If you would, go ahead and take your Bibles and turn with me to the NT book of Galatians. We’re in Galatians 6:1–5 today. 

In the OT, in Genesis chapter 4, there is a well-known story about two brothers born to Adam and Eve. These boys were named Cain and Abel. Cain was a horticulturalist; he worked the ground and cultivated vegetation. Abel was a shepherd. 

Now you might remember that Genesis 4 followed Genesis 3 and the fall of man. After Adam and Eve sinned, they were removed from the Garden of Eden and now humanity had to deal with the aftereffects of their sin. One of those aftereffects was that men and women were born with a “sin nature,” a natural proclivity to sin which Paul calls the “flesh.”

Well Cain’s flesh got the best of him on one occasion. After his offering to the Lord was rejected and Abel’s was accepted, Cain lured Abel into the open field and killed him in cold blood. This tragedy was the first of many murders in our world, and it shows just how destructive unchecked flesh can be. 

But after Abel’s murder, God came to Cain and asked him rhetorically, “Where is Abel your brother?” And do you know what Cain’s response was? He said, “I don’t know.” That’s a lie! Sin often multiplies in the heart of an unrepentant person. But then Cain asked God a cynical question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” “Am I the one who looks out for and protects my brother?”

About 30 years ago, Rich Mullins wrote a song called “Brother’s Keeper” and the lyrics go like this:

“And I will be my brother’s keeper  

Not the one who judges him 

I won’t despise him for his weakness 

I won’t regard him for his strength 

I won’t take away his freedom 

I will help him learn to stand 

And I will, I will be my brother’s keeper”

I remember when I first heard that song, I thought to myself, “No, no, Rich, Cain was saying that he’s not his brother’s keeper. You misquoted him.” But obviously what Rich was saying is that Cain got it all wrong. I am my brother’s keeper. We are our brothers’ keepers in the church. 

And in this NT era where brothers and sisters meet together for weekly worship and are a part of a church family, there is an expectation that we do watch out for and protect our fellow brothers and sisters. And if you don’t believe me, look to what Paul says at the end of Galatians. 

Over the next few weeks, we are going to be looking at these 18 verses of Galatians, in chapter 6. Paul’s letter is drawing to a close and so the number of commands and instructions he gives are going to increase. And the gist of these verses is simply this, “Watch out for one another.” “Take care of one another.” “Be your brother’s keeper.” “Be your sister’s keeper.” “Create a one-another culture within your church!” Remember now, Paul’s writing to churches in Galatians (see 1:2). 

I think that Paul is even going a step beyond that and saying this: “If you want to be a healthy church, you need to create a one-another culture inside the church community.” For our purposes today, I’m going to give you three words that summarize Galatians 6:1–5, to help us to create a one-another culture here at our church. 

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So, three words. Here’s the first word from verse 1, accountability. Write that down.

1) Accountability - A healthy church is accountable to one another (6:1)

Paul writes in verse 1, 

1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. 

I know that that word “accountability” is a scary word for many people at church. But it’s a Biblical concept. And I’ve come to appreciate this word very much in my own life. I see it, in many ways, as the antidote for American individualism and isolationism which is extremely detrimental in our society.

Now let’s unpack verse one here, because every word in this sentence is crucial for understanding what Paul is saying. The first word “Brothers” is key! This is the word for fellow Christians in Paul’s vocabulary, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. So if your brother or sister is caught in a transgression, you should restore them. 

But notice this is not a carte blanche edict for everyone in the universe. The church should not operate as the moral police going around and pointing out the sin of unbelievers. That’s not helpful. Accountability is for believers in the church. An unbeliever doesn’t have the Holy Spirit so they are not going to be spiritually restored. Our responsibility with unbelievers is to preach the gospel, which is this: 1) All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but 2) Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and 3) If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior you shall be saved. But for a believer, a brother or sister-in-Christ, we should help restore them when they are caught in sin. 

And notice what else Paul says in verse one: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any “transgression.” “Transgression” is another word for sin; it is a violation of God’s moral standards. Any of the fifteen vices that was mentioned last week from Chapter 5 along would qualify. If anyone is caught in “sexual immorality,” you who are spiritual should restore him. If anyone is caught in “idolatry” or “sorcery,” you who are spiritual should restore him. If anyone is caught in “impurity” or “jealousy” or “drunkenness” or “fits of anger”… there’s a lot in this list that Christians struggle with from time to time… and when that happens, you who are spiritual should restore him. 

