22. THE BOOK OF GALATIANS – CHAPTER 6:2 - Message 22 – A BURDEN BEARER BEARS THE BURDENS OF OTHERS – BE ONE OF THEM!
[1]. BE A BURDEN BEARER
{{Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.”}}
In the closing verses of this letter Paul issues some important commands. These are for the health of the church fellowship and need to be heeded so that the assembly of God’s saints does not become dysfunctional. The command now is just so important.
The Australian Aboriginal society was degraded in many ways. One aspect was to put the old people out to die when living was a bit harder and food was scarcer. What they did was to discard the burden. So many other evils were done as well. Discarding the burden is definitely not the Christian way. Christians are not to discard, but to share.
Do you recall the functioning of the early church recorded here – {{Acts 2:43-45 “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. All those who had believed were together, and had all things in common, and they began selling their property and possessions, AND WERE SHARING THEM WITH ALL, AS ANYONE MIGHT HAVE NEED”}}. There we have a caring church group working together and sharing.
Being a burden bearer is a burden sharer. As one has a need, so the bearer of that need steps in to assist.
[2]. THE HONOUR OF BEING A BURDEN BEARER
[A]. The Galatians were keen enough to bear the burden of the Law and we know the testimony of scripture that Peter said to the first Christian Council that “neither our fathers nor we were able to bear” (Acts 15:10) but the Galatians thought they could. They were very wrong and Paul told them that it was the law of Christ they should be fulfilling and this was totally a different matter. They were to bear one another’s burdens. “Bear” is in the plural. It means they all were to make this their habit.
There are so many heavy burdens around us, sin, sorrow, family, poverty, health among others. Burdens can be because of SIN. The worst burdens are those that are caused by yielding to our desires and sinning. Of course this relates to verse 1, for one overtaken in a fault or sin, in other words, a fall.
These burdens can be EMOTIONAL. This is not when we are a perpetrator of sin, but rather when we are the victim of sin, or the recipient of some bad happening. Maybe we have been mistreated or neglected. Maybe it's the result of fear or a grief. Emotional burdens overwhelm us at times.
They can be PHYSICAL. These may be caused by illness or accident, impairment, or sometimes just by advancing age. They can be FINANCIAL - A financial calamity brought on by a layoff, a medical emergency, a poor investment strategy, or many other factors. We don't have time to investigate all the ways and shapes that burdens can take, but their forms are a multitude. We can say a burden is anything that oppresses the spiritual development of a brother or a sister.
[B]. What are the burdens that we need to bear for one another? The Greek word rendered burden is “bareos” meaning something that makes an overwhelming demand, that which brings sorrow or grief. Let us say again: “A burden is anything that oppresses the spiritual development of a brother or a sister.” Now mark that well. A burden is anything that oppresses the spiritual development of a brother or a sister. Let us care about that and not give it mental assent.
[C]. The Lord Jesus is our Great High Priest and ministers on our behalf. He said “Come unto Me you who are weary AND HEAVY BURDENED.” He is the One who carries the wounded sheep on His shoulders. He is the One who will take our fears and anxieties.
[D]. How does the exterior stack up? It may look fine, like a structure standing looking solid, but eaten away inside by termites. You can look so good on the outside, but one day the whole life, the whole house just collapses because all that decay was on the inside and nobody knew it. The spiritual man or woman must look out for even a breach indicating termites in another’s life, but of extreme importance firstly, is checking for termites in one’s OWN life.
Our fellowship here is very small but it does not isolate us from hurt and burdens. Some churches are large and my experience is that in large churches hurting people are lost and overlooked. [[“Years ago there was German soldier who was slightly wounded in a battle, and he went home to his mother. His mother said, "You need to go to the hospital. They have set one up down the street," so, he went to the hospital.
When he walked in, he saw two doors. One said, "Seriously Wounded," and the other one said, "Slightly Wounded." As he wasn't hurt badly, he went through the second door. He walked all the way down a long hall. Again there were two doors. One said, "Officers," and the other one said, "Non-Officers." Being an enlisted man, he took the non-officers door.
Again, there was a long hall. He walked all the way to the end where he came to two more doors. The left one said, "Party Members," and the right one said, "Non-Party Members." Not being a party member he walked through the right-hand door and found himself back out on the street. Upon returning home his mother asked, "Well son, did they help you?" He said, "To tell you the truth mum, they didn't do a thing for me, but you ought to see the tremendous organisation they have."]]
That story is a bit like a phone call these days to some government agency. (Press 1 for this . . .) An organisation can be well-structured, but the members may not care at all about each other at all, but an ORGANISM, (The Body of Christ) by its very nature, has a concern, a connection, and a togetherness for every part of the body. In a body there is a sharing, a caring, and a bearing of one another's burdens by the very nature of organisms. We want this fellowship to be an organism.
