Bear One Another’s Burdens

Introduction

You can turn your Bibles if you want to Galatians chapter 6, and we’ll be sitting there in just a moment. Galatians chapter 6. That was not counts for many blessings, not one of the points that I have for this lesson, but it certainly does make sense whenever we are burdened with a load of care, counts for blessings, and all those doubts will apply. But we have another recourse as well, and that is, of course, our Christian family. No one should have to go through life alone. No one should have to bear the difficulties of life alone. And God gives us much recourse when it comes to that. We have our physical families, we have our spouses, our children, our parents, and we have, of course, our spiritual family to help us bear those burdens.

And of course, I mean, this has been on all our minds because there are there are so many difficulties that so many of us are dealing with right now. And it just runs the gamut of problems that people are having, whether they’re health or spiritual or in their family or monetary, whatever it is. It seems like everyone is dealing with something. And we need to help each other out with that. We have so many brothers and sisters in Christ on our side to help us, and we need to look to those relationships as well as to Christ to help bear those burdens.

You know, I’m even reminded of Jesus, and of course, as we as we just particular the Lord’s Supper, and we and as Ben so aptly reminded us of the things that Christ went through when he was crucified. And we read about how he was, you know, he was called to bear his cross, and that he had to, we often say that he had to bear it alone, and that is true, but you know, Simon was pulled out of the crowd to help him. Because he couldn’t bear it alone. He couldn’t carry it. He didn’t have the strength. Even Jesus had to have help carrying his cross. And so when Jesus calls us to bear our own crosses, he doesn’t expect us to do it alone either.

He gives us aid. He gives us help. And Paul puts it to us this way in Galatians chapter 6, if you agree with me. Galatians chapter 6, beginning in verse 1, he says, Brethren, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Here, Paul gives us an extremely challenging command to bear one another’s burdens. We know that we’re not supposed to deal with problems alone, and we know why, but we want to talk about this morning how. How do we make that happen?

How do we bear each other’s burdens? How do we, if we are the one bearing your burden, how do we ask for help? How do we not be ashamed in admitting that we are weak? It’s our duty to bear one another’s burdens. And as also Ross so aptly pointed out on Wednesday night. Sometimes those burdens are too much for us to bear. That’s the passage isn’t saying that God’s never going to give us any or allow anything to happen to us that’s more than we can handle. It’s saying that they’re going to be times that it is more than we can handle by ourselves. And so we need him. And we need others.

1. Restore the Erring in a Spirit of Gentleness

So what do we do? Let’s just go through this passage just briefly this morning. Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1 tells us that we ought to restore the airing. Brethren, if anyone is caught in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. It says, you who are spiritual. Well, who is that? That’s us. It certainly should be. If it’s not, that’s probably a problem. We are supposed to be spiritual as Christians in our thoughts, in our actions, in our attitudes. Our thoughts are supposed to be higher than those of the people of the world. We’re supposed to be thinking on spiritual things, not having a worldly set mind. If we claim to be Christians and we’re not spiritual people, there is something missing.

I’m not sure how a person can be as Christian and not be spiritual. It’s not possible. And so we are to restore the airing. You who are spiritual, restore the erring. We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to bring back the wandering Christian. James chapter 5 adds to the thought. James chapter 5, if you turn with me over there. And verse 19 and 20. My brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James is telling us that if he brings that’s a big deal. To bring someone who is lost back into the fold, that is a big deal.

And it’s our responsibility. We need to be striving to bring those back who are wandering from the truth. Restore the airing, Paul tells us in Galatians. And that’s that’s obviously easier said than done, and it’s it’s easier, it’s probably harder than it than it might seem. And it’s easy to do that. It’s easy to look at other people and say, you know, how could they, how could they do this? How can they be acting in that way? And it’s easy to look down on them, maybe to be harsh with them, and yet Paul tells us that when you go to restore someone, you do it with a spirit of gentleness. And a spirit of gentleness. How do we do that? An attitude or an air of gentleness.

