I do sit down and turn to Galatians chapter 5, or Galatians chapter 6.
!
The crowd grew until it was packed on the platform, and when the train arrived, the doors opened, and it was one of those moments where you feel the whole train breathe.
There was a wall of people. No one could get in, or at least no one thought no one could get in.
And no one could off. People stood staring at each other. I needed to go to a meeting, and I thought, in for a penny, in for a pound, and so I stepped in.
Someone said, there's no room. I replied saying, there is. And I stood there, squeezed myself in, moved my head like that, and the doors just about shut.
And I travelled like that for half an hour. No one looking at each other. No one saying a word.
You know what it's like, don't you? The beauty of London Transport, and no one making eye contact, and no one speaking to anyone, everyone pretending, the inner monologue that goes on, this is totally fine, this is normal, I'm not uncomfortable at all, there's nothing disturbing about this episode.
And that's how we live, isn't it? How we live in London.
Even when the tube is empty, and we get onto the carriage, no one says, when they sit down, welcome to the Elizabeth Lang, it's great to see you.
That's how we live, isn't it? Some of us know our neighbours, most of us don't know our neighbours. None of us know all our neighbours.
And there are people in London out there, and they walk past us, and we kind of sort of nod.
We don't know their name, they don't know our name.
And we live coexisting together, without knowing one another.
And my fear is, that is how many London churches exist.
It's not as uncomfortable as the tube and rush hour.
But the relationships are very much surface-like.
There's a nodding at one another, there's a knowing each other, without really knowing each other.
And I want to say to you, that isn't really church.
Church life is difficult.
Church life in Galatia was difficult.
Look at chapter 5 and verse 15.
Chapter 5 and verse 15.
Paul says to the IPC in Galatia,
If you bite and devour one another, can you imagine a church meeting like that?
Watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Look at chapter 5 and verse 26.
Let us not become conceited.
Provoking one another.
Envying one another.
That is obviously the problem, isn't it?
Obviously, one of the issues in Galatia, of course there were false teachers, there were huge doctrinal problems.
But one of the things was that the church in Galatia just weren't getting on.
And so, this theme of one another dominates the rest of Galatians.
Look at chapter 6 and verse 2.
Bear one another's burdens.
What's the first word?
The first word of chapter 6.
And the last word of chapter 6.
Brothers.
And so, what Paul is saying to the Galatians is,
We are family.
And so, the command of chapter 5 verse 25.
Just look at that command.
Christians make a lot of that command.
Keep in step with the Spirit.
Let me tell you this.
You cannot do that outside of the family.
And Paul is saying,
If you want to keep in step with the Spirit,
You do that by living that out in the family of God.
Three things this morning.
I want us to see the stewardship of our relationships.
The stewardship of our relationships.
That's the first thing.
In Galatians chapter 6 and verses 1 to 5.
Paul is writing to make us understand that in the fellowship,
In the partnership of the local church,
We are intimately joined to one another by the blood of Jesus Christ and through the Spirit of God.
And he is wanting you and I to understand that we cannot,
We must not, we should not act like a bunch of emotionally repressed Londoners on the underground.
Everybody focused only on themselves and their destination.
Ignoring those who they've been placed into intimate contact with.
And so he's calling each of us to rethink the stewardship of our relationships within the membership of the local church.
How do we relate to one another?
And it's not very comfortable, is it?
So look what he says in verse 1.
Brothers, brothers and sisters,
If anyone is caught in any transgression, any rebellion,
You who are spiritual should restore them.
In a spirit of gentleness.
Now that is not our usual kind of mode of operation, is it?
Let's be honest.
Our preferred response when we see someone else's sin,
What do we do?
Well, we talk about it with someone else.
Did you see what they said?
I don't know whether you noticed what they did.
Can you believe it?
That's often our instinct.
But Paul calls us, doesn't he, to a very different pattern here.
That if we see somebody ensnared, trapped by a transgression,
What should we do?
Should we shun them?
Perhaps.
Should we denounce them to other people?
Should we gossip about them behind their back?
Should we go and tell the minister and get him to do something about it?
What should we do?
