Galatians 5: How Does the Lord Expect Christians to Treat People?Broken vessels need help.
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Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES
Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with a worldwide impact. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. Thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!
At Barah Ministries, we worship a Triune Godhead. There is One God who expresses Himself to mankind as three separate, distinct, co-equal, co-infinite, co-eternal Persons…God the Father…God the Son…and God the Holy Spirit.
GOD THE FATHER is the author of the Triune Godhead's plan for creatures. God the Father considers every believer in union with Christ to be his very own workmanship, and it is His pleasure to work inside of believers to help them become who He wants them to become…Philippians, Chapter 2, Verse 13 says…
PHILIPPIANS 2:13 …for it is God the Father who is at work in you believers in Christ…both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
GOD THE SON (the Lord) volunteered to execute God the Father's plan. Among the religions of the world, there is a great debate about the veracity of Jesus Christ being God. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus Christ is God in innumerable places, including Matthew, Chapter 1, Verse 23…
MATTHEW 1:23 "Behold, the virgin (Mary) shall be pregnant with a child and she shall bear a Son…and Joseph and Mary shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."
Yes…Jesus Christ is the Sovereign God of the Universe. Anyone who was studying the Old Testament Scriptures should have recognized Him as the Jewish Messiah immediately.
GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT, is our Mentor and Teacher, and He is the rudder of the Christian's life. He plays an important role in our salvation. Many Christians get baptized by being dunked in water. You'll hear them say water baptism is an outward sign of an inner realityIn truth, getting dunked in water plays no role in our salvation. God the Holy Spiritplays a MAJOR role in our salvation through the baptism of the Spirit At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit places every believer in union with Christ…Acts, Chapter 1, Verse 5…
ACTS 1:5 …for John the Baptist baptized with water…but you will be baptized with God the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
As Christians,we have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with theentire Godhead through the study of the Word of God…the BibleIsaiah, Chapter 55, Verse 11 emphasizes the importance of the Bible…
ISAIAH 55:11 So will My Word be…which goes forth from My mouth…it will not return to Me empty…without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
The Word of God is alive and powerful and sharp like a two-edged sword…and is a critic of the thoughts and intents of the heart!
God has an enemy…Satan…whom God made 'the ruler of this world' for a finite period. As believers in Christ, we are not fighting FOR the victory in the spiritual warfare being waged in this world. We are operating FROM victorious ground. WE CAN'T BE DEFEATED Those of us in union with Christ have the victory over Satan through our Lord, who has overcome the world. James, Chapter 4, Verse 7 says…
JAMES 4:7 (Believers in Christ)…Submit yourselves to God (by obeying Him) Resist the devil (by standing fast on your victorious ground) and he will flee from you.
Satan is powerless against our God…thus, he is powerless against us when we use divine power to overcome him. Believers in Christ are divinely powerful because we are in union with the indwelling Trinity, and this divine power enables us to tear down fortresses raised up against God and the knowledge of God because we take every thought captive to Christ. We rest in union with Him.
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON How Does the Lord Expect Christians to Treat People?
LESSON INTRODUCTION
In a word With LOVE, Matthew, Chapter 22, Verse 39 says…
MATTHEW 22:39 "You shall love your neighbor unconditionally just as you love yourself…unconditionally.'
In today's lesson,you'll get a glimpse of what it looks like to be a spiritually mature Christian who follows the Lord's requests as it relates to the treatment of others.
OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION
Let's hear some music. How does the Lord treat His believers? He treats us with unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace. Here's June Murphy to remind us about forgiveness in her song HE REMEMBERS TO FORGET.
MUSIC OPENING SONG Let's Sing the Lord's Praises
HE REMEMBERS TO FORGET June Murphy
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We're grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, thank You for providing us with divine power so that we can use it to treat others well…thank you for using us to restore others by reflecting Yourforgiveness when they fall temporarily from grace…thank you for the compassion built into the fruit of God the Holy Spirit that enables us to lift others when they fall…
…help us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think when we are correcting others…help us to reflect Your unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace to others…and help us to remember that we need unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace as well so that we don't get puffed up with pride…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ's name...Amen.
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON How Does the Lord Expect Christians to Treat People?
