Deposits & Balances

Introduction

Last week Chris did such a great job walking us through the first five verses of chapter 6 where Paul spent time hammering out how the church should be a safe haven for the sinner and saint to openly confess sin without judgement.

Chris said last week that “The gospel affords us the ability to be openly broken”.

The church must be a safe place where both sinner and saint can confess sin and expose some of the darkest parts of their heart.

Chris spent sometime reminding us of the fact that we are to carry one another burdens in fact Timothy Keller puts it this way he said “You cannot help with a burden unless you come very close to the burdened person, standing virtually in their shoes, and putting your own strength under the burden so its weight is distributed on both of you, lightening the load of the other”.

Timothy Keller, Galatians for You, God’s Word for You (Purcellville, VA: The Good Book Company, 2013), 168.

Read Galatians 6:6–10 “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

1.) What you invest determines what will return.

Out the gate Paul says four words that every christian should take serious especially when we talking about core doctrine and tenets of the christian faith that are close handed. Paul says in Galatians 4:7 “Do not be deceived”. Remember the whole letter in Galatians Paul has been exhaustively teaching on the relationship between the law and the gospel and the role of the law in the life of the believer.

There are a lot people are there that are deceiving the people of God and they will be held accountable for that.

Paul spent 5 chapters warning the people in Galatia on the things that they have been deceived upon. In order to “not be deceived” you have to first know your bible. You can’t even begin to recognize heresy, or harmful teaching you have to be equipped in the word of God.

The apostle Paul issues a very firm and stern warning to the churches in Galatia here which by theologians of the past have called “the law of great returns”. He uses a example that would be personal to people he was preaching too by referencing the agricultural process of sowing and reaping.

In farming or gardening, this principle is absolute it is objective, and Paul wants us to see the two aspects of it here.

Galatians for You Reap What You Sow

First, whatever you sow, you will reap. If you sow tomato seeds, you will not get corn, no matter how much you want corn to grow! Second, whatever you sow, you will reap. Though the seed may lie in the ground to no apparent effect for a long time, it will come up. It is not the reaping that determines the harvest, but the sowing.

This biblical principle here of reaping and sowing is very much practical. You don’t have to be a theologian to understand that their is a aspect of the life of a believer where what we sow in our walk is what we will reap.

Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where we sow.

John Stott

Sow a thought, reap an act.

Sow an act, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Samuel Smiles; David Platt; Tony Merida; Peter Adam; John Stott

Sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. Evil thoughts thus underlie and lay the groundwork for all other sins.

John F. MacArthur

Sowing and reaping is not a christian version of karma but rather a charge to walk out the life scripture has called us to live

There will be times when you sow good deeds and will not reap good in return. The act of doing good things does not guarantee good to come back to us. If you don’t believe me look at Job who was so faithful and sowed obedience and faithfulness and all he got in return for a season more suffering.

Galatians for You Reap What You Sow

Sin against God sets up strains in the fabric of the moral/spiritual universe, just as eating fatty foods sets up strains in the physical fabric of your heart. If you sow seed poorly, you reap a poor crop (and poverty). If you eat fatty foods, you reap a poor heart (and early death). If you give in to your sinful nature, you reap spiritual breakdown and destruction. The word “destruction” can also helpfully be rendered “corruption”, or “disintegration”. Paul is saying that sin makes things fall apart.

What we are guaranteed is that when we are sowing rightly what we will reap bring glory and honor to God. Christian maturity is when you get to a place where you walk in the fruit of the spirit and live a life that is honoring to God and be okay with not getting blessings in return because the ultimate blessing is in knowing that you were obedient.

Obedience is the crown and honour of all virtue.

Martin Luther

Christian obedience is unlike every other kind of obedience. It is not the obedience of slaves or soldiers, but essentially the obedience of lovers who know, love and trust the person who issues the commands.

John Stott

This cannot be done without the power of the holy spirit. The more I read the bible and I come to grips with how sinful I am I realize that their is no aspect of the christian life that I can life faithfully apart from the power and ministry of the holy spirit.

There is a reason why Paul spent so much time talking about the fruit of the the spirit. Sometimes its so easy to forget how supernatural the christian life is.

Galatians 6:8 “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

There are some gospel implications to what we sow. What verse 8 does is points to the fact that the christian and the one that is lost sow differently. The christian sows by way of things that are of the spirit and the lost can only sow to the flesh.

This is not to say that there won’t be seasons in the life of the christian where he or she sows to the flesh that is not what Paul is saying at all. In fact there may be long season where as a christian you do not get this right at all however anyone who is in christ will ultimately so persevere to the end living a long that struggles with sin but is not overcome with sin because the power of the holy spirit is in them empowering them to live a life of sowing unto the spirit that reap eternal life.

All through out the letter to the churches in Galatia the apostle Paul has warned that if the gospel is rejected and works-righteousness formally and completely adopted, slavery and destruction will be complete.

