Cause and Effect

[0:00] We'll cover Galatians chapter 6 verses 7 through 10 tonight.

[0:14] ! Those verses finish the bigger section, then begin with Galatians chapter 6 verse 1.! Let's go ahead and read verses 7 through 10 now. Paul said, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked.

[0:28] 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.

[0:42] 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.

[0:58] Here's the main idea of this text. Because actions have consequences, true believers should focus on doing good. Once again, because actions have consequences, true believers should focus on doing good.

[1:14] Paul has completed the presentation of the main theme of this letter. You'll remember that he was saying that legalism, particularly the legalism of the Judaizers, has no part either in receiving or in living the Christian life.

[1:29] He gave instruction for spiritual believers to restore their sinning brothers who have fallen to the flesh. That's what we saw last week in verses 1 through 6. Now he warns the fallen brethren who might presume upon God's grace and resent being rebuked and offered help.

[1:46] All of us can learn from that warning in those verses, though. And we'll see in these verses a reminder that God's universe is structured on unalterable laws.

[1:56] In Galatians 6, 7 through 10, Paul uses a well-known law of botany, and that is that a given seed can reproduce only its own kind.

[2:06] And he uses that to illustrate God's similar laws in the moral and spiritual realms. God has ordained that we reap what we sow, and if not for this law, the whole principle of cause and effect would fail.

[2:19] We'll break tonight's passage into just two sections. In verses 7 and 8, we see the principle stated. So the principle stated is your first heading.

[2:34] Here are verses 7 and 8 again. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

[2:44] 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. The principle is clear there, and that is that whatever someone sows, he also will reap.

[3:01] Before that principle comes a solemn warning, and we'll look at that warning first. Paul says, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Deceived here means exactly what you think.

[3:14] The Greek word has the primary meaning of leading someone astray. In part, the apostle was calling on the misguided Galatians to stop being deceived by others.

[3:25] Many of them had been led astray or bewitched. Remember, Paul actually used the bewitched word in Galatians 3.1. And they were bewitched by the Judaizers into thinking that obedience to the Mosaic law was necessary for receiving and living the Christian life.

[3:41] John MacArthur said, The great danger of false teachers is more than the evil of the teachings themselves. The great danger is that those false teachings are being taught as God's truth.

[3:54] A person who teaches heresy in the name of Satan or simply on his own authority seldom has much influence, especially in the church. False teachers who claim to teach in God's name are the most destructive.

[4:07] The New Testament many times warns believers against being deceived. 2 John verses 7 and 8 say, For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.

[4:26] Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Ephesians 5.6 says, Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

[4:49] The supreme deceiver and the ultimate root of all deception is Satan. Speaking to the self-righteous unbelieving Pharisees, Jesus described the devil like this in John 8.44.

[5:02] In John 8.44, Jesus said, You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

[5:18] When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Obviously, we know from these verses that we need to be cautious about others, including Satan, who attempt to deceive us.

[5:32] But we need to be aware of another source of deception, and that is our own selves. Here's another quote from John MacArthur. He said, The strongest implication of Paul's warning in Galatians 6.7 seems to be that misled believers were deceiving themselves.

[5:50] As Jeremiah warns, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? That is Jeremiah 17.9. Therefore, just because you are saved, Paul was essentially saying, don't think you can sin with impunity.

[6:05] You are terribly deceived if you think that God fails to deal severely with the sin in the lives of his children, including the sin of legalism, which substitutes man's work for God's.

[6:18] The significance of Paul's warning is emphasized even more by the next sentence. He says, God is not mocked. Here's what John Stott said about that sentence.

[6:30] He said, The Greek verb here is striking. It is derived from the word for a nose, and means literally to turn up the nose at somebody or to sneer at or to treat with contempt.

[6:42] From this, it can signify to fool or to outwit. What the apostle is saying is that men may fool themselves, but they cannot fool God. We cannot turn our noses up at God.