To fulfil the law of Christ we must bear each other’s burden, not out of responsibility or under duress, but through the love of the brethren as Christ does Himself for each one of us. It requires us to be openly honest with God and totally genuine. [[Too many times, we're like the people in a little town in Connecticut I read about in a book. It was a suburb of one of the major cities. Some of the people began to be a little incensed because there were reckless drivers running through their little suburb, so 53 of them put their names on a petition, took it to the sheriff and said, "Stop this in our town." The sheriff said, "I'll see what I can do." A few nights later, he put out a watch. Sure enough, he arrested five people for reckless driving through the town. All five of them had their names on the petition.” As members one of another we care for each other, not pretend to, or sign a petition as it were, but don’t mean it.
[E]. Here are a few thoughts on the matter – [[1. BE HUMBLE.]] Sometimes we can proudly find faults in others that are also our own faults. If I am going to bear another's burden, whether that burden be spiritual, emotional, physical, or whatever, it starts by being humble, by being full of the Spirit for we are to be spiritual people. Humility is the key feature in assisting someone, for the non-genuine article is abhorrence to God.
[[2. BE GENTLE.]] – {{Galatians 6:1 says, "Be gentle, restore that brother with a spirit of gentleness."}} That's especially relevant when the burden that we help bear is related to sin.
[[3. BEAR THE BURDEN.]] - That bearing will take on different forms depending upon what the burden is. The Greek uses the perfect continuous tense - "Carry the burden, and keep on carrying the burden." It's not just a "give it a lick and a promise"; Hit it once and move on your way. The way the sentence is structured says, "You do it, and do it for as long as it takes." If the burden is the result of a person's sin, Galatians 6:1 says, "Restore the brother or sister gently."
“Restore” was the word used by ancient Greek doctors to refer to the setting of a broken bone. If you've ever had a bone set, you know you want it done carefully; you want it done gently. Most importantly it's done for healing, not for punishment.
If the burden is emotional, you bear it through counsel, hugs, listening and prayers. You may do that day after day after day, as long as that brother or sister carries the burden. If the burden is financial, the burden is borne by giving your money or other assistance. If it's a physical burden, you bear it through your time, effort, compassion, and energy. Whatever the cause, bearing the burden means carrying the load until the brother or the sister can walk unburdened on his own again. An old proverb says, "A joy shared is a double joy. A burden shared is half a burden."
We need to be like the two dogs I read about in an illustration from Barnsley, England. [[There was a little dog named Nick, a terrier, and another little dog named Percy, a Chihuahua. One day Percy was hit by a car. Percy's owner thought that poor Percy was dead, so that owner, Christine Harrison, took that little Chihuahua body and put it in a plastic bag, went out back and buried it in the back yard. Nick, the terrier, was heartbroken. He went over and dug up the plastic sack. With his teeth he dragged it over by the house. When Christine came out and picked up that sack, the heart was beating. Percy, the Chihuahua not only lived, he totally recovered.]]
[F]. FELLOWSHIP with one another is a vital element in caring for each other. Fellowship means more than a handshake on Sunday morning. It means an integration of life. Bearing burdens is not interference. It is the care that flows from the Holy Spirit’s motivation in our lives.
[G]. WHY DO WE BEAR THE BURDEN?
The answer is simple. It's right there in Galatians 6:2, "BECAUSE IT FULFILS THE LAW OF CHRIST." "Well, what is the law of Christ?" There was no law that Jesus gave as such, but a command He did lay before His disciples. Jesus gave that law when said to his apostles, "A new command I give you. LOVE ONE ANOTHER as I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34).
Now when Jesus gave that command, it really was a bit of a paradox to his listeners because he wasn't giving a new command to love one another. {{Leviticus 19:18 commands, "Love one another."}} That one was 1 400 years before Jesus, but the new command was to {{"Love one another AS I HAVE LOVED YOU."}} That's how much I (Jesus) want you to love one another.
Did he bear our burdens? He surely did. He bore every burden that we have, and every burden that we will have, on that cross on a hill called, "Golgotha." Because of that, Christians know a newness of life now, and eternal life in a perfect place called "Heaven." Jesus has given us the ultimate model of what it means to bear one another's burdens - that's the new command. It is love’s motivation. Do it as long as it takes, as deep as it takes, as much as it takes. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.