Now the word for “spiritual” in verse 1 is very close in Greek to the word for “Spirit” just like in English. “Spirit” is the noun, and “spiritual” is the adjective (Greek πνεῦμα and πνευματικός, respectively). And I think that Paul is intentionally playing on that connection here and linking back to the “Spirit-walking” of chapter 5. So therefore, the one who is walking by the Spirit… the one who has visible manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit… that person should take the initiative to restore a brother in Christ who is transgressing. 

Now everyone who believes in Jesus as their Savior has the Holy Spirit residing inside of them, so in that way we are all “spiritual” (πνευματικός). But there are varying degrees of “spirituality” as we grow as Christians. Some Christians walk by the Spirit more consistently than others. Some Christians have cultivated more fruit than others… maybe because they’ve been doing it for decades! And I would say that to the extent that you are walking in the Spirit, you should be ready to restore a transgressing brother or sister.  

Now why would I say that? Why do I think that restoring a brother or sister should be done cautiously by a mature Christian who is walking by the Spirit? Well, there are two reasons. And Paul gives them to you in verse 1. First of all, restoration should be done in a spirit of “gentleness.” Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit, if you remember from Chapter 5. All too often I see people who barely know how to walk by the Spirit themselves try to hammer another brother or sister in Christ for their shortcomings. They don’t know how to restore with gentleness. And so if you can’t restore gently, then get another brother or sister involved who can. 

Now that doesn’t mean that you need to soft pedal someone who is caught in sin. That doesn’t mean you beat around the bush. Gentleness doesn’t mean apprehensiveness. Gentleness doesn’t mean weakness. Gentleness and firmness are not mutually exclusive. I had a mentor who told me once when dealing with matters of confrontation, “Hard first and soft later, Tony.” So you lead with firmness and conviction forcing the issue of restoration, but then you follow that up with gentleness and a sweet spirit of brotherhood. 

The other reason why restoration should be done cautiously by a mature Christian is Paul’s statement at the end of verse 1. This is a real danger for immature Christians. 

Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 

This statement is tightly linked with the previous statement. It is a relative clause. So a better way to translate this verse is as follows: 

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness, while keeping watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

All too often it is the person who struggles deeply with an issue who is quick to point out that same sin in another person’s life. That’s not how it should be. And if you take the lead on pointing out someone else’s sin, when you yourself are more flesh than Spirit on that issue, you make yourself vulnerable to the enemy. 

I think this vulnerability takes two forms with immature believers. The first form is pride. If you get a kick out of pointing out another person’s sin, if you enjoy reveling in another person’s faults, you will be guilty of arrogance yourself. You’ve just traded another man’s sins for your own sin of pride. 

Secondly if you point out another person’s sin which you yourself are struggling with on a daily basis… there’s a word for that in the Bible… it’s called hypocrisy. Let’s say you struggle on a daily basis with “fits of anger,” yet you jump down someone else’s throat because they display fits of anger towards their spouse or their kids. That’s hypocrisy. 

If you are a serial gossiper, don’t be in a hurry to condemn someone else for gossiping. If you are a serial idolater, don’t be in a hurry to judge someone else for their idolatry. If you’re a rageaholic, don’t be in a hurry to point out someone else’s problem with rage. Jesus said, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt 7:5). Accountability doesn’t require perfection! But it does require that we are devoid of pride and hypocrisy.

By the way, let me just address one of the issues I see in our world right now. Everyone’s favorite verse to quote today isn’t John 3:16, it’s Matthew 7:1: “Judge not lest ye be judged” (KJV). And they use that statement as a trump card for any “judging” or any “correction” in this world. “You do your thing. I’ll do my thing. Don’t be judgy.”

But, as is made clear in Matthew 7:2–5, the sin that Jesus is addressing is not judgmentalism per se; it’s hypocrisy. This is comically illustrated by Jesus’s description of “plankeye.”  The problem isn't that plankeye was trying to help out his brother speckeye. Who wouldn’t want to have foreign matter removed from their eye?  Even a tiny speck (“splinter” in the Greek) can be extremely painful inside somebody’s eye. 

The problem is that hypocritical plankeye needed to fix his own malady, before he starts dealing with the problems of others. So Jesus’s command in Matthew 7:5 make it clear that actions characterized by unhypocritical and caring behavior is what he desires: “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matt 7:5).  To ignore each other’s ailments and walk about without care or concern for a brother or sister is ridiculous. It’s uncaring and nihilistic. The right biblical response is to purify yourself from personal hypocrisy, and then you will see clearly to help others remove their ailments. This displays caring, discerning accountability.  

