February 1, 2026 | Rest Restores

Rest Restores | Galatians Part 18

Galatians 5:26-6:5

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. (ESV)

In Rest Restores, Jed Gillis walks through Galatians 5:26 to 6:5 to show what life looks like in a church that truly rests in God’s grace. When your soul is safe in the gospel, you stop living off comparison, conceit, provocation, and envy, and you become free to come alongside others with steady, humble love. Paul’s command to “bear one another’s burdens” means helping make heavy things lighter, including the burden of being caught in sin. That is why restoration must be gentle, and why it comes with warnings: watch yourself so you are not tempted, do not measure yourself against someone else, and remember that each person still carries their own “load” before God. The sermon presses the point that grace is not a way to dabble in sin without consequences. Grace is God’s rescue that steadies you so you can help others, point them back to Christ, and practice burden-bearing through committed relationships, honest questions, hospitality, and prayer.

Transcript of Rest Restores | Galatians Part 18

What Does it Look Like When a Church Rests in the Grace of God?

Jed Gillis: In Paul's last section of the book of Galatians, he guides his readers to think about a particularly vital question, and that is what does it look like when a church, a body of believers, when they rest in the grace of God? How do we interact? When we're not people who are fighting and clawing for our own identity, when we're not people who are trying so hard to measure up ourselves, but when we're people who rest in the grace of God and rejoice in that?

Do Not Use Freedom for the Flesh

Jed Gillis: So today I want to return to an image that we used in chapter five talking about verse 13, where Paul wrote, you were called to freedom only. Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. But through love serve one another. And the image we used then was that God's grace is not like a, a getaway car.

I think sometimes we think that's how it works. We, we go in and, and we may sin, we do the wrong things. And as long as we don't stay too long, we can hop in the getaway car and get out and not have real circum real consequences. Well, that's not what God intends for his grace to be. In fact, it doesn't work like that.

And instead what we said when we looked at verse 13, grace is more like an ambulance, if you will, in the sense that you are safe enough in an ambulance to go and help someone else. Or today we have ice on roads and snow out there, and so maybe there's a, a more vivid picture than an ambulance that works well for us.

So imagine, pretend you have a 17-year-old son. And for some of you, that's not hard to pretend, but pretend if you need to. And your son says, Hey, there's this great snow storm out there. I think it looks like fun to go wander around on snowy roads. And I'm gonna go with a buddy of mine who's also 17, and we're gonna see if we can drive around and help anybody who got stuck. Now, as a parent, you may have mixed feelings. You say like, okay, good, I'm glad you want to help somebody, but at the same time, I don't want you to be hurt.

So then you ask him, okay, I guess what? What vehicle are you taking? And he says, oh, I'm gonna drive my buddy's dad's car. It's a Corvette and it has really bald tires.

Now, if you know anything about driving on ice, that's a terrible plan. All the good intentions you could have in the world won't let you help somebody who's stuck in a ditch. If you go out in a high horsepower, low clearance car with no traction, that's rear wheel drive too. I love the intention, but you're not gonna be able to help anyone.

On the other hand, if your son says, well, my buddy's dad, he's an experienced rescue driver and he's got a four wheel drive that he goes out and does this all the time, we're gonna go help him. Well, now you might say, okay, I get it.

Grace makes you safe so you can help others. Grace isn't a getaway car so that you can avoid consequences when you dabble in sin, but don't go too far or stay too long. Grace is like the four wheel drive that says there are brothers and sisters around you who their souls are under attack. They are under difficulty burdens, some of which you know, some of which you don't. They need others to help them, to exhort them, to fight sin, to not be blinded by it. They need others to help them see the beauty of God's grace. And the grace that you've been given makes your soul safe enough to be able to go help them. That's why God gives you grace.

Reading Galatians 5:26-6:5

Jed Gillis: With that as the backdrop I wanna read, starting in verse 26 or chapter five. Let us not become conceited provoking one another, envying one another.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself lest you two be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing he deceives himself, but let each one test his own work and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor for each will have to bear his own load.

Let Us Keep in Step with the Spirit

Jed Gillis: Alright, so there's a couple things in there that could be confusing. Like Paul, you said bear one another's burdens and you said each will have to bear his own load. What gives, like, how's that work? Paul says, okay, if you're caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, restore him. Like, oh wait, is that me?

Like, am I caught in transgression? Am I spiritual? Does it even matter to me there? There's a lot of questions as we work through this text, but Paul's jumping off of his statement in verse 25. If we live by the spirit, let us then keep in step with the spirit. If the spirit has given you this kind of life in your soul, then live it out.