We are to restore the airing, but we have to be careful on how we go about that. There’s obviously everyone is going to respond in different ways. And we have to figure out how they’re going to respond. I mean, anyone who is a parent knows that what works with one child may not work with another child. And it’s the same thing with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When they are doing something wrong, what works with one may not work with another. We need to do, we need to go about this in a spirit of gentleness. Remembering that it, you know, it can be extremely embarrassing. It can be extremely humiliating to admit sin or struggle in one’s life. We need to put ourselves in their shoes and think about how we would feel if we were them.

Don’t look down on them. Do it with gentleness. What does that mean? It means not despising someone for their mistakes. Because the fact is, we are lying to ourselves if we think that we are without fault. Remember Jesus’ words to the Pharisees when the woman was caught in adultery in John chapter 8, verse 7, and he said to them, What? Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. And they all walked away because they all knew that they were not without fault. Now, granted, there is time for reproof, and that has to happen. And our elders do that. But the Lord knows our mistakes. We need not beat people over the head with them, but rather in love, encourage each other to correct that which is amiss.

Because we all want to go to heaven together one day. And it, you know, I just I’ve heard countless stories, too many stories, of people who are trying to make their lives right. People who are trying to come back to the Lord, and they did. They came back to the Lord, they confess of sin and they come back to the full and they repent and truly have turned their lives around, and yet people continue in the church to look down on them for what they’ve done and bring that back and beat them over the head with it. Hold it against them. We need to learn to move on. We need to learn that if God’s forgiven this person, I need to forgive them too. I cannot hold this over their head.

I cannot continue to try and punish them for a mistake that they have made in their past and that they have moved on from.

2. Keep a Watch on Yourself

Need to move on. Forgive them. Encourage them. That’s what it means to do it in a spirit of gentleness. That they understand that our only care is for their cons is for their soul. And that if they do what they know they need to do, that we’re going to do nothing but be helpful to them. They need our support and our love. And finally, Paul says that when we do this, when we restore the airing, that we need to keep a watch on ourselves. Why would Paul say that? Why? Why should I keep a watch on myself? If I’m trying to restore, if I’m trying to, you know, I see somebody doing something wrong, and I want to make them come back to the Lord and do what’s right.

Why don’t I right? They need to keep watching. Why should I keep watching myself? Well, one, I think there’s that very attitude right there. Well, I’m in the right. So we keep watching ourselves for arrogance. But also because we can get so wrapped up in trying to help them that we forget to keep watch for Satan. We forget that we have problems of our own. We get sucked into the same sin that we are trying to help them out of. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 in verse 12, but he who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. 1 Peter 5, verse 8, the adversary prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

It’s easy to say, you know, well, you know, I need to help this person out. So maybe if I just go and I see what it is that is drawing them in, I want to go investigate, and I’m gonna go see what it is that’s so enticing to them about this thing. And so we go and we and we see that thing and we’re drawn to it. Just as they are. Be careful about that. That’s probably to try and investigate it to that extent, probably a bad idea. You’re probably all going to think I’m a child of the 90s. Anomaniacs was one of my favorite cartoons growing up. I don’t know if anybody remembers Anomaniacs, but it was awesome. And I always remember this segment called Good Idea, Bad Idea.

3. Bear One Another's Burdens

Good idea. Trying to keep get your friend to stop smoking or drinking. Bad idea. Trying to go to the bar with your friend and get them to stop drinking. It doesn’t make sense. Keep a watch on yourself. If you’re trying to do something to help this person, don’t do something that’s going to encourage them to do the wrong thing. Don’t put yourself along with them. Keep a watch on yourself. There’s an extent that there’s a line that we must not cross when trying to help someone. Get out of that sin. Restore the airing. Bear one another’s burdens. When he says that, it’s not a suggestion. It is a command. Bear one another’s burdens. It’s not you might want to do this. It’s kind of a good idea.

You know, if you feel like it and you want to help this person, then you know, that would be great. No, it’s bear one another’s burdens. It is a command. Not a suggestion. As we’ve said before, the New Testament church is a family. The gospel is a gospel of one another. We’re helping each other get to heaven. It’s not about me. And what I do and my works. It’s about this family. When we bear one another’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ, he says. How are we fulfilling the law of Christ if we’ll bear one another’s burdens? The law of Christ is a law of love. Turn over also again to James in the Psalms chapter 1. James chapter 1. Verse 22 says, but be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away at once, forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres. Meaning no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. It is so easy for us to look at the burden that someone else is bearing and say, man, I should do something about that, and then we walk away and we forget. We forget what it was like to maybe be that person. We forget about it, just going about in our daily lives. But what James tells us is that if we fail to act, whether it be on ourselves or for someone else, if we fail to act, if we fail to change or help someone to change, we are not fulfilling the law of Christ.