Let me close this first point with a few exhortations for our church depending on your maturity level as a Christian. I’m going to give an exhortation to the mature Christian, to the immature Christian, and finally to the Christian who is struggling with a particular sin. First of all, let me say something to the mature Christians in this room. I know that that is a subjective term. What is a mature Christian? But I would say that if you are an elder in this church or an elder’s wife or a small group leader or a ministry leader, then you are a mature Christian. If you weren’t one, you wouldn’t be leading in those capacities. 

So mature Christians, let me exhort you in light of this verse, “If you see someone stuck in sin, help to extract them.” Don’t be lazy! Don’t be pacifistic! Don’t say to yourself, “O they’ll figure it out eventually.” No! You who are “spiritual” should restore them. If you point out a sin in their life and call them to accountability on it, and they hate you for that, so be it. Fear God and not men!

Secondly, let me say this for those of you who are immature Christians out there. I know that that is a subjective term as well. We’re not dealing with two categories here. We’re dealing with a spectrum from mature all the way to immature. But to the extent that you are an immature Christian, my exhortation is this—Mature! Grow in your Walk by the Spirit. Then you will have the ability to restore a brother or sister within falling prey to pride or hypocrisy. 

Take the plank out of your own eye and then you will be able to see clearly the speck in your brother’s eye. Don’t just throw up your hands and say, “O, I’m an immature Christian. Galatians 6:1 isn’t for me.” No, you have a responsibility before God to “walk by the Spirit” and as you walk you should grow. And then you’ll be in a position to restore a brother or sister. 

Thirdly, let me say this to those of you who are struggling with a sin. Here’s my exhortation—don’t wait for another brother or sister to find your sin out. Take the initiative with accountability. If you are struggling with rage or lust or jealousy, go confess that to someone and get help. There is power in accountability. There is power when we shed some light on the dark places of our heart. 

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Accountability! That’s a great word, church. Love that word. Let’s take this seriously as a church as we endeavor to build a one-another culture here at VBVF. 

Here’s another great word. Write this down as #2 in your notes. 

2) Mutuality - A healthy church shows mutual care for one another (6:2–3)

Paul says this in verse 2.

2 Bear [or “carry” or “shoulder” … this is a command] one another’s burdens,

Martin Luther said that a Christian must have broad shoulders and husky bones in order to carry the burdens of his brothers and sisters.

2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

You might say you, “fulfill the law”? I thought Paul was down on “the law.” Well there’s a new sheriff in town. And it’s not Moses or the Ten Commandments or the OT covenants; it’s Jesus Christ. And there’s a new covenant in town too. And the new sheriff’s expectation of us, who are part of the new covenant, is that we “carry one another’s burdens.” We are to love one another with the same type of sacrificial love that Christ showed us at the cross. 

Paul said it this way in Galatians 5: “The whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”” (5:14). It’s as if Paul is saying sarcastically here, “You want to be legalistic? You want to be legalistic about something, Galatians? Forget circumcision; love your brother in Christ! Be legalistic about that! Fulfill the law of Christ!”

Look at verse 3, 

3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 

This statement cuts both ways. Paul says bear one another’s burdens and people could respond to this in one of two ways. First, you might say “I don’t need anyone else to carry my burdens, Pastor Tony. I can handle everything by myself, thank you very much.” Paul says to that person, “Don’t deceive yourself! Don’t think you are something that you are not!” 

Second, you might have someone who thinks pretty highly of himself in the church and he says, “I’m too good to help that person.” Or “I’m too busy taking care of myself to help someone else out.” Of course we would never say that in the church. We would just think that! Paul says “Watch yourselves! Don’t you turn up your nose at a brother or sister in need! Don’t be thinking your something you are not! Help carry each other’s burdens.” 

The word that I’ve used for this concept is “mutuality.” Within the church of Jesus Christ which he established by his blood there should be sacrificial love, reciprocity, compassion, mutual care, and humility one to another. Paul says elsewhere in Philippians: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (2:3). Jesus said this, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). I wonder if this is what Paul meant by the “law of Christ.” I wonder if Paul is referencing Jesus’s words in the book of John. That’s quite possible. From God’s lips to Paul’s ears, literally.   

Let’s flesh this idea of mutuality and accountability out a little more. A healthy church is accountable to one another and a healthy church shows mutual care for one another. These two things—accountability and mutuality—are not easy to establish within the church. There are a number of things found within the human heart that resist these functions. 

