Grace Does What is Good
Good News: Grace! A Look at Galatians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1. Share All Good Things (6:6-9)
1. Share All Good Things (6:6-9)
Support Teaching Ministers (v.6)
Support Teaching Ministers (v.6)
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
(a) “the one who is taught” = context of the church, thus those who are taught is the church, individual believers
(b) “the one who teaches” = by the elders, pastors of the church
Ephesians 4:11–12 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”
(c) “share all good things” = provision, monetarily and otherwise
Those who minister in the church are to be supported monetarily, for needs of life so they can focus upon the ministry of the Gospel.
In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
Application:
(1) The pastors primary task is to teach the Word of God. Provide, briefly, a window into my soul:
(aa) “Preaching is central, not because we value the intellect to the exclusion of the emotions and the will, but because it is God’s action rather than our own. The God who accomplished our salvation now delivers it to us. . . . The real issue is not whether we give priority to a particular human faculty (intellect, will, or emotion) by whether we give priority to God’s action over ours.” ~ Michael Horton, Christless Christianity, 218
CS Lewis was once asked, “Do you feel, then, that modern culture is being de-Christianized?”
Lewis responded: “I cannot speak to the political aspects of the question, but I have some definite views about the de-Christianizing of the church. I believe that there are many accommodating preachers, and too man practitioners in the church who are not believers. Jesus Christ did not say, ‘Go into all the world and tell the world that it is quite right.’ The Gospel is something completely different. In fact, it is directly opposed to the world.” ~Lewis, God in the Dock, 293
M. Horton: “We are increasingly becoming sheep without a Shepher . . . Instead of the churching the unchurched, we are well on our way to even unchurching the churched.” CC, 204
(bb) But it’s not just about truth:
“You can be orthodox but dead. Why? Well, because you are stopping at the doctrines, you are stopping at the definitions, and failing to realize that the whole purpose of doctrine is not to be an end in itself, but to lead us to knowledge of the person and to an understanding of the person, and to a fellowship with the person.” ~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
(2) The church is to support the pastors/ministers of the church monetarily and otherwise.
Illustration: cup overflowing
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(3) We can also extend this concept and apply it to one another: we all ought to share good things with each other
Support is Eternally Rewarding (v.7-8)
Support is Eternally Rewarding (v.7-8)
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.
“mocking God” = show contempt for the things of God; whatever we sow in this life we will reap in eternity
There is an aspect of rewards in heaven
If we live according to the Spirit (supporting the ministry of the church, doing good works, etc.), we will reap rewards in the next life.
We ought not be concerned about sowing and reaping things for this life.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Do Not Give Up Doing Good (v.9)
Do Not Give Up Doing Good (v.9)
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Galatians: Verse by Verse (Life in the Spirit: Doing Good (6:9–10))
The principle is that whatever we do for others will be repaid to us as eternal reward. Whatever is spent on ourselves, on the other hand, is temporary earthly reward and gone forever. ~Grant Osborne
Cautious: Virtue Signaling
Illustration: Peacock
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Do not seek recognition
“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”
2. Do Good to Everyone (6:10)
2. Do Good to Everyone (6:10)
Galatians 6:10 (ESV)
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Do Good to Unbelievers (v.10a)
Do Good to Unbelievers (v.10a)
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.
Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.
And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Do Good to Believers (v.10b)
Do Good to Believers (v.10b)
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
300 Illustrations for Preachers Take Money from the Plate
As people began to struggle with the downturn in the economy in 2009, Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, Texas, attempted to help. The pastor told the people, “When the offering plate comes by, if you need money, take it from the plate.” The church gave away $500,000 in just two months. They helped single moms, widows, a local mission, and some families behind on their utility bills. The day they announced the take-from-the plate offer, they received their largest offering ever.
Pastor Toby Slough says, “In these economic times, we can’t be so into church business that we forget what our business is, and that is to help people.”
Again, to implement this, we have some things we need to be on the lookout for:
Before we say or do anything, or not do anything, with or for another believer, let’s ask ourselves, “Is this good? Is this uplifting? Is this helpful?”
This is difficult: we must dig deep into our motives for doing something. We often think we are attempting to do good by being helpful, but we need to check ourselves. Often, we can deceive ourselves into thinking that we are trying to do good when we are just trying to get our own way.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James 4:17 (HCSB) “So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.”
Conclusion:
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What kind of seeds are we sowing? Are we sowing good?