seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Galatians 6:1 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. 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. 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. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to[b] the Israel of God.
17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
a. Galatians 6:14 Or whom
b. Galatians 6:16 Or rule and to
So... this is from the easy English site.
Christians should not still do what their natural desires want to do. But all Christians find that sin tests them. And sometimes the sin seems to overcome them. This refers to sins that people do not mean to do. Or, this refers to the sins that people are ready to confess to God. It is easy to speak against a Christian who sins. But God wants Christians to help each other, not to be judges of each other. Mature Christians are kind and gentle. They listen to the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for ‘show the person the right way’ means to mend something, for example a bone that has broken. It also means to repair something, for example a piece of material that has torn. The repair may take time. The helpers are not perfect. They should not be proud. They must be aware that sin could tempt them too.
Paul wanted to emphasise what he was saying here. Someone can cheat another person. But nobody can cheat God. Paul used a farmer as his example. A farmer plants seeds in his fields. If he plants corn, then he will harvest corn from that field. If he plants potatoes, then he will harvest potatoes from that field. So the farmer receives what he deserves.
People cannot earn their place in God’s family. God will not accept them because they do good deeds. But when someone becomes part of God’s family, they should serve other people. This can be hard work. People get tired. Sometimes people may even feel depressed. But every good deed is like a good seed. And the harvest time will come when Jesus returns. Paul does not say what the harvest is. But harvest time is always a good time.
Again, Paul opposed the false teachers. They wanted Gentile Christians to become Jews. The false teachers wanted to be popular among the Jews. The false teachers wanted to be the ones whom people accepted. The false teachers did not want to suffer. Paul was not popular among the Jews, because he preached the good news about Christ. So Paul suffered greatly because of his message (2 Corinthians 11:13-33).
The false teachers were Jews. They wanted the Gentile Christians to obey the Jewish laws. However, the false teachers did not manage to obey all the Jewish laws themselves. But they were proud. And they wanted people to admire their work.
Paul wrote this letter to teach the truth to the Christians. He had taught the truth to them when he first visited Galatia. But some of them started to believe the false teachers. The Christians were not sure whether Paul was a real apostle. In this letter, Paul explained why the false teachers were wrong. He proved that he was a real apostle. He clearly explained the truth again. And he showed the Christians that Christ had made them free.
Paul was very upset about the situation in Galatia. He did not want the problems to continue. And he was confident that this letter would solve the problems there. Paul had suffered because he was a Christian. He wanted to please only Jesus Christ.
Interesting.... these two commentaries work so well together... but this morning they seem to be emphasizing different points. This is from enduringword.com.
If a man is overtaken in any trespass: Paul recognized that there may be those among the Christians in Galatia who had been overtaken in a trespass. Paul didn’t seem to exclude the overtaken one from the brethren, yet they should never stay in the place of being overtaken.
Paul’s wording here speaks not of a determined and hardened sinner. Instead, the idea is of someone who has fallen into sin, finding themselves trapped in a place they never thought they would be. Overtaken “Contains the idea of falling. It is not the deliberate, the planned, aspect of sin that is stressed here, but rather the unwitting element. Mistake rather than misdeed is the force of the word, though without absolution of responsibility.” (Ridderbos, cited in Morris)
“If we carefully weigh the words of the Apostle we perceive that he does not speak of doctrinal faults and errors, but of much lesser faults by which a person is overtaken through the weakness of his flesh. This explains why the Apostle chooses the softer term ‘fault.’ To minimize the offense still more, as if he meant to excuse it altogether and to take the whole blame away from the person who has committed the fault, he speaks of him as having been ‘overtaken,’ seduced by the devil and of the flesh… This comforting sentence at one time saved my life.” (Luther)
Restore such a one: The overtaken ones need to be restored. They are not to be ignored. They are not to be excused. They are not to be destroyed. The goal is always restoration.
This job of restoration is often neglected in the church. We have a tendency to either pretend the sin never happened, or we tend to react too harshly towards the one who has sinned. The balance between these two extremes can only be negotiated by the spiritual. It should be normal to do what God says here, but it isn’t. It is all too easy to respond to someone’s sin with gossip, harsh judgment, or undiscerning approval.
Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness: Restoration must always be done in a spirit of gentleness, with full understanding of our own weakness and corruption. Those doing the restoring must guard against the temptation of pride, as well as the same temptation the overtaken one struggled with.
“Let the ministers of the Gospel learn from Paul how to deal with those who have sinned. ‘Brethren,’ he says, ‘if any man be overtaken with a fault, do not aggravate his grief, do not scold him, do not condemn him, but lift him up and gently restore his faith.” (Luther)
“This suggests that gentleness is born of a sense of our own weakness and proneness to sin.” (Stott)
The influence of the legalists among the Galatians made this warning necessary; “Nothing reveals the wickedness of legalism better than the way the legalists treat those who have sinned.” (Wiersbe)
Does God love hermaphrodites? Boy I bet that could bring up some discussion in some churches. According to the search.... a hermaphrodite is neither male or female but both. There are some hermaphroditic creations in the animal kingdom. The bearded dragon... the clown fish.... and a weird looking thing called a banana slug. A human hermaphrodite might not be accepted by other humans once they found out.... it's curious... odd.... shall I add queer?
Now suppose someone in the church is a human hermaphrodite and word got out. Oh my.... the ignorance would be the first to flair.... people don't understand the concept of hermaphrodite..... a person who is not male.... not female.... well... what bathroom would they use? Then the fear would get a trip through the group..... is being hermaphrodite natural? Why would God create such a confusing creature..... that must be it... they would probably agree.... that human must be medically altered or a product of Satan.... God would not create a hermaphrodite... they would mockingly say.
The church says God only creates good things. I agree. Hermaphroditic humans are born with extra sex organs..... they are not altered. Their bodies are not sinning.... they are not sinning.... they just have double sex organs. Since there are hermaphroditic animals.... I can see God was experimenting with the idea before He sculpted the humans. So God does love all the stuff He creates..... even the hermaphrodites.
So should the church throw the hermaphrodite out of the church because they are different? I bet they would. IMHO... the modern day church is cruel.
Now... what has all this hermaphroditic human talk have to do with Galatians 6. The Jews in the church in Galatia demanded that the Gentiles had to be circumcised to be accepted. I can only imagine what would have happened had they decided to circumcise a hermaphroditic human. There would have been an exorcism instead. So.... my question.... does God love the hermaphrodite?
Paul wasn't just talking about demanding a man be circumcised before being accepted in the church... he was talking about other sins too. He said Christians should be loving in their quest for the restoration of the people in the church. Some may be drunks.... don't clobber when they get drunk... help them gently to sober up. Some may be thieves... don't chop off their hands.... they'll only withdraw and steal with their teeth.... guide them gently to accept what they have because God takes care of all our needs.
“Nothing reveals the wickedness of legalism better than the way the legalists treat those who have sinned.”
So..... should I consider... next time the church doors open..... the person in the pew next to me.... that one I don't know.... should I consider the color of their skin or what political party they belong to..... should I ask them their marital status.... should I sniff the air to see if I can detect alcohol, gun powder, or drugs coming from their direction.... or should I welcome them.... knowing that God loves them. Social media does not exclude our actions.... even the actions in church... there is always someone watching and gossiping. The church is in serious trouble according to social media.... we are horrible people who talk out of both sides or our mouth. We talk a good game but we beat anybody up who looks or acts different... we no longer restore...
According to social media... the church is no longer a place of restoration... in is now a place of condemnation.
So I ask you.... Does God love hermaphrodites?
