11th Sunday after Pentecost
August 15, 2004
Galatians 6:1-10
6:1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.
6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (NIV).
Investing in the Kingdom of God.
Why do we as a society support things like a public school system, universities, municipal water and sewage services and a public health care system? Some might say it's because we have no choice. The government taxes us! True as that may be, that's not the reason we started such things. We began public education and health systems as an investment in the well-being of our people. We understand that if people are healthy and educated rather than sickly and ignorant, it's good for all of us, including you and me.
If we didn't invest in society thing would be quite different. Perhaps most of us would have already died from some disease or injury. I certainly would not have come up with drugs like penicillin and vaccines against killer diseases. Although I would have loved not going to school as a child, I'm very glad now that I can read and write and know a multitude of facts about things I've never seen. So our investment in society has been worth while even though that investment is not always easy or cheap, and even though it often takes a generation or two before we see the return on our investment.
The Church or Kingdom of God works in a similar way. We who have put our faith in Christ and who now live by the Spirit are led by that Spirit to follow certain 'rules' of behaviour. Although Paul explained at length in this letter how we are free from the law, it often seems that we have a new 'law' to guide us, the law of Christ. Here are the taxes we must pay: "bear each others' burdens", "do good to all people." But as with our taxes, we need to understand such rules not as limitations and obligations, but as investments in the Kingdom of God. As citizens of that kingdom we want to see it prosper because then we also prosper. So as we consider Paul's directions about how to live as spiritual people, we must not think of them as 'laws' of Christian behaviour but as investments in the kingdom of God.
Now before we can invest in the kingdom, we must be spiritual people. For Paul says, Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. Spiritual people, as we saw last week, are those who live by the Spirit. That means we put our hope and confidence in Jesus Christ. We count on his death and resurrection to make us acceptable to God. Then, free from a life under law we live under the Holy Spirit. The Spirit does not operate or lead us on the basis of a set of do and don'ts. He does not try to get us to measure ourselves and our conduct by a set of rules, something that always leads to frustration. Instead the Spirit creates the impulse in us to love your neighbour as yourself. He produces in us what Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those are the spiritual people to whom God is here speaking. They are citizens of the kingdom, can invest in that kingdom and receive its benefits. How then do we invest in the kingdom?
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. One way to invest in the kingdom is to restore each other when we sin. Notice that Paul doesn't say, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should read him the riot act, label him and ostracize him!" No, he tells us to restore him. The Holy Spirit doesn't want to discard people caught in sin, he wants to restore them!
But that can be a challenge for us. Nowadays, we through away many things when they break rather than fix them. It's cheaper and easier to simply replace things than to repair them, especially electronics. Our corrupt nature tends to do the same with people. We often look down on those who struggle more than we with some temptation of the flesh. We hold a person's sins against him. We would rather just be rid of the embarrassing or offending trouble maker than struggle to restore him.
But that is not the way of the Spirit. Despite our many faults, the Holy Spirit is daily working to transform you and me to the image of Christ. When we fall to temptation, He doesn't discard us. He corrects us and restores us through Confession and Absolution and the Lord's Supper.
It has always been God's work to restore sinners to the kingdom. For example, he marked the murderer Cain not to ostracise him, but to warn others not to kill him. God did not send Israel into exile to be rid of them but to restore them. He said, Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? Ezekiel 18:23. Jesus sought out sinners, spent time with them and ate with them. He forgave them and called them to a new life. To the lame man he healed by the pool of Bethesda he said, See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. To the woman caught in adultery, he said, Go now and leave your life of sin. John 5:14,8:11. The Holy Spirit leads us to do the same. You must restore me when I fall and I you. That is an investment with a good return!
Paul adds a warning. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. I am no better than the person I'm trying to restore. I must watch myself that I am not tempted either by his sin or the sin of pride. Moreover, by watching out for myself, I remember how vulnerable to temptation I am and so can deal gently with the other person.
Paul continues, Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
These words are really just an expansion of the instruction to restore others and watch one's self. Restoring others is one way to bear their burden. All kinds of things become a burden to us as believers: temptation to sin, ridicule and persecution; loss of material wealth because we have fair and honest business practices; lending knowing that we will not get our money back. These things can become a burden to us, a hindrance to a life of faith. Spiritual people recognize these burdens and step up to help a brother or sister bear the burden. That's an investment in the kingdom. It adds something to the kingdom and the return just might be someone's salvation!
Again Paul adds a warning. This time about pride. Bearing another's burdens must not lead to some sort of proud boasting. Judge your own deeds and be happy, even proud of what the Spirit is doing to and through you. But don't compare yourself to others so you can boast to them. On the other hand, we must not become lazy. Each one needs to carry his own baggage in life. I cannot become lazy and let you shoulder my burden. That would drag you down. I need you to be strong so you can help me in those times when I'm overwhelmed. And you may need my help one day. So I too need to be strong.
Here's another way to invest in the kingdom, in real monetary terms. Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. There are things in the kingdom that require material support! Paul here mentions that teachers in the church need material support, salaries, if they are going to teach. We could add many other things to that: buildings, books, organs, schools, VBS supplies. These things too are not dues we pay to a club, but an investment in the kingdom with a return that benefits many people.
Don't forget that the Church is not supported by the world. Yes there have been state churches supported by taxes, but that is not our situation. So if the Church is to grow and be strong, it will require the investment of its people. It can only be as big as our investment! There can only be pastors, teachers, evangelists and other workers if we invest in them. We can only have the return of seeing the kingdom grow, of seeing people saved from despair and dark lives of sin if we invest.
The key word here is "to share". Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. The Greek word means to share, to participate, to have in common. The point is that I have something in common with my teacher. We are in this together, i.e., in the kingdom of God together. His well being is directly related to my well being. To share my material wealth with the Church that gave me new life is an investment in myself. I'm part of the Church!
Now we all know that our money is one of our flesh's dearest treasures. So again, there is a warning. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. God gives us all things including the ability to make wealth. So how we manage our money is part of our life as citizens of the kingdom. We must not think that God is unconcerned with our use of money!
We can invest our wealth in the kingdom of God—and that includes our physical needs in this world—or in the desires of our flesh. Investing in the flesh is ultimately useless. When we die our wealth is gone as Jesus taught in the illustration of the rich fool, today's Gospel reading (Luke 12:13-21). If I invest 99% of my time and wealth in myself, then when I die, 99% of my life is gone, forever. We came into the world with nothing and we will leave with nothing. The only thing that will follow us into the age to come are those people who have been brought into the kingdom as a result of our investment. That is the return on our investment! So the more we invest in the kingdom here, the more we will have in the next life. Our return will be proportional to our investment. You do the math. A man reaps what he sows.
Finally Paul says, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Here's the big picture about sharing. Do good to all people as you have opportunity. Restore those caught in sin. Help others bear their burdens. Support the ministry of God's Church. And don't give up! You will receive your return on your investment at the right time. That is a promise to encourage us. A farmer plants seed in hope of harvesting the crops. We invest money in savings accounts in hope of receiving interest. Just so, God promises you and me that we will receive a good return on our investment in the Kingdom. We will harvest the crop of eternal life!
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we live on this earth as members of God's kingdom, of Christ's Church. So let all that we do with all that we have be an investment in the kingdom for the return of eternal life.