Bear One Another’s Burdens

Introduction:

The last bullet point of our previous lesson was:

Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.

That principle is key in this lesson.

Galatians 6:1-5 NLT
^6:1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. ² Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. ³ If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
⁴ Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. ⁵ For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Examine the scriptures:
Galatians 6:1-5 NLT
Bear One Another’s Burdens

^6:1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin,

Another believer

Is overcome by some sin 

1 Peter 5:8 NLT
⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 

you who are godly 

• Some are better equipped than others to help those overcome by sin.

• The task of restoration is only for those who are godly, that is believers who walk by the spirit.

Galatians 5:16 NLT
¹⁶ So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 

• The task of restoration is only for those who are mature in the faith. 

Hebrews 5:13-14 NLT
¹³ For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. ¹⁴ Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. 

1 Corinthians 2:14-15 NLT
¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. ¹⁵ Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, 

Our tendency might be like:

John 8:3-5 NLT
³ As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
⁴ “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

Acts 21:27-29 NLT
²⁷ The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him, ²⁸ yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple—and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.” ²⁹ (For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.)

should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.    

“you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.”

• Gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.

Gently and humble help restore that person. (mend, repair) 

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

Helping others back onto the right path can be a dangerous task.

• No one is immune from falling into sin.

1 Corinthians 10:12 NLT
¹² If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 

Romans 3:9-12 NLT
All People Are Sinners
⁹ Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
¹¹ No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
¹² All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.” 

1 John 1:8-9 NLT
⁸ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Proverbs 28:13 NLT
¹³ People who conceal their sins will not prosper,
but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

 ² Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 

“Burdens” heavy load, troubles, and problems. (sin – verse 1)

While the “spiritual” do the work of restoring, all believers can become involved by prayer and encouragement.

Galatians 5:14 NLT
¹⁴ For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

• Share each other’s burdens.

³ If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

Don’t be conceited.

Philippians 2:4 NLT
⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

1 Corinthians 12
¹⁴ Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
¹⁸ But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹ How strange a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰ Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. ²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, ²⁴ while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. ²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 

• Don’t think that you are too important to help others.

• Treat other Christians with love when they sin.

Romans 12:16 NLT
¹⁶ Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

⁴ Pay careful attention to your own work,

“Test their own actions” NIV

“Examine his own work” NASB

• Carefully scrutinize, examine, and test your own actions.

Romans 12:3 NLT
³ Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 

Matthew 7:3-5 NLT
³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.  

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 NLT
¹² Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³ But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. 

⁵ For we are each responsible for our own conduct. 

“each one should carry their own load.” NIV 

Don’t play the “Blame Game”.

You are 100% responsible for your actions.

Romans 14:12 NLT
¹² Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.

2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT
¹⁰ For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. 

• We are each responsible for our own conduct. 
• Some are better equipped than others to help those overcome by sin.
• The task of restoration is only for those who are godly, that is believers who walk by the spirit.
• The task of restoration is only for those who are mature in the faith.
• Gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.
• No one is immune from falling into sin.
• Share each other’s burdens.
• Don’t think that you are too important to help others.
• Treat other Christians with love when they sin.
• Carefully scrutinize, examine, and test your own actions.
• We are each responsible for our own conduct.