[6:54] We cannot despise him by pleasing our sinful nature and then sneering at him whenever we get the chance. At least we can't do those things and get away with them. People who think that they can fool with God are only fooling themselves.

[7:10] We see people mock God every day in our society, and the fact that God allows any mocking to occur demonstrates God's mercy. The Bible is very clear that unless the mockers repent, those mockers one day will receive God's punishment.

[7:26] Let's look at a few cross-references in Jude. Jude 4 tells us, For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

[7:48] A few verses later in Jude 10, we see this, But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

[8:03] And listen now to Jude 14 through 16. It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against them.

[8:30] These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires. They are loudmouth boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. God's word also assures us that Satan's doom is sure.

[8:44] Listen to Revelation 12, verse 9. Revelation 12, 9 says, And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.

[8:59] He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Let's move on to the second half of Galatians 6, 7 and dig deeper into the principle itself.

[9:11] Here's the end of verse 7 again. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. The principle of reaping and sowing is taught throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments.

[9:26] Here are just a few examples of that. Listen to Job 4, verse 8. As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

[9:37] The first half of Hosea, chapter 8, verse 7 says, For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind. And here are Hosea, chapter 10, verses 12 through 15.

[9:54] Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap steadfast love. Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

[10:05] You have plowed iniquity, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in a multitude of warriors, therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shaman destroyed Beth Arbol on the day of battle.

[10:25] Mothers were dashed in pieces with their children. Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.

[10:38] Moving to the New Testament, Jesus restated the principle of sowing and reaping using different words. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, verses 16 through 18.

[10:50] Jesus said in Matthew 7, 16 through 18, You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?

[11:02] So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

[11:14] We know that anytime God's word says something, that text is significant. But when a principle is repeated as many times as the principle of sowing and reaping, God is reemphasizing that message to us.

[11:29] And in Galatians chapter 6, verse 8, Paul continues to reemphasize the sowing and reaping message. He says there, 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.

[11:48] In its literal, physical sense, that basic law of agriculture is self-evident. It's universal, and it applies equally to every farmer and gardener in every time and place.

[12:02] It is as impartial, predictable, and immutable as the law of gravity. There are no exceptions. The person who plants the seed makes no difference at all in the law's operation.

[12:15] Similar to what we've seen in some of the cross-references that we've just read, Paul now applies the agricultural principle of sowing and reaping to the spiritual realm.

[12:27] And that law of sowing and reaping is just as valid in the spiritual as in the physical and moral realms. The frustration and hopelessness of human psychology, psychiatry, and counseling can be traced, among other things, to their refusal to consider the immutable spiritual law of sowing and reaping.

[12:46] A person's character cannot change until his nature is changed, and a change in a person's nature can only happen through the new creation that comes from trust in Jesus Christ.

[12:59] You may be wondering how the law of sowing and reaping fits with the gospel of grace. Listen to how John MacArthur explained it. He said, the law of salvation in Jesus Christ is, in fact, the ultimate demonstration of that law of sowing and reaping.

[13:16] Jesus Christ sowed perfect righteousness and reaped eternal life, which he gives to those who trust in his finished work. The believer reaps eternal life because, in faith, he is united with Christ and with what Christ has sown and reaped on man's behalf.

[13:33] MacArthur went on to say this, But the believer is not thereby exempt from all the consequences of his own sowing. He will never reap the ultimate consequences of sin, which are death and judgment.

[13:47] His Lord already reaped those consequences for him. But he continues to reap the earthly heartaches, wounds, shame, and pain of his sins and foolishness. God's law of cause and effect still operates in the lives of his children.

[14:03] We know that the specific sin that Paul addresses so strongly throughout this letter is the sin of legalism, particularly that of the heretical Judaizers who undermined the gospel of grace by placing human works between Christ's sacrifice and man's salvation.