Paul says,
The spiritual people in the congregation know exactly what to do.
They will not pass the back.
They will not grumble.
They will not complain.
And they will not gossip.
What do they do?
They work with the fallen Christian.
And they make every effort to restore him or her.
And the word that Paul uses here,
It's translated in the ESV as restore.
And it's used in Mark's gospel and Matthew's gospel to describe fishermen mending their nets.
That's what they're doing.
They're restoring their nets.
And so the duty of a faithful Christian to a brother or sister within the membership of the church
is to do everything we can to mend, to restore.
To take the sin broken nets of their Christian life and help them tie it back together again.
So that they would be useful in the service of Jesus Christ.
And then he tells us how we are to do it.
Do you remember what we're to do?
We are to do it in a spirit of gentleness.
And of course that makes total sense, isn't it?
Because how did Jesus deal with your sin?
And how does Jesus deal with my sin?
And we're going to see it tonight.
Come tonight and hear Reuben preach on the woman at the well.
How does Jesus deal with her?
She's had five husbands.
The man she's with is now not her husband.
And what does he say?
Well, he treats her, doesn't he, with so much respect and so much gentleness.
How is he with you?
How has Jesus been with you this week?
Is he denunciatory?
Is he harsh with you?
Is he dismissive of you?
No, and what is he like?
He says, come to me, all you are weary and heavy laden.
For I am gentle and lowly.
And the Lord Jesus, what is he like?
He's quick to forgive.
He abounds in steadfast love and mercy.
He's ready to restore you and to renew you when you turn to him.
He never quits on you, does he?
The Lord Jesus never says, enough of you, get away from me.
He works to restore his people and to bring us back.
And so why then are we often like the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18?
Do you remember him?
Do you remember in Matthew 18, the unforgiving servant, he'd had his debts cancelled.
He'd had this great sum cancelled.
And yet there was another servant, wasn't there, who owed him just a little bit of money.
And he demands from that person in anger and violence, you pay everything, you owe me.
And we've been taught by our Saviour to pray, Father, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who've sinned against us.
And so remember the gospel on which you daily depend for mercy.
And in a spirit of gospel gentleness, show mercy.
That's Paul's point in Galatians 6.
Don't excuse the sin.
Don't ignore it.
Seek to restore them in a spirit of gentleness.
And Paul is so wise, isn't he?
There's a wise warning that follows right on the heels of that exhortation.
Do you see his warning?
Not only are we to gently restore those who are caught in transgressions,
but we are to take special care
that while we do it,
as we lead some to repentance,
that we ourselves don't fall into that same sin.
And that is a master class in pastoral wisdom.
Paul knows my heart, and he knows your heart very well,
and he knows how easily we can focus on the sin of other people
with legitimate love and concern,
and yet we can let our own guard down.
Care for them, Paul says.
Yes, of course, but keep a close watch on yourself while you do it.
Misdirection in the military.
It's a common tactic, isn't it?
It's basic.
You keep them expecting a full frontal assault
so they're completely unprepared
and for a surprise attack from behind.
And that's what Paul is warning us against.
Sin is a terrible and subtle foe.
And so, yes, be concerned for your brother or sister
when they fall into sin,
but as you do that, as you're focused over here,
beware of a sneak attack from the rear
and that you yourself don't fall into that sin.
Don't let your guard down,
lest you yourself are ensnared by the same temptation.
And then he tells us in verse 2
that all of that is really just a part of fulfilling the law of Christ.
That we are to bear one another's burdens.
That's what this is about.
That is our basic commitment
as church family, as members of this church.
You are not just called to show up and receive the ministry,
to be a consumer.
You are called to show up and engage in ministry,
to bear one another's burdens,
fulfills the law of Christ.
And Christ taught us that love fulfills the law.
If you love me, he says, keep my commandments.
And this is my commandment, that you love one another.
Verses 3 to 5, Paul turns back
to the way that we think about ourselves.
And do you see how wisely he alternates
between a call to care for one another
and pay attention to your own walk with the Lord.
And so he comes back now and he exhorts our own hearts.
There's a fundamental link.
