Galatians 6:7-18
Paul wraps up his letter with two final thoughts. The first of these is the commonly repeated cliché,
“You reap what you sow.” The second thought seems to be his own theory on why there
were some teachers trying to distort the truth (Gal 1:6).
In the beginning of chapter 6, Paul’s gave seemingly
contradictory instructions to bear one another’s burdens yet bear our own load. On closer inspection, Paul used a Greek word
for burden that describes an overloaded ship and a Greek word for load that
would have described a properly balanced ship.
He was making a point that when we see a fellow believer struggling
under a burden too great for one person that we are to come along side of that
person and aid them so they do not stumble in their faith. Yet, when we are given a test or a trial, it
is our responsibility to lean on God and to bear that load, which is what God
puts on us to strengthen our faith.
Paul extended the theme of bearing one another’s burden to
the idea that we need to continue to do good things and that we will be
rewarded.
·
v6:7 – 10
o
“You reap what you sow.”
o
“You get what you pay for.” or “It’s your own
fault.”
o
“You deserved it.” or “You earned it.”
o
This should not be a difficult concept for any
of us. Christian or not, this is
something we are taught as children.
Paul’s final and closing thoughts are his theory on why some
are pressuring circumcision and Jewish conversion.
·
V6:12 – 13 – It’s all about pride!
o
“those who
want to make a good showing” – The tone and verbiage point directly to the
concept of someone wanting to make themselves look good, which tends to be
about appearances only.
o
“for even
those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to
have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.” – I picture a
person working as a financial planner despite being heavy in debt, with late
payments, and no retirement or savings account.
When you walk in their office, you see no evidence of their person
financial challenges, but charts, posters, and graphs about the importance of
retirement savings. At the company
meetings they are commended for their sales numbers. Yet, when they go home, their spouse knows
the truth, and so does their banker.
This person does not “practice what they preach” despite knowing all of
the truth.
·
V6:14 – 16 – Only one thing counts eternally
o
V14 – Paul is putting the idea of bragging or
boasting in its place, which is only within context of salvation through Jesus
as the Messiah
o
V15 – Paul summarizes his entire letter into the
single phrase that one’s circumcision status does not count towards salvation,
but a “new creation,” which is the new person we become when we choose to
believe and follow God.
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