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Series: One Another “Bear One Another’s Burdens” Galatians 6:1-5 Over the past few months we have been clearly reminded and continually called to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. From that relationship being right, we are then enabled to love one another as ourselves. You can’t love God without loving others, and you can’t love others well without loving God. 1 John 4:19-21 says it best, “We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.” Loving God must be foundational in life if we are to love one another the way that God calls us to. It is also important to note, however, that loving one another looks very different than what the world tells us today. Much of what the world calls love is not love at all. A guy and a girl may be very attracted to one another and say, “I love you,” but that isn’t love. There may be attraction, desire, and even lust, but that isn’t love. Someone may make another person feel good about life and about themselves and say, “I love you,” but many times what they are really saying is, “I love the way you make me feel.” In other words, they are actually loving themselves. Today the world promotes self and self-pleasure as the ultimate goal in life. Do what you want. Date who you want. Be who you want to be. Live for your own pleasure, etc. None of that is true love. True love is selfless and sacrificial, faithful and true. True love promotes others, not self. True love builds up others, not self. True love seeks what edifies, not what is easy. True love endures, it doesn’t look for an escape. Much that we call “love” in the world today is completely exposed and found lacking when compared to the Godly love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” Perhaps you are sitting there thinking, “Yes, Pastor, that’s beautiful. I hear it at every wedding.” Please understand that the context of those verses is dealing specifically in our relationships with one another in the body of Christ. That entire chapter is divinely placed between two chapters that deal specifically with our relationship and our care for one another in the Church. God’s clear call is for us to love one another, which has practical, faithful, and selfless actions of service towards one another. We have learned many of these over the past two months, but today we come to one that is heavy – both literally and figuratively. Show Text I imagine that all of us have heard this expression before – we need to bear one another’s burdens. Before we dive into the details of this text, I believe that we need to hear this today. No Christian is called to be a lone ranger Christian. No Christian will be healthy and vibrant if they are walking the journey alone. I have known many who think they can do it alone, but the moment you believe that you can handle it, you are determining right then and there that you will eventually fail. Some 2 go it alone because they are proud and think they can. Some go it alone because they are embarrassed by their past. They think it is easier to keep people at a distance than to have to deal with their issues. Some go it alone because they have been hurt and simply will not forgive and choose to trust again. Some go it alone because they are immature and weak and don’t understand their own need. There are many reasons, but I am here to tell you that you need other believers in your life, and they need you. In the church, there is a reciprocal relationship. We need each other. There is another truth that stands out here, which is that we belong to each other. We are “members of one another.” In fact, just before God told us that wonderful description of love in 1 Corinthians 13, He said this in chapter 12:24b-27, “But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” All who belong to Jesus are members in His body, the Church, and because of this we are family members together. Again, we see this in Paul’s favorite description, “Brethren.” It’s his way of reminding us that we are connected together through Jesus. What does he say in verse 2? “Bear one another’s burdens.” This general principle is true – we all face and feel burdens and trials in life. James 1:12 and 1 Peter 1:6 remind us that we face “various trials” in life. It can be relational, financial, familial, physical, mental, occupational, etc. The Christian life doesn’t mean that we are protected from burdens, but it does mean that we have the Prince of Peace with us and partners around us to help us carry the burden. The calling is clear, “Bear one another’s burdens.” The word literally means “to shoulder.” This doesn’t mean that we can make people’s problems go away, or that we can or should do everything for someone, or that we swoop in to rescue people and strive to be their savior. However, it does mean that in the body of Christ, when one suffers, we all suffer. When one is in pain, we’re all in pain. When one grieves, we grieve with them. The point is that we are in the trenches with them and we are loving them, praying for them, supporting them, and helping them along the way. The pain may be great, and the burden may be heavy, but we can lighten the load as we shoulder it with them. Paul specifically says that this bearing of burdens proves something. It fulfills the law of Christ. What is that law? To love one another. John 15:12, 17, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you…This I command you, that you love one another.” This biblical principle of bearing one another’s burdens can stand on its own. However, it doesn’t. It is given right on the heels of Paul addressing the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Paul lists a long list of works of the flesh in verses 19-21 of Galatians 5. Some legalistically read this list and then use it as their vetting process to determine who is or isn’t