Sunday's Message - The Book of Galatians: Set Free. Live Free (Sowing and Reaping - Galatians 6:1-18)

During most of the Summer, the congregation of Sligo Presbyterian Church will explore the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Galatians and consider how we might claim the freedom we have in Jesus Christ. During our time together, we'll explore the following:

• May 26 - One Gospel (Galatians 1:1-10)
• June 2 - Grace Changes Everything! (Galatians 1:10-24)
• June 9 - Getting the Gospel Right (Galatians 2:1-21)
• June 16 - Don't Be Stupid! (Galatians 3:1-14)
• June 23 - Children, Not Slaves (Galatians 3:15–4:7)
• July 7 - Don't Look Back (Galatians 4:8-20)
• July 14 - Effort Vs. Grace (Galatians 4:21-31)
• July 21 - Set Free! (Galatians 5:1-12)
• July 28 - Living Our Freedom (Galatians 5:13-26)
• August 4 - Sowing and Reaping (Galatians 6:1-18)

On Sunday, we continued the series by looking at Galatians 6:1-18 and by discussing how concludes his letter. Below are a recording and the text of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page. 

Well, this morning we’re tying up the series we started on the Sunday before Memorial Day. How time passes when you’re having fun. You see, over the course of nine Sundays, we’ve been looking at Paul’s letter to the churches in the Roman province of Galatia, a group of Gentile congregations which Paul had a hand in starting when he shared with them the good news of Jesus Christ. And even though, when he left, they were fine, in the meantime, they’d kind of drifted away from what he had taught them, and they started to believe in what you could call a modified gospel, one that involved doing certain things in order to experience a complete relationship with God. Of course, when Paul heard this, man, he went ballistic, because, for him, the relationship between humanity and God was grounded exclusively in undeserved grace and simple trust. And as a result, we’ve been set free: free from doing the right things and saying the right words and experiencing the right feelings and engaging in the right rituals and praying the right prayers and making the right promises. As he wrote, “Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again.” [Galatians 5:1, CEV] Now, that was what he taught the Galatians when he was first with them back in the day, and that was what he wanted them to start believing again. 

But, as we talked about last week, Paul didn’t want them to see this freedom as a license to kill so to speak, you know, to do anything they wanted. Instead he wanted them to understand that God had a reason for setting them and us free, and it was so that we could do one specific thing. As he wrote, 

My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. All the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. [Galatians 5:13-14, CEV]

Now that’s what he said; therefore, all Christians have a choice. We can choose to reject what God has done and what he wants us to do so that we can just live for ourselves, you know, doing what makes us feel good and comfortable. Or we can decide to accept our freedom as another gift from God and to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we become the men and women God freed us to be. Now over the last two months or so, that’s what we’ve been talking about.

And like I said, this morning, we’re going to bring both the letter and the series to a close by looking at a few last-minute instructions Paul has for the Galatians. And in these final words, I believe he offered to them and to us an incredibly simple and straightforward principle that all Christians can use to shape how we can respond to the good news of Jesus Christ. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today. You see, we’re going to look at what Paul had to say as he concluded his letter, and then we’re going to apply it to our own lives. And hopefully, as a result, we’ll have a much better idea about how we might avoid what is wrong and actually do what is right. 

And I’ll tell you, I think this is possible because of something Paul wrote right near the end of this letter. In other words, as he was offering some final instructions to the Galatians, he stated a commonsense principle that I believe can offer a lot of practical direction as we try to figure out what we should be doing. You see, according to Paul, we will harvest what we plant. I mean, just listen to what he wrote:

You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. [Galatians 6:7-8, CEV]

Now that’s what Paul wrote to the Galatians. Of course, this wasn’t the first time he used this image of harvesting and planting. For example, when he was trying to straighten out the mess that was going on in the Corinthian church, he said this to encourage them to give to those in need. 

Remember this saying,

“A few seeds make

    a small harvest,

but a lot of seeds make

    a big harvest.”

Each of you must make up your own mind about how much to give. But don’t feel sorry that you must give and don’t feel you are forced to give. God loves people who love to give. God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others. The Scriptures say,

“God freely gives his gifts

to the poor,

    and always does right.”