LESSON PART ONE
The next two passages will complete our study of Paul's letter to the believers in Christ in the first-century churches Paul established in the Galatian region, which is modern-day Turkey. You'll remember that right after these Gentiles became believers in Christ; false teachers attacked them with false teachings that invited them to become Jewish…to follow rules, rituals, and religious practices as a condition of salvation.
How do false teachers treat people? Poorly. Mark, Chapter 7, Verse 7…
MARK 7:7 "But in vain do they (false teachers) worship Me…teaching as doctrines the precepts of men (false teaching)."
They treat us in a way that invites us back into slavery. But Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 1 says…
GALATIANS 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us believers in Christ free…therefore keep standing firm in freedom and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.
Let's look at the final chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians…Chapter 6…to see what we have to look forward to as we close out this amazing letter. In the original languages, there was no chapter break, so we begin with the last verse in chapter five to begin the thought that leads into chapter six…
GALATIANS 5:26 Let us believers in Christ not become boastful…challenging one another…envying one another.
That's poor treatment. How does the Lord want us to treat each other?
GALATIANS 6:1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass…you who are spiritual…restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness…each one looking to yourself…so that you too will not be tempted.
GALATIANS 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
GALATIANS 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
GALATIANS 6:4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting regarding himself alone, and not in regard to another.
GALATIANS 6:5 For each one will bear his own load.
GALATIANS 6:6 The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.
GALATIANS 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked…for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
GALATIANS 6:8 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. GALATIANS 6:9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
GALATIANS 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
GALATIANS 6:11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.
GALATIANS 6:12 Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the Cross of Christ.
GALATIANS 6:13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Mosaic Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.
GALATIANS 6:14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
GALATIANS 6:15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor is uncircumcision anything, but a new creation is everything.
GALATIANS 6:16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
GALATIANS 6:17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.
GALATIANS 6:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit, brethrenAmen.
Today, we'll look at the first five verses of this chapter, which is one-third of the entire chapter. How does the Lord expect Christians to treat people? Actually, the first ten verses of Galatians, Chapter 6, paint a picture of the mature Christian…and make no mistake, the Lord sent God the Holy Spirit to mature us.
The apostle Paul distinguishes the Spiritually Mature Christian from the immature or Carnal Christian in First Corinthians, Chapter 3, Verses 1 to 3…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 3:1 Brethren, I (Paul) could not speak to you as if I were speaking to spiritual men…but I have to speak to you as if I am speaking to men of flesh…as if I am speaking to infants in union with Christ.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 3:2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food…for you were not yet able to receive solid food. Indeed, even now you are not yet able to receive solid food…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 3:3 …for you are still fleshly For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men (just as unbelievers walk)?
How does the Lord expect spiritual Christians to treat people? Let's look at today's passage…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 26 to Galatians, Chapter 6, Verse 5…
GALATIANS 5:26 Let us believers in Christ not become boastful…challenging one another…envying one another.
GALATIANS 6:1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass…you who are spiritual…restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness…each one looking to himself…so that you too will not be tempted.
GALATIANS 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
GALATIANS 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
GALATIANS 6:4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting regarding himself alone, and not in regard to another.
GALATIANS 6:5 For each one will bear his own load.
In every church, in every relationship, as Christians, we will interact with others who have fallen in some way. What are some of the things we do wrong? Fornication…adultery…income tax evasion…stealing…putting others down…being unforgiving…gossiping…maligning…and judging. All of us fall prey to sin, which so easily entangles us.
When others fall, what are you like? Are you spiritual or carnal when you'rein a position to help a fallen brother or sister? Do you demonstrate unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace? Are you a part of the solution, or are you part of the problem?
When we return from the break,we'll take the offering, and then we'll reflect on what God wants to teach us about how to treat people when they are down.
FIVE-MINUTE BREAK NOBODY Casting Crowns
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON How Does the Lord Expect Christians to Treat People?
OFFERING INTRODUCTION
God the Father loves all of His creatures unconditionally…and He loves us so much…that He gave His Son to save us. God the Father is not conflicted about giving. Are you First John, Chapter 3, Verses 17 and 18 say this…
FIRST JOHN 3:17 …whoever has the world's goods…and sees his brother in need…and closes his heart against his brother…how does the unconditional love of God abide in this person?
