THE LAW OF CHRIST (GALATIANS 6:1-5)
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The Standard on Wednesday (1 Aug 2018) printed just in time an incredible and inconceivable story of a former auxiliary policeman Chan Kim-hung, 52, who spent almost half his life on the run, but has returned to Hong Kong to spend the next eight years in jail after pleading guilty to robbing and raping a nightclub hostess more than 20 years ago.
In 1994. Chan took a hostess to a hotel room, but instead of paying her Chan and his accomplice robbed the hostess of her purse, bank cards, her ID card and her Rolex watch. Chan was arrested but jumped bail and left the city. Yesterday (July 30, 2018) he pleaded guilty to rape, robbery and false imprisonment of a nightclub hostess. High Court deputy judge Andrew Bruce accepted that Chan has displayed remorse and admitted his crimes.
What happened in Thailand? Well, first he went to the mainland, and later hid in the Thailand-Myanmar border area where he later worked in a church and became a Christian. After spending all that time in Thailand just across its border with China, Chan had become a Christian and returned in January to give himself up. With the encouragement of a pastor and driven by his conscience, he returned to Hong Kong in January after 23 years of on the run.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=198517&story_id=50017398&d_str=20180801&sid=4
Have you struggled, stumbled or even surrendered in your Christian life? Repenting of sin, reaffirming one’s faith and returning to God, how do you want others to treat you? In Galatians 5-6 Paull tells the believers in Galatia that Christian liberty does not mean license to sin, but to live a life of renewal by the Spirit and to live a life of responsibility for one another – the two safeguards of divine supply and mutual support. Liberty occurs the most times in Galatians (2:4, 5:1, 5:13 twice).
Is there a second chance in the church body and fellowship? What are its strengths and weaknesses and limits? How does it help and how does it handicap us?
Be Cautious, Not Cynical
1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
When a brother committed a fault and the desert father Moses was invited to a meeting to discuss an appropriate penance, Moses refused to attend. When he was again called to the meeting, Moses took a leaking jug filled with water and carried it on his shoulder. When he arrived at the meeting place, the others asked why he was carrying the jug. He replied, "My sins run out behind me and I do not see them, but today I am coming to judge the errors of another." On hearing this, the assembled brothers forgave the erring monk.
Sin (v 1) is translated as trespasses (Matt 6:14), offences (Rom 4:25), fall (Rom 11:11), fault (Gal 6:10). It is more of a “fall” (paraptoma) than the regular word for “sin” (hamartia) - a trespass than a transgression, a wrong than a wicked deed, and it is singular.
Restore (v 1) means mend (Matt 4:21), perfect (Matt 21:16), fit (Rom 9:22), perfectly joined together (1 Cor 1:10), prepare (Heb 10:5) and frame (Heb 11:3). It means to repair, refit and right, not to rid, replace or ruin a person. Restore means is used to repair a dislocated limb, like a bone setter or damaged nets, as in Matthew 4:21. It is to mend, patch up, piece together, and right. It is an imperative, meaning an order not an obligation, an imperative more than an invitation, a demand rather than a debate. It is in the present tense not future, which means today and not tomorrow, now not next time, current and not coming soon.
Why? Because we are brothers (v 1) who lived by the Spirit. The spiritual (by the Spirit) are expected to do things in the spirit (Greek) of gentleness. It is meekness more than gentleness in Greek. Gentleness is what you do or how you treat others, meekness is who is you are. Meekness is strength under control. Someone defines meekness as “absolute power under perfect control.” Merriam-Webster defines meek as “enduring injury with patience and without resentment.” Dictionary.com says meek is “quiet, gentle, and not willing to argue or express your opinions in a forceful way.” It is to have a humble (meek) versus a helpful spirit (gentle).
“Tempted” is emphatic “not” plus subjunctive, with the force of an imperative. It means attempt (Acts 16:7) or try (Rev 3:10). It means to be swayed, swerved, shamed, not merely shaken. The irony is that we fall into the same trap of the trespasser. Watch (participle “how”) or skopeo in Greek, which means to take a hard look at yourself, preferably in the eyes or in the mirror. I suggest the temptation includes indifference or insensitivity, impunity and intolerance, and impatience or irritation.
Be Caring Not Cold
2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.
A survey of 23 economies by US health insurer Cigna has found that Hong Kong people are ranked among the five most stressed in the world. As many as 92 per cent of the 500 respondents from Hong Kong faced stress in their daily lives, well above the global average of 86 per cent, while 17 per cent said they were unable to manage their stress, according to the survey. Nearly everyone is stressed in Hong Kong (92 percent), with factors such as work (39 percent) and finance (27 percent) the primary causes. More than 35 per cent of respondents of age 50 and above said health and the well-being of aging family members were the primary causes of stress for them.
Employees in Hong Kong, on average, worked 50.1 hours a week, the longest in the world and 38 per cent more than the global average, according to a study conducted by Swiss investment bank UBS in 2015. Hongkongers also had just 17 days of holidays, compared with the global average of 23, UBS said.
A total of 95 per millennials cent of those between the ages of 18 and 34 reported stress, with 26 per cent saying they could not manage it, , compared with 17 percent for all millennials globally and only 10 per cent in mainland China.
