Galatians 6:3-6
"For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things," Galatians 3:3-6.
Jesus Christ warned us that there would be many who would claim to be the Christ, and He warned us that there would be many false prophets proclaiming the whereabouts and the time and place of the return of Christ. These false teachers claim to have an insight into the Scriptures that no one else has. People are fascinated about the unknown, so multitudes are drawn to these false teachers. Jesus Christ warned us that these people would come, Paul and Peter warned us these false teachers would come, and Jude tells us they are here. False teachers have always been among the true teachers of God's word, but since the days of Christ the false teachers have been preaching a false Christ along with a false gospel. Some of these false teachers are good orators, and they know how to manipulate people by adding to and taking from the Scriptures without people catching on. Others explain away the truth and replace it with lies. Some of these false teachers come from outside the church, but some are coming up in the church. This is another reason why it is so important that we all are grounded in the Scriptures, not just the elders of the church (Acts 20:17-32). As we grow in the Scriptures, our love for the truth should also grow, and our lives will show it. We will produce the fruits of the Spirit, and will constantly be fighting the works and desires of the flesh. There are clear evidences that the Lord has saved us. The Scriptures are clear on this. We are bombarded with so many lies and deceptions, and this is another reason we are to put what we believe to the test of the Scriptures.
"For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself," Galatians 3:3. "Think himself" in this verse is the Greek word "dokeo" and means to seem to oneself, i.e. to be of opinion, to think, suppose, believe. "Something" in this verse emphatically meaning somebody, something, some person or thing of weight and importance, some great one. This is a person who thinks they are what they are not. Some may know they aren't what or who they think they are, while others are convinced by their wicked hearts. "Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips," Proverbs 27:2. "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits," Romans 12:16. When we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, we tend to think that we are above our authority, guide, or rule. We will think that our way must be the best way, and we will seek to justify our actions when we are confronted with our wrong doing.
When a person is someone of importance and knows it is one thing, but when someone is not a person of importance but thinks they are, the bible says they are nothing and they deceive themselves. The king of the land has the power and authority to make and change laws as he pleases. The king's subjects are subject to those laws, and are to be guided by them. When someone steps outside of those laws they are usurping the authority of the king. The penalty for that could very well be death. How much more is the severity of the judgment when we step outside of the Scriptures given to us by the King of kings and Lord of lords? To keep verse 3 in context, we are dealing with helping a brother or sister who has been overtaken by the works of the flesh. They are not living a lifestyle of someone who is lost (Galatians 5:19-21), but instead they have been overtaken by sin. The Scriptures are plain on who is lost and who the Lord has saved, and also on who needs help and who they are who must help. Before we help someone we better know what manner of man we are. If we think we are above the Scriptures, we have deceived ourselves. If we think we are above sin, we have deceived ourselves. The word "deceiveth" in Galatians 6:3 means to be a mind-misleader, i.e. delude:- deceive. Notice the bible says that he deceiveth himself. This is why we are to prove everything by the Scriptures. The Scriptures never change, and they never contradict themselves.
"But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another," Galatians 6:4. "Prove" in this verse means to make trial of, put to the proof, examine. This takes time and honesty. We are taking the time to prove our own work. We examine our works according to the Scriptures. "Work" in this verse is of the works of men in reference to right and wrong as judged by the moral law, the precepts of the Gospel. What is our motive in doing what we do? Looking back at verses 1-2, why are we trying to help this person or people? Through these Scriptures we looked at church discipline. Why do we practice church discipline? We could write a list of reasons, but the main reason we practice church discipline is in obedience to the Scriptures which will glorify the Lord. We love the Lord, and we love people; therefore, we obey the Scriptures. We see the outward actions, but God knows the heart. "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God," I Corinthians 4:5.
"For every man shall bear his own burden," Galatians 6:5. "Shall bear" in this verse means to bear, carry. "Burden" is spoken of the burdens of one's own responsibilities and failures. No one can blame someone else. No one can say, I did not know. We have been given the Word of God, which is pure and perfect. It plainly tells us how to live and how to treat others; it is also clear on who is saved and who is not. If those Scriptures do not seem to be clear, it is because we have thrown our own corrupt dirt in the water so we can justify our own actions and beliefs. This is another reason it is important that we do not deceive ourselves, that we have the Scriptures rightly taught to us, and that we rightly study the Scriptures.
"Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things," Galatians 6:6. "Is taught" is to send down into the ears, i.e. (by implication) to indoctrinate ("catechize"):- inform, instruct, teach. What we are to be taught is clear here; it is the word. "Word" in this verse simply means the Scriptures. Turn to I Timothy 6:3-10. False teachers always want your money and your resources. We see this with the pharisees and the saducees in the gospels. False teachers will rob you. Do not give to them. They fulfill the desires of their flesh with what you give them. Give to those who are truly preaching and teaching the Scriptures, and they will use what you give them to do kingdom work. The word "communicate" in this verse means to share resources with others. The bible is clear that we are to share our resources with those who continually and accurately send down into your ears those good and wholesome things. Those things which constantly and continually make us more like Christ. Make sure what we believe and are learning is truth, then act upon that truth. Put what you believe to the test of Scripture in context and rightly divided. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria
