Day 264: Galatians 6:1-18

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” - Galatians 6:2 ESV

“For each will have to bear his own load.” - Galatians 6:5 ESV

These two verses have been pointed to as an apparent contradiction by many skeptics, but we know better than for Paul (by way of the Holy Spirit) to make such a mistake just three verses apart.

The question he is working to answer in regards to someone being caught in a sin is this: "Should we allow others to help us along the way, or should we go solo and hope for the best?"

The word for burdens in Greek is baros and describes the hardship of working daily. The word for load is pholtion and describes a heavy object that is carried as cargo on a ship.

Every day we should look for opportunities to help someone along the way (see verse 10), but we should note that we all have a personal responsibility as well. We will not be able to carry someone else into heaven, especially if they've chosen a lifestyle of sin over walking by the Spirit (see yesterday's post).

Each of us has our own heavy cargo, and we cannot look to others to do the work for us. In this instance, we have to look to Jesus, the only one who can make us safe (justification) and sound (sanctification).

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. - Hebrews 3:12-14 NIV

Day 263: Galatians 5:13-26

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:25 ESV

Many of us have asked the question, "Who is it that is going to make it to heaven?" or "How can we know that we ourselves are headed there?"

In our passage today, Paul writes that there are some major indicators in our lives that will help us answer these two questions. In reality, we have two options as we live this life:

1. Walk by the flesh (sinful nature--there's that Greek word sarx again)

2. Walk by the Spirit

I counted 17 different descriptions that Paul gives of those who are walking according to the flesh in verses 19-21. The list of 17 is interesting because all of them aren't illegal in the United States today. No one will go to prison for envying or drunkenness or idolatry. Yet the list is profound due to the evil that springs out of these evils. Darkness always seems to compound into sin that gets way beyond our control.

Today's goal? Allow the Holy Spirit to produce fruit with the 9 eternal, life-giving facets:

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-control

This fruit isn't the kind we can manufacture, and we can only fake them for so long. Only God Himself produces this kind of authentic Jesus-living. Walk, keep in step with the Spirit of the God who loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.

Day 262: Galatians 5:1-12

“For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” - Galatians‬ ‭5:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

False teachers are notorious for making Christianity about rule-keeping as a means for salvation. I mean, it is easy to see why they use such tactics. It takes all the mystery out of following Jesus and makes it about what we can do. We love when the focus is on us and our accomplishments.

Yet, in its purest form, Christianity is about trusting Jesus to such an extent that love is the outcome. The Greek word Paul uses for “expressing” is energeō and can also be translated as “work” or “to be in action.” This means that faith is to come first, then love is to follow. This way, we keep everything in its proper perspective.

Obeying the Law of Moses wasn’t going to justify these first-century Christians, and neither will our own efforts set us free.
Jesus is the only one who offers true freedom, and from there, He creates in us a new heart that will accomplish more than we could have ever done by our own initiative.

Day 261: Galatians 3:23-29; 4:1-31

“for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:26-28 ESV

There is probably not another verse in the Bible that speaks to the revolutionary nature of the New Testament as verse 28 in this passage. For the first time in human history, everyone was given an equal voice and standing in a movement of people (ultimately of God). This was the setup for every civil rights movement that would follow. Yet it was more than that.

The main message of Jesus was to say that everyone had value, no matter their gender, status, or race. It is heartbreaking to see many today who still refuse to submit to this truth.

When we are baptized as a response to our faith in Jesus, we are declaring that we are just one more sinner in need of grace. Putting on Jesus also means doing away with rank.

This doesn't mean that our race, gender, or status go away. We celebrate the diversity of those that are a part of Jesus' Church. Yet, in our diversity, there should always be equality.

The following quote from Kenneth Boles' Galatians commentary is a great way to end our reading for today:

"The Galatian believers, although Gentile in their ancestry, are united with Jewish believers in Christ. In the world, mankind will always be divided into warring camps over issues of race, nationality, creed, sex, and social status, but in the body of Christ all are equal. All have put on Christ; all look like Christ; all belong to Christ."

Day 260: Galatians 3:10-22

“But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” - Galatians 3:22 ESV

Have you ever been reading through the Old Testament (especially the first five books -- the Torah) and wondered why so much detail was recorded when it came to the Law of Moses?

Why do we need to have our eyes on all of these 613ish commandments that the Jewish people were instructed to keep?

Paul shows us that the purpose of these Hebrew Scriptures was (and is) to reveal the sin we have in our lives. The Law of Moses is the great revealer of our inadequacy to save our own souls.

So when we fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3), the Author and Finisher of faith. His sacrifice on the cross will always be the only true cure for the sin we have embedded deep within us. We can continue to try other avenues for help with our darkness, but nothing else will do.

Simple trust in Jesus is the only way.

