Bear One Another’s Burdens

Galatians 6:1-5

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.

A Christian who crucifies his flesh and walks in the Spirit exemplifies spiritual maturity. Paul instructs such Christians to restore anyone who has fallen into sin. Even Christians as susceptible to temptations that lure them into committing the works of the flesh. When someone stumbles and falls, which is different from blatant disobedience and disregard for holiness, he is to be restored to proper fellowship with the Lord. Unfortunately, many believers want to belittle, cast aside, and even condemn the one who committed a trespass against the Lord. That does nothing to restore the one who has fallen. Instead, the spiritual believer can bring reassurance of God’s grace and forgiveness with a spirit of gentleness to the fallen believer. No believer should respond with a harsh and judgmental attitude because the same thing could happen them. No one is immune. The one who restores another is bearing the burden of a fallen brother. The idea is that this burden is too much for just one person to bear, and that is why spiritual believers are to help carry the load. This fulfills the law of Christ i.e., to love one another as Christ has loved us. The legalists Paul addressed earlier in this epistle viewed themselves as superior to those who didn’t follow the law. They thought themselves to be something when they were nothing. They thought their obedience to the law made them better than others, but they had deceived themselves. Paul exhorts the believers to carefully examine their own works, and to rejoice in their personal walk with the Lord rather than in the fact someone else is struggling and gets caught in a trespass. Ultimately, every believer will receive a reward for obeying the obligations Christ placed on them rather than receiving rewards for their attempts to fulfill the heavy burden of the entire law.

Pride is a great hindrance to fulfilling the law of Christ. The reason God hates pride is because it turns a person’s focus inward upon himself. God wants us to be other-centered not self-centered. That is why the law of Christ inspires us to love and to do what is best for others. It changes our perspective to align with the Lord’s. If you are a spiritually mature believer, then when you see a person in need you feel compelled to help them. When you see a person fall into sin, you don’t gloat over their failure, but you feel compassion toward them. You recognize that if it weren’t for the grace of God, you could have been the one who fell into that transgression. The best way to think about how you should respond is to put yourself in their position. If you were overtaken by a trespass, what would you want others to do for you? You are feeling crushed because the weight of the burden you are bearing is too much for you. You need help, and you will accept it from any source. If you see someone in that condition, then you are to be that source of help. God has made you aware of their need, and he has equipped you to lighten their load. Will you help? By ministering to that person in his or her time of need you are fulfilling the law of Christ bearing another’s burden just as Paul commanded you.