Galatians Part 6 – “Watch your Step!”
On the lighter side this morning:
Opening Illustration: A Synagogue’s Custom
A young scholar from New York was invited to become Rabbi in a small old community in Chicago. On his very first Shabbat, a hot debate erupted as to whether one should or should not stand during the reading of the Ten Commandments.
The next day, the rabbi visited 98 year-old Mr. Katz in the nursing home. "Mr. Katz, I’m asking you, as the oldest member of the community," said the rabbi, "what is our synagogue’s custom during the reading of the Ten Commandments?"
"Why do you ask?" asked Mr. Katz. "Yesterday we read the Ten Commandments. Some people stood, some people sat. The ones standing started screaming at the ones sitting, telling them to stand up. The ones sitting started screaming at the ones standing, telling them to sit down... "
"That," said the old man, "is our custom."
From http://www.beliefnet.com
10 Things You Never Hear in Church
1. Hey! It’s my turn to sit in the front pew!
2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time.
3. Personally I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf.
4. I’ve decided to give our church the $500 a month I used to send to TV evangelists.
5. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class.
6. Forget the denominational minimum salary. Let’s pay our pastor so he can live like we do.
7. I love it when we sing hymns I’ve never heard before!
8. Since we’re all here, let’s start the service early.
9. Pastor, we’d like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas.
10. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign!
From http://www.beliefnet.com/dailyjoke/DailyJoke.aspx?QID=6211
These 2 humorous stories are funny but yet carry a message we need to hear. The message is we need to make sure that we watch our steps in this spiritual journey because it is so easy to become deceived and miss the point of our walk with the Lord.
Illustration: Video Clip from the Passion of the Christ Church Resource CD – Peter’s Denial.
Peter became filled with pride even boastful prior to his fall. He said that he would never deny Christ. But he soon learned that temptation was just around the corner and he too had fallen prey to its deceptive ways. This scene reveals the importance of staying on your guard against the traps of the enemy. If we allow pride to take root in our lives then we immediately set ourselves up to be led away from Jesus. We even set ourselves up into the position to deny Christ.
Thesis: Watch your step and make sure that you are not deceived by the sinful nature. Remember to be careful not to burn yourself out doing the good for the Kingdom of God. Then we need to remember that being a new creation is what this life is all about.
Scripture Text: Galatians 6:1-18
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Introduction:
As we have been progressing through the book of Galatians we have discovered that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to get into Heaven. Human effort driven by a works religious mindset will not get you into Heaven instead it will put you into bondage and steal away your joy.
Paul has been confronting the false teaching of the Judaizers and re-convincing the Galatian Churches to return to the true Gospel. He has stressed that it is more important to please God rather than to please others. He has told them if you quit serving God and pleasing Him than the sacrifice of Jesus means nothing. He challenges them about their actions by asking, “Do you really want to negate Christ’s death and resurrection?”
Paul frequently has referred to his former way of life when he too was trapped into a works related religious mindset. He convincingly relates to them how he too at one point thought that he could earn his way to heaven. But that all changed when he had a divine encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road. He actually discovered that his religious mindset and works driven religious mindset actually put him in opposition to the Lord. The deceived mindset of the religious actually does not draw them closer to the Lord but further away and in opposition to His message of “grace.”
Paul also in our book asked the Galatians a few questions about their past experience in Christ to remind them of what the truth looks like. Many times in life we need to go back and remember what Jesus did for us so as to refresh our memories.
He also reminded the Galatian church that Abraham became saved and a friend of God not because he followed the Law but because he believed by faith. He uses Abraham as an example to show that the law had a purpose for a short time period but once Jesus “The Seed” came he brought in the fulfillment of the law. Therefore Jesus in Paul’s own words did the following Galatians 3:25 “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.”
He stressed in chapter three that the law was not opposed to the promises of God but taught about those promises and taught us about how life really is birthed. Life is birthed through faith in the Promised One. The law showed that we are all prisoners to sin and we cannot get to heaven by human effort therefore we needed the Promised One to set us free. Therefore Jesus came fulfilling the prophetic words of the OT and fulfilling the covenant of faith promised to Abraham.
As a result of the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ and our willingness to accept Christ by faith we then get the awesome privilege of becoming “The Sons and Daughters of God.” Since Jesus came and ushered in this new era of faith and grace there is now no more distinction between Jew or Greek, slave or free man, male or female but we are all one in Christ Jesus. We are all on the same plain equal in the eyes of the Lord Yes, we are all equal in that we all belong to Him. Therefore we are free!