He starts with some negatives, which really summarize the previous section in chapter five where he talks about the works of the flesh. He says, don't be conceited. Don't provoke one another. Don't envy one another. It sounds a lot like if you go back, just scan up to uh, verse 18 and the next couple verses he describes the works of the, the flesh, the self-reliant person who says there's immorality, impurity, sensuality, all of these things. Then there's enmity. Strife, jealousy, anger, rivalries, dissensions divisions. In other words, things that come from being conceited, provoking one another. Those are all part of what he lists as the works of the flesh.

So he says here, if you have life by the spirit, live that out. How do you do that? Well, to start with, don't do those things I just listed earlier in the chapter. Don't become conceited, and he's gonna flesh that out a little bit When he says in, in verse three of chapter six, if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

If you go out and you have all the confidence in the world while you're driving that Corvette on the ice, you're still gonna be stuck somewhere.

The, the amount of confidence doesn't matter 'cause it's, it's not equipped to handle what you are doing. He says, don't be conceited. Don't think that your self-reliance can make you safe enough to help somebody else. It can't. Don't think that your, your good works you can piece together and say, I've got enough willpower, I can handle this. Don't think that can make you where you can really bear someone else's burdens 'cause it's not good enough to keep you safe.

What Does it Mean to Bear One Another's Burdens?

Jed Gillis: So Paul starts with the negative. It says, don't do these things. If you have life by the spirit though, what do you do? And we're gonna start in chapter six by looking at verse two, because it's the general statement of which verse one is a specific case, right?

We do this all the time. We could say, uh, you need to eat healthy. That's a general statement. That's a different statement from don't eat 45 donuts for breakfast. Now they're related, obviously, right? You say, well, healthy. That's the general statement. The specific is, don't eat this way. Or you can say you need to eat healthy, but you should get enough protein intake. That's a specific thing. So how do I do that? Well, you could eat chicken, you could eat tuna, you can take your pick. We have a lot of specific statements that address a general statement.

So what Paul is doing is he's giving you a specific case. If you're caught in a transgression, someone needs to restore that person. That's a specific way to bear one another's burdens. But we're gonna look at the general statement first. Verse two, bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

So I want you to think with me, what does that mean? Nobody, I don't think, I don't think anybody walked in this building carrying a hundred pound pack. I don't think so. I'm pretty confident nobody watching on livestream is sitting there wearing a hundred pounds, right? So we go, okay, wait burdens. I mean, I know what it would mean if you say, my hands are full. I need somebody to help me carry stuff. I know what that means. I walk up to a door and my hands are full, and somebody opens the door and you say, oh, thank you. How can I take that for you? We know what that means, but obviously he's not just talking about physical weights.

So what does he mean by a burden? I want you just to think in your life what feels heavy. It could be that it's something that is bad and difficult. You see, I've got some challenging personal relationships. They feel really heavy. I've got some stuff going on at work. I've been blamed for some stuff that really isn't my fault. There's things that feel heavy. I've got friends who feel like I've done wrong to them and I don't think I did the wrong thing. I've got challenging financial situations, got sickness. I've got anxiety that feels heavy. I feel addicted and it feels heavy. We could go on and on and talk about things, some of which are bad and feel heavy, some of which may be good. You say family relationships sometimes feel heavy. They're a good thing. You want them, but they may feel difficult or heavy.

So you take that list of whatever it is. In your life that you can remember, oh, that was a heavy thing. That's what a burden is. We don't need to overcomplicate it. Whatever feels heavy, that means, by the way, in this room, we have people from pretty young, at least eight, maybe younger, up to at least 80, maybe older. Burdens change, but we live in a fallen world. You all have burdens. The eight year olds in the room have things that feel heavy. And you know what happens, by the way, if we just use the, the physical metaphor, what is heavy for an 8-year-old is lighter than what is heavy for an 80-year-old or a 40-year-old.

There are things that are heavy. So when you bear a burden, it's simple. You come alongside and you make it lighter. It's not necessarily that you come and take it off of them. There are burdens in this room that I cannot take off of anybody no matter how hard I try. You have a physical diagnosis that says, maybe I don't know how long I will be on this earth. Nobody in this room can take that off of you, but we can help make it lighter. We bear one another's burdens when we make it lighter.

Just recently, we, we got a, an upright piano in my house and we moved it from down the street at somebody else's house into my house. Well, I could never do that on my own, and two of us would've had a hard time, but we ended up, I don't even remember, we probably had six or eight people around this piano. And we go, all right, 1, 2, 3, and you pick it up. Oh, that was easy. They're making the burden lighter and then you get to a door and one guy has to hold one in and you realize just how much lighter they were actually making it.