[14:19] And that led to countless other sins. Because we believers are still prone to sin, we must be mindful of whether we are sowing to the flesh or sowing to the spirit.

[14:31] We've seen Paul talk about the flesh and the spirit before. You'll remember that he spent several verses talking about the flesh and the spirit in Galatians 5, verses 16-25.

[14:44] Let's remind ourselves about what Paul means when he talks about the flesh. The flesh, in the language of the Apostle Paul, is our fallen human nature.

[14:55] It is twisted with self-centeredness and therefore prone to sin. The flesh is what remains of the old man after a person is saved. Even the most godly believer will never be completely rid of his sinful nature until the believer dies or until Jesus comes back to take believers to heaven.

[15:13] Until then, the believer has a redeemed self living in unredeemed humanness. In Galatians 5, verses 16-25, the spirit referenced the Holy Spirit and the same is true here in Galatians 6.

[15:28] And when we look at those verses in Galatians 5, we saw that the flesh and the spirit are at war within the believer. The flesh wants to pull us back to worldly behaviors and sins.

[15:40] The spirit is working to make every believer more like Christ. Here in Galatians 6, we see a little bit different picture. The flesh and the spirit are two fields in which we may sow seed.

[15:54] The harvest we reap depends on where and what we sow. This is a vitally important and much neglected principle of holiness. What we become depends largely on how we behave.

[16:07] Our character is shaped by our conduct. And Paul tells us that sowing to the flesh leads to corruption. Corruption is from the Greek word which refers to degeneration or going from better to worse.

[16:23] It was sometimes used of decaying food which turns from being helpful to being harmful. The deeds of the flesh always corrupt and make a person progressively worse.

[16:34] The ultimate corruption is eternal death, the wages of sin for the unsaved. Although his trust in Christ saves the Christian from spiritual death, a sinning believer can nevertheless reap corruption, suffering physical death and many other tragic earthly consequences, as did some of the unrepentant Corinthians.

[16:56] Listen to what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 27 through 30. In 1 Corinthians 11 27 through 30, Paul is writing about how some of the Corinthians approached the Lord's Supper.

[17:13] And he said, Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

[17:29] For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died.

[17:39] Several of the Galatians commentaries included at least part of this quote from John Stott. And here is what Stott said about sowing to the flesh.

[17:51] To sow to the flesh is to pander to it, to cosset, cuddle, and stroke it instead of crucifying it. The seeds we sow are largely thoughts and deeds.

[18:02] Every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take a risk which strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh.

[18:33] 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.

[18:48] You probably recognize Stott's reference to crucifying the flesh. That comes from Galatians 5.24. Galatians 5.24 says, And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

[19:04] Remember what we discussed when we studied that verse. When something is crucified, death is certain. But that crucifixion victim remains alive for a while.

[19:16] One day when we've been glorified, we will be completely free of our sinful fleshly nature. Until then, we must be careful to avoid sowing to the flesh. Instead of sowing to the flesh, Paul reminds us to sow to the spirit.

[19:31] And here's another quote from John Stott. he said, To sow to the spirit is the same as to set the mind on the spirit and to walk by the spirit. Again, the seeds we sow are our thoughts and deeds.

[19:45] We are to seek and to set our minds on the things of God, things that are above, not things that are on the earth. By the books we read, by the company we keep, and the leisure occupations we pursue, we can be sowing to the spirit.

[20:00] Then we are to foster disciplined habits of devotion in private and in public, in daily prayer and Bible reading, and in worship with the Lord's people on the Lord's day.

[20:11] All this is sowing to the spirit. Without it, there can be no harvest of the spirit, no fruit of the spirit. Many scriptures illustrate what it means to sow to the spirit.

[20:26] We know that to sow to the spirit is the same as to be filled with the spirit. It is the same as abiding in Christ and his word and having his word abide in us. It is the same as walking in Christ and setting one's mind on the things that are above and not on the things that are on earth.

