Burden Bearers

Introduction

Bible’s with me to Galatians chapter six. Galatians chapter six. If you are here this morning and expecting Ken Chapman to be preaching, we got you. That was supposed to be funny. I guess you really did. We look forward to him that much. In Galatians chapter six, though, we see a strong admonition for what makes a true church family. What shows love? What makes a church family not just people who meet together in pews in the same place, not just a group of people who say they worship God the same way as other people, but not quite as those other people who aren’t in that building in that place under those exact lights and AC units. It’s a spirit of true unity and love. The difference is in a family, they put Christ first.

A group of individuals who do what they want, allow pride, arrogance, and self-concern to distract us from what is truly important, and that is Christ, who is the head of the body, the head of the family that is the church. In Galatians chapter 6, though, we see very strong warnings, admonitions, commands, whatever you want to call it. In Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1 beginning, 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. For 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. I think we love the idea of verse 5 as Americans. We love to bootstrap our own way. We think of Philippians chapter 2. We have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We like the concept that here’s what God has offered. This is what we can do to accept God’s offer. And while that’s true, and we do answer for our own actions, we can’t undo all of verse 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well. We are united in the sense of judgment, as we’ll talk about. Certainly, each one is to give an account of himself before the Lord. But if you note verse 2 very strongly, Paul links our mission together. When he says in verse 2, bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

If I am going to be prepared for the judgment, where I answer for my own life, my own acceptance or rejection of the gospel message, I must bear one another’s burdens. I must look outside of myself with love, concern, and recognize that not only is my soul important in the sight of God, but as a family, certainly within a local church, and even beyond those small borders, we need to be looking out to the souls of others. That was always been God’s message. It certainly was Jesus’ example, and Paul makes it the local church’s admonition here for us as individuals, parts of this body. I want to talk this morning a little bit about being burden bearers. Because the problem is if we don’t do this, not only are we not following commands laid out, we are not fulfilling the law of Christ, as Paul so pointedly says in verse 2.

1. Three Places to Cast Our Burdens

But we’re not showing the love, unity, and concern that true churches should have, that true Christians have for one another. So I want us to consider this morning why is it so important? What are some things that get in the way of our bearing one another’s burdens? And how can we be better at this such important practice? Consider with me, obviously, Galatians chapter 6 makes it clear that this is expected of Christians. But when you can when you search the Bible record, you see that there’s three different places that we are to cast our burdens. We see one of those in verse 2. If you’ll read again with me, bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. That’s very clear. Who is to bear one another’s burdens?

Well, I am to bear your burdens, you are to bear my burdens. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, though, we see that more of the concept of verse 5 of Galatians chapter 6, this idea of us answering individually and uniquely to God. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10 says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is his due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. So Galatians chapter 6 talks clearly about bearing one another’s burdens. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 says, I am responsible for myself before the Lord. But here’s the most comforting of all. Turn in your Old Testament with me to Psalm chapter 55. We’re looking at a lot of Bible passages quickly this morning to underlie the importance of bearing one another’s burdens, of recognizing what are we to do with the difficulties, with the sin that we struggle with in this life.

Often we think about burden bearing and we consider it to be something, some sort of a hardship, and certainly love would apply. Christians who have love for one another, who practice that love, who are concerned for one another, will fulfill Romans chapter 12 and rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. That’s certainly an aspect of it. But what we see from Psalm chapter 55 and 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and yes, even in the context of Galatians chapter 6, is this burden bearing is a willingness to not just put on a brave face, but to cast our true burdens, that which is spiritual, that which could divide us from God if we transgress his law and are not restored. God is concerned with the heart.

In Psalm 55 and verse 22, cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved. God is concerned with all of our troubles. He is certainly concerned with even physical ideas like in verse 8 of the same chapter. I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest. But do we have the type of faith that David did? Do we have the type of understanding of righteousness and unrighteousness? To make the claim as he does in verse 9, destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues, for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it and run in its midst.