saved. Verse 21b clearly announces, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Does this mean that a Christian will never do those things? Does this mean that Christians don’t mess up and do things that are wrong? Of course not. The key word here is “practice.” God is showing us that those who continually live in open, unrepentant sin prove that they do not belong to Jesus. This, however, doesn’t mean that a Christian never falls. In fact, it is in reference to the sinning Christian that Paul speaks in Galatians 6. What should we do when a brother or sister is living in sin against God? How should we treat them? How should we handle the situation? The world says, “It’s none of your business.” Our flesh says, “Stay out of it.” God says, “Bear one another’s burdens.” So, 3 how can we do this? What should this look like in our lives today? I want to address this in two ways: I. The Word for the Burden Sharers (vs. 1-2) This instruction to bear one another’s burdens is directly connected to the person being spoken of in verse 1. It is describing “anyone (who) is caught in any trespass.” This word “caught” does not mean that we are to be walking around, keeping an eye on each other, looking for trouble. God is not saying that we should try to catch people in what they are doing wrong. In fact, verses 4-5 instruct directly against this. When the Bible speaks of the person who is “caught,” the word literally means “to be overtaken by surprise.” It envisions someone who has been caught by a trap. **ILL: We have likely all seen movies of someone walking through the woods carelessly when suddenly they step and the net swallows them up, and they can’t escape. All they can do is cry for help, and hope that help comes. This is a similar image. It is describing a believer who is walking along and for whatever reason they stumble and fall, they sin and are entangled or “caught” in sin. Perhaps it’s a sin that they once struggled with before they followed Jesus, perhaps it’s something that they have never dealt with at all. Either way, they have sinned, and the sin has them in its grasp - tangling them, tripping them, and taking them down. Such a person needs to be restored. The word “restore” means “to mend, as a net, or to restore a broken bone.” Are you seeing the image? All believers together make up the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 says that we are individually members in it. However, the believer who is trapped in sin is injured and wounded, like a broken bone. They are still a part of the body, but they need to be restored. As we all know, when a bone is broken there is pain, there is tenderness and sensitivity. There are limitations on what that part of the body can do. The broken bone needs careful attention and action so that it might be restored to perfect health. Most injuries impact other parts of the body. **ILL: Several year ago, I injured my knee. I had to walk around with crutches for several weeks. It didn’t take long for the other parts of my body to feel the impact. My other leg began to hurt, my arms became sore, I became aware of other muscles in my right leg that I never knew existed. Why? Because they all bore the burden of my knee not functioning correctly. No wonder then that God speaks about this topic. There are many in the body of Christ who are “caught in a trespass.” They have sinned, and they don’t know what to do. They’ve asked God for forgiveness, but they aren’t sure if He heard them, much less forgave them. They have lost the joy of their relationship with Christ. They live with guilt and shame of what they’ve done and they wonder how God could forgive them when they can’t even forgive themselves. They hide what they’ve done because surely nobody could ever understand, and they are convinced that everyone will judge them. They stay distant, sometimes physically but always relationally, because the enemy convinces them that they are unlovable and that it is best for all parties if they just stay away. No wonder God calls it a burden. That sounds like an understatement when you consider the torment that such a person is likely going through. So, what should you do if you are the broken bone, the member who has sinned and feels separated and out of place? I am going to give three actions. They aren’t listed in the text, but they are true and necessary. I am calling you the burden sharer because God is calling you to share the burden with others. The enemy wants to keep you in silence and shame, and in doing so he will ruin your life. The Lord wants to bring the things hidden into the light so that He can bring healing to your life. Here is the word to the burden sharers: 4

A. Be Humble It takes humility to admit our problem and our need. It may be that a concerned brother or sister confronted us with concerns – in that case we need to humble ourselves, listen, and receive the instruction that they give. It may be that out of conviction we are burdened to tell someone, but we must do so with brokenness and humility, not with arrogance and boasting. James 4:6b-10 says it best, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” If you are caught in sin, be humble. Be humble if/when you are confronted in your sin. Be humble before the Lord and don’t wait to be confronted in your sins. Humble yourself before the Lord and seek His grace and deliverance. Humble yourself before man and seek out a brother or sister, respectively, who can come alongside you and bear the burden with you. They can’t take it off your shoulders, but they can love you, support you, pray for you, point you to Scripture, hold you accountable, and be there in those moments of temptation and discouragement. It takes humility to acknowledge that you are struggling and need help. There are many dislocated members in the church who have been dislocated for years because they have