There is a fundamental link
between our ability to serve one another
and to restore one another
and to care for one another
and to bear one another's burdens
and our ability to rightly assess ourselves.
Paul is saying humility and ministry go together.
Humility and serving one another go hand in hand.
Pride and spiritual indifference
towards the needs of others also go together.
Don't they like cause and effect?
We will never steward our relationships with one another
until we're able to steward ourselves.
So verse 3,
if anyone thinks he's something,
when he's nothing,
he deceives himself.
But let each one test his own work
and let his reason to boast
will be in himself alone and not in his neighbour.
Paul is not suggesting here
that you are now free
to make a habit of boasting about yourself.
He's just said,
chapter 5, verse 26,
just look there again,
and let us not become conceited.
Let's not become full of ourselves,
provoking one another and envying one another.
He's not talking about being proud of yourself.
Verse 3 is not a permission
for you to big yourself up for self-aggrandizement.
What he's saying is
you need a sober, honest assessment of yourself.
And instead of taking credit for things
which really have got nothing to do with you,
because verse 5,
each will have to bear his own load.
There's a future tense there.
So Paul is saying,
each will, won't he, in the future,
have to bear his own load.
And that future tense is really important.
It clues us into what Paul is talking about here.
He isn't taking back what he just said in verse 2,
or bearing one another's burdens.
And then now two verses later,
he suddenly changes his mind and says,
no, I want you to bear your own burden.
That's not what he's saying.
Rather, he is saying,
there is a day coming
when each of us will be held responsible
for what we've done.
And he's talking about judgment day.
And when that day dawns,
he says, you will have to bear your own load.
And you will have to answer for your own deeds.
And so as you steward yourself
and your relationships
within the local church,
remember that you do that
under the gaze of God.
A God before whom one day
you will have to give an account.
The stewardship of our relationships.
Secondly, the stewardship of our resources.
The stewardship of our resources.
So when we talk about stewardship here,
you need to hear more than just a call
to dig deep and give big.
We need to hear the reminder,
that reminder to mutual care
and that faithful stewarding
of ourselves and our relationships
for the good of others
all within the membership of the church.
So look at the second place
at verses 6 to 8.
And here he addresses our resources
and our money.
It gets very, very practical.
And so he's talking about broadly,
mutual care and one another ministry in general.
And Paul now highlights one thing in particular.
Verse 6,
Let the one who is taught the word
share all good things
with the one who teaches.
And so he's saying, isn't he,
provide for the maintenance
and the growth
of the ministry of the word
through generous support.
Through those who devote their lives
to its proclamation.
It's really straightforward, isn't it?
I don't think there's another
understanding of that verse.
I think it's really clear.
But then do you notice
how he reinforces the point
and he appeals to a spiritual principle.
Here's where I want to major.
Look at verse 7 and 8.
Do not be deceived.
God is not mocked.
For whatever one sows,
that will he also reap.
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.
Now remember,
Paul is still talking about finances
at this point.
And you will remember
the church in Galatia
to whom he's writing.
And they've got a whole group
of false teachers have come.
And they've led them
into legalism and bondage.
And they've led them away
from the gospel of grace.
And so Paul is anxious here, isn't he?
He is saying,
you Galatians,
do what you practically may
to fix that.
Secure for yourselves
orthodox teachers
and instructors and ministers
who will guide you back
into safe paths.
Do not
give money
to false teachers.
Do not
give money
to those
who will bring you
into bondage.
And so he tells them
to think carefully
how you give
and who you give to
and not just
how much you give.
He says,
if you sow to the flesh,
you will from the flesh
reap corruption.
That is to say this,
if you invest
in poor leaders
and bad theology
and weak instruction
because it's easy
on the year
and it's comfortable
and it doesn't
unsettle your priorities
or challenge your lifestyle,
if you sow to that,
if you give to that,
your investment
will go the way
of all flesh
and it will reap corruption.
And the word corruption
means decay,
deterioration,
disillusion.
So can you see
what is Paul doing here?
He is saying,
invest
in what is going to last.
You are sowing
in your giving
for eternity.