The old hymn by Jessie Brown Pounds (1906) says it perfectly:

I must needs go home by the way of the cross,
There's no other way but this;
I shall ne'er get sight of the gates of light,
If the way of the cross I miss.

Day 259: Galatians 2:17-21; 3:1-9

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” - Galatians 2:20 ESV

C.H. Spurgeon, commenting on this verse, wrote, "I do not know a better epitome of Christian experience than this. This is the daily walk of a true child of God; if he lives after any other sort, then he does not live a Christian's life at all."

When we decided to follow Jesus -- when we believed, confessed His name, changed our minds, and were baptized -- here we see that we ourselves became a resting place for God's presence. We gave him complete control of our will and our bodies.

The Greek word Paul uses for flesh (sarx) here is elsewhere in his letters translated as sinful nature. Though we are in these bodies that are prone to sin, it is possible also to live a life of faith. We are not doomed to fail; we are equipped to succeed.

How?

Jesus' presence (in us).

Jesus' love (for us).

Jesus' sacrifice (for us).

Day 258: Galatians 2:1-16

“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” - Galatians 2:16

Justified is one of Paul's favorite words to use as he wrote to churches and friends. He used it to describe what God does when he saves us by the blood of Jesus. It definitely is not a word he used in reference to what we've earned.

The Greek word is dikaioo and is a legal term that was used in reference to the guilty being acquitted.

This is a beautiful picture of what happens when we come to Jesus in faith. He declares us not guilty and sets us free. There are no conditions or debts we have to repay. God only asks us to trust him, to really believe that his way is the best way to live. Jesus paid it all with his death on the cross.

Being good enough on our own? We've actually tried that many times.

It doesn't end in freedom, it ends in frustration.

This was so important to Paul that he was willing to even confront Christianity's original spokesman, Peter, to ensure that Christianity didn't devolve into a belief that we can make ourselves right by our performance.

Day 257: Galatians 1:1-24

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” - Galatians‬ ‭1:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In the short term, it is easiest to try and please everyone. Yet as time passes, we see the impossibility of it.

Paul comes straight at the churches in Galatia. He was shocked that they were already turning away from the pure Gospel, taking the easy way, which parades as the best way.

Yet here’s the thing. We will always compromise the truth when we seek to please everyone. And to top it off — we will fail miserably.

James Dunn says it well when commenting on this verse: “Paul implies, clearly, that his commitment to Christ as his Lord was so complete, his obligations to Christ so absolute, that his actions as an apostle of Christ were directed by him alone, and that any other course would be unthinkable to him.”

As Christians, our primary goal should be to please our Lord Jesus instead of people. We will never come to the point where the Good News of Jesus can be improved upon, no matter what the mainstream voices are saying. Master Jesus is the one that will take care of us during this life and as we step into eternity.

Day 256: 2 Corinthians 13:1-13

“Since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.” - 2 Corinthians 13:3-4 ESV

Colin Kruse, commenting on these verses, says this about Paul: "He had learnt that the power of Christ rested upon the weak, not the impressive."

What do you notice as you walk into a church service? Do you see bland pieces of bread and room-temperature cups of juice? Do you hear songs sung that could use some auto-tuning? Do you hear a sermon that could use more dynamics or fewer UHs and UMs? Do you see cobwebs or updates that need to take place in the building? Do you see people with flaws that flood the seats? Everywhere we look, we see weakness.

Yet underneath all of this weakness is intense power with which no darkness can cope.

Resurrection power, we realize, can always be dismissed by obvious weakness. Yet we know what is really happening. Jesus is still transforming lives!

One of the things I love about Paul's language as he ends this letter is that he closes with the hope of his third visit. He loves these people in Corinth. Even though they were a headache sometimes, he was still confident that "Jesus Christ lived in them." The same is true of us today.

Day 255: 2 Corinthians 12:11-21

"For I fear...I fear..." - 2 Corinthians 12:20-21

One of the scariest things about living life is the fear that you will spend mass amounts of time and energy on something that matters to you and that it will amount to nothing. We want our investments to show gains, not just financially, but in every area of life.

Paul's phobeo (fear) is a real one that many of us have. He actually only uses the word once in the original language. So it is him saying "I fear" and then the dumping of an insane list of dark living that the people in Corinth had dwelt in before his arrival with the message of Jesus.

His nightmare was their return to the sin they had so radically denied. The fighting, The bad-mouthing. The defaming. The chaos. The sexual confusion. The feelings-driven-life. 

Ultimately, the abandonment of truth in exchange for the lies of the world.

So, is it worth the risk to invest in others if this is the real danger?

Yes, because some sweet Christian initially did the same for you, and if grace can do its work in you, then Jesus can (and will) do the same for another lost soul. Keep making those eternal investments in others. The profit share is one we will enjoy forever in heaven.