Gal 6:1-5 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if any one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each man will have to bear his own load.
	We are at the last chapter of this Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians. We will be dealing with verses 1-5 and in connection with their importance, verse 11. Next week, Lord willing, we will complete our brief consideration of this letter. In all honesty, there is no way in which we can give ample time to the great truths of God that the Apostle Paul declared unto these readers. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. As we continue to contemplate His Word, He will open the doors to our growing understanding of a life hid in Christ Jesus, Our Lord and Savior. The Apostle Paul has covered many, many elements of what it means to be a Christian in this letter. He has, as we saw in our last study, stated the difference in a life lived unto the flesh and a life lived unto Christ by the Holy Spirit. This has been very much in line with the tremendous statement toward the beginning of our considerations, Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 
	That theme has been infused throughout this letter and he will once again pick it up with great force in this last chapter of the letter. I would like to begin this morning’s consideration at verse 11. It will be a little out of sequence, but it may well help us to see the genuineness in the life to which we are called in Christ. See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 
There has been much commentary on the purpose of this statement. Some argue it was because Paul had an eye disease that forced him to write with such large letters. Others delved into the four major writing styles of the Greek language in Paul’s day of which inch high letters is one style. Others argue that it was at this precise point that the Apostle Paul picked up the writing instrument to write the benediction, as he does in some of the other letters. Still others claim that he wrote the entire letter rather than using a secretary to write out the heart of his dictation. Fortunately, there is a general consensus, in all these commentaries, that we must consider. That agreement is that the Apostle Paul was writing to the Galatians with such a heart of love that he did not want them to be, in any measure, unsure of his intent. He was validating, for them, the truth that this was, in fact, the same minister who had brought the Good News to them. He was placing this letter in the personal approach of the love that he had for these Galatians. 
	Consider the fact that he had been very forceful with them in the matter of even considering circumcision. He had given them every truth of the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ, and he wanted these beloved readers to know that he was very, very much in travail over what happened to them. He was following the course of what we will see in this last chapter, never giving up hope, always loving to the utmost in Christ Jesus. This letter was the authentic pouring out of his heart for the sake of these brethren, and he wanted them to know that this was not a ploy, this was not a forgery, and this was not a letter given to confuse them. This was the same minister of God that they had so earnestly received  in Gal 4:12-14 ... You did me no wrong; you know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first; and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 
	They had received him then, even though it had been very difficult for them to deal with Paul’s bodily ailment. Just as they had received him as God’s minister then, so now they should also receive this letter in all the power of God. He wanted them to know how much the love of God was being poured out unto them in this writing, just as it had been in his teachings. He was giving them nothing less than the love of Christ, and he wanted that love to permeate the entire church of Galatia. 
	This brings us back to the law of Christ – Love. The Apostle Paul made very clear in Chapter 5 the true nature of Christians, that they would be the living expression of the Great Love of God to others on this earth. It is through the fruit of the Spirit that that love is evidenced. He has also presented the two manners in which we live our lives. It matters not what in which religion one is raised. It matters not what ethnicity, race, sex, age, social position, economic status - none of that will ever change the reality that everyone has but two course for their lives. They either live under the bondage of the law, promoting self in a defeated and powerless course unto death, or they are alive unto God through Jesus Christ, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit. We are either enslaved by the works of man, or freed by the blood of Christ. There is no other way, there are no graduated degrees of goodness, and there are no alternatives. We are either alive, a completely new creation in Christ, or we are dead, lost in slavery to our sinful nature.
	These Galatian readers must make a commitment, and Paul wants that commitment to be unto Christ. In that earnest desire, he now goes beyond the mention of the fruit of the Spirit, into how that fruit is actually developed as our new nature. There are some key aspects at this juncture that we dare not miss. The beginning verses of this 6th Chapter house the brilliant illustration as to how we walk in the Spirit. 
Gal 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted. There are two possibilities looking at who is overtaken in any trespass. Some believe the Apostle is referring to those Galatians who had turned to circumcision as a means of trying to find complete justification. They were placing themselves under the law and consequently under the curse of the law. Others see this passage referring to a Christian, knowingly or unknowingly, being caught up in some act of sin. They are in the condition that the Apostle Paul himself had to deal with in Romans 7:14-21 … but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
	Some of these Galatians were very zealous to live a life in victory over sin. They, in all likelihood, thought that their actions would result in good. That is why they even considered the words of the Judiazers, in case there was some aspect to their teachings that might further their quest for righteousness. Sadly, they, we find that when we turn our backs to God, the void that we create is very swiftly filled with sin. We can’t help it. We have no defense against it. We have no choice but to obey the dictates of the flesh that we are under. We may very well want to be a better person. We may try to do good things to make our sin less grievous, but the fact is that we are sinners, born in sin, under the curse of death in our sin, and helpless to do anything of ourselves to get out of that quagmire of transgression. Our only hope is Christ.