Since we are free then we should not abuse our freedom to indulge the sinful nature. Paul told us and the Galatia church to be free, and to remember the one thing which is, “faith is to express itself through love.” He emphasized that this action would help us to live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit of God!
T.S. – So today we progress into Galatians chapter six and we learn the importance of keeping watch over our spiritual life because temptation is just around the corner.
I. “Watch your step because you too can be deceived by pride!” (Galatians 6:1-6)
a. Paul opens up verse one telling us to help those who stumble and who need guidance back to the point of restoration.
i. We need to do this gently!
ii. We need to do it carefully!
iii. We need to help carry their burdens!
iv. We need to do it because it fulfills the law of Jesus Christ!
b. Paul cautions us about how temptation is just around the corner – so we need to be aware!
i. This temptation is called arrogance and pride.
ii. Paul does instruct the mature believer to correct and admonish those who are in sin but to make sure that when they do that they guard their own hearts from self-righteous pride.
c. He warns them and us that when you think you are something then you really become nothing in the eyes of the Lord.
i. The reality check from out text tells us that pride will ruin your life very quickly.
1. Pride is defined as: The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one’s own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others (Brainy Dictionary.)
2. Pride is a problem in our society today and we must guard against it in this life:
a. This is verified by the following study: Evidence for an over inflated opinion of ourselves comes from the College Board that administers the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT exam, which millions of high school students take each year. On that test there are a number of other questions besides the ones about Math and English which the students are asked to answer. For instance, they are asked to evaluate their leadership ability. Recently in an exam, seventy percent of the students rated themselves as above average in leadership, and only two percent as below average. Sixty percent rated themselves as above average in athletics while only six percent said below. When they rated themselves as to how easy they were to get along with, 25 percent said they were in the top one percent, sixty percent said they were in the top ten percent, and absolutely no one said he was below average in being easy to get along with. Obviously high school students have a very high opinion of themselves; they have pride in themselves. Now is this the kind of pride that says, "I have something to offer this world to make it a better place," or is it the kind of pride that says, "I’m better than you"? The exam doesn’t say. We hope it’s pride that offers to build a better world; otherwise, it is arrogance.(R. Curtis Fussell, Deadly Sins And Living Virtues, CSS Publishing Company, Inc, 1997 Contributed by: Sermon Central PRO)
d. Paul progresses on in his instructions by telling us to make sure that we do not compare ourselves to others.
i. The Christian walk and the process of spiritual maturity is not a competition with others in the Body of Christ.
ii. We as Christians are in this battle together we are not against each other but we are on the same team.
iii. Illustration: THE GREAT SIN- Pride
1. “According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Un-chastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison; it was through Pride that the devil became the devil; Pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti-God state of mind...If you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, ‘How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off?’ The point is that each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride. It is because I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise. Two of a trade never agree. Now what you want to get clear is that Pride is essentially competitive - is competitive by its very nature - while the other vices are competitive only, so to speak, by accident. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.”
SOURCE: C. S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity” Book III; a chapter entitled, ‘The Great Sin’. Contributed by: Clark Tanner
e. Paul also tells us that we must learn the art of caring and helping others. We need to be committed to helping others out with their burdens even if it means confronting their sinful condition in love.
i. John Piper says this about our section of Scripture:
1. That’s the main point of the passage, then: Bear each other’s burdens; specifically, take on the trouble of helping people realize 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 fulfill the law of Christ.
2. Today many people do not want to be confronted with their sinful condition. I have had many people get very irate at me when I address their sinful nature and show them how it is negatively impacting their life but this is what Paul tells us to do.
f. I find it interesting that Paul tells us to carry others burdens then he says to the Christians this statement, “Make sure you carry your own load!” and I word it like this “Don’t stick others with your responsibilities!”
i. Jesus demonstrated with His life, His words and with His actions that we are to serve one another in the Body of Christ!
1. Church is not to be based and ran like American consumerism. This is not “What can the church do for me but what can I do for the church!”
ii. I have been in the ministry now for almost 20 years and I have noticed that there are givers and takers in the Body of Christ.
1. The truth is in the beginning of persons walk with the Lord it is expected that we will need to help them in their discipleship and in carrying some of their burdens.