allowed pride to hinder them from opening up to others. They rarely call it pride – it’s usually masked as fear, insecurity, busyness, a lack of understanding, carelessness, etc. But, it is usually pride that hinders us from experiencing the deliverance and the joy that we so desperately long for. And, isn’t that where the enemy wants us to be? He can’t take away our salvation or undo what God has already done in our lives, but he can keep us bound, rob us of joy, and hinder us from walking in victory. **ILL: I remember several years ago a lady asking to speak to me after the morning worship service. She had been recently attending our church. She was sobbing so much that she could barely get the words out. She told me about her Christian upbringing but went on to say that it had been over 20 years since she had been in church. She explained that she had been married and was unfaithful to her husband. During her affair, her husband was unexpectedly killed in a car accident. She felt that this was God’s judgment against her. She ended the affair and tried to pray, but she never felt that God was listening. She felt that God could never forgive her. She buried her sin down deep, convinced that everyone would despise and hate her. She was in bondage to a lie. She had to humble herself before God, and I encouraged her to do so with a group of ladies. To see the relief that God brought and the growth that God brought was nothing short of amazing. Be humble! B. Be Honest There is no way that we can be free without truth. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and there is no way to truly live without knowing Him. It also demands, however, that we be truthful about our sin. David understood this. After he sinned with Bathsheba, he diligently tried to cover 5

it up. He brought her husband home from war and tried to convince him to go sleep with his wife, who was pregnant with David’s baby. Uriah had more integrity than the king and refused to live in pleasure while his men were living in battle. David was so desperate to cover his sins that he had Uriah placed on the front line of battle so that he would be killed in war. David then married the widow, Bathsheba, who “suddenly” became pregnant. David thought he had hidden the truth and that nobody would ever know. But God raised up Nathan the prophet to confront David. He then looked at David and said, “David, thou art the man.” In other words, David you have hidden this from others, and you have tried to hide this from God, but God always knows and He has revealed it. Because of your sin and cover-up, the sword and the deception will not leave your house. Go study the history of David’s family line after that. From one generation to the next, it is a long story of deceit and murder. David learned the lesson of truth the hard way. When he finally repented in Psalm 51, listen to what he prayed in verses 1-9 (SHOW TEXT). Proverbs 28:13 is still true, “He who conceals (covers) his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” C. Be Hopeful We all deal with and battle sin, every single one of us. If you are losing that battle, if you are caught in a trap, if there is something hidden that you need to overcome – have hope. God has made a way for you to be delivered from your sin. You can walk in victory. There is a promise to claim and a path to choose. Romans 6:6, 11-14 says it well, “Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin…Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Brothers and sisters, have hope. Jesus can set you free, and you can have victory. II. The Word for the Burden Bearers Maybe the previous point doesn’t apply to you today. It is important, though, because it can help us have a better grasp of the challenges at hand when dealing with a family member that has strayed and help us to be sensitive to what is needed to honor God and help the individual. However, the fact is that the majority of this Scripture is written directly to those who should come alongside of the person carrying the burden to help them by bearing the burden with them. It is easy for us to read the descriptions of the flesh in Galatians 5 and become “captain critics,” always looking for the wrong in people. Also, in our flesh we naturally justify ourselves and can easily look down at others. This was the problem that Paul had to address so strongly in this book. Legalism was growing in these churches and the legalist always tears down a brother to make himself look good. The legalist puts himself above others as if he could never do anything wrong, or at least not as bad as others. The legalist likes to boast of their own godliness but knows nothing of practicing grace. Paul gave several clear words of direction to those who are bearing the burdens of others. It 6 may be that you have practiced Matthew 18 and you have gone to them to admonish them. It may be that you have prayed for them and God has opened the door. It may be that someone has completely come to you out of the blue – either way, these words are for you. A. The Condition We Must Maintain Paul says this is for “you who are spiritual.” This word “spiritual” has taken on a lot of meanings in our culture. In this context, it is referring back to Galatians 5:25, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Just prior to that we see the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:16, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” To walk in the Spirit means that we are to be thinking on His Word, following His lead, yielding to His control, and allowing Him to influence our lives daily. Believer, are you living by the Spirit or are you living in the flesh? This is God’s will for every believer, but is an absolute requirement for those who are ministering to a fallen family member. B. The Calling We Must Fulfill Next, he says, “Restore such a one.” Restore