We know how it works in the physical world. We forget that's how it works in the spiritual world. When he says, bear one another's burdens, we are to help make the weights other, especially believers around us. That's the context in church bear one another's burdens help make the weights they feel lighter.

We Need Grace to Be Able to Help Others

Jed Gillis: Here's the problem though, and why we need grace, why we need the gospel. Every one of us has burdens. So if we imagine we all walk in carrying two 50 pound dumbbells, maybe that's easy for you. Maybe that's hard, but let's just say we can all do it. We all walk in carrying two 50 pound dumbbells, and I look at you and I go, my hands are full. I'm sorry.

It's like going out in a car, maybe not the Corvette, but you go a car, like I think I can get there, but I can't pull anybody out of a ditch. We all have burdens, so what do we need? We need something that can help me be safe enough with the burdens that I have, that I can come alongside and help you. That's why we need the gospel. Because if my hands are so desperately full trying to protect myself, trying to make sure that I can make it through, I won't even notice your burden, much less help.

So the truth of Galatians is that God has given you his undeserved favor through Jesus so that your soul is safe. You're justified, you're approved. You don't have to fight and claw to be good enough because the gospel is true because you're united with Christ, so therefore you have enough safety. Some of you may not believe this or may struggle to live it out. I understand. I don't always feel like this, but that means my soul is safe enough in Jesus that I can bear the burden for someone else.

We need grace, not as a getaway car, but as an ATV. It's dangerous out there. Trying to navigate the safety of your own soul. It's dangerous and heavy, but the gospel gives us enough rest and safety that we can help others. That's why Paul doesn't put bear one another's burdens in the first chapter, guys.

Uh, church, you know, like scripture is put together in order on purpose. God doesn't start out and say, bear one another's burdens. And by the way, if once you figure out how to do all of that, then we'll talk about doctrine and justification by grace through faith, we never do it. You can't. You have to have the safety of this is my soul is safe because God loves me and he demonstrated it on the cross. That's why I can bear other people's burdens.

This means, by the way, the church isn't meant to be a gathering of broken people hoping to one day find safety. It's meant to be a gathering of broken people who are safe and who help each other keep looking to the only safety there is.

So, and he says, bear one another's burdens. He says, look around people around you have things that are heavy. Your soul is safe because of Jesus. And that's the only hope they have by the way. So how do you help bear their burdens? The best way is to point them to Jesus. And then we'll talk a little more about practically doing that in a minute.

What Does Fulfill the Law of Christ Mean in the Context of Grace?

Jed Gillis: So he says, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Well, what on earth does that mean? Like what? What do you mean fulfill the law? Well, Paul just used this phrase up in chapter 14 of ver of, or sorry, not chapter 14, verse 14 of chapter five.

He said, the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. So when he's saying, so fulfill the law of Christ, he's saying, look, bear one another's burdens and you're going to be living out what I just described as the fulfillment of the whole law, which is loving your neighbor.

That's how it works, right? If somebody is carrying something heavy and we go, oh, they need help. You go, eh, I don't wanna help them, then we're not loving our neighbor. So he points us to say, this is fulfilling. He calls it the Law of Christ.

Now that's a little interesting because that phrase shows up in the New Testament a few times, but it's not super common. Paul's talked about works of the law throughout Galatians, and maybe we stop here and say, wait a minute, Paul, you've been telling us over and over works of the law can never really give you rest. All right, I know that. So then we go, wait, Paul, did you just like rename the law? Did you just say, we've had the law of Moses, now I'm gonna stick Jesus' name on it. Call it the Law of Christ. Like we have the same relationship to it. It's just a new task master.

That's not why he calls it the Law of Christ. And the reason that it's different is that one, that the content sounds different. He summarizes it, says, love your neighbor as yourself. He doesn't give you a whole Deuteronomy to give you all the specifics of how to do that. He says, love your neighbor as yourself.

But also the nature of the law is, is different. See, we use law in two ways. There's the law of the speed limit. We know how that works. We know our own opinion of consequences and whether they're worth it. We say, look, there's a speed limit. I know what I'm supposed to do. Now do I do it, do I not? We'll figure it out.

If I were to say the law of gravity, you don't think of it the same way. You sit here and say, well, yes, that's like a, that's something that pulls me. I can't just choose to ignore it. You know, in theory you can choose to ignore the speed limit and you might face consequences, but you can go faster. You can't choose to ignore the law of gravity.