	Paul recognizes, through his own personal relationship and struggles as a Christian, that some believers have no understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in their lives. We are about to look at what is true of us as Christians, as believers in Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God. This will provide an answer to many of the questions that continually pop up when we compare our lives to the lives of other Christians and find ourselves lacking and discouraged. Let us seek out our own heart as to the matter of living a Christian life. We read about the fruit of the Spirit. It sounds so wonderful and we wish we could be living in all the beauty of what that entails, but we, in discouragement, look at our miserable state of being and think about all the times that we tried to live that perfect Christian life, and failed. 
The reason we fail is that same reason that these mislead Galatians failed. They, we, were relying on self effort to either obey the Holy Spirit’s guidance or the dictates of the Mosaic Law. We really have no manner in which to talk about how foolish those Galatians were, to even consider that they could do anything for their own salvation. We are trying to do the same thing in the efforts of our self, through the logic of our minds, and through the works of our hands. We are trying to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit through our feeble efforts, not through His victorious power. 
	The only way to live that life is to come humbly and contritely to the Lord and ask Him to be our life, seeking Him to bring our complete dependence unto Him and not unto ourselves. As we try to do good, we will always, always fail. But, as we find our complete reliance on Christ to be our lives, we will witness the effective and omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit to live His life in us. Then we can understand and live in the pattern here laid out in very practical terms by the Apostle Paul. 
The Apostle is calling upon those who are living by the Holy Spirit, to restore those who are caught up in the false teachings, or in sin, back into fellowship. Who are those living by the spirit? It is anyone who is in complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Complete dependence. Crying out to God that no, we cannot live the life to which we are called. It is utterly impossible. 
The restoration of the sinner is done with the fruit of the Spirit, by the Spirit. It is not the sin that is to be considered, it is the sinner. It is not the hurt that we dwell on, even with its personal attacks; it is the one, by whom that hurt was given, that we hold lovingly and forgivingly before the Lord. As well, it is the body that needs to be considered. We are part of each other. We are one with each other in Christ. When one of us hurts, we all hurt. To put it in a forthright manner, if one member is amputated, the whole body suffers that loss. The restoration described by the Apostle Paul is not a cutting off but a setting back into place. The words here in the Greek, describe the setting aright of a dislocated bone, putting the bone back into the joint. And that is done, not with I Told You so’s, and If you had only listened to me. No, it is done in meekness. That is the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. 
The Galatian church was divided and in chaos. There were factions fighting with one another. Each side was claiming the high moral ground and the correct understanding of what God was doing. They were fighting over doctrines, teachings, understandings, and misunderstandings. This was the basis of the statements of the Apostle Paul in Gal 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another; and verse 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. 
A healing was necessary and the only healer able to bring back this church into unity was and is and always will be the Holy Spirit. He actively works in the lives of those who follow His guidance completely and unreservedly. This can only be done as those who live by The Spirit respond out from Him unto the sinner. 
We are part of each other and that means that we have been livingly joined to each other by Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We can not live in isolation and grow spiritually. Knowing this we need to understand that one who is shunned, who is cast off because of moral failure, also cannot grow in Christ. Paul calls upon the spiritual, all the spiritual, you and me, everyone in whom the Holy Spirit is active to deal with the transgressor in meekness or gentleness, to love them again unto the Lord. According to the IVP commentary, quote Literally, he says, restore "in a spirit of gentleness." "Gentleness" is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (5:23). Gentleness is not weakness; it is great strength under control. When gentle Christians see someone caught in a sin, they do not react with violent emotions or with arrogance. Even when sinful actions are scandalous and harmful, the emotions of the gentle person are under control, and the will of the gentle person is devoted to loving the sinner all the way to total recovery. Only the Holy Spirit can empower a person to respond in such a "spirit of gentleness." End of quote (IVP New Testament Commentary Series © 1992-2004. All rights reserved)
	The Apostle then adds to this restoration in gentleness …Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted. This is a vital part of that gentleness, the living fruit of the Spirit. It is only as we consider that we too can be overcome by temptation, that we can hold each other up. It is as we learn that, despite our failures, we need to seek after God to draw all of us once again into fellowship in Christ. Consider that we each have gone through, and still go through, times of temptation. We do not always come through those temptations unscathed. We often convince ourselves with the idea that we can handle it this time. All the while, we are setting ourselves up for failure, for succumbing to sin. It is only by the grace of God that any of us are brought into proper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Keep that at the forefront of our hearts when we are tempted to give up on someone else, when our gentleness is strained to the breaking point, when our hearts begin to harden toward the sinner. Instead of seeing them in the failure, see them in the Love of Christ, Who never gave up on us. We need to keep a watch on ourselves since we are no better than any other. It is only Christ Who is of value in any of us.