Do I have the faith to call out unrighteousness and to trust in my God in that way? Do I have the faith to fulfill verse 22? Am I actively casting my burdens on the Lord? And if we’re being honest, we start to think about this and we say, I pray all the time for God to help me. And that’s an important function. That is an important blessing that Christians uniquely enjoy. Amen. That we can call out to our God, that He wants to hear our struggles. But our struggles within the context of Galatians chapter 6 is so much more than the ups and downs that life inevitably brings. It is the ups and downs of when sin gets into our lives. And a Christian brother needs to look out for his other Christian brother or sister and restore him with the spirit of gentleness as described in verse 1.

We need to be restoring with gentleness those who are overtaken. This isn’t just an idea that you go around in verse 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. This is not an idea that you go around and you say, okay, well, we’ve got to look out for each other’s sin. You sin, you sin, you sin. You better clean that up. That’s terrible. You sin. That’s not what it’s about. How do we know? Well, first of all, if you look at the end of verse 1, who is Paul also concerned with? Again, within the framework of bearing one another’s burdens, we are concerned with what?

Keep watch on yourself, lest you too also be tempted. Not only is the spiritual act once again made clear in verse 1, but as we are helping one another, we have to make sure first and foremost, you might say, we do what? We stick with righteousness. We stick with holiness. We trust our God. But as we are going to help our brothers, we do so with a certain attitude, a certain spirit that recognizes that the spiritual life that they live is very important, is of the utmost vitality that it be in good standing before God, just as I need to be in that same standing as well. But when I do so, we have to restore in a spirit of gentleness. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, if you’ll turn to 2 Timothy chapter 2, recognize a little bit how hard this is.

In 2 Timothy chapter 2, and in verse 24, you see where it really gets hard. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 24, and the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will. We read verse 24, 25, and 26, and we come away with what conclusion? Well, of course. Of course we should do this. But I want you to look closely at verse 24. We must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone.

I can’t be the only person who finds it difficult to be kind, courteous, and loving to everybody. If you think that you do, I want you to go drive on I4 for a couple hours today. See how easy it is to be kind to everyone. It’s difficult. But of course, the focus is in verse 24, this dialogue that should be had between Christians and those who need to answer to God. Verse 24, continuing, we must be able to teach, patiently enduring what? This gentleness, this kindness, this ability to teach is to teach towards who? Those, even at the end of verse 24, who are living in or showing you evil. We need to be patiently enduring evil, correcting our opponents with gentleness. This isn’t, again, just a command we need to keep, but we recognize what are the stakes.

And in verse 26, what are the stakes of correcting one with gentleness? Recognizing that if we can teach someone the good news of God, the righteousness that Christ in Christ alone offers us to have, then we recognize that not only may God grant them repentance, but that they can escape the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will. This is exactly what we’re talking about in Galatians chapter 6. When we’re allowing sin to infest our life, not only do we answer about that before our God, but we answer about that and should be looking for help from others. That’s going to be an important aspect of this in just a moment. But I want to challenge us a little bit more and going back in Galatians chapter 6 one more time, I want to make sure that we understand that not only is this necessary because Paul just says so, not only do we need to restore one in a spirit of gentleness because it is of the utmost importance that someone recognize the need for God, the need for repentance, the need to escape the snare of the devil.

But I have to care about them enough for this to matter and for this to work. In Galatians chapter 6 and verse 2, yet again, bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work and then reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. I want us to be honest this morning and say, do I, Greg, do I fill in your name, do a good job at bearing one another’s burdens? Do I care enough? Do I know enough about my fellow Christians even within this local work? Even in the pews around me this very morning, do I know enough that I could help if I wanted to?

Do I care enough to have known that people have certain struggles anyway? If we consider that, it gets a lot more humbling, doesn’t it? It said, a little axiom to preachers, is that there’s a broken heart on every single pew. And of course, I find that to be true, except one idea is that those pews must be very small. Because if we consider our lives, if you consider just your own life and the ups and downs, and you multiply it by the about a hundred people here this morning, you multiply it by the roughly 200 people that will be here at 11 o’clock this morning. How many broken hearts are there? How many people are struggling uniquely and in the throes of a sinful battle with the devil right now, this day?

