Bear One Another's Burdens

Restore the Fallen Brother

There has been or will be a time in our life when we fall to sin in a public way. It is in this time that we need the church to help restore us. The church is not the place that should stand in judgment of someone and not try to help them. We cannot afford to have a “sleep in the bed you made” attitude. We are called to restore the fallen brother. We see Jesus doing this with the woman caught in the act of adultery.

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. 10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, [a]Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

Here is a woman that is caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisaical church demanded that she be stoned to death based on the law of Moses. Jesus stooped down and began writing something in the sand. The Bible does not say what He wrote, but based on His comment afterwards, I can presume that it was a lit of sins. He told them that if they had not broken any of the sins that they were free to cast a stone. No one could cast a stone because all were guilty of sin. Once everyone left Jesus addressed the lady with grace and restoration. He told her that he did not condemn her (Grace) but he also told her not sin again (restoration)

We can learn a lot from this episode. One may have a heart to be a stone thrower because of their self righteous heart. I would encourage that person to look into the sand. Do you see any sin that you are guilty of? Do you want people to throw stones at you? What would you want for yourself? Grace and restoration? exactly! That is what what you should give. After all, this is what Jesus has done for you.

Another person may have a heart that says this is none of my business, so I am going to leave this situation alone. This is probably true if you have nothing to contribute to the restoration of the fallen person. If you are spiritual then you have an obligation to help restore this person with gentleness

A spiritual person is simply one who is living according to the Spirit and following Christ. This person is qualified to help the fallen brother in Christ. You don’t have to do what they have done to be qualified to restore a fallen brother. All you have to do is approach them with gentleness and not judgement. Gentleness is for the purpose of restoration. Judgement is for the purpose of punitive measures with no aspirations of restoration.

Once the fallen sinner is restored, it is our responsibility to help carry the burden of the fallen brother.

Bear One Another’s Burden

To bear one another’s burdens is to help lift the heavy load of the burden that is weighing someone down. All of us at some point in time will face circumstances that we cannot go through alone. We will need each other to help get through whatever is weighing us down.

When dad passed, it was too much for me to bear. I praise God that I was with His people when it happened. When I left the church, the only thing that was sustaining me were your prayers. I would like to think that I was a spiritual giant that knew exactly what to do when I got the news. I didn’t. My thought process was numb, my spiritual faculties were numb, and even my emotions were guarded. I wasn’t able to deeply grieve until the Wednesday I was preparing my dad’s funeral. I know that I had a church praying for me in my time of grief. I could not have made it without you. I don’t rightly know if I have ever thanked you for being there for me, so I want to say with the deepest sincerity, THANK YOU!

I know that I am not the only one who has benefited from others bearing burdens. There are many in this church that bear a lot of burdens because of the love in this church. There has been a lot of tragedy that has happened here and I have seen how this church pulls together and gets stronger as a result of this.

Bearing one another’s burdens fulfills the law of Christ

What is the law of Christ?

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Bearing another person’s burden is one of the most sacrificial things a person can do. We all have our own burdens to bear, so to pick up someone else’s is an act of love. This is what Christ has done for us. We had a sin burden that we could not fix. He took that burden on himself and has redeemed our relationship to the Father.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus has demonstrated this commandment for us. We just have to understand how he carried our burden and do the same for others. We cannot give our lives for the sins of anyone, but we can surely help bear their burdens. This is a high level of love!

Remain Humble

Paul cautions the one helping to remain humble. The temptation that the helper can fall into is Pride. When we are helping someone, we can sometimes think that we are above them. This is the far from the truth. We must remain humble and never make the person that we are helping feel inferior.

Everyone is equal at the foot of the cross! It doesn’t matter your skin color, socioeconomic position, position of authority, political party or any other earthly position that would cause one to think they are superior. At the foot of the cross everyone is a sinner dependent on a Savior. Jesus is that Savior.

When we help others we must do it at the foot of the cross lest we become prideful. We must understand that there has been a time in our life where someone helped us in our time of trouble and there will be a time in the future that we will need someone to help carry our burden.

We must remember that we are not alone. Jesus helps us with our own burdens and to help shoulder the burdens of others.

28 “Come to Me, all [a]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For My yoke is [b]easy and My burden is light.”

I would contend that we must go to Jesus in order to carry burdens. If we try to do it alone we will get weary!

Boast in the Lord

When we are helping someone, it is going to be the Lord that enables us to carry the load. We must examine what we are doing and why we are doing it. If we are helping someone for what they can do for us later, we are doing it for the wrong reason. If we are helping someone to show them that we are better than they are we are doing it for the wrong reason. But if we are helping someone because we love them and want them to be able to keep going, we will do it for the right reason. It is when we do it for the right reason that we can boast because God gets the glory.

12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with [a]some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. 13 But we will not boast beyond our measure, but [b]within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for we were the first to come even as far as you in the gospel of Christ; 15 not boasting beyond our measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows, we will be, [c]within our sphere, enlarged even more by you, 16 so as to preach the gospel even to the regions beyond you, and not to boast [d]in what has been accomplished in the sphere of another. 17 But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. 18 For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

It is the strength of the Lord that we are able to help others. Let’s boast in what He has done!

Bear Your Own Load!

What is our own load? It is the daily calling that God puts in our lives. We are to live for Him.

The word for load here is phortion. It basically means to carry the load that you will be held responsible for.

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for [a]his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

There is coming a day where we will be held accountable for the life we lived. We will stand before Jesus as He opens the book of our life and we must account for how we handled the burdens of our life. Some we will not fair well and others we will. Our reward in heaven (not our entrance) will be determined by how we bear our own load.