoleon. Healthy fellowship is a group of people who are abiding in the vine and aren't that all in of themselves. That path of self-worth, I think, destroys the person, destroys the fellowship.
Verse four, please.
But let each one test his own work and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.
Now, this was my real tough verse. Because we just got done talking about don't be conceited. We just got to talk about working and everything else. And then he said, let each one test his own work and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.
What are we doing when we're testing our work? I'm sorry? You're comparing. Or to the scripture. So, okay, the problem would be comparing yourself to your neighbor. That would be the problem. The reality would be testing what you are to the true standard, not to the relative standard.
And the danger is that we sometimes satisfy by saying I'm better than so-and-so. Look at so-and-so. I don't do that.
What does it say? What version are you reading out of? This is the New Living. Okay, go ahead and read it. Be sure to do what you should for then you won't enjoy it. I like that reading.
I like that reading. And that's really what it's saying, is that if we're going to be looking at what we are doing, we need to be looking at what God wants us to do. You wake up in the morning, you have things to do, you have places to go, and you get interrupted by a phone call and somebody that you know is complaining unreasonably, and the next thing you know, you're trying to run things on your own, or you're looking for a solution to it.
Romans 12, one to three. Now, Sandy, you get to read.
Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God and to your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world.
Okay, stop right there.
That's a path that we would go down if we were satisfied with comparing ourself to our next door neighbor who doesn't even go to church. At least I go to church. Or I am measuring the reality, the benefits of what I do based on measuring it in a relative text.
Read your version, because I loved your version again. Read your version again on that. Where's that version?
New Living version? Is that New Living? Yeah. New Living. But what was the verse?
Verse four, 6 -4. Galatians 6 -4. Read that again. I love the way you just read it. Be sure to do what you should. Okay, stop right there. Be sure to do what you should as opposed to test your own works.
And that's really what it's saying there. Be sure to do what you should. That's measured by the measuring stick, the standard of God. We're all built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Who's the cornerstone?
Ephesians 2 .20. Jesus Christ himself, the true cornerstone. That's what we're measured off of,.
And that's what we should go. Continue reading. For then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your job well. Okay, stop right there.
The reality of gratification for a job well done measured off of the standard of Christ's reality. Perfection. Perfection, yes. Measured from perfection. That's what we should be measured against, Christ, not against other things.
Then we have the satisfaction of knowing the job we have done has been done well. Go ahead, finish your verse. And then you will lead to. That is very, very well said. All right, Sandy, give me all the Romans.
I stopped you, and give me, start over and finish it.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. And do not be conformed to through the grave. Say to it, to think, speak so as.
The messages that are in there just tell us, find out what's going on. Know what you're going on. Understand what you're going on. Measure what you're going on. Let God judge what you're going on. Then you can be satisfied, and you don't have to be compared to somebody else.
Philippians 1 .10, she may be approved the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Now we get down from, yeah, Tim?
I was gonna say, like, it reminded me of 2 Corinthians when Paul was talking to the super apostles who were kind of judging Paul, saying, like, he wrote really well, but when he spoke, he wasn't that good.
But anyway, Paul wrote, but when they measured themselves by one another and compared themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
Our measurement is against, is in the eyes of God. The fool considers his actions to be adequate in the eyes of God. A fool considers his actions to be, no, a wise man. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.
Give me verse five, I'm gonna close out.
Now, after having said, I want you to be worried about each, I want you to be supportive of one another, I want you to not ignore the fact that your brother might be caught in sin, I want you to help carry your brother's burdens because they're real and empowered.
Then he says, by the way, each is gonna have to carry his own load. The message here is, yes, we do have one another, and yes, we do have the gifts to complete each other, and yes, we do need one another, but that doesn't give you the excuse to say, I couldn't do it because we have to do it.
The body becomes strong and healthy when each one of its members are strong and healthy and then doing what we need to do. Matthew 16, any man who desires to come after Christ must deny himself and take up his cross and follow him.
This is our job, individually, to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow God. Then we, as members of the body, build each other up. We become strong, and then we become stronger in the year. We become stronger in the year of unity.
Do you wanna close us in prayer?
Yeah, absolutely. Father, what an amazing word you have given us today. Thank you, Lord, for so much meat. Lord, help us to digest this meat of your word and help us to apply and live this out, Lord. So many applications that we can each think of, Lord, but we pray that your Holy Spirit would bring to mind what each one of us needs to hear from this passage, Lord, and thank you for it.
Thank you for our brother, John, Pastor John, and we pray, blessing, as your word goes forth, that we would now turn into practice what we have heard, that we would be doers and not just hearers, in Jesus' name, amen.