[20:45] And sowing to the spirit is also the same as what Paul tells us to do in Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. Here are Romans 12 1 and 2. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

[21:08] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

[21:21] So do you see how Paul is getting very practical with these words in the verses tonight? It reminds us that actions do have consequences and causes have effects.

[21:34] Many of you have heard this adage several times throughout your Christian life. Sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character.

[21:47] Sow a character, reap a destiny. If we want to reap a harvest of holiness, our duty is twofold. We must avoid sowing to the flesh and we must keep sowing to the spirit.

[22:02] We must ruthlessly eliminate the first and concentrate our time and energies on the second. It's another way of saying that we must crucify the flesh and walk by the spirit.

[22:13] There is no other way of growing in holiness. Look at the end of Galatians 6.8 again. It says, But the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life.

[22:29] Throughout scripture, eternal life refers primarily to quality, not duration. The believer begins participating in eternal life the moment that he trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

[22:42] But just as his life does not always perfectly reflect the righteousness that he has before God in Christ, neither does his life perfectly reflect the eternal quality of life that he has in Christ.

[22:55] That previous quote was from John MacArthur and he went on to say, Because sin is external, no sin in a believer's life can separate him from eternal life.

[23:06] But any sin in his life corrupts his reflection and enjoyment of that eternal life. That is why some Christians are among the most miserable, unhappy, and wretched of people.

[23:18] A persistently sinning believer can sometimes be more miserable than an unbeliever simply because the believer's sin is in constant conflict with and warring against his new nature in Christ.

[23:31] The sinning Christian has a battle raging within him that an unbeliever never experiences. The believer who sows to his own flesh does not lose the spirit, but he loses the fruit of the spirit.

[23:45] And of course, remember that some of the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, and patience. David did not pray, restore my salvation to me, but instead restored to me the joy of my salvation.

[24:00] So let's consider how the verses that we're studying now relate to what we studied last week. So here are some questions and answers to think about. What keeps us from restoring our broken brother gently like we're commanded to do in Galatians 6.1?

[24:18] Well, our failure to sow in the spirit is what keeps us from doing that. Lack of holiness hinders real community among believers. It's the one who is spiritual that does the restoring.

[24:31] And then what keeps us from bearing another's burdens? Most often it is pride. And where does that come from? Well, pride comes from sowing to the flesh.

[24:43] And why will we not work for the good of the household of faith as Paul will tell us to do later on tonight in verse 10? It's because we are too occupied with ourselves. Lack of holiness does damage to the family of faith.

[24:57] So once again we see that actions do indeed have consequences. consequences. Now that we've seen the principles stated, let's move to the second half of this passage.

[25:10] In Galatians chapter 6 verses 9 and 10 we see the priority summarized. The priority summarized is your next set of blanks. Look at verses 9 and 10 again.

[25:25] Paul said, The priority obviously is to do good.

[25:48] In verse 9 Paul is talking about blessing and ultimately eternal reward. He's saying that it is possible to serve God for a long time and then to give up and lose blessing here and lose some reward and glory.

[26:01] We won't lose our salvation but we may lose some of our reward. And this matches what the Apostle John said in the 2 John 8 verse that we read earlier. Here is 2 John 8 again.

[26:14] Watch yourselves so that you may not lose what we have worked for but may win a full reward. Sowing in the Spirit is hard work and that's why we need the exhortation in verse 9 where he says, And let us not grow weary of doing good for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.

[26:35] To grow weary means to grow faint or to lose heart. Originally the term was used to describe something that had gone slack like an unstrung bow. The Apostle Paul knew how easy it is to slack off in the Christian life.

[26:52] Human beings are weak and that's why it is so hard for ministries to maintain their spiritual vitality and why so many Christians are active in ministry but later get burned out.

[27:03] People grow tired and they are tempted to sin. They experience opposition sometimes from the very people they are trying to help and they get discouraged when they fail to see results.

