We have come to the final teaching in our study of Galatians – we’ll be reading ch 6:1-18. Often times it’s a temptation to skim the closing words of one of these letters – but that would be a shame to do in this one. Some scholars believe the key to really understanding this book is found in the closing statements.
In his final remarks, Paul quickly restates many of the points he made earlier, but he does so with an emphasis on how the freedom we enjoy in Christ will work itself out in the context of community. That’s what our focus will be on – how we manage both our personal responsibilities in relationship with God, with the mutual accountability we have as the church together.
In v2 Paul says to share each other’s burdens, but in v5 he reminds us of our personal responsibility for how we conduct ourselves. How would you reword those two challenges? How can we share each other’s burdens?
Paul also mentions “the law of Christ” in v2. That’s weird, isn’t it? After declaring liberty from religious laws all through this letter, he urges us to fulfill the law of Christ. What do you think he means by that? How might his words in ch 5:14 help us to understand his thinking?
In v 6-10 Paul talks about the biblical principle of sowing and reaping. How does this principle help to temper the way we use our freedom?
V15 is so powerful to me. All the expectations that get created mean nothing – do them or don’t do them…the only thing that really matters is that our lives are being transformed by God’s Spirit, made possible by Christ’s work on the cross. As you look at your own life, what transformations have you experienced that prompt you to boast in the cross?
I really love this book. It’s my second time teaching it and I really got so much out of teaching it again. That gets me excited about re-teaching other New Testament books! Hope you can join us Sunday, in person or online via Facebook or YouTube (hopefully we won’t have the connection issues we had last week – and by the way, the audio version of last week’s teaching is available HERE if you missed it).
Click here for a pdf version of this PowerPoint slideshow.