When he calls this the law of Christ. He's drawing your attention to something significant, and that is that if Christ is connected with you. As we talked about this weekend, guys, if Christ is united to you and you are united to Christ, then it's not like here I am and there's this law that says I ought to bear burdens and well, I don't know, maybe I just really don't want to. Maybe I'm gonna do something else. Maybe I could, if I don't, how bad's the consequence gonna be. No, it's not like that. It's like gravity. If, if he's really worked that piece in you and you're really united to Christ, it's like you're pulled to say, I wanna help them. Jesus bore their burden on the cross if he bore their burden on the cross. I want to help bear their burden in a little way. It's the fact that it's Christ that is what pulls us. A soul that's genuinely safe in the grace of Christ will feel an impulse that says almost like gravity. I want to do this. I want to love my neighbor.

Now, perhaps you say. Right. I don't always feel that way. What does that mean? Like, does that mean I'm not united to Christ? How does that work? No, I, I understand. We don't feel that way. Paul already said that. He said, within us, there's the battles between the desires of the flesh and the desires of the spirit. We know we're gonna feel conflict, but what's different is without Christ, I don't feel the pull to say I love Jesus so much that I really want to bear this person's burdens. I might say I want to feel like a good person, so I'll try to help them. But if we're united with Christ, now we have the real battle that says, I wanna depend on myself. I wanna trust in myself and protect myself. But I also feel this law, this pull that says, I really want to love the body of Christ, the people he died for.

So his general statement is, bear one another's burdens, help make heavy things light. And in doing so you're living out, love your neighbor as yourself. You're drawn towards what Jesus would do because he loves them.

Some Examples: Someone is Caught in a Sin

Jed Gillis: So let's go back and look at the specific in verse one. If anyone is caught in a sin, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him In a spirit of gentleness.

I wanna make sure we don't miss the connection. If you are caught in a sin. That is one type of burden. You might feel like you're trapped and you might not feel like you're trapped. It doesn't say, if anyone feels like they're caught in a transgression, it says they are in fact caught. You might think you're doing exactly what you want. I'm not trapped living my life exactly the way I want to. You might think I'm not harming anybody. You might even think, this doesn't even feel heavy to me. But what Paul's doing is saying, if you are caught in a sin, it is already a burden whether or not you realize it.

We could take specifics here if you are, if trapped in lust, it might feel like pleasure, but it's actually a burden. If you're trapped in anger, it might feel like, well, of course they deserved it. It, but it's actually a burden. You're stuck, you're caught, and if you stop and think about it, you might go, I really wish that I didn't respond In anger like that, you might recognize in moments of self-awareness, I am caught and it feels like a burden because it is. If you're trapped in complaining, it might feel like it's right, but it's a burden on your soul. If you're snared in, in selfishness, it's like this is the only way I can survive is to just take care of myself no matter who I hurt in the process. See, it doesn't feel like being trapped necessarily, but we are.

So to use our parallel, and he says if someone is trapped, caught in a transgression, it's like saying if somebody slid off the road out here, they're stuck in the ditch. They can't get their car out. Probably many of us have been there. You know, you can, you can shift it. You can go, okay, we're gonna try drive, we're gonna try reverse. We're gonna find a rock or a stick or something. Stick it under the wheels, and you go, I've spun it out enough times, I cannot move this thing. That's where we are sometimes spiritually, we're stuck. We're caught.

So if they're spinning their wheels in a ditch. Who's supposed to restore them? Well, he describes it. He says, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

Now, if you think that says the super mature Christian supposed to restore him, you're never gonna do it. And that's not what Paul means. The point is not the really mature Christian who's achieved this certain status. Like spiritual was kind of a, a, a card that you go, oh, see, I'm spiritual, I can actually help you. Like on a plane and somebody says, is there a doctor here? And you don't want me coming to help you? Right?

No. When he's saying, when he says spiritual, it's just like when he described the fruit of the spirit a few minutes earlier in chapter five. He's saying, if you have the Holy Spirit, if you are spiritual, if you have life, because the Holy Spirit has come and indwells you. If you have the spirit of God, then you are supposed to be helping to restore other people.

Don't think this is a command for elders only, or Sunday school teachers only, or ministry leaders only, or people who have been Christians for decades. Kids in the room don't think this is a command just for adults. It's not. If you trust in Jesus Christ, you have the spirit of God dwelling within you, and that means you are supposed to be restoring people. That means you're never so mature that you don't need others to help bear your burdens, and you're never so immature that you can't help someone else if you're in Christ.