"Job insecurity, eagerness to climb the career ladder, and desire to own a home may explain why millennials feel so stressed," said Yuman Chan, chief executive and country manager, Cigna Hong Kong.
About 60 percent of respondents received no support from their employers. Of those who receive support from their employers, only 13 percent believe it is adequate.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=197691&story_id=50015672&d_str=20180710&sid=2
(All work and no play makes Hongkongers the world’s fifth most stressed population, 10 Jul 2018)
Although more than a sixth of all respondents from the city said they could not manage their stress, less than 10 per cent sought help, the survey found. About half chose to sleep more, talk to family and friends and exercise to relieve the pressures they faced.
https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2154538/all-work-and-no-play-makes-hongkongers-worlds-fifth-most-stressed
Galatians is a “one another” epistle, with the reciprocal pronoun occurring seven times in the book (Gal 5:13, 15 twice, 17, 26 twice, 6:2), more than any comparable shorter epistle, except the longer book of Romans. Paul did something which he did not repeat again with other “one another,” which was to put “one another” first, followed by “burdens” and “bear.” The work can only be done altogether, not alone. It was not meant for one, but one another. It must be shared and supported - twofold, double-sided, bilateral and co-joint. None is a passenger, a pedestrian or a panhandler.
The second imperative in the chapter (v 2) is carry or bear (Matt 3:11) or take up (John 10:31). Carry or bear in KJV means lighten, lessen or lower a load. It is to remove, reduce or relieve so that the overworked, overstretched and overwhelmed person won’t crumble, crack or cave under the pressure. Carry is an act that comes with motivation, mediation and meaning or message: I care! It is no coincidence the verb “carry” actually comes from the noun “care.” The purpose is to make life more bearable and bullish, instead of bleak and barren. It means to lift a finger, lend a hand and spare an ear.
Burdens (v 2) means weight (2 Cor 4:17), heaviness or load, but unlike the previous “sin” (v 1) it is plural, so it is continuous, consistent and cumbersome. Burdens is a neuter, so it does not refer to the person but a thing, business or situation. It could be troubles, trials and temptations.
Fulfill (v 2) is occupy (1 Cor 14:16), supply (Phil 2:30) and fill up (1 Thess 2:16). The law of Christ is mentioned for the first time. In contrast to “the law,” which concerns our role and responsibility to God or others, the law of Christ is for one another. Think (v 3) is suppose (Mark 6:49), seem (Luke 8:18), please (Acts 15:22). In the Old Testament the closest “one another” instruction – only one - is
“You shall not therefore oppress one another” (Lev 25:14, 17). It is stated in the negative instead of “carry” which is positive. It has no remedy, relationship or revival. The law of Christ is mutual, merciful and mature – shared, selfless and sincere.
There is a reason for bearing burdens. Deceive self (phrenapatao) ends in self-righteous, sanctimonious and self-centered.
DANGERS
Distrust Arrogance Insolence
Doubt Apathy Indifference
Dependence Diffidence Avoidance Insignificance
Be Circumspect Not Conceited
4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load.
The buck stops here. Harry Truman
Responsibility is the price of greatness. Winston Churchill
People think responsibility is hard to bear. It's not. I think that sometimes it is the absence of responsibility that is harder to bear. Henry Kissinger
You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. Martin Luther
'You are free to choose, but you are not free to alter the consequences of your decisions.'
Look in the mirror. You are now looking at the person responsible for your happiness.
The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. John Milton
Test means discern (Luke 12:56), prove (Luke 14:19), like (Rom 1:28), approve (Rom 2:18), allow (Rom 14:22), try (1 Cor 3:13) and examine (1 Cor 11:28). The Greek version is “prove to himself alone” means to examine, estimate and evaluate – to identify, inspect, investigate. Things to check out or cross examine include our conceit, conduct and conscience.
Action or “work” in KJV means the motivation, the material and the merit or maturity. “Not in another” means not look at others, lean on others or live off others. Not to compare, compete or complain because everyone has his or her own battle, baggage and bumps. It means to be responsible, resourceful and resilient with what we have- tasks, talents, time, training, tools, even temperament we have.
The second “load/burden” (v 5, phorton) is different from the first “burden” (v 2, bathos). It can simply be a task not troubles, a duty not a difficulty, an obligation and not an obstacle. Vine’s says, “The difference between phortion and baros is, that phortion is simply "something to be borne," without reference to its weight, but baros always suggests what is "heavy or burdensome." Thus Christ speaks of His "burden" (phortion) as "light"; here baros would be inappropriate; but the "burden" of a transgressor is baros, "heavy." Everyone is unique in their meaning, mission, and ministry in their lives. It means you have a place, a part and a purpose in life. Paul is not against interdependence but against co-dependence.
Conclusion: Do you let the past determine your present and future? Are you ashamed of your failures, alone in your fears and afraid of the future? The church body is a place where we can share our feelings, serve one another and show our support. God wants us to break the chains of failures, fears and futility, build up one another in faith and fellowship and be the servant, the sunshine and shoulders of others. Are you on the right track to care for others, cheer their hearts and carry their load?
