NASHVILLE (BP) — This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with Lifeway Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, Lifeway publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week’s Bible study is adapted from the YOU curriculum.
Bible Passage: Galatians 6:1-10
Discussion Questions:
- What are some of the burdens people are carrying today?
- Why might we get tired of doing good?
- How can we make service to others, both in and out of the church, our priority?
Food for Thought:
If you’re a Baby Boomer, you are a part of what was called “the Me generation.” Boomers were considered narcissistic and self-focused. However, a while back, Time Magazine labeled Millennials as the ME ME ME generation.
This self-centered focus that Millennials inherited is prevalent throughout our society. It’s not limited to one generation. We’re seeing this all around, and what we’re losing in this shift is a focus on the community. We don’t think about others.
There’s a greater way to live. When we stop looking to ourselves to make ourselves happy and look to Jesus, life becomes more than about self. It leads us to see others, to love others and to be involved in their lives.
Read Galatians 6:1-10. You’ve been given a purpose in Christ. That’s the beauty of the Gospel. Christ restores you to be the person He created you to be. Living out that purpose can be hard, yet here’s where the beauty of the Gospel shines again. You’re not left alone to live out that purpose in your own power.
In our previous Bible study, we saw that God has placed His Holy Spirit in every believer, and as you walk in His Spirit, letting Him fill you and empower you, you live out that purpose. The Christian life isn’t meant to be lived alone. When you come to Christ, you come to the body of Christ—the church. We’re in this together. We have a responsibility to help each other grow in Christ, and that includes dealing with sin and error.
We’re called to serve by helping to restore the other person. “Restore” would’ve been used in the first century to set a dislocated or broken bone. When we restore a person, we’re seeking to bring healing to their walk with Christ. Paul gave us four ways to step in to help a person.
1. Step in with grace. Paul called us to this “with a gentle spirit.” A gentle spirit doesn’t dismiss sin or downplay its consequences, but it approaches the individual with sensitivity and understanding.
2. Step in with caution. Paul also stressed watching ourselves so we “also won’t be tempted.” As we grow in Christ, we hopefully sin less and less.
3. Step in with humility. Stepping in to help someone else while being fully aware of our ability to fall into sin calls for humility. We never help anyone when we’re harboring arrogance or spiritual pride.
4. Step in with love. When we carry each other’s burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ. That’s love. We’re called to love and support one another with whatever burdens and challenges we’re facing.
At first glance, Verse 5 seems contradictory to this: “Each person will have to carry his own load.” If each of us is responsible for carrying our own load, then why are we also told to step in and help someone else with theirs? Isn’t that person supposed to follow Verse 5 and carry his own load? There’s a difference in the wording here. “Burdens” in verse 2 are a heavy weight, and “load” is something lighter that we can carry as we walk with Christ.
There is a biblical principle at play in verses 6-8, and agriculture helps us to understand it and differentiate it from the belief in karma. When a farmer sows a particular seed, he expects to reap a particular harvest. Karma is random. Speak angry words to your spouse, and later that day your car gets a flat tire. There’s no true cause and effect; that’s just two unconnected events. Plant tomato seeds in your backyard, and you can expect tomatoes. Agriculture isn’t random, and neither are the spiritual principles that govern our lives.
The spiritual principle Paul was stressing here takes us back to Galatians 5:16-26 and the conflict between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.
Because “the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit” (Galatians 6:8), “let us not get tired of doing good.” At the moment we are serving, we may be tired. We may not see any immediate results. We may wonder if we’re really making a difference. Farmers may have similar moments. The field is planted, and nothing seems to be happening. A lack of rain (or too much rain) can make a farmer think all has been in vain. Nevertheless, as the farmer continues to work the field, and as we continue to work the field God has given us, a harvest will occur.
YOU
YOU is committed to providing a complete Bible study experience for small groups and classes. Every session is written through an urban and multiethnic lens that provides relevant, engaging and applicable studies that not only encourage and equip people, but also motivate them to mission. This flexible, non-dated, all-in-one quarterly resource offers weekly Bible study for leaders and learners, devotionals and teaching plans, as well as articles on hot topics and missions. For additional downloadable online teaching resources, visit You.Lifeway.com.