[27:16] in today's culture people expect instant gratification. It's hard to wait for things to grow. We see the sheer immensity of human need and as we've learned from Galatians there are neighbors to love sinners to restore and burdens to bear and this is only the beginning.

[27:37] We can always find someone who needs more help but who has the time and the energy to help everyone and so sometimes it is tempting simply to just give up. Have you ever felt that way?

[27:51] Does it encourage you that God knows we sometimes will feel that way and he actually addresses that in his word? When we become weary we need to remember the source of every believer's spiritual strength.

[28:04] That strength never comes from ourselves. Listen to Isaiah chapter 40 verses 28 through 31. Here are Isaiah 40 28 through 31.

[28:17] Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary.

[28:28] His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youth shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted.

[28:42] that they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.

[28:54] It's interesting that Isaiah starts those verses with the two questions. Have you not known? Have you not heard? In other words he's saying don't you know the God that I know?

[29:05] going back to Galatians 6-9 if the sowing is doing of good works in the community what's the harvest from that sowing?

[29:17] Well Paul does not tell us he leaves us to guess but the patient work of doing good in the church or community always produces good results. It may bring comfort relief or assistance to people in need.

[29:31] It may lead a sinner to repentance salvation. Jesus himself spoke of this work as sowing and reaping in Matthew 9-37 and John 4-35-38.

[29:44] It may help to arrest the moral deterioration of society. That's the function of being the salt of the earth. And it may even make it a sweeter and more wholesome place for us to live.

[29:56] It may increase man's respect for what is beautiful, good, and true, especially in days when standards are slipping fast. And it will bring good to the doer as well, not salvation because we know salvation is a free gift of God, but some reward in heaven for faithful service which will probably take the form of yet more responsible service.

[30:19] Always remember that God's command to keep on keeping on comes with an incentive. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.

[30:32] If you labor for Christ, you will get your reward. Every act of Christian duty, wrote John Brown, every sacrifice made, every privation submitted to, every suffering endured, from a regard to Christ's authority, with a view to Christ's honor, shall assuredly be recompensed.

[30:53] If the recompense is not granted in this life, it will certainly be granted in the life to come. The Bible often speaks about eternal rewards, not to make us anxious about whether we have done enough for God, but to encourage us to do as much as we can.

[31:10] Listen to that last part again. The Bible often speaks about eternal rewards, not to make us anxious about whether we have done enough for God, but to encourage us to do as much as we can.

[31:23] Do you see the difference there? this is part of the biblical doctrine of perseverance. If we want to claim our reward, we must persevere to the very end, not growing weary of doing good.

[31:37] By the grace of God, we will persevere. The old saying is true, once saved, always saved. What Christians sometimes forget though, is that once we are saved, we are saved to serve, and we're always to serve.

[31:52] We must continue to do good, not because we're struggling to earn our salvation, which is a gift of God's grace, but because we are grateful for the salvation that we have in Christ.

[32:03] There's a big difference there. Look at Galatians 6.10 now. Paul says, So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

[32:20] Opportunity translates kairos, which literally refers to a fixed and distinct period of time. And the phrase, as we have, refers to the total opportunity of a person's present earthly existence.

[32:33] In other words, a believer's entire life in his unique but limited opportunity to serve others in the Lord's name. The idea is also implied for seeking and even making particular opportunities within the broader opportunity of our own time on earth.

[32:50] The exhortation, let us do, is from a word which means to be active, to work effectively and diligently. It is a call to great effort in taking every opportunity to sow for God's glory.

[33:05] When he talks about doing good there, good has a definite article in front of it in the Greek. Paul is speaking of a particular good, the good. It is the goodness of moral and spiritual excellence that is a fruit of the spirit.

[33:17] It is not simply goodness that is limited to physical and temporal things. The good here is the internal goodness produced by the spirit in the hearts of obedient believers which finds expression in external goodness.