2. We Don’t Truly Care

We recognize if the stakes are high, if this is expected of me as a Christian, I need to know. And obviously, first I have to care enough to know someone to even begin to think about helping them bear their burden. That’s why this is hard. That’s why this is difficult. Consider three reasons why we might struggle to do this. One is because we don’t truly care. That sounds really rough. I wanted to put it first so we can move on from that. But look at Matthew chapter 7. Consider this passage about false teachers from Jesus, and consider how we recognize who someone really is. How would we understand who is a false teacher? There are plenty of people who are kind, loving, who do teach a lot of truth, but are still false teachers because they don’t teach the true, complete doctrine of Christ.

How do we recognize such a one? Matthew chapter 7 and verse 15, Jesus says, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Verse 20, very important. Thus you will recognize them by their fruit. How is a false teacher to be identified? By their fruits. What good is a diseased tree for? Nothing. Verse 19, what does Jesus say will happen to these bad trees?

They will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Jesus had no time or mercy for false teachers who remained in that state. But verse 20 is very important. You will recognize them by their fruits. I don’t think anyone here in an assembly would say, I don’t care about my brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t think any of us would want to admit that. But I have to ask myself first. How much time have I spent, even if I gave myself the first chunk of this year? We’re in the eighth month now, we’re in August. How much time have I spent getting to know people, trying to help people, trying to understand where people are coming from, so that I can be just prepared at the moment they might need me to help bear their burdens?

How much time have I put into that endeavor? How much time have I spent trying to get to know people beyond just saying hi and goodbye and good to see you and good to see you again on Sunday morning? We can’t help people if all we know is their first name. We cannot fulfill this law if we don’t take it seriously. Consider evangelism. Sometimes we come up with all the reasons we don’t evangelize, but sometimes the bottom line is we don’t actually care, and that’s why we don’t evangelize until something happens. Until it’s someone in our family, until it’s one of our closest friends. Until someone we know from our local group or some background who falls away from God. And when it’s someone close to you who falls away from God, how much do you care about evangelism then?

When it’s someone in your family who’s struggling with a burden, struggling with sin in a way that they need to be restored with that necessary spirit of gentleness, how much does it weigh on your mind when you are struggling? Or when someone close to you is so struggling fiercely with the throes of sin that they can’t find right from left. We care a lot then. It’s on our mind all the time. But what about when things are good? What about when most of our family is faithful? What about when most of our friends are faithful? What about when things are going good for me? How much do we think about the fact that somebody else is now struggling with the same thought that consumed me, depressed me, and raised my concern and my sadness each and every day until it was resolved.

3. We Don’t Know Who Needs Help

If we care, how would it be shown? By our fruits. Care, love, and bearing one another’s burdens is not something that can be shown just by knowing somebody’s name. It cannot be shown just by saying a couple words once a week. Words are powerful. Having a special message in the time of need means a lot. But we need to recognize that when it comes to being burden bearers, we need to be on the front lines of being prepared. We should be able to see in our life the pattern that Christ left, which is a concern and compassion for his followers. Do I care enough to do that? Consider with me secondly, perhaps a little bit more to what we would think about. In Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 24 and 25, maybe we just don’t actually know who needs help or what they need help with.

And that’s a valid concern. That’s a valid problem. In Hebrews chapter 10, though, in verse 24, God, of course, has an answer for that dilemma. In Hebrews chapter 10, beginning in verse 24, let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Verse 25, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. In verse 24, we are to first consider. We have to think about this. We have to be concerned about it. It takes effort. It takes mental planning and forethought to consider how to stir one another up to love and good works. In verse 25, how are we going to encourage one another? Well, by being together.

I don’t know when it happened. I don’t know exactly how it happened. But I know I struggle with this. Sometimes we think, I think, I believe, that if I see somebody on Sundays and Wednesdays, or just Sundays, or maybe even all three hours, Sunday, an hour, Wednesday, and maybe some other function once a week, that we are just full in, just like the New Testament church. But I’m going to show us in just a moment that that’s not what the New Testament church was like. They were an integral part of each other’s lives. I understand that they had left their homelands. I understand that there was a unique persecution upon the church. But what we do and what they do is often not even close. It may be that there are a lot of people who are awesome burden bearers here this morning, and I know that there are.