which one? The one that is caught in a trespass, tangled in sin, like a dislocated joint that needs to be reset, like a broken bone that needs to be healed. Obviously, you and I can’t make someone be restored. However, we can make every effort to win the straying brother or sister, and we must do so. If not, we are no better than the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger,” Matthew 23:4. Jesus was showing us that our calling is not to place burdens on people but to selflessly and sacrificially seek to restore them. This can be messy, and it can be challenging, and it will almost always draw criticism from the legalists, but we must seek to restore. How can we do this? We can pray for them for God to soften their heart and convict them of sin. We can pray for them to turn back to the Lord. We can go to them and encourage them. According to Matthew 18:15 we can go to them and try to win them, “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” We often get caught up on the action and miss the goal – to win back our brother so that he is restored to the fellowship and to the Lord. Yes, we must walk by the Spirit and seek to restore the fallen brothers and sisters. C. The Compassion We Must Show

This is very important. How do we do this? “In a spirit of gentleness.” The self-righteous approaches situations like this with pride and condemnation. The spirit-led believer approaches the broken situation with gentleness, meekness, and love. We understand the need for gentleness. **ILL: Going to the doctor with a broken bone. You prefer the doctor that is going to handle you with care, not the doctor that is harsh, rough, and abrasive. If we would show gentleness and care to a broken bone, then how much more should we show the same to a wounded soul and a broken life.

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D. The Caution We Must Take Now that you are in the trenches ministering to someone caught in sin, Paul gives us a word of warning, “Each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” Please understand that restoring a brother or sister in Christ is messy. It is messy because you are confronting and dealing with sin and helping a wayward family member come home. Praise the Lord! However, it can be messy not only because of the bad decisions and consequences of those decisions, but because the enemy, the devil, is a serpent who loves to deceive. You can be in the middle of ministry, doing the Lord’s work and Satan can lie to you, tempt you, and convince you of many things. When you are bearing another’s burdens related to sin, you must be on guard against every scheme that Satan will bring against you. His fiery darts are always aimed at those helping the wounded. The self-righteous legalist says, “I would never give into that, that’s not even my struggle. This situation can’t phase me.” The Spirit-filled believer living by grace understands that no one is immune from falling. He walks in humility because he understands his own weakness. Spurgeon used to tell young pastors, “When you have a member who criticizes you, just rejoice that they don’t know you like God knows you.” His point was that we all have weaknesses, and we are all but men. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says it best, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” **ILL: Men helping a brother through a deep sexual sin/addiction. One of the guys in the group had recently finished his master’s degree and was very confident in his ability to help the man. I shared some warnings, but they were ignored. A year later, that same man with the master’s degree asked me to meet him at a local restaurant where he told me that he and his wife were getting a divorce. He then told me more of the story, explaining how six months earlier he had gotten involved in the same exact activities that the first brother had now overcome. “Look to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” E. The Conviction We Must Live By At first glance this verse may seem to contradict verse 2, but that is not the case at all. What Paul was addressing were those in the church who were looking down at those who had strayed and boasting of their own standing before God. Paul is emphasizing that we each have a calling to love God and live for Him. This is each man’s responsibility. We are to bear one another’s burdens where there have been struggles and sins, but once we are restored, we are to each walk by faith, living for the Lord. We each are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We each must be faithful in our own walk with the Lord. So stop comparing, stop complaining, stop criticizing and condemning others, and be faithful in your own walk. As I close today, let me ask you, “Are you a burden sharer or a burden bearer?” You may say, “Neither.” You might say, “I’m just burdened.” Are you burdened by sin? Do you feel far from God? Is there a sin or an addiction in your life that has you bound? If that is you, I have good news for you. Jesus offers you freedom, forgiveness, and deliverance. He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and 8

My burden is light,” Matthew 11:28-30. Friend, Jesus can save you and set you free. I invite you today to share your burden with Him in prayer and give it to Him. If you are a believer who is struggling and feels stuck, I invite you to share with another believer. I know it’s risky and scary, but trust the Lord and know that your healing and God’s glory are worth it. If you are today a burden bearer, you have a high calling. You may be tempted to get impatient. You may find it exhausting. You may wonder if it’s worth it. But I want to remind you to remember what Jesus has done for you and rely fully on Him as you join Him in His work. James 5:19-20 reminds us of the purpose, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”