	One of the greatest temptations that we individually undergo is the idea of comparing ourselves with one another. We are judgmental with others with thoughts such as I could never get into that fix or mess, Well, at least I have more sense than to do this or that. We are only fooling ourselves that we are more mature and able to withstand the forces of temptation. Gal 6:3 For if any one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 
In that self righteousness, self-conceit, self exultation, we fall nauseatingly into the swamp of egotism. Rather, we need to see ourselves as saved only by the grace of God. We need to know that we can only live each day by the grace of God. We need to learn to be so very thankful that God chose to love us unto Himself, fully aware of the fact that it is only because of His grace and nothing of ourselves. When that is true of us, we can then very gently deal with one another out of that same grace of God’s Love. It will not just be in gently restoring the sinner, but also encouraging each other in the fact that we are in union with one another in Christ, that we are the very family of God on this earth.  
	The Apostle then proceeds with the corporate view of our fellowship in Christ in verse 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Oh that we would come to know the full depth of the Love of God in bearing the burdens of one another. The greatest example is the fulfillment of the law of Christ as He bore our burdens upon the cross. That we would have such a heart of service one to another in that complete vein of loving one another in Christ. As we consider that brother or sister, let us never, ever forget that err for the Grace of God go I. Those burdens may be the burdens of sin in which we are restoring the sinner into the fellowship of Christ. The burden might be the encouragement of those who we see are discouraged, being open to them and their needs, holding them deeply within our hearts before the Lord. As we see need and lack in our fellowship, we bear with that burden in giving of ourselves, all that we are, for the other. As we see fear, we bear with that burden in the confident assurance that the Lord Jesus Christ has all things under His control. We give ourselves to be a support through those fears, not just dismissing them as trivial concerns that will soon disappear. 
There is an endless list of burdens that Christians are asked to bear, but that list is nothing in the light of our Burden bearer, Christ. Therefore let us not shun one who is deeply weighed down, but rather seek to lighten that load, seek to be of service, service as unto the Lord. This too is not something we can do of ourselves. It takes the active work of the Holy Spirit bringing forth the greater measure of His fruit in our lives to willingly place ourselves in service one to another. But in that service, we fulfill the law of Christ – Love - for one another. As one commentator stated, to be of service is too bear the burdens of others, because that is what a servant does, he bears the heavy load for the one he serves.
Fulfilling the law of Christ is in deep contrast to the keeping the Law of Moses. Many people confuse the two, thinking they are one and the same. That creates a great rift of our understanding of what God is doing in us as His Body, in the Oneness that we share in Christ. The Law of Moses was used by the Jews, and these Judiazers, as a division set up between peoples. It became a distinction, a means of showing how different we are because we do this or that and you don’t. It set up very marked boundaries, based on the feeble works accomplished under the law. Those seen as living under the law were considered blessed while those seen outside the law were considered cursed and deserving of death. There was no tolerance of any who were non-conformist to the rigid standards of the law, as determined by man. Consider the treatment that the Samaritans received at the hands of the Jews. They were shunned just because they were Samaritans and not considered as good enough for salvation.
Compare that separation worked by these Jews with the heart of Love that was opened in the Gift of Christ Jesus. All who call upon Him are welcome into His, into our family. There is no distinction, as voiced by the Apostle Paul in Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
We are all one in Christ Jesus and we are all partakers of His life by the working of The Holy Spirit and the Living Word of God. As His church, we need to be very careful in our considerations of other Christians, other believers. We must never get caught up in the rituals, the doctrines, the differences between us and them. We need to keep all our relationships on the basis of Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord. We are united in Christ, despite any earthly distinctions being foisted upon us by this age.