In Galatians chapter 5, if you’ll turn back there. If we are to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 13, we need to remember where we came from. And that will help guide us to where we are going. In Galatians chapter 5 and verse 13, for you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Obviously, the book of Galatians has a strong thrust in comparing and contrasting how the old law is no longer sufficient.

It isn’t necessary. And in verse 4, if you try to follow that, you are severed from Christ. That’s an important point. But when we recognize what it means to follow Christ, what freedom means is that I have been freed from my bondage to sin, and now my life is to be lived to please Christ. That’s a stark contrast. And so how do we help someone? It might not be that we are the most qualified to help. But we point someone to the one who will always be there, the one who we are to cast our burdens on, who is greater than us all, has a wisdom that is greater than us all, and will always be there and know how to help, and that is what Psalm chapter 55 and verse 22 says, we are to cast our burdens on the Lord.

4. Be Willing to Reach Out for Help Ourselves

We need to be willing and able to point people to God, to point people to the message of Jesus, to point them to the idea that God is forgiving and that he is merciful. Like he has started with me, and he can be with you if you have rejected him. Consider how we might be able to do this better. How can we start bearing burdens? First of all, we need to be willing to reach out for help ourselves. In James chapter 5, I want us to see the importance of this. One thing that goes often unsaid in a concept about bearing one another’s burdens is we forget that part of the struggle is we don’t like to let our guard down. We don’t want people to see that I am flawed, that I am sin, that I am struggling.

That doesn’t make me look good. That doesn’t make me feel good. It makes me wonder how people are going to treat me. In James chapter 5, though, God doesn’t talk about that. In James chapter 5 and verse 13, the inspired word says, Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? There’s a spiritual connotation here. Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of the faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Is that not the point of following after God?

That we can be forgiven of our sins by the God who first loved us, and we show love back to him. In verse 16, therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. As the English Standard Version says, the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. When we see in James chapter 5, we see it in verse 16, we see it in verse 14 very clearly, that when we sin, when we struggle with sin, what should we do? Confess our sins, verse 16 to one another. If we are sick, if we are spiritually ailing, what are we to do in verse 14? Call for the elders. There is an admission, a willingness to be open and sincere in our faith.

That is my struggle. Can I be honest this morning? That I really don’t like being vulnerable. And if I’m being honest, I think there’s probably a lot of people here this morning who are with me on that. We can preach until we’re blue in the face about the idea that we need to be willing to bear one another’s burdens. But if no one’s willing to share their burdens, we’ll never be able to fulfill the law of Christ. It needs to start today, and it needs to start with me. We need to be willing to reach out for help. Because what is the whole purpose of restoring such a one with gentleness? What is the whole purpose of this bearing one another’s burdens? That we may be pleasing to Christ.

5. Develop Relationships With Our Whole Church Family

And just as the end of verse 15 says, that if we have committed sins, we can be forgiven. That’s it. That is what this whole effort is about. It’s got to start with me. We see, secondly, in Acts chapter 2, here’s a picture of a church that really had it together. I understand that this is a church where many people came from different places. There was about to be, if not already, a severe persecution among this body. But I want to see you in Acts chapter 2. What is this picture of the first century church? We talk a lot about being like them. Let’s see if we’re like them in this way. In Acts chapter 2, begin with me in verse 41. So those who received his word were baptized, and were that day added three thousand souls, some may say, to the church, as in verse 47.

But I really want to focus on verses 42 through 46 here. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And all came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles, and all who believed were together and had all things in common. They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. Do you think that they were able to help bear one another’s burdens? Absolutely. Not just in a physical sense. How would they be able to take on this spiritual undertaking?

