Biblical Theology for Transformation - 2nd posting

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

This passage does not need much exegesis being that it is quit clear in its meaning. HELP each other out! But there is a desperate need to reiterate this point. Burdens are the hard things in life that we carry. We try so hard in our lives to carry them on our own. God has NOT equipped us to be supermen and superwomen who carry all our own burdens. He has made us weak in our nature so that He can be strong through us (2 Cor. 12:9,10). Paul is writing to believers in Galatia; hence “Galatians”, and encouraging them in how they treat one another. In this context the “burdens” are those of past sins. For the believer, you and me, our past sins are most often the hardest to deal with and we still carry them around as if Jesus didn’t NAIL THEM TO THE CROSS. Galatians 5:1 says, “For FREEDOM, Christ has set us FREE, stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” The yoke was the neck harness they put around the animals that pulled the till on the farms. Once the animal was in the yoke he was a slave to the direction of the one who controlled it. Paul is saying, do not be a slave to sin since Jesus has set you free from sin! Release your old sin burdens that have been PAID FOR! I said earlier that He has made us weak so He can be strong through us, and one of the ways He is strong through us is through other believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul mentions that helping others bear those old sin burdens is so that we “fulfill the law of Christ.” John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” The law of Christ is love! We show the love of Jesus to others to make much of Him! To be completely honest, I think because of our desperately wicked hearts, we, in some sick way, enjoy seeing others carry difficult burdens. That is why Jesus tells us to love one another, because we desperately need each other. John 13 goes on in verse 35 to say, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is one of the best ways to evangelize. Show the world the love of Christ by doing for others what Jesus did for us. He carried our burdens all the way to the CROSS and drove a giant stake through them. We had a shirt at the store that said, “Always share the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Are we being the love of Jesus to our brothers and sisters who desperately need it? Are we showing the love of Jesus to the unsaved world? Will they know we are Christians by our love?