QT 10/6/2022 Gal 6:1-3, True spirituality is knowing I am still a sinner

Galatians 6:1–3 (ESV) —

1 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. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

 

NOTE: There seems to be two possibilities in understanding this text.  First, people who emphasize the law tend to be the same type of people who over scrutinize others.  They have a tendency to hold people to a standard that they do not keep themselves, but they think that they do. And so with overwhelming pride because of "some" laws that they are meticulous at, they look down upon the person who fails. They are always looking for the failures, so that they can point out those failures, and then feel good about themselves. These are the most dangerous of people in a church and probably do not deserve to be called Christian since they are only religious and certainly cannot have a personal relationship with the savior.

 

The second group of people more closely resemble Isaiah (who recognized his sinfulness) or Paul (who increasingly saw himself as a worse sinner every decade of his life). These people know that they fall far short of the holiness of God and are wholly dependent upon Jesus' righteousness. They recognize the insidious nature of sin. They hate the sin, but love the sinner, and in a spirit of gentleness help the person to repent and be restored. They are gentle because they know, that only by some undeserved grace, they are not caught in their brother's trap.

 

PONDER:

1. Which group do I most represent, the proud "Holy Joe" or "Pious Polly," or am I the one who knows what it means to be a sinner and is helping others to repent and renew?

 

PRAYER: Father, forgive my pride and any tendency to look down upon others. I am a sinner saved by grace. There is no reason or good in me for my salvation. There is only your love, unjustly received. Help me to treat kindly those who come to me in their struggles. Give me wisdom to help and encourage them.