So before we move on to verse 4 and the last of three words, I want to give you a few enemies of accountability and mutuality. Write these down somewhere.

Enemies of Accountability and Mutuality:

Individualism – I would add to that word isolationism. Unfortunately there are some people who think that Christianity is a one-man operation. “It’s me against the world!” But that’s not the way that God intended it. God intentionally designed the church to be a place where people pool resources and gifts. There is synergistic power when people come together and care for each other and carry each other’s burdens. And so if you want to be obedient to the Scriptures, you need to set aside your individualistic “me-against-the-world” mentality.

I heard once about a church that intentionally did not greet people when they came in the door. They wanted people to have the freedom to come and go as they please without feeling uncomfortable by interaction with other Christians. I can’t think of a more embarrassing compromise with individualistic American culture than that. 

I have some friends who were talking about their daughter who works in ministry and ministers to a number of needy individuals. And these parents were frustrated by how often their lives and the life of their daughter were inconvenienced by people in need. And you know what my response to that was: “Church is inconvenient.” “Life together is uncomfortable sometimes.” God didn’t just put us all on our own island and tell us to live in an isolationist paradise. He wants us to engage with one another and love each other and sacrifice for one another. And there’s joy in that. I’d much rather have that, even though it costs us a little bit of inconvenience and discomfort, than isolationism. 

Lack of Transparency – There’s nothing more frustrating in a small group environment than to have fellow brothers sharing and pouring out their struggles with one another, and yet one or two people remain aloof. Don’t do that! Share your burdens with others and let them help you carry them. Now when someone does open up in a small group, don’t jump all over them. That’s the quickest way to stifle transparency. Listen to that person and work towards restoration gently. We can do that together with a spirit of transparency and authenticity. 

I know how it is. Some people would rather be plastic and insincere and present themselves as something they are not, rather than be sincere and authentic and vulnerable with other people. That can be a defense mechanism for some people who have been hurt before. But we’ve got to buck that tendency in the church. We’ve got to be honest with one another and share struggles in order to facilitate accountability and mutuality.   

Defensiveness – This is a particular enemy of accountability. If you are more anxious to defend yourself than remedy sin, you are not going to get to a place of restoration. Here’s a few ways defensiveness works. Sometimes people will shift blame onto someone else. “It’s my father’s fault I’m the way I am.” “It’s my spouse’s fault.” “It’s because I have a crummy job that I’m so mean to my kids.” Don’t do that. Don’t hide your sin behind a spirit of defensiveness. 

Here’s another way that defensiveness happens. “That’s just the way I am; deal with it. My mom was an alcoholic, and that’s why I’m one.” “My dad never loved me, and so that’s why I’m so messed up and nothing’s ever going to change.” Don’t do that! I’ve seen people who have come from the worst set of circumstances, who had every reason to fail, come to a place of victory in their life. If you’re going to get to that place you have to set aside that attitude of “That’s just how I am; nothing is going to change!” Is God not big enough to make changes in your life? He is! He can do that!

Busyness – This is all I’m going to say about this topic: don’t let yourself be so busy with life and work and family that you fail to engage yourself in the church body. I think that people in the American church are addicted to busyness. Don’t let that become a hindrance to your involvement in the church.

Mistrust of fellow believers – I know where this is coming from. If you are someone who’s been the victim of a breach of confidentiality or who has been hurt deeply by a fellow believer than this might be a struggle for you. One of the things that we’ve got to emphasize strongly in our small groups is accountability with confidentiality. If we don’t create a culture of trust in those settings, people will never be transparent with you. So we need to do a good job of that.

Nevertheless even when confidentiality is breached, that doesn’t negate what Paul says here. We need to be accountable one-to-another in the church and have relationships of mutual care.

An attitude of superiority – Pride kills relationships in the church. Paul said at the end of chapter 5, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited...” The Galatian Church was biting and devouring one another. They were inundated with flesh and devoid of the Spirit. Paul says get rid of your pride and conceit, and instead love one another as Christ has loved us. 

An attitude of inferiority – “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” Envy comes from feelings of inferiority. “If I only had what that person had… I don’t have the healthy family environment that that person has, because I never had what they had.” Fiddlesticks. You have the Holy Spirit inside of you. You have the Holy Word in front of you. You have the church of Jesus Christ beside you. You have everything you need for a victorious life in Christ Jesus. Don’t let a mentality of inferiority rob you of healthy, interdependent relationships in the church. We need each other. And it’s okay to need each other.