When we look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and we persevere, we must be a doer who acts. And if we do that, we are blessed in our doing. We are fulfilling the law of Christ. And act acting out the law of liberty, the law of love. For it is a beautiful thing when we lean on each other for strength. Acting out the love of Christ helps us set both ourselves and others free from sin. That’s what God intended us to do. That’s why He gave us this church family, so that we might help one another get to heaven. Because we can’t do it alone. So how do we do that? How am I supposed to bear one another’s burdens? That’s the real question, isn’t it?

And of course, there are a multitude of ways. And this is just a cursory glance, but maybe it’s finances. Maybe someone needs money or food or clothing. It’s not wrong to ask for help. We need to ask for help. And we need to be offering help. Maybe they need just emotional support, a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen to, someone to talk to, someone to give them some advice. Maybe it’s with problems they’re having with sin. Maybe they need spiritual counsel. Make yourself available. Make yourself someone that they can be accountable to. Here’s the problem. When I’m looking at myself. And I say, how can I be better at this? Why do I not do this as much as I should?

Here’s the problem I think we all have.

Let me know if you need anything.

Most of the time. Generally. Let me know you need anything as you’re ending the conversation and walk it. Let me know if you need anything as you’re walking to your car. Now that’s, I think we’re all genuine and sincere when we say that. We want to know, we want to help them. But is that truly acting upon the need? It’s not let me know if you need anything, brethren. It’s what can I do to help? In the midst of the conversation, in the midst of the inquiry of what is going on in this person’s life, what can I specifically do for you? That’s the question we need to be asking. And don’t let them, oh no, I’m okay. You can’t just leave it at that. Because a lot of times we don’t want to open up.

We don’t want to admit that we need help. We want to say, you know, I’m okay. What can I do to help? No. Let me do this. And even if they’re not, they’re not answering that question. Well, that’s okay. Let me do this. Let me bring you some food. Let me give you some money. Let me watch your kids. Let me whatever you can think of to help that person think. What can I do? That’s bearing one another’s burdens. What can I do to advise you against this sin problem that you’re having? What can I do to keep you accountable from continuing in that sin? What can I do? We’ve got to be specific. General won’t get it done. And you know that goes both ways.

We have to let others in. You can’t help someone if you’ve been shut out. Brother, we must not be strangers to one another. We need to let Jesus in. There’s a song we sing Let Him in. There’s a stranger at the door. It says, We can’t, Jesus can’t be a stranger to us, brethren. And we can’t be strangers to one another either. You gotta let Jesus, you gotta let your brethren into your life. We need to know each other well enough to know one another’s needs. But if we shut people out, they cannot know you. We had a group get together last night for group two, and man, that’s just great. We need to have more of those, Brother Tim. You’re our group leader. We need to have more of those, man.

And we probably need to mix up those groups too, but I mean, I think how we do it about once a year we mix them up. But that’s that’s that’s good. Because it gives you an opportunity to get together with and talk to people with that maybe they sit on the other side of the room. And you just on purpose, you just you never, your paths don’t cross that much. And you don’t get to talk to them, you don’t get to know them that well. We need those kinds of things. If we’re gonna get to know one another, we need those kinds of things. We need those group meetings where we get to interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ who might not otherwise interact with.

Man, Abigail last night, she just went straight to wailing. I don’t know. I was like, alright, so she’s bond, she needs a bomb with some other people. We don’t want to hold her all the time. I don’t want to. We need a break sometimes. There, I’m letting you know. She needs to learn to go to other people.

4. Do It All With Humility

Too many times I have seen people complain about the church family not caring, complaining about not feeling like they’re part of the group, and yet they’re the ones that are being reclusive. They withdraw in on themselves. They walk, they run straight out the door as soon as servers. Well, how am I supposed to know you if you’re running out the door? Perpetuating the problem. I can’t bury burdens. If you ain’t here, tell me about it. Too many times we shut each other out. And finally, Paul says that we do it all with humility. He says, For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. We are not better. None of us should think that we are better than anyone else in this room.