And that is what
you're doing
when you
prioritize
radical
sacrificial
generosity
in your giving.
When you give
to the faithful
ministry
of the local church,
you are sowing
for eternity.
That's what you just did.
As the bag
went round,
as your standing
order dropped
in the bank account,
what were you doing?
You were doing
something absolutely
remarkable.
You are sowing
for eternity.
And so Paul
wants you today
to step back
and to ask yourself
a few questions
about the way
we use our money.
And so he asks you
the question,
like he asks me,
how much of my
expenditure
is sowing
to the flesh?
How much
of what I invest
my money in
and spend my money on
will survive
into the new creation?
how much of what
I give
in a thousand years
in eternity
will I look back
and say,
do you know what?
I am so,
so pleased
that I gave
to the work
of the gospel
so that these people
could be in glory.
I am so,
so pleased
that I did that.
How much
of what I've
invested
will last forever?
Am I investing
in eternity?
So in the spirit.
Paul says,
so depending
upon him
to sustain you
and to keep you
and to bless
what you give
and what you give
for the extension
of the kingdom
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The stewardship
of our resources.
And thirdly,
the stewardship
of our reach.
So there's a call,
isn't there,
for us to steward
our relationships
as church members.
That we are to invest
in relationships
for the good
of the body.
And we are to steward
our resources
so that we will use
the money
that God has given us
that we would sow
to the spirit
that our giving
would go on
to bless people
in eternity.
And then in verses 9 and 10
there is the steward
of the reach.
If I can put it like that.
Of our reach.
Look at verses 9 and 10.
And let us not
grow weary
of doing good.
For in due season
we will reap
if we do not give up.
So then,
as we have opportunity,
let us do good
to everyone
and especially
to those
who are of the
household of faith.
And so can you see
what our duty is?
Our duty is,
start with verse 9,
unwearyed
doing good.
That's our duty.
And where does Paul
point you to?
Paul points you to,
doesn't he,
the last day
of judgment
to help motivate us
so that we will not
give in to the temptation
of being weary.
It's actually
the third illusion,
isn't it,
in these verses
to that last day.
And look with me,
you look at verse 5,
each will have to
bear his own load.
Each will have to
stand under the weight
of how he's lived
on the final day.
And then he hints
again about it
in verse 8
when he talks about
sowing to the flesh
and reaping corruption
or sowing to the spirit
and reaping eternal life.
And now he does it
a third time
and he reminds us
we will reap
if we do not give up.
Now some of us
are really
uncomfortable with this.
And we're really
uncomfortable with it.
But the New Testament
consistently
holds out
the promise
of rewards
in heaven
as a motivation
for unwearied
hard work
on earth.
Keep going,
the New Testament
says again and again,
because you will
receive your reward.
The rewards
far surpassed,
don't they,
the work,
the value of any work
that we are to perform.
This is not
meritorious
works righteousness.
This is not
earning our salvation.
The whole of the
book of Galatians
has taught you
that is impossible.
It's not
quid bro quo.
It is not
one good turn
deserves another.
Far from it.
But Paul,
the apostle,
sees no tension
at all
between a gospel
of radical free grace,
that is the heartbeat
of the letter of Galatians,
radical free grace
and the promise
of eternal rewards
for unwearied works
of obedience
and service.
So remember
that our best work,
if God was to judge it
on merits alone,
even our best work
would damn us forever.
Because
my best work
is riddled
with self and sin.
And yet
God,
in his amazing,
wonderful grace,
works in us
to do good works.
And then he promises
to reward us
for his good works.
He promises
to reward us
for his own grace,
what his own grace
has produced in us.
So when we cross
the finish line
on the last day,
when we stand
before the risen
Jesus Christ
and the final judgment
and we see clearly
in that moment
how empty
all our vain boasting
in our own accomplishments
really is,
we will then be
utterly overcome
with wonder,
love and praise
when the Lord Jesus
rewards us
for our imperfect
best efforts
in his service.
we'll see them
as they are.
They're weak things,
slight things,
broken things,
riddled with self
and sin,
how much more
we could have done,
how unworthy
of anything
but God's disdain.