We are members of one another. We share in the same sacrifice that bought us redemption. We have the same Holy Spirit. We are all baptised into the Body of Christ. We are on a journey together. [[“In 1953, the world heard the name Sir Edmund Hillary. He led the first team to go all the way to the top of Mount Everest. He had a guide with him, a Sherpa guide, whose name was Penzick Norgay. It's a good thing Norgay was with Sir Edmund Hillary because as they began their descent, Edmund Hillary's foot slipped and he lost his balance and he fell completely, but Norgay had taken his pick and jammed it into the ice, and because of the rope holding them together, he was able to keep hold of him until he was able to make his way over and grab hold of the mountain again, otherwise, he would have fallen over a thousand feet. When they got down to the bottom, everybody was ready to make Penzick Norgay a hero, and he responded to the press, "No, no, no, I'm not a hero." He said, "Mountain climbers are tied to one another to help each other. That's just who we are."]] We are all on that climb up to the heavenly home. We are tied to one another to help each other.
[H]. THE DUTY OF ALL WHO FOLLOW CHRIST IS TO BEAR ONE ANOTHER’S BURDEN
1. OTHERWISE WE ARE NOTHING, NO MATTER WHAT WE THINK
(a). There is the temptation to think higher of ourselves than we ought - Romans 12:3
(b). Yet we can easily deceive ourselves - e.g., James 1:22
2. ONLY THEN CAN WE REJOICE IN OURSELVES, AND NOT IN ANOTHER
(a). Some trust in being part of a group, without really contributing to the work
(b). But we will be judged as individuals, not as a group – Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10
Are we willing to bear our own load, or do we expect others to carry us?
[9]. There is an article from John Piper I found on the internet from one of his books on this very subject:-
BEGIN QUOTE: [[“We tend to think of burdens as sickness, unemployment, loss of a loved one, loneliness, rejection, etc., and the people who bear them as victims. That is right, and if we are full of Christ, we will be about the business of bearing those burdens, but Paul shows us in verse 1 that burdens include trespasses, and those oppressed include culprits. We should probably define a burden, then, as anything that threatens to crush the joy of our faith -whether a tragedy that threatens to make us doubt God's goodness, or a sin that threatens to drag us into guilt and judgment.
A person who is sinning needs our help. Paul says, "Restore him." The word means, make things right. In the bible it's used for repairing nets that are torn (Matthew 4:21). Sin is a breakdown in the machinery of our life. It has to be repaired. If you find someone with a breakdown, do what you need to do in order to restore the person to good, godly running condition. In other words, nobody who lives by the law of Christ and in the power of Christ can say about a brother's or sister's sin: "That's not my business. I don't have to add that to my burdens. It's his problem, not mine.
But I have been around Bethlehem long enough to learn that that is exactly the attitude of some of you toward sin in the church. I know of some attitudes and behaviours in this church that are so clearly contrary to the Word of Christ they should have been confronted and repaired long ago by some of you, but, for whatever reason, an atmosphere of silence and neglect has been cultivated - not forgiveness, mind you, for behind closed doors those sins are talked about aplenty. It may take us a long time, but I pray that we can continue to cultivate an atmosphere at Bethlehem where love is so great that we take the breakdown of sin seriously, and serve each other as merciful mechanics.
That's the main point of the passage, then: Bear each other's burdens. Specifically, take on the trouble of helping people realise their sin and get it repaired. If it seems easy for you to help a person bear the burden of sickness, or unemployment, or loss of a loved one, or loneliness, or rejection, but too hard for you to bear the burden of confronting a person because of sin, meditate on this thought: “a sinful attitude or a sinful habit is much more harmful to a person than any of those other burdens”. Therefore, if we really care about a person's ultimate welfare, we will confront them with their sin as well as comfort them in their trouble. Wouldn't it be great to belong to a family of believers who loved each other so much that they simply could not look the other way while a brother or sister hardens into a habit of sin! Let's be that family! If we are not, we do not fulfil the law of Christ.”
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:7, "What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though it were not a gift?" which implies, that if you are trusting in the Spirit of God for the gift of guidance and power to love, you cannot boast or be arrogant about the maturity you have attained.
What we need is a radical confidence in the incomparable Christ who came into the world to save utterly unworthy sinners. When you are looking wholly to Christ for your forgiveness, guidance, love, and joy, the sinner you admonish and restore will know you do not come in the spirit of pride.”]] END QUOTE
Illustration of bearing one another’s burdens: [[“The story is told of a visiting preacher who stayed in the farm home of a Christian family. They had two horses, one young and spirited; the other old, very slow, and feeble. When the two were plowing together it was interesting to see the young horse out one step ahead and pulling the biggest part of the load. What an example of “bearing one another’s burdens.”]]
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Verse 5 is given as a ground for verse 4 ("for"). I think it means: Don't ever try to lighten the load of your own sin by comparing yourself to a failing brother or sister. Why? Because you are going to bear your own load in the judgment. When the final assessment comes and we are all measured by the law of Christ, no one will make your load lighter by being worse than you are. You will bear your own load in that day. The plea we hear so often - "But I was as good as Jack!" or "I wasn't any worse than Jane!" - will fall on deaf ears at the judgment. Don't bolster your pride by comparing yourself with others: you will bear your own load.