I’ve noticed that in my own life with Sanja that there are times when I’m doing okay, and she’s not. And she needs me to encourage her or exhort her. Other times, I’m not doing so good, and I need her. And then there are those rare times that both of us aren’t doing so good. Where do we turn in those moments? 

Well thankfully we have trusted elders and elders’ wives in this church who encourage us in those moments. God has given us good friends as well who have helped us. There has never been a moment in our marriage where we have not been intimately involved in the life of the church. And it’s been inconvenient at times. But we have never been left to fend for ourselves. And we’ve needed that over the years. 

When we first moved to Chicago after we got married, our pastor in Texas said, “You find a church and you get involved in that church. You need it.” And we did. And that was a pearl of wisdom for us that we have never forgotten. So likewise don’t rob yourself of the benefits of mutuality and accountability within the church. Even if it’s uncomfortable at times. Even if it’s inconvenient. 

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Let’s go to verses 4 and 5. Verse 4 says this,

4 But let each one test 

 Here’s another command from Paul—“Test.” If you are counting, there are three explicit imperatives in this passage (i.e. Gal 6:1–5). Verse 1 says “Restore [gently].” Verse 2 says, “Bear [one another’s burdens].” And now, Paul says “Test.” Do this. Test! Test what? 

4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 

Now Paul is hedging in this verse with some of what he has already said in verses 1–3. The idea here is that we should not get so caught up carrying another person’s burden and restoring other people, that we neglect our own responsibilities. Each person must look after his own house first, before he tries to restore another person’s house. Let me put it this way: Corporate accountability doesn’t exempt a person from personal responsibility.

Paul says, “Let each one test his own work.” This is the language of a refinery. Let each one test the purity of his actions like fire tests the purity of precious metals. This is self-examination that promotes personal holiness and Spirit-walking. If there is purity there, then a person will have a better vantage point by which he or she can help another person. 

 Paul says, “Then his reason to boast will be in himself and not in his neighbor.” Now the word “boast” here does not conjure up the negative image in Paul’s day that it does in ours. We think of “boasting” as being synonymous with “bragging.” And for that reason, it is branded a fleshly activity. Boasting can certainly have that connotation in Scripture. 

But boasting is not always used negatively. If we examine ourselves and find growth has taken place in our lives, then there is reason to boast or celebrate or “take pride” in that growth. Now this boasting is always grounded in a spirit of God-exaltation. We recognized that God has brought about this work in our life and we celebrate what he has done. Also this is future tense language—“His reason to boast will be…” That’s another indicator that real boasting, God-exalting boasting, is something that we will do in the future when we are completed in Christ Jesus.

But this boasting should never take place by comparing yourself to a neighbor, or vicariously boasting through a neighbor. Let me say that again… this boasting should never take place by comparing yourself to a neighbor or vicariously boasting through a neighbor. 

Your self-examination should never be in comparison with another person. That leads to either an attitude of superiority or inferiority. An attitude of superiority says, “At least I’m better than so-and-so; at least I have more fruit of the Spirit than that guy.” An attitude of inferiority says, “I’ll never be as Spiritual as that person, so I might as well give up.” That’s not helpful. Your self-examination should compare apples with apples. Is there more “spiritual fruit” in my life today than yesterday? Is there less flesh this year than last year? That’s how self-examination should take place in the Christian life. 

 Also, I think Paul is speaking out here against something that I’ll just call a “Messiah complex.” Some people derive an unhealthy satisfaction with fixing everyone else’s problems, while neglecting their own. They vicariously boast in another person’s victories, while neglecting self-examination. Don’t be so focused on other people’s problems that you neglect your own.   

Following up on that idea, Paul says in verse 5:

5 For each will have to bear his own load. 

Each man and woman is responsible for their own actions, and a healthy church does not enable irresponsibility.  

Here’s the third point from our text today. Here’s the third word to help us create a one-another culture here at church. 

3) Responsibility – A healthy church does not enable one another (6:4–5)

Now admittedly this word is a hedge for what Paul has already said in verse 1–3. So let me say it this way: Corporate accountability and mutuality in the church does not exempt a person from personal responsibility. So a healthy church does not enable one another.

We don’t want to be enablers in the church. We should expect people to carry their own loads and not be constantly dependent on others to do that for them.

 When I was in college in Longview, Texas, I worked at this Cajun restaurant called Dudley’s. I worked as a server there and the money was really good, even though the management was lousy. And one of the reasons that the money was good is that we would have this lunch crowd that would come in from 11 to 1pm. And the place was hoppin’. We would run around like maniacs for two hours delivering food and at the end of it all, when we counted our tips, we usually made out pretty good. 