Proverbs 16 and verse 18 says that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall. Beware of pride and arrogance. Christ set an example of humility. He set an example of I’m not better than you. He set an example of going and eating with the tax collectors and the prostitutes. And so to say, oh well, I’m not, I can’t do anything with them because you know they were caught in this sin back once, you know, and so I’m gonna stay away from them. That’s not the example Jesus said. It’s easy to think because someone was stuck in some sin, and because, you know, well, I don’t have that sin. I’ve never done that. That we’re somehow better than them. But we have to remember that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 3 and verse 23.

5. Our Duty to One Another Is to Do Good

As a sinner, we must remember the same thing. We must convey that message to the one we’re trying to help that. Look, I know I’m not any better than you are. We just have different struggles. That’s it. When we can do that, we can help ease the tension, the embarrassment, the uncomfortable feelings when it comes to revealing our faults and failures and weaknesses to our brethren as we’ve been commanded to do. James chapter 5 and verse 16. Confessing our faults to one another. That’s the only way we’re going to get over them if somebody else knows about it. Finally, Paul tells us that our duty to one another is to do good. The latter part of Galatians 6, verse 9, he says, let us not grow weary of doing good.

Sometimes it’s going to be hard. Sometimes it’s going to be tiring. Sometimes we’re not going to feel like it. Sometimes we’re going to be so tired from our week of taking care of our own jobs and our own families, and we’re not going to feel like trying to help somebody else out. He says, don’t grow weary. Keep it up. The rewards will be great. He says, in due season, we will reap if we do not give up. That’s what we’ve been commanded to do. It’s one of our purposes in this world. It’s one of our purposes in this church. He goes on to say in verse 10 so then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone. And especially to those who are of the household of faith.

We must do good to everyone. Yes, but I love the point Paul makes when he stresses, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Again, he makes the analogy of the church being a family, a household of faith. That’s what families do. They take care of one another. They consider each member more important than themselves. Galatians, or rather, Philippians chapter 2 and verse 3. Again, we let’s read the example of Christ, Philippians chapter 2 and verse 3. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility, count others as more significant than yourselves. How am I going to go and bear someone’s burden if I don’t think that they’re more important than me? I’m going to take care of it, number one. I’ve got to consider them, number one.

I’m second. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing. Taking the form of a servant. Christ came not to be served, but to serve. He set us that example. Being born in the likeness of man and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore, God is highly exalted and bestowed on him in the name that is above every name. So that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and in every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Conclusion

Jesus set us that example of service to one another. If Jesus was able to humble himself to the point of coming down, taking on human form, bearing our sins on the cross, so we too can humble ourselves to serve one another. To consider each member more important than myself, just as Christ did. He gave himself for us. Let us strive every day to follow that example and live up to what he expects us to be. I just want to give us a few verses to admonish us in closing this morning. Romans chapter 12, verses 10 and 16. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, and never be conceited.

Romans 14 13. Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another, but rather decide never to put a stumbling box or hindrance in the way of a brother. First Corinthians 12, 24 through 26, but God has composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacks, that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Agree with one another. Live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

For you will call to freedom, brethren. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another, fulfilling the law of Christ. Ephesians 4 2 and 32, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. Addressing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing, making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another. There’s a being second again, out of reverence for Christ. Colossians chapter three. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices, bearing with one another, and if anyone has a complaint, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you.

So you also must forgive. There’s humility, not thinking better of ourselves. Verse 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another. In wisdom, psalms, hymns, spiritual psalms, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 1 Thessalonians 5, 11 and verse 15. Encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. See that no one repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 3. Finally, we ought always to give thanks to God the Father for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Let it be said of this church that our love for one another is increasing. That we’re looking out for one another. That we are showing the love of Christ and fulfilling the law of liberty. You need to obey the gospel, become a Christian, become part of this family. Be able to receive that love and care that comes only through Him and through this family. What’s your response to the gospel now, while we say in this?