God gives seed to farmers and provides everyone with food. He will increase what you have, so you can give even more to those in need. You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift. [2 Corinthians 9:6-11, CEV]

Now that’s what he said. And I’ve got to tell you, it just makes a lot of sense, at least to me. In fact, it’s sort of like what my mom would say, especially when she thought that I was on the verge of doing something I’d probably regret later. I remember, she’d say, “Eddie, what goes around comes around.” And I’ll tell you, looking back, I’m glad she said it, because she was right. I mean, life really does have a funny way of giving back what you put in. And you know, Jesus taught the same sort of thing when he said this to his disciples:

Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. Every tree producing bad fruit will be chopped down and burned. You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds. [Matthew 7:15-20, CEV]

You see, according to Paul, we will harvest what we plant. Now that’s what he wrote.

And I’ll tell you, right here and now, I think that’s good news for us, because we can claim this principle and apply it to our own lives. And if we do, I believe it’ll affect us in two ways. You see, if we choose to use this harvesting and planting business as a guide, first, I think we’re going to avoid doing some stuff that’s just plain wrong. For example, we’ll certainly be able to see through the false and even malicious motives of those who are actively trying to lead us astray, something that Paul suggested would happen for the Galatians as they were dealing with the problems they faced in their own churches. He wrote, 

Those people who are telling you to get circumcised are only trying to show how important they are. And they don’t want to get into trouble for preaching about the cross of Christ. They are circumcised, but they don’t obey the Law of Moses. All they want is to brag about having you circumcised. But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his cross, the world is dead as far as I am concerned, and I am dead as far as the world is concerned. [Galatians 6:12-14, CEV]

You see, when we believe that, in this world, those who lie and cheat and brag will eventually get what they deserve, well, maybe knowing that will strengthen us to resist some of the baloney they’re constantly dishing out.

But you know, just knowing that we’ll harvest what we plant, well, that might also motivate us to steer away from some of the self-centered and self-serving behavior that, frankly, is often pretty tempting. In other words, if we remember that what goes around comes around, man, that might help us resist the pitfall we talked about last week:

People’s desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God’s kingdom. [Galatians 5:19-21, CEV]

You see, first, when we remember that we’re going to harvest what we plant, I really think we’ll avoid doing what is wrong. But that’s not all. 

Because, second, believing this will also help us do what is right. In other words, I believe following this principle will actually encourage us to be the kind of loving people God has freed us to be. For example, I think it’ll certainly move us to develop the right kind of attitude, and I’m talking about the kind of Spirit-focused qualities about which Paul wrote in the material we looked at last week:

God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. God’s Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. But don’t be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are. [Galatians 5:22-26, CEV]

I’ll tell you, just knowing that what we plant we’re going to harvest, man, that just might provide the motivation to do some self-improvements on the inside.

And you know, I think it’ll also give us some excellent reasons to tidy-up the outside as well. I mean, knowing what we know, how can it not move us to engage in the right kind of behavior, you know what I mean, the kind of behavior Paul wrote about as he was tying up this letter. 

My friends, you are spiritual. So if someone is trapped in sin, you should gently lead that person back to the right path. But watch out, and don’t be tempted yourself. You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.

If you think you are better than others, when you really aren’t, you are wrong. Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don’t compare yourself with others. We each must carry our own load.

Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said. 

Don’t get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don’t give up. We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.  [Galatians 6:1-6, 9-10, CEV]

You see, when we recognize that we’re going to harvest what we plant, not only will that challenge us to avoid what is wrong, I think it’ll also move us to do what is right. At least, that’s what Paul seemed to think. 

And after he said it, he concluded his letter with these words:

It doesn’t matter if you are circumcised or not. All that matters is that you are a new person.

If you follow this rule, you will belong to God’s true people. God will treat you with undeserved kindness and will bless you with peace.

On my own body are scars that prove I belong to Christ Jesus. So I don’t want anyone to bother me anymore.

My friends, I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you! Amen. [Galatians 6:15-18, CEV]

And with that, the letter ends, leaving us with some unanswered questions. For example, what did Galatians do after reading this letter? Did they listen to what Paul wrote, and did they remember what they’d been taught, and did they reject the false gospel they’d received? And did they decide to accept Paul’s message of undeserved grace and simple trust and responsible freedom and then did they allow these truths to shape their lives. We just don’t know.

But there are few things we do know. I mean, over ten weeks we’ve talked about what Paul wrote to Galatians; therefore, we know that the grace we’ve received is an undeserved gift from God. And we know that God simply wants us to trust that it’s been given. And we know that, as a result, God has set us free so that we can love others as much as we love ourselves. As a matter of fact, we even know that we’ll harvest what we plant; therefore, we have an excellent reason to avoid what is wrong and to do what is right. I mean, because we’ve spent ten weeks in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, these things we know. As a matter of fact, for us, there’s really only one question left; what are we going to do about it?