If you are planning on hiking up Hawk Mt. in Jasper National Park let me say this: stay on the goat trails; you’ll save a lot of time and energy! Last year when climbing that mountain Sarah and I wasted a good hour following a man-made trail that took us back down the mountain instead of up like we wanted. A couple weeks ago I went back to Hawk Mt. with the TCW team and although we didn’t climb to the top we watched another team of hikers attempting to do so. Like Sarah and me last year, they wasted a good hour following that man-made trail down the mountain. So I say again, if you are planning on bagging Hawk Mt. stay on the goat trails!
Of course if you don’t ever plan on climbing that mountain the advice I just gave is meaningless. That’s not the case, however, with the words the Apostle Paul shares with us this morning. Paul has something to say to us heavenward hikers. No, he doesn’t tell us how to get to heaven since he’s already done that in the first part of his letter to the Galatians, instead he tell us what we should be doing on our hike to heaven. Paul’s charge to us heavenward hikers is this: 1) Rescue the Lost, and 2) Shoulder Each Other’s Burdens.
One of the first things that you learn in wilderness training is to keep an eye on your hiking partner. Paul gives the same charge. “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently” (Galatians 6:1). If your hiking partner slips off the trail and falls into a crevice would you walk past him saying, “That’s what he gets for not looking where he’s going.” Or “This is none of my concern. In fact he probably had a good reason for stepping off the trail and falling into that crevice.” Of course not! You would stop and do all you could to rescue your partner, and if you were unable to help you would find someone who could.
In the same way Paul explains that when one of our fellow Christians falls into sin we will want to do all we can to rescue him. If we don’t, our brother runs the risk of losing his saving faith in Christ. While this should be obvious to us Christians the world wants us to believe that the life-style another chooses to lead is none of our concern. Society says that if a couple wants to mess around and play house before marriage, let them. If someone wants to engage in same sex relationships who are we to care?
Such an attitude shows a misunderstanding of how devastating sin is. Impenitent sin leads to the unquenchable fires of hell. Just think of how painful a little sunburn is, now multiply that pain by a million without the hope of any relief – that’s what hell is. Is that where we want our fellow Christians to end up? No, therefore it is our responsibility to call to repentance those who have fallen into sin. Remember Jesus’ attitude towards the straying. In the Parable of the Lost Sheep he described how the shepherd left his flock to track down one lost sheep. We too need to show concern for every soul that wanders from the truth.
Of course there is a right and a wrong way to go about carrying out this rescue operation. Paul warns us, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” The Greek verb Paul uses for the word “restore” is a medical term describing what a doctor does when he sets a broken bone. Just as a doctor will first plan how he wants to set the bone and then go about it as gently as possible, so we should handle a fallen brother in the same way. We need to be gentle and patient when confronting someone with their sin. We should first learn the circumstances that led to the fall into sin before we begin “preaching” about the horrors of sin. Only after carefully listening can we begin to apply God’s Word accurately to the situation.
For instance if someone has been away from church for a long time we certainly wouldn’t want to start our conversation with, “Where have you been? You know it’s not right to despise God’s Word by missing church!” At that point we don’t even know the circumstances that have lead to a person’s absence. Maybe they have been sick but no one bothered to check on them. Perhaps they were out of town on business or vacation. If we are truly concerned about an individual’s soul then we will first want to diagnose what the problem is before we apply a cure. Don’t get me wrong, we do need to speak plainly about sin and its consequences but we don’t want to do it in a self-righteous manner. What would we gain by that? Wouldn’t that just turn our brother off to the message that they need to hear? Wouldn’t we then fall into the sin of pride for which we would need to repent?
Calling a fellow hiker back onto the trail may seem like a daunting task but it’s a wonderful one. James described it like this: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (5:19, 20). Although the task may seem to be daunting it’s not an impossible one. We have been given the powerful Word of God to call people to repentance. God’s Word does work! Therefore heed Paul’s charge and rescue the lost!
Paul not only gives us the charge of rescuing the lost on our heavenward hike, he also tells us to shoulder each other’s burdens. Paul said, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Last Sunday we were reminded that a Christian has many burdens to carry because the life of a Christian is the life of the cross and not the couch. This doesn’t mean, however, that we have to carry our burdens on our own. God not only gives us the strength to shoulder our burdens, he also provides brothers and sisters in the faith who are eager to shoulder those burdens as well.
Therefore when you see a fellow Christian weighed down with a problem don’t just tell that person that you are praying for them and then walk away. Of course it’s important that we pray, in fact it’s the best thing that we can do for others, but we also need to remember that we might be the answer to that prayer. God may have placed us near the situation because he wants us to be the one to shoulder the burden and help out in anyway that we can.
That’s actually the purpose of the Christian Support Network our congregation started last year. Through that network we are trying to organize the way in which we shoulder each other’s burdens. As the notice in the bulletin states it was easy to see how valuable our Christian Support Network was during this last week when we had 5 TCW students to host, and 66 VBS children to take care of. Without everyone shouldering a bit of the burden we would not have been able to pull off VBS this year. If you haven’t done so already get in on the CSN. Sign up for something that you know you can help out with like giving rides to church, making meals for shut-ins, and visiting people in the hospital. When the need arises you will be contacted for your help. In fact one of the elders will be contacting you soon about this very opportunity. If you have a burden that we can help out with please let our CSN coordinators know. They will put you in touch with someone in the congregation who can help.
Why is it so important that we shoulder each other’s burdens? Because, Paul says, we fulfill the law of Christ. The law of Christ is to love one another. That’s a good reminder that Christianity isn’t just a religion of doctrine that you study and then shelve; it’s a religion of action. The knowledge of God’s love for us moves us to show that love for others.
There is, however, a temptation in shouldering another person’s burden. The temptation is to compare how much we are hauling with what others are carrying. If we think that we are carrying around more than others we can easily fall into the sin of pride. That’s why Paul warns in our text, “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else” (Galatians 6:4).
By telling us to test our actions Paul is encouraging us to compare our actions with what God would have us do and not with what others are doing. Ask yourself, have I always shouldered another’s burden when I had the chance? Have I always been cheerful about taking on the extra responsibility? When we examine our actions in the light of what God expects we will realize that we have little reason to boast. Remember that when it seems that your spouse, sibling, or co-worker is doing little to shoulder the burden. They will have to answer to God for their own actions (Galatians 6:5). Just be concerned that you are doing all that you can to carry out the law of Christ. As you shoulder other people’s burdens don’t worry about whether or not people take note of what you are doing. God notices and that’s what counts isn’t it?
When your hike to heaven seems to drag remember that you aren’t hiking alone. Your God not only stands by your side but has also provided brothers and sisters in the faith who are there to shoulder your burdens and are ready to rescue you if you should fall into sin. Welcome them in this effort. When Christians confront you with your sin don’t push them away. They aren’t doing that to put you down but to save you from the devastating effects of sin. Trust that they are just as ready to shoulder your burdens. That’s what the Christian life is all about. A life that only Jesus’ love can bring about. Amen.