Galatians for You Reap What You Sow

Sin against God sets up strains in the fabric of the moral/spiritual universe, just as eating fatty foods sets up strains in the physical fabric of your heart. If you sow seed poorly, you reap a poor crop (and poverty). If you eat fatty foods, you reap a poor heart (and early death). If you give in to your sinful nature, you reap spiritual breakdown and destruction. The word “destruction” can also helpfully be rendered “corruption”, or “disintegration”. Paul is saying that sin makes things fall apart.

When we live by the spirit we enjoy the approval and assurance and fulfillment and joy of the christian life now, and know that it will continue beyond death.

Galatians for You Reap What You Sow

And if anyone rejects the gospel and lives completely to the flesh, seeking and serving something other than Christ as their savior, then they will reap eternal destruction, rather than eternal life

But there will be times in our lives where what we sow does not look like that of a christian and the apostle Paul knew that while writing this. Paul never condones sin to the church in Galatia but he knows that we are at the same time both sinner and saint.

That is why all through out the letter Paul makes much of getting the gospel right and not preaching a “different” gospel. Because when the Christian is a long season of bad sowing, struggling with sin in a way that would lose them a seat at most christian tables where does he or she turn to if we don’t get the gospel right.

Getting the gospel right is so important because if we get it wrong we get Jesus wrong and if we get Jesus wrong we salvation wrong and assurance of salvation wrong.

To the christian that feels like they are sowing to the flesh right now I want to encourage you to run to Christ. The weary christian that is struggling can turn to Christ who permanent disposition to the believer is one of love, grace, mercy, and arms open wide.

Our confidence is not in our love for him, which is frail, fickle and faltering, but in his love for us, which is steadfast, faithful and persevering.

John Stott

See the gospel message that had been preached in galatia leaves no room for the Christian that is struggling to walk a godly life. The gospel that was being preaching in Galatia was that of works and performance.

I shared a quote on the podcast and I will share it this morning with you all. It is by far my favorite quote by any theologian. Martin Luther said “When I look to myself I think how could I ever be saved when I look to Christ I think how could I ever be lost”.

2.) Stand on business. (vs. 9-10)

Galatians 6:9–10 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

We do not get stop pursing a life of living for Jesus and loving people. As christian if there is two thinks we must do if we don’t do anything else we cannot graduate from living for Jesus and loving people.

One thing about the christian is that no matter what how long of a season of struggle the christian may be in at times the one that is truly in Christ won’t stay there forever will persevere.

We may do a lot of things wrong for a long time but anyone who is in Christ will not walk away from the faith maybe fall astray for a season but not walk away.

The perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again.

Wayne Grudem

I know we live in a world where tapping out on Jesus and walking away from the Church is celebrated don’t been the knee family.

I’ve been walking with Jesus for 15 years. I’ve been going to church every sunday for 15 years I can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve missed church since Jesus saved me.

I will be the first to admit staying the course is not easy it requires Jesus, the holy spirit, and the church to stay the course. This is why community and being plugged into the local church is so important because it is easy to tap out.

There has been seasons in my life when the grass looked mighty greener on the other-side. But I am so thankful that Jesus has kept me. The amazing thing about staying the course is that it is not even in our own ability and our own grip on Jesus that we stay the course by it is Him within us that empowers us with the ability to stay the course.

Christianity is the only religion and faith system by which the God of this religion and faith system, does the saving & the sanctifying. So in the seasons when we are on fire for Jesus and we killing the game spiritually we don’t get to puff our chest out and say “I did that” but rather thank you Jesus for holding me fast.

And when you have been transformed by the power of the gospel and the same power that conquers the grave is in you not only do you persevere to the end and not give up but you are able to love people especially those that are your enemies

This last verse really messed me up Galatians 6:10 “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

This verse made me think about what Jesus said in John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

See there is a special love that should be seen in the church amongst believers that can’t be seen or found anywhere else in this world.

From the outside looking into the body of Christ and how Christians are with one another what people see is embarrassing. Oftentimes the church can look like a high-school cafeteria filled with cliques and a cool table.

We can have differences in the church but we must have unity. The bible demands the church to unity not uniformity. In other words we don’t have to be exactly alike we can even have different convictions on issues that are biblically open handed. We can have different preferences and none of those things are wrong but what we must do is be united to one another in love because the gospel demands it.

The playing field was leveled at the cross and in the gospel we are afforded and demanded to be united in Christ. There should be a certain kind of love that is received and displayed when Christians gather. The gospel demands us to care for one another to lock arms with one another.

The holy spirit gives you the power to love someone in the body of Christ that gets on you last nerves. The person that has been transformed by the power of the gospel loves, covers, cares, for and locks arms with there brothers and sisters in christ that they feel a certain way about because that the power of the gospel

Minimizing the importance of transformed feelings makes Christian conversion less supernatural and less radical.

John Piper

As we close examine your heart and life. Think about the balance amount of your life spiritually and then think about what you have been depositing into your life.

If you have been sowing to the flesh as of late run to Jesus and let him get it right for you. Let him grip your heart today to reap things of the spirit. If you have been reaping to the spirit run to Jesus and let him continue to empower to keep doing good and persevering to the end.