Because what were they doing in verse 46? Day by day, they were attending the temple together, breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. They were a true loving family. They knew each other, they loved each other, and they were willing to do anything for one another. If they were able to do it for these physical things, as verse 45 says, they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to any as there was a need. If they’re willing to do it with their stuff, how much more so would they be willing and able to do it to help someone be pleasing to the God that verse 47 says they were praising day by day together. They had a love for one another.

I recognize that times are different. Schedules are hectic. Orlando is a very large city. Burden bearing does not mean always being together day by day. But it does mean that I make an effort to get to know people. That I have to know you for you to be willing to open up to me. I have to know you to be willing to open up to you about my struggles so that we can work together. If we’re going to get through this life, we certainly need God, but we need all of God’s provisions. And God blessed the Christians with the church. That we would be together, that we would strengthen one another, that we would be of the same mind and work together to get to heaven.

Because that’s where our God who brought us together is.

We need to develop relationships with our whole church family. It may not be that today you get to know everyone. It may be that I am not the person who can bear every single person’s burdens. I can tell you, I probably can’t. But with a group of this size, with this many Christians, we can be a great force in Orlando for each other and beyond. But it has to start here. The love has to be seen, it has to be felt. The concern, the compassion, the God-fearing awe must be in us. And it means that I’ll go beyond just my circle of friends, which is important to have, and I’ll try to meet everyone and get to truly know them and truly have all things in common with those of us who believe.

6. Point Them to Our God

Consider one final point. How are we going to do this truly? First of all, I have to be willing to be vulnerable. That is an obvious. If they’re going to be sharing a burden, someone has to be willing to share their burdens. That needs to start with me. If we are going to bear one another’s burdens, we have to know and love one another by developing these relationships before the time of crisis, or at least be willing to step in in that time. But how do we deal with the crisis? Certainly we’re not all prepared. We don’t have all the degrees that American colleges would offer, but we have something better, we have something stronger, and we need to point them to our God. That’s exactly what Paul says in Colossians chapter 3.

In verse 1, if then, if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ and God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. In verse 1, if then you have been raised with Christ, seek what? Seek the things that are above. Set your minds on things that are above. Trust in God. That’s a message for me. That’s a message for someone who is hurting. That’s a message for the alien sinner who has never accepted God. We need to point everyone through our lives, through our words, through our wisdom and love to our God who first loved us.

Conclusion

That’s what this is about. Bearing one another’s burdens is not a pride exercise. It’s not to be better than someone else and to be one of. It’s so that we can all be pleasing to God. This is what we are living for. This is why we exist, to please our God and help others do so. Look with me one final time at Galatians chapter six, and the lesson will be yours. In Galatians chapter six, we see something similar as in verse one of Colossians chapter three. Colossians chapter one, chapter three and verse one began with a conditional if. Look with me in verse one of Galatians chapter six. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him 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. If I am someone who is spiritually minded, you who are spiritual does not just mean the elders, does not just mean the preacher, does not just mean the deacons. If I consider myself spiritual, yes, I need to keep watch on myself. Yes, verse 5, I have to be willing and able to bear my own load in certain spots. But in verse 1 and in verse 2, you who are spiritual should what? Should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. If we want to be pleasing to God, we must bear one another’s burdens. That means sharing, and that means bearing. Do we have the love like the New Testament church did?

I think we do. I think we can if we’re willing to start today. Let’s be that loving group. Will you go to God in prayer with me? Our dear God and most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for the love you first showed us. We are incredibly thankful and forever grateful for you extending forgiveness, mercy, and grace to us. We’re most thankful for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, that through his body and blood that we might be forgiven, that we can be baptized into his death, burial, and resurrection, rising to walk in newness of life. Thank you for revealing your word. Forgive us of when we don’t keep it. Forgive us of when we don’t consider others, but rather are focused on self.

Help us to be the best Christians that we can be by studying your word and recognizing its powerful impacts and changes that are necessary for our lives. Thank you for allowing us to worship together. Thank you for the church and what it means as a universal body of Christ and in this local body. Help us to work together. Help us to love one another and be a pleasing unit and force for your will. Thank you for all of your blessings. Be with us as we worship you and learn more about you today. It’s in your son’s name we do pray. Amen.