You say, I don't really know how to help people. I feel like I can barely keep my act together. What's a good thing? It doesn't depend on you keeping your act together. That's the whole point. I go and say, I'm safe in the grace of God, he's given me his spirit. I may feel really immature, but how can I make this lighter?

Some people in the room could probably come and pick up one end of the piano and carry it just fine by themselves. Other people could not. But everybody in the room could help make it a little lighter. He says, you who are spiritual, you who have the spirit of God, you help restore that person.

The other day we, we picked up some groceries. My wife picked up some groceries and I came out to help get them out of the van. And my little girl, Shiloh, who's three years old, came out to help. And she grabbed something that she could not possibly carry, and she like gets in. She's kind of staggering in like this with this stuff. She wanted to help. She wanted to help bear burdens. Now I can look at it and say, you know, I really could handle it. It's fine. I could take it part of it and let her hold part of it and help. But I love that she wanted to help. And there were things she could carry. So I go here, take this one.

You may feel like I'm not mature enough to help anybody. That's not true. Come help bear burdens. If you have to say, I feel like the three-year-old helping carry in the groceries fine, but that's still what this says. Bear one another's burdens. You have the spirit of God.

And here's the best part, really, I was bringing in the groceries, right, and I could carry the groceries just fine. The spirit of God can handle bearing burdens that you think I could never help. No, but you have God's spirit so you can help bear that burden. 'cause it's really him who is at work.

Restore Them Gently

Jed Gillis: When your soul rests in the gospel, it strengthens you to bear burdens generally, but specifically to say, here's a brother or a sister who's caught in a sin and they may not even realize it. How can I gently come alongside and restore them?

That word's important gently, you who are spiritual, who should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. You can only help people gently if you are secure.

A little while back I was teaching one of my kids how to skate. We were at a skating rink. And I'm not the greatest skater in the world, but I'm okay. I'm stable enough on skates and I'm, you know, I'm doing this and I'm, I'm holding the hand and they start to fall and I'm okay. I'm stable enough. I'll help 'em, I'll restore them.

Then I decided, bad plan. I decided I'll kind of go backwards slowly while I hold both of their hands. Guess which way i'm much less stable? And I end up rolling my ankle and it, it wasn't good. But the point is, I can't restore gently unless I'm secure.

When I'm skating backwards, I can't do it. When I'm here and I'm secure, I can restore gently. I don't yank their arm around. I don't hurt them. I'm okay, whatever. When I'm skating backwards, I'm not secure. They pull me off balance a little. I can't restore gently if I can restore them at all.

Again the whole reason that this comes at the end of Galatians is Paul is saying your soul has to be secure enough to restore brothers and sisters gently.

And what are we restoring them to? Not to keeping all the external law that Paul's already said doesn't save you. And produces unrest. We restore them to grace. We restore them to the gospel. We restore them to say, here's the reason that you can be safe. You have this burden that feels heavy. Let me point you to Jesus, who can hold that. We restore them to the gospel.

Some Warnings

Jed Gillis: So then Paul gives you a couple warnings because if you've ever been around somebody who's caught in a sin or a wounded animal in a trap. You know, you can try to be as gentle, gentle as you want, and there's some dangers, so he gives you some warnings.

Lest You Also Be Tempted

Jed Gillis: First is the end of verse one. Keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted. As you step in to help somebody else caught in a sin. You may find yourself tempted with the same sin, especially those of you who are in ministry counseling kind of roles. You find this, sometimes you say, I'm gonna try to bear the burden. This person's caught in complaining and you try to help them. You try to make it lighter and pretty soon you find yourself complaining about how they can't get it. Or you say, I this guy, he gets so angry, I'm gonna try to help bear his burdens. And next thing you go, you're mad at him. 'cause he keeps getting angry. We can be tempted by the exact same things. You can try to bear the burden of one caught in immorality. And you're tempted by the same temptations.

But it doesn't only work like that. Sometimes pride tempts us with the opposite sins. So when he says, be careful as you restore others, keep watch on yourself, watch your soul. Make sure you are going to Christ through the gospel. So pride tempt us that if someone is caught in habitual complaining, you might be tempted to join them, but you might also be tempted to say, oh, I'd never be like that. I'd never complain about something so flippant. And my pride just grows. Or maybe someone who's caught in outbursts of anger, you say, well, I wouldn't be like that, but your temptation is the opposite and you don't care about things you really should care about. Said, no, I would never have angry outbursts, but you don't really have passion for the things of God that matter.

Keep watch on yourself lest you're tempted as you come alongside and help bear others' burdens. Someone who's caught in sinful worry and anxiety. You might be tempted to have the same thing, or you might be tempted to say, oh no, I'd never be worried. I've got my life under control. I've got enough willpower to handle it.

He says, look, when you're coming, keep watching yourself even if you have the ATV and you can go help somebody out of the ditch. There's still ice on the road. Be careful as you go. Use that to help others.

So warning number one is keep watch on yourself. You might be tempted with the same sin or with the opposite.

Don't Evaluate Yourself by Comparison

Jed Gillis: Warning number two, don't evaluate yourself by comparison. Now, he doesn't say that exactly in those words, but this is his point when he goes on to say in verse four, let each one test his own work and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.

He said, don't evaluate yourself by comparison. Don't sit here and go, Hey, I'm more a patient than that guy, so I guess I'm good. If you really rest in the gospel, it's easy. As you go, okay, I'm trusting the gospel. Now I come alongside somebody else who has a burden. How can I help them? They're caught in sin. How do I restore them? How do I do all that? It's easy to start comparing yourself to sound like the Pharisee from the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Thank you I'm not like this guy. So glad I'm not stuck in that ditch. It's easy to evaluate yourself by comparing yourself to someone else and say. I am more patient than them. Therefore, I can help restore them.

You realize that's not what Paul says at all. He says, you who have the spirit of God restore him. He says, when you come, you are coming before God. What do you look at?

Now this word boast here is, is a little bit confusing to us. 'cause we go, wait, am I supposed to boast? I don't know how that works. And he especially says to boast in himself alone. Really the idea is to, to rejoice in something. If you're gonna look in something and rejoice, God has done this in my life. What do you look at? Do you look at, I wanna rejoice that I'm better than that guy. Or do you rejoice that God has worked through his grace in my heart, so that I respond with love and joy and peace, and patience and kindness. All the fruit that he just described of the spirit.

That's what he's drawing you to do. He's saying when you come, when you help bear one another's burdens, when you try to restore someone who's caught in a sin, don't evaluate yourself by comparison. Instead, you look to Christ and say, I may not be as patient as this guy is, but my soul is safe in Jesus. I may not be as loving as this person is, but my soul is safe in what God has done for me.

Don't evaluate yourself by comparison.

We All Bear Our Own Load

Jed Gillis: And he gets to verse five and says, what? For each will have to bear his own load. Paul, you're just confusing me now. Like bear one another's burdens. Now I've gotta bear my own load. What is it, Paul? What? What goes on? Well, I think there's two reason Paul gives us this.

First of all, notice that verse five starts with the word for he's giving a ground a reason. So he just said, don't evaluate yourself by comparison. Why not? Because we each have our own load. Okay. If we were running a race and you're carrying 30 pounds and I'm carrying 300, we know who's gonna win. Not least of which, 'cause I can't run a race carrying 300 pounds. We know who wins that. You say we have different loads. God has given you a different challenge and a different set of gifts. Why do we not judge ourselves by comparison? 'cause we don't all run the same race.

So he's giving you a reason to say each of us is gonna bear our own load. You have your own individual path. Hebrews says, uh, we run the race set before us. I don't run the race set before you. You don't run the race set before me. We run the race that's set before us. Whatever race God's given you, you run that race.

So he's giving you this statement. Each will have to bear his own load as a, a ground for that. Don't judge yourself by comparison. 'cause you all have different races, different challenges, different gifts.

But second, I think Paul, Paul wants to make sure we don't adopt a kind of victim mentality that would say, I have all these burdens. I don't have to bear my burden 'cause the church is supposed to do that, so I'm just gonna sit here and let them do it.

He says, no, that's not how it works either. You run your race. You carry the weights God's given you because Jesus carries you. And in that the body of Christ around you, the church around you, is supposed to step into these things and help you to bear those same burdens.

So whatever burdens God's put in your life, there's really two different directions we have to hear. You have to hear your soul is safe enough to help someone else. You also have to hear God say, my grace is sufficient for you. Whatever burdens you find, God's grace is sufficient to help you carry those burdens.

Some Practical Ways We Can Bear One Another's Burdens

Jed Gillis: Now, if we assume at this point, we go, okay, I'm, I'm convinced. Maybe you go, I'm, how do you really do this? How do you really bear one another's burdens? But let's assume you see from the text. Paul is saying the gospel is sufficient for your soul. It's good enough to make you safe enough to help others.

Okay, that's one conclusion. The second colu conclusion is really a, a choice of your will to say, I really want to do this. I want to pursue the joy of my king in obeying this command.

So I want to talk about a couple things to say, how do we practically do this? And the first thing you've gotta do is do some things internally.

You have to determine that you're going to take refuge in Christ.

Don't take that as like, yeah, yeah, that, but gimme something practical. No, no, that's, that's where it starts. That that's like saying, I'm gonna go get in the ATV to go help this person instead of getting in the Corvette. You have to take refuge in the right place.

So determine internally when there are burdens and challenges, anxieties, difficulties, unrest in my soul. When I feel all of that stuff, I wanna bear people's burdens. Okay? First thing I've gotta do is go to Christ with my burdens. Determine to take refuge in Christ.

Develop humility. Remember he said if you, if you think that you're something when you are nothing. You are deceiving yourself. If you think, look, I can handle life, my soul is pretty safe. Just because I've got it under control, you will not gently bear other people's burdens.

So you say, I'm gonna determine, I take refuge in Christ. I'm gonna develop humility. And along with humility comes the third thing. Develop careful self-awareness. If you're moving in your house and I come over to your house and we're gonna move a piano, and I don't pay attention to the way I'm gonna lift the piano, now I'm gonna get in the worst possible position. I'm gonna, you know, bend, bend my back and just kind of lift this way. How's that gonna end? Especially as you get a little older, it's gonna end really badly, right? If you say, I'm gonna help bear these burdens, but I'm gonna do it in the worst possible way, you're just gonna get hurt.

So that's why Paul tells you keep watch on yourself. It's like he's saying you're about to go help people lift something heavy, bend your legs, lift with your legs, not your back. Get in a good strong position like he's telling you. Be aware of your own soul and where you are resting so that you can help other people.

So internally. And I say that 'cause I, I really don't want you to go straight to bear one another's burdens. Okay? Here's the list of things I do for people. Okay? I'm gonna go do it. I want you to make sure you're getting in the ATV so that you can actually help people who are stuck in a ditch. So you go, I'm gonna take refuge in Christ. I'm gonna pursue humility and I'm gonna pursue this self-awareness to say, what is going on in my soul? What is tempting me? What burdens do I feel? God help me to keep watch on myself. So we do that internally.

And then practically, you can't intentionally bear someone's burdens if you don't know their burdens. That's obvious, right? You could accidentally bear someone's burden, perhaps, and praise God for that goodness. Sometimes you don't know a weight that's going on in someone. You come alongside and you just talk to them. You're just making small talk. And you make it easier for them. You really do bear their burden, but you don't know you're doing it. You just kind of accidentally do it. Well, when Paul commands, you bear one another's burdens, he's saying something more than just accidentally do it. He's saying intentionally do it.

So you can't intentionally bear someone's burdens if you don't know their burdens, and you can't know their burdens if you don't know them. So some of the simplest things we can do. To obey this command to bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ is to get to know one another. It's to be committed to the body of believers.

You know, you don't bear burdens if you're not committed. If you take the the sports team and they have a conditioning practice, the kid who's like, I don't know if I really want to do this or not, he doesn't run hard and he doesn't come back the next time. He is not committed to the team, so he's not gonna bear burdens. If we're gonna bear one another's burdens we have to be committed to one another.

Now here's kind of the, maybe the hard thing about doing this today. I planned this application before there was snow outside for the record, but I think it might actually help make the point.

When there are weather events like this, obviously we want you to be safe. I am glad that people feel comfortable to say, I'm gonna stay home and watch the live stream 'cause it's not safe for me to get to church today. I would a million times rather have that than somebody who really does try to get out in a dangerous way and they get hurt and I'd be terrible. We don't want that.

But I want you to think about a couple things. If you were watching on live stream and you say, I'm unable to gather in person this week, that doesn't mean that you're not supposed to bear one another's burdens this week. It's not like, oh, I had this work shift and I don't have to go, so now I don't have to do any of the work. If we aren't able to gather for whatever reason, that doesn't mean well, uh, forget the church. I'll just see. Maybe I'll come back next week and see what happens. No, it's, it's, how do I bear burdens still? We have phones and text messages and all kinds of wonderful ways to bear one another's burdens, even if, whether or something else says you can't gather.

And I hope weeks like this, speaking more for people who aren't in the room, but it works for us too. I hope weeks like this where we can't gather so much help us to think I have burdens and I need God's people around me to help bear those burdens and to think Jesus bore my sin to the cross and he bears my burdens today, and I love to help God's people. I love to bear their burdens.

I hope when we can't come for safety or sickness or whatever reasons that keep us from gathering, I hope we don't feel like, oh good, it's a day off. I hope we feel like I long to gather, together. I'm committed to the body so that I can help bear burdens and enjoy doing that because that's what Jesus loves

That means practically, when you can gather, I would encourage you, it's really hard to bear people's burdens if you show up three minutes after the service starts and leave 30 seconds after it ends. You can throughout the week bear burdens, but there's a great opportunity to say, come a little early. We have time from 10 o'clock to 10 30 in between our Sunday school time and our service. Come drink coffee. Talk to people in the lobby. You want to get to know people? You want to hear some burdens come out? Hang out and talk with them. It's a great opportunity for you to follow this to bear one another's burdens.

And yes, I know it's hard and I know sometimes you can't. That's why I'm kind of glad it's a day when it's really obvious. Yes, sometimes you can't come, it's not safe. But let's be honest, the rest of the time, let's be honest about the things that sometimes keep us from gathering with God's people.

And is our heart really to say my soul rests in the gospel so much, I wanna bear their burdens. I love to gather together. I love to be there consistently to get to know them so that I can intentionally bear their burdens.

And it's not just here in the building on Sunday morning. You want to get to know people to bear burdens, pursue hospitality. Not just in the sense we think it's hospitality. When a visitor or somebody who's newer when they show up here on campus and you greet them, that's a sense of hospitality. Welcome people. Talk with them, pursue them. But it's not just here. Use your, use your homes. Use your meal times. Doesn't hurt you too much to say you wanna go grab lunch together. You wanna go grab coffee? To ask someone over for dinner.

It's not because you're the greatest host in the world. It's because Jesus has welcomed you, so you welcome his people. It's because you say, I've got to get to know people in order to bear burdens, and I want to obey that. I'm committed to the body, so I'm willing to pick up some of that load together, pursue hospitality.

And if you say I, I just really kind of struggle with relationships. I'm not really sure how to get from small talk to, okay. There's a burden I can see. I wanna bear it. There's no substitute for time. Just spend time with people. But I'd encourage you just ask really good questions. Say I'm not good at that.

All right, I'm gonna give you some right now. They're the easiest ones ever. You wanna find burdens? Hi, how are you? Fine. Yes, fine. How are you Really?

Ask that question. You'll find burdens. Some people will probably blow you off. It's okay. I understand. Keep asking it. How are you really doing? That'll get you into enough conversations. You'll find plenty of burdens to bear pretty quickly. Wanna grab coffee sometime? When you're sitting across the table from somebody, you'll figure out a way to talk about something or it'll be really awkward and, and I'm not trying to make fun of what we feel sometimes, but I would just encourage you if you want to know somebody and you want to bear their burdens, it's actually not complicated, but I've gotta get outside of myself, outside of my self protection and recognize my soul is safe enough to love them.

What are you excited about? That's a great question to ask people. They like to talk about what they're excited about and if they say, well, not really anything, just found a burden.

Or maybe you go the other way. Hey, what's been hard the last week? That may not be your lead off question. That might be a little later. But you pursue those things because you say, I really want to bear burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. You can't bear a burden if you're not safe enough to bear the burden so you rest in Jesus. You can't intentionally bear a burden if you don't know it, and you can't know that burden if you don't know them.

What God's called us to do is not complicated, but sometimes it's hard. So I'd encourage you this week if you're in this room or not. God wants you to bear burdens for your family to start with probably and for your church family. He wants you to bear burdens. Ask him to show you the right people to connect with. Ask him to show you the people to reach out to.

You don't have to know how to fix everything. You just have to know how to be one hand on a corner of a burden and lift it up just a little bit. You hear the burden. You say, I can't do anything about it, but I'll pray for you. How many of you have been encouraged because somebody prayed for you? All of us. Does that burden feel a little lighter when somebody says, I don't even know what that's like, but it's hard and I wanna pray and I'll be thinking about you. And they text you a few days later, Hey, I'm praying for this 'cause I know it's hard. Does that burden feel lighter? Absolutely.

Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. God's given you the ATV of his grace that can go on any roads. Your soul is safe. So you can love others. Let's pray.

God, I do thank you that we are not left wandering around, isolated looking to ourselves for safety. Thank you that we instead can trust in the grace that you have given us in Jesus, and I thank you that we are here today and we can enjoy your goodness. We feel the emptiness when we're not able to all gather together. I know those of us in the room feel it when we miss our brothers and sisters who aren't here, and I know those who watch on, on online. It's not the same.

That's because you've designed church to be something much more than just consuming content, but to be a body of believers who help one another when we're caught in sin, who lift burdens and who boast in nothing but Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. So we ask you to work in our lives. In Jesus name, amen.