FIRST JOHN 3:18 Little children (believers in Christ)…let us not love unconditionally with word or with tongue (unconditional love is not talk)…but let us love unconditionally with deeds and in truth.
Let this be a time in your life when you realize what God the Father is able to do with what you give. Realize the importance of giving. It makes life an amazing experience for those in need. Be generous with the gifts your God has given you… your time gifts…your talent gifts…AND your treasure gifts.
Let's welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with one of his always inspiring offering messages.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
PHILIPPIANS 4:6 Be anxious for nothing (stop worrying about anything)…but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known toGod…
OFFERING SONG THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU Instrumental Version
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON How Does the Lord Expect Christians to Treat People?
LESSON PART TWO
Welcome back. Let's learn from this passage verse by verse: How does the Lord expect His believers to treat others when they are down? Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 26 to Galatians, Chapter 6, Verse 5…
GALATIANS 5:26 Let us believers in Christ not become boastful…challenging one another…envying one another. First and foremost, the Lord does not want us to devour each other. He wants us to support each other. So I ask you again…when others fall, what are you like? Are you spiritual (mature) or carnal (immature) when you'rein a position to help a fallen brother or sister? Do you demonstrate unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace? Are you a part of the solution that restores them, or are you part of the problem by condemning them? Galatians, Chapter 6, Verse 1…
GALATIANS 6:1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass…you who are spiritual…restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness…each one looking to yourself…so that you too will not be tempted.
The spotlight in this verse is on the forgiver, not on the one who needs forgiveness. The Lord has forgiven. As you restore a fallen brother or sister…do you remind them of the Lord's forgiveness? The Lord wants us to…
GALATIANS 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
As Church Age believers, we are not under the Law of Moses…we are under the Law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? Among other things, there isforgiveness. When we bear the burden of a fallen one, we can happily sing, "He ain't heavy…he's my brother!" When we are mature, we won't let a fallen brother or sister be crushed. We won't let them be destroyed. We won't be like the scribes and Pharisees….Jesus outed them in Matthew Chapter 23, Verses 1 to 5…
MATTHEW 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples…
MATTHEW 23:2 …saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses…
They puff themselves up…they are self-important…
MATTHEW 23:3 …therefore, all that they tell you, do and observe…but do not do according to their deeds…for they say things and do not do them.
MATTHEW 23:4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they are unwilling to move these burdens with so much as a finger.
MATTHEW 23:5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men…
In other words, they come in, spy out our liberty, and then seek to burden us with rules, rituals, and religious practices designed to rob us of the freedom to BE.
You, as a believer in Christ, can develop the extraordinary skill of detecting the burdens of others, and you can devote yourself daily to making them lighter, demonstrating God's unconditional love. The Lord NEVER burdens us…in Matthew, Chapter 11, Verses 28 to 30, the Lord says…
MATTHEW 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
MATTHEW 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
MATTHEW 11:30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
The immature Christian who does not make the burden of a fallen brother or sister lighter acts superior to them. Paul warns us about this…Galatians, Chapter 6, Verse 3…
GALATIANS 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
The warning of verse three is arrogance…pride…self-reliance…self-importance… superiority…condescension. This is not how God wants us to treat each other, especially those who are down. It's not how He treats us.
GALATIANS 6:4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. When a person is sinning, he needs a way to make things right. "Restore him" in Greek means to reset the broken bone. We don't say, "It's his problem, not mine." If we really care about a person's ultimate welfare, we confront them with their sin as well as comfort them in their time of trouble. We are soft on the person and tough on the issue. We remember John, Chapter 15, Verses 5…
JOHN 15:5 I am the vine…you are the branches…(God the Holy Spirit provides the sap that feeds the branches)…he who abides in Me and I in him…he bears much fruit…FORAPART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.
We remember as Christians that we are ordinary people relying on extraordinary power…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 18…
GALATIANS 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, and of course all believers in Christ are, you are not under the Mosaic Law.