Well I was working at Dudley’s with a group of older women who had been working there for a while, and I thought I was pretty good as a server. I was young and fast and smooth as butter as a server… or so I thought. But one day, I got behind on my tables. I can’t remember why and my customers were getting visibly angry. And one of the other servers had to help me out. And I wasn’t feeling so “smooth as butter” that day. 

And after our shift was over, I went up to her and said, “Thank you for helping me out.” And she said, “No problem, we’re here to help each other.” But then she turned to me and said, “You’ve got to pick it up during the lunch crowd. You can’t leave your tables hanging like that.” She was right. She helped me out this time, but there was expectations that I carry my own load the next time around. She wasn’t going to be an enabler. 

 Similarly, I see Paul saying here that we need to help each other—in fact we must carry each other’s burdens. But don’t let that be an excuse for you to be lazy or negligent with your own personal responsibilities. 

At first I really struggled with verse 5. Paul says, “each will have to bear his own load.” But Paul just said a few verses earlier, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2). Which is it Paul? Is it verse 2 or verse 5? Well, it’s both. We are called to bear our own burdens and at the same time be ready to help out another person who is in need.

 There’s actually a clue here that Paul means both when he says “burdens” in verse 2 and “load” in verse 5. These are different Greek words. And here’s what Timothy George says about them in his commentary: “The word translated ‘burdens’ in v. 2 refers…to a heavy load, an oppressive weight, which one is expected to carry for a long distance. But the word for ‘load’ in v. 5 is used elsewhere to refer to a ship’s cargo (cf. Acts 27:10), a soldier’s knapsack, or a pilgrim’s backpack.”

The smaller “load” in verse 5 is manageable and we have a responsibility to bear it. But the unmanageable “burdens” from verse 2 are meant to be shared by the collective church body. 

Let me give you examples of “unmanageable burdens.” When there is a death in the family. That’s a burden that needs to be shared. When the Doctor says “cancer.” That’s a burden that needs to be shared. When someone goes through a painful divorce, maybe even an unwanted divorce… that’s a burden that needs to be shared. There is a time for mutuality, and there is a time for responsibility.

I’ll be honest with you I don’t always know when verse 2 applies and when verse 5 applies. When should I step in and help someone or when should I call them to “bear their own burdens.” Probably every situation requires a little bit of both. Like that server who helped me out when I was struggling but didn’t hesitate to tell me “You better pick it up next time!” I think that’s the right mentality. And that keeps us from enabling bad habits of dependency among our Christian brothers and sisters. 

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So, Accountability, Mutuality, and Responsibility. That’s Galatians 6:1–5 in a nutshell. And I’ll close with this. I want to tell you a story about a young pastor, 29 years old, who left the big city of Chicago for a small church downstate in Illinois. This young pastor had just recently completed his master’s degree at seminary. He was working on a doctorate degree. His head was so full of Greek and Hebrew, it was about to explode. And he went down to a community with his wife and baby son. And he was ready to positively impact everyone’s lives with his preaching and theological expertise. 

But something happened in that church community that this young pastor wasn’t expecting. Something really sweet. Can I just switch to first person for the rest of this story? That young pastor was me. And when Sanja and I went to that church, we didn’t anticipate how richly our lives would be blessed even as we sought to richly bless the lives of others. 

That church community loved us and cared for us like we were their children. They helped us to find a house. It was a fixer-upper, so they even helped us with some of the fixer-upping! They welcomed us into their homes and fed us. They mentored us, especially the elders and elders’ wives in that church. They helped us with Alastair. One of our elder’s wives was a nurse, and she would give us helpful advice from time to time. They taught us about parenting. They taught us about homeownership. They taught us about hospitality. Even as I taught them the Scriptures. It was a beautiful quid-pro-quo. 

Here’s the bottom line. They loved us, and we loved them. And we carried each other’s burdens for years. It was pretty painful in fact when we left that church community to move back to Texas. I don’t talk about that a lot. But that’s what happened.

And if we had left that church community three years ago, and it hadn’t been hard to do that... In other words, if it was easy to leave them… then something would be wrong. We would have failed to do as Paul commands here in Galatians 6. Because that’s what the church community is for. That’s why we have each other. We love each other. We care for each other. We bear one another’s burdens. 

So, Accountability, Mutuality, Responsibility. These are good words. Let’s embrace them. And let’s bear one another’s burdens as the church of Jesus Christ.