Tenth Week
Tuesday
August 14, 2012
(Gal 6:1 ESV) Brothers, 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.
1. “Spirit of gentleness”? Shouldn’t we rather rebuke and condemn! It sounds as though Paul is being soft on sin. Why should we be gentle when it comes to our brothers?
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2. What do you suppose Paul means by “you who are spiritual”? In context, what does “spiritual” mean?
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3. What does it mean to “restore” a brother?
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4. What kind of transgression do you think Paul has in mind? Do we need to restore a brother after every single sin?
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5. Why does Paul warn those who seek to restore the sinner against temptation?
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Wednesday
August 15, 2012
(Gal 6:2 ESV) Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
6. Just what kind of burdens is Paul likely speaking of here — in context?
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7. What is the “law of Christ”? Is Paul referring to a system of doctrine regarding how to worship and organize the church? In context, what “law” is being referenced here?
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(Gal 6:3 ESV) For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
8. Kind of harsh, isn’t it? Should we really think of ourselves as”nothing”?
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Thursday
August 16, 2012
(Gal 6:4 ESV) But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.
9. Does this contradict v. 1? How can I restore a brother caught in sin if I only test my own work?
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10. Is Paul saying that it’s okay to boast in ourselves so long as we don’t put down our neighbors?
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(Gal 6:5 ESV) For each will have to bear his own load.
11. Does this contradict v. 2? (“Load” in v. 5 is not the same word as “burden” in v. 2, although some translations use the same English word.)
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Friday
August 17, 2012
(Gal 6:6 ESV) Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
12. “Share all good things”? Is Paul saying we should pay our Sunday school teachers?
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(Gal 6:7-8 ESV) 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 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.
13. How do we sow to the Spirit?
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14. How do we sow to the flesh?
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Saturday
August 18, 2012
(Gal 6:9 ESV) 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
15. Why do we sometimes grow weary in doing good?
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16. How can we avoid this?
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(Gal 6:10 ESV) 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
15. Why does Paul say “especially to those who are of the household of faith”?
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16. Does this mean that, for example, we should not care for non-Christian tornado victims until we’ve first handled the needs of all Christians?
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The “spirit of gentleness” was truly Paul’s imitation of Jesus. We have no way of knowing how much Paul himself knew of the details of Jesus’s life, but I am positive he asked and researched to find out as much as possible, and that Jesus dining with the tax collectors and prostitutes captured his attention and heart. After all, in spite of his anger and frustration with the Corinthian church that we see in Second Corinthians, we see, moreso, a love and gentleness toward some of the most fickle and wishy -washy Christians that anyone could ever imagine.
This “gentleness” of Jesus and Paul is not the “soft soap” theology that many fear. Granted, the gentleness of Christ will cause an openess that many have never experienced, an openess that feels strange and dangerous. After all, a true melting of the heart does produce a feeling of fading away. But that is the death of self which is the heart of Jesus’ teaching. There is no other way to become brand new.
It seems to me to be important for us to realize that wherever in apostolic writing there is contrast between flesh and spirit, the contrast is between the human flesh and the human spirit. The “fruit of the spirit” of which Paul speaks is at least equally to be found in non-Christians as in us who are led by the spirit and are “in Christ.” The good people we do know are some in the church and some in the world. Since the Spirit is given to those who are reborn of water and spirit, we need to recognize that good fruit from the spirit is indeed found in non-Christians no less than in Christians. We are called to do our best to let our spiritual nature overcome our fleshly selfish desires. The better we know Jesus, the more apt we are to seek to be like Him.