When we are restoring others, we are led by the Spirit.Also, we walk by the Spirit…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 16 and Verse 25…
GALATIANS 5:16 But I (Paul) say (to you Galatian believers in Christ and to all believers in Christ)…walk by the power of God the Holy Spirit, and you will not (no way…not no how) carry out the desire of the flesh.
GALATIANS 5:25 If we believers in Christ live by the power of God the Holy Spirit, and of course we do, let us also walk by the power of God the Holy Spirit.
We display the fruit of the Spirit…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 22 and 23…
GALATIANS 5:22 But the fruit of God the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace (in yourselves)…patience, kindness, goodness (toward others)…
GALATIANS 5:23 …faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (in your relationship with God)…against such virtues there is no law. In short, we don't rely on ourselves and on human power, which is completely inadequate. When we rely on the Spirit's guidance and power, the correction will be done with gentleness.
APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING!
Galatians, Chapter 6, Verse 5…why aren't we arrogant or puffed up when we correct others? Because when we are before the Lord making an account of ourselves, we will not be able to compare ourselves to others…
GALATIANS 6:5 For each one will bear his own load.
How does the Lord expect Christians to treat people? As He would…with unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace? Who have you lifted up lately?
THE GOSPEL MESSAGE The Good News of Jesus Christ's Salvation Offer to the Human Race
The closing moments of our lesson today could be the ten most important minutes of your life.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
You are one of God's creatures. If you choose, you can be a child of God. John, Chapter 1, Verse 12 says…
JOHN 1:12 But as many as received the invitation from Jesus to be saved…to them He gave the right to become children of God the Father…even to those who believe in Jesus' name…
The problem is you may think the Lord is like our human parents…emotional, arbitrary, and sentimental. Our parents tell us what to do…we do the opposite… and they let us off the hook. Your Divine Parent, the Lord Jesus Christ, does not operate that way Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 24 to 27…
MATTHEW 24:24 "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock."
MATTHEW 24:25 "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house…and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock."
MATTHEW 24:26 "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand."
MATTHEW 24:27 "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house…and it fell…and great was its fall."
God is inviting you to be saved. He tells you EXACTLY what you must do to be saved. God says there is only ONE WAY to heaven in John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…
JOHN 14:6 Jesus said … "I am the way (to salvation)…and I am the truth (through the gospel message in the Word of God)…and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me."
God has a plan for your salvation. In Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 21, the Lord says…
MATTHEW 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven... but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter into the kingdom of heaven."
What IS the will of God the Father for your salvation? It's simple…Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
ACTS 16:31 "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God, you and everyone in your household who also believes." It takes about thirty seconds of your time to be saved. You simply turn to the God who saves you and ask for salvation. YOU CAN DO IT RIGHT THIS MINUTE The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3 For I (Paul) delivered to you as of primary importance the gospel message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Old Testament Scriptures…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 …and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Old Testament Scriptures…
If you ignore God's offer of salvation, there are consequences…Revelation, Chapter 21, Verse 8…
REVELATION 21:8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars (all references to unbelievers in lifestyle not sins)… their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
There's spiritual death, and there is the second death in the Lake of Fire…the eternal home of those who reject a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
We encourage you to accept the invitation and heed the warning of John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…
JOHN 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment…but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him."
When you believe, you simply take God's word for it concerning what it takes to be saved. Do it right now, and you'll be saved for all time!
CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION
Let's close with music. We often wonder if we are special to God. We question it, as in the song WHO AM I? by Casting Crowns. Let's listen to see what we discover about how the Lord treats us.
MUSIC CLOSING SONG Let's Sing the Lord's Praises
WHO AM I? Casting Crowns
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
Almighty God and Father…
Thank you for the instruction concerning how You expect us to treat others…we have a relationship with You…we have a relationship with ourselves, and we have relationships with others…yet Your guidance does not change…You ask us to reflect You in all relationships with unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace…
…as we go forth into the week, let us seek out opportunities to carry the burdens of others and to lighten their loads just as You would…especially our brothers and sisters in union with Christ who are struggling with trespasses…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ's name...Amen.
DISCUSSING THE LESSON AND PRAYER CIRCLE
Cancelled for today
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Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening!
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