2. But Paul tells us that we who are mature in Christ need to carry our own weight! We need to not be burdens to the Body of Christ but we need to die to the flesh and have the spiritual ability to carry our own weight as part of the Body of Christ.
a. So what does it mean to be a burden to the Body of Christ and having the prideful arrogant attitude of not being willing to carry your own weight?
i. I see this in those who are unwilling to clean up after themselves in the daily function of the church life.
1. Their prideful attitude is that they believe others can clean up after themselves!
a. The church owes it to them!
2. They say, “Why should I have to pick up after myself or even my kid’s. They pay cleaners!”
ii. I see this self centered attitude in people’s un-willingness to take their kids out when they are disrupting a service.
1. They have a disregard for the others.
2. Their pride says I want to be in here let everyone else leave if it bothers them so bad.
iii. I see this burdensome attitude when people repeatedly show up at fellowship dinners and never bring food to share with others.
1. This arrogant attitude says, “I don’t have to bring anything because I am too busy!” “I am special and exempt!”
iv. I see this prideful burdensome attitude in people who refuse to tithe and support the church financially.
1. They have said things to me like, “Well God does not mind and besides I need the money!”
2. They actually think they are exempt and God has made special arrangements just for them.
a. Their attitude is I am special and I don’t have to follow the directives in God’s word.
3. I have even had people who never give money but get mad at me because when they need money for paying their unmet bills and we don’t have it as a church. I even had one person tell me that we are selfish as a church because we could not pay their bills!
v. I see this prideful, arrogant attitude of people who are working within their area of calling/ministry but then they start pointing the fingers at others saying they have to help me do this!
1. Some come to a mindset were the church has to have everyone focus on their ministry because there ministry is the most important.
2. Some in this mindset think and project their self-centered focus onto others, “They have to do this because God told me that we are all called to do this, not just me!”
a. Instead of them following the leading of the Lord and just doing it they begin to point the fingers at others for not doing it!
b. Remember “We are not to use the name of the Lord in vain to push our own agendas!”
vi. I see this prideful arrogant attitude surface in people who refuse to help out in any area of ministry because of their lack of care or concern for others.
1. They do not want to help others carry their burdens. They just want their needs and wants met and that is all they will ever do.
2. These individuals are also quick to not take responsibility in helping out in their gifted areas. They have an attitude of, “They can do it I don’t want too because I am too busy!”
a. Let me ask you a question: “Do you understand that everyone is busy not just you?”
iii. Paul’s in all his years of ministry never wanted a prideful – arrogant attitude to seep into his life because this is what happened to the Pharisee and Sadducees. So Paul chose to die to himself daily, to serve the church and to follow the Lord.
1. I have a prayer and here it is: Lord, if only the Body of Christ could internalize this Law of you I believe the church would transform this world.
iv. Jesus reminded all of us about the importance of carrying our own cross daily:
1. Jesus said it this way in Luke 9:23-25: 23Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
v. The truth is there does come a point in time when you need to carry your own cross for the Kingdom of God and for the Body of Christ.
1. There does come a point in our Christian walk when we have to move from having others carry our burdens to we ourselves taking the responsibility for our own burdens.
a. We all must seek to get to this point in our spiritual walk with the Lord.
2. This comes with spiritual maturity and growth in the things of Jesus.
vi. Why are some of the people of God not using the spiritual gifts God has blessed them with?
1. Usually because their priorities are twisted.
2. Usually because they are still self-centered.
g. Paul goes on to instruct us to make sure in your life that you share the good things from the Word to others.
i. Make sure you testify about what God has done in your life.
1. Make sure you teach and tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ.
ii. We should never underestimate the power of our testimony to others nor the power of the Word of God to change people’s lives.
iii. I believe the best sermon is one that people can see through our lives than one that is just a bunch of words.
T.S. – We need to make sure that we do not stumble into pride and then forget to care for others as we have been encouraged to do. The truth is Paul reminds us that how we live our lives will impact our lives. He states “What we sow is what we will reap in life!”
II. “Don’t be deceived man will always reap what he sows1” (Galatians 6:7-10).
a. God is never mocked.
i. What does mocked mean?
1. To treat with scorn or contempt; to deride.
2. Pride will always seek to mock God and His ways. This is why the Word says God will not be mocked by mankind and their arrogant prideful ways.
b. Paul promises us that he who decides to sow the seeds of the sinful nature will reap the destruction of the sinful nature.
i. Do you remember what these seeds were from last week?