And yet Jesus
will say to us,
well done,
good and faithful
servant,
enter into the joy
of your Lord.
And so,
weary Christian
this morning,
weary believer,
Jesus asks us,
have you grown tired
of your service
in my cause?
And remember,
remember the harvest
of glory
that is to come
that will reward
all your efforts,
all of them,
however small,
however slight,
however weak
they may be.
A cup of cold water
given in my name.
A cup of cold water
given in my name.
Will be rewarded,
Jesus says.
None of them
will be ignored.
None of them
will be overlooked.
None of them
will go unrewarded.
And so,
therefore,
press on.
Keep going
in your service
to the Saviour.
And so,
how wide
is the scope
of this?
how wide
is the scope?
Well,
should we be good
just to the people
we like?
Should we show
kindness and goodness
just to the people
who are like us?
What does Paul say?
It's the same question
in many ways
that the rich young ruler
asked Jesus
in Luke 10, 29,
who's my neighbour?
Who should we be committed
to this ministry
and service?
Look how Paul answers,
verse 10,
it's a magnificent verse.
As we have opportunity,
we are to do good
to everyone.
I love that phrase,
as opportunity allows.
You cannot
take the burdens
of the problems
of this area
on your shoulders.
You cannot do it
and I can't.
It's just too much,
isn't it?
We're overwhelmed,
aren't we?
Utterly overwhelmed.
But Paul says,
as you have opportunity,
so you will have opportunity,
do good.
He's saying to you and I,
go looking for opportunities
to serve as many
as you may.
Do good to everyone,
but especially,
there's the priority,
to the household of faith.
And so our mission
is as wide as the world,
we're to be good neighbours,
we're to be good friends
to people,
to all people.
And we have to do good
to all,
especially to the household
of faith.
And the especially
is important,
isn't it?
And so the first claim
on your time
and on your resources
and on your labours
beyond your immediate family
is the household
of faith,
the church.
The language
is here
to remind you,
isn't it?
We are family.
And family comes first.
And so does the family
of faith
come first for you
or is it an afterthought?
To be fitted
into the margins
of your time
when you've got
nothing else to do
and you've done
your pleasures
and your entertainments,
they've taken
the lion's share.
And is that reflected
in your relationships
and in the way
that you use
your resources?
Do good to all,
especially to the
household of faith.
And so can you see it?
It's a magnificent passage,
isn't it?
We are called
to steward
our relationships
as church members.
We are to be engaged
with one another,
bearing with one another,
putting up with one another,
restoring one another
as we stumble
and all the while
keeping a watchful,
careful watch
on our own hearts.
And we are to steward
our resources
to give generously
to the support
and advance
of the ministry
of the gospel.
And so it's not numbers
that are our focus
but people gripped
by the truth of God
and brought to trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But to accomplish that,
to advance in that,
Paul calls us
to sow to eternity,
to invest generously
in ministry
that will endure.
And finally,
we're called to the steward,
the reach of the church,
not to keep it close,
not to keep it to ourselves,
not to keep it to people
we like
or to people who are like us
but to do good
to everyone,
especially to those
of the household of faith.
And so Paul says,
don't grow weary.
Why does he say that?
Why does he say
don't grow weary?
Well, because
the temptation
in the Christian life
is what?
To grow weary.
When you're doing good,
it's tiring work.
And so he says to us
as a church family,
keep sowing.
Be generous.
Keep being generous.
As a word to those of us
who are in leadership
in this church,
isn't it?
We here in Ealing,
the building that you sit in,
we have been the recipients
of astonishing generosity,
of incredible kindness.
And we have an opportunity
as a church family
as we've grown under God
to sow.
We have an opportunity
under God
to be generous,
to train,
to give,
to resource others.
And as we do that,
both as a church family
and as individuals,
hear this,
God is not mocked.
Isn't it your testimony?
Isn't it my testimony
that as you have given yourself
to the Lord's work,
as you have given resources
to the Lord's work,
God is not mocked.
What you have sown,
you reap more abundantly.
And so may God help us.
May God help us
to be good stewards
to the praise
and the glory of his grace.
Let's pray together.