   Gal 6:4-5 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each man will have to bear his own load. We have been concentrating on the corporate body of believers, now we are at the point in which we need to see ourselves individually before the Lord. It is sometimes easy to lose ourselves in a crowd, in a group and just go with the rest of the people. That is not how we live before God. We live in the tremendously illuminating light of Christ. Nothing we do is hidden from God, and even more than that, nothing that we think or imagine, especially our motives can be kept secret from Him. As He is our guide and source, so must our hearts be set in doing that which pleases Him continually.
Some would look at this verse and think that we have some basis for boasting in ourselves, and they would miss the entire point of this admonition. The key is placed on the testing of our works. What is the purpose, the point, the value of that which we bring before God and before man? Does it meet the test of Christ? He is the standard by which we measure ourselves and our hearts. If it is not in line with Him, it is worthless. 
Another element in this proving of our own work is contained in the simple question, why? Why did we do this? Why did we say that? Why did we trample on her feelings? Why did I turn my back on his need? Why? Why? Why? Often this introspection is done with an idea of finding some place to set the blame for our foul up. But here, in proving our work before the Lord, this question Why? brings forth the very motives behind each action. We can give soothing answers to our thoughts, but not before the Lord. We can justify our actions to ourselves, but not before the Lord. We need to learn to ask ourselves Why before we talk, before we act, before we react. Seek the Holy Spirit to answer the why in our hearts. Prove that it is only because we are new creations in Christ that we do this, that we say that, that we show forth love to each other. The answer to why must be to honor our Lord Jesus Christ! That is why we live on this earth!
This brings up a key aspect highlighted at this point, in conjunction with the prior verse dealing with self-deception. We are so good at deceiving ourselves, even as Christians, because we measure ourselves not against the standard of Christ, but against the standard of others. I must be doing well because I am not like that one or this one. I must really be growing in the Lord because I know this or that and he or she doesn’t. We are so vilely corrupt in our tearing apart others in order to promote ourselves. That is what this world teaches. To get ahead, you need to beat down the competition, using whatever tools are in your arsenal. If we succumb to this lie, we are standing on the corner as did the Pharisee in Luke 18:11+12 … 'God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.
That is not the way we deal with anyone in the Lord. Rather, we lay down our lives for each other. We need to approach each other with hearts that echo the tax-collector …But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' We follow the supreme example of the One who has fulfilled every aspect of the Law, Jesus Christ. That is when we can rejoice in the work of our hands on this earth, in the light of Christ. It is a self-sacrificing work, not seeking after anything other than giving completely unto others out of the great grace that God has lavished on us. Our rejoicing is in the Lord and the fact that He has loved us unto Himself, and is now using His salvation in us to love others unto Him. It is not something that we can do, it is as we are more and more put to death that Jesus Christ can shine forth more and more clearly from these lives that we live unto Him. Our boast is that of the Apostle Paul I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 
The testing of our works, the boast of our lives in Christ is so against all that this earth considers important. The cross was a stumbling block for the Jews because it was considered utterly shameful. It was a Roman manner of death used only for the lowest criminals. Likewise today, the idea of Christians carrying each other’s burdens, serving one another is considered shameful by this world. This is definitely not the manner the world promotes to get ahead of everyone else. It denies Christ to promote self. We, however, crucify self to more fully express the love of Christ. That is seen fully in the burdens we carry.
The IVP commentary brings forth the distinction between the carrying of each other’s burdens in verse 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ and the bearing of our own burdens in verse 5 For each man will have to bear his own load. Quote Verse 2 refers to the need to come to the aid of others who cannot carry the crushing burden of the consequences of their sin. Verse 5 refers to work given to us by our Master, before whom we will have to give an account of how we used the opportunities and talents he gave us to serve him. It is because we desire to fulfill our God-given mission in life that we learn how to carry the burdens of others. In other words, as Christians examine their actions to see if they reflect the love of Christ, they are at the same time led by that self-evaluation to consider how to serve others in love…In Paul’s words, he carries his own load by carrying the burdens of others. End of quote
Earlier, we mentioned the appeal of the Apostle Paul in the fact that the flesh seems to overwhelm us and cause us to sin. That flesh tries to keep our eyes from seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. That flesh fights viciously to keep some power in the lives of its victims. Paul, however did not just leave his statement in the works of the flesh, He brought forth the glorious truth of what is now our life in Christ. We close with the victorious declaration of Rom 8:1-6 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 

Our benediction this morning is a short one taken from the end of Chapter 6:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.