1. The sexual sins of this society and it’s impact:
a. Sexual immorality – This is the evil ascribed to sexual acts that violate social conventions and cause the following results.
i. Sexually transmitted diseases.
ii. Abortion
iii. Unfaithfulness in marriages which leads to their break up.
iv. Rape of others
v. Child sexual abuse
b. Orgies - 1 : secret ceremonial rites held in honor of an ancient Greek or Roman deity and usually characterized by ecstatic singing and dancing 2 a : drunken revelry b : a sexual encounter involving many people; also : an excessive sexual indulgence
3 : something that resembles an orgy in lack of control or moderation (Websters).
i. How has this affected society?
ii. It is the 2nd biggest money maker on the internet! It has given birth to Pornography!
iii. Just this last week CNN did a special on how porn has overrun the Christian community.
c. The Impact of the sexual sins on this society: Noel Hornor states: Sex is everywhere. It permeates the movies and the television programs we watch, the music we hear, the magazines and books we read, the talk shows we listen to. Society, it seems, is obsessed with sex. Perhaps never has society had access to so much knowledge about sex but understood so little about it. Seldom have people suffered so much through sexual ignorance.
i. Recently in the U.S. it was reported that the sexually transmissible diseases, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and AIDS, were the three most commonly reported infectious disorders in 1995. And now even herpes is back with a vengeance. The British newspaper, The Independent, recently reported that "genital herpes, the incurable sexually transmitted disease that was lost from sight in the shadow of AIDS, is infecting record numbers of people in Britain" (Feb. 2). Experts estimate that "about one in ten women in London carry the virus," and in America "it is estimated that 500,000 people contract genital herpes each year." Nancy Herndon of the American Health Association commented that herpes is much more contagious than the HIV.
ii. Statistics show that adulterous behavior is out of control… The Kinsey Institute estimates that, during their married lives, 37 percent of American males will prove sexually unfaithful to their wives and 29 percent of American wives will commit adultery (June M. Reinisch, St. Martins Press, New York, 1990, p. 7, 73). Adultery is family-obliterating behavior that destroys the very heart of society, with devastating consequences for children. According to social critic William Kirkpatrick, divorce is "up 700 percent in this century, with most of the rise occurring in recent decades" (Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right From Wrong, Touchstone, New York, 1993, p. 249). He also notes that "the pain of parental divorce is more difficult for a child to overcome than the death of a parent" (ibid., p. 250). An astonishing three in five American children born in 1986 will live with a single parent by age 18.
d. Teen sexual behavior according to research by Noel Horner states:
i. Equally disturbing developments are the levels of premarital sexual activity and pregnancy in Western nations. How many American teens are engaging in sex? "Data on teenage sexual activity are inexact . . . But most experts in the field agree that somewhere over 60 percent of American teenagers have had sexual intercourse by the time they finish high school" (Lillian B. Rubin, Erotic Wars, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1990, p. 61, emphasis added).
ii. What does this mean in terms of premarital pregnancy? In the United States estimates are that "nationally 11 percent of unmarried teenage girls become pregnant each year" (Rubin, p. 75). To put it another way, "every 64 seconds . . . a baby is born to a teenage mother . . ." (Children’s Defense Fund, The Adolescent & Young Adult Fact Book, Washington, 1991).
iii. According to William J. Bennett, former U.S. secretary of education, illegitimate births increased in the U.S. 400 percent from 1960 to 1990 (The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, March 1993). Based on current trends, U.S. News & World Report reports that "early in the next century, unless we change, 1 out of every 2 American children will be born out of wedlock" (October 2, 1995, p. 88, emphasis added).
e. Troubling trends says Horner and a frightening future:
i. The costs and implications of these trends are truly alarming: "In 1997 almost 1 m[illion] American teenagers will become pregnant, nearly 75% of them out of wedlock. About 80% of these new mothers will end up in poverty, dependent on welfare payments.
ii. The problem costs the American taxpayer $7 billion a year . . . Every day in America there are 1,300 teenage births and 1,100 teenage abortions. Last year 3 m[illion] teenagers had sexually transmitted diseases" (The Sunday Times, January 12, 1997).
2. The Decision to reject the way of holiness and it’s impact on society.
a. Impurity – This is the quality or condition of being impure, especially: Something that is Contaminated or polluted with toxins from the world.
i. Polluted mouths
ii. Polluted mindsets
iii. Polluted lifestyles
iv. Create polluted TV shows, Movies, songs, books, and magazines in our society.
1. All with negative societal impact!
v. Polluted values: Just look at the rip off artists scamming money away from Katrina victims and they seem arrogant and justified in what they are doing.