[33:34] Universally, we must love our neighbor as ourselves. We should be sensitive to the poor in our community and we should look for ways to show mercy to all those around the world who have urgent physical needs.

[33:46] Here in Galatians, Paul omits the reason why we should do good to everyone, even unbelievers, but elsewhere in scripture, we find the main reason why we should do good to everyone.

[33:59] Listen to 1 Peter 2.15. 1 Peter 2.15 says, For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

[34:14] Paul wrote these words in Titus 2.7-8. He said, Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teachings show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

[34:36] A little bit later in Titus, here's what Paul said in Titus 3.8. Titus 3.8 says, One of the best ways to thwart criticism of Christianity is for Christians to do good to unbelievers.

[35:07] Loving concern will do more to win a person to Christ than the most carefully articulated argument. The heart of every Christian testimony should be kindness. Listen to this quote from H.A.

[35:20] Ironside. He said, Are we on the watch for such opportunities to manifest the goodness of God to those with whom we come in contact, and thus magnify the Lord, whose we are and whom we serve?

[35:32] Having been so wondrously dealt with ourselves, how can we do other than seek to exemplify in our dealings with others the mercy and loving kindness which has been shown toward us?

[35:44] This is indeed to live on a higher plane than law. It is the liberty of grace which the Holy Spirit gives to all who recognize the Lordship of Christ. Galatians 6.10 is clear that believers have a universal responsibility to do good to everyone.

[36:03] The verse also is clear that believers have a particular responsibility to do good to fellow believers. Look again at verse 10. Paul said, So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

[36:23] Household of faith, of course, is a reference to fellow believers. The first test of our love for God is our love for God's other children, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

[36:36] Remember what Paul said in Galatians 5.13-14. He said, For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

[36:51] For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 1 John has many similar commands.

[37:03] Listen to 1 John 3.14. 1 John 3.14 says, We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

[37:18] And here are 1 John 4.20-21. If anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

[37:33] And this commandment we have from him, whoever loves God must also love his brother. Loving fellow believers is a dynamic testimony to those outside salvation.

[37:47] How we treat each other is our greatest attraction to a world seeking love, kindness, and compassion. In both last week's study and a little bit in this week's study so far, we've talked about how Galatians 6.1-10 are related to each other.

[38:03] Let's talk about that just a little bit more. We know tonight's main idea for verses 7-10 that is that because actions have consequences, true believers should focus on doing good.

[38:17] You also may remember the main idea from the verses we studied last week. The main idea of verses 1-6 was this. Paul applied what he taught in chapter 5 to show how we should restore a struggling believer.

[38:31] So put the whole section together now. We are to be a spirit-led people marked by gentle restoration, humble burden bearing, generous sharing, personal holiness, and practical goodness.

[38:46] Jesus provided the perfect example for us. Jesus restored us from our broken relationship with God. He continues to restore our souls.

[38:58] Jesus carried our greatest burden, the crushing weight of sin. Jesus kept God's law in our place and then he died in our place, removing the penalty of sin that was upon us so that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

[39:14] Jesus constantly sowed in the spirit, lived a life of perfect righteousness, and reaped eternal glory. Jesus was a prophet, mighty in word and deed, who went about doing good.

[39:27] Jesus gives us the example and he gives us more than that. He gives us the spirit to live out these responsibilities. Our job is to keep on living out those responsibilities as long as God gives each of us life on this earth.

[39:41] Remember what Paul told the Philippians in Philippians chapter 3 verses 12 through 14. Here are Philippians 3 12 through 14.

[39:54] Not that I have already obtained this, speaking of the resurrection from the dead, or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

[40:07] Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

[40:23] Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the reminder that you expect us to do good. And we know that we are to do good not to earn our salvation, but we are to do good because we already are saved.

[40:42] Help us be constantly on the lookout to do good for others, and especially other fellow believers. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen.