Galatians 6:10
"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith," Galatians 6:10. Who are those that are of the household of faith, and why should we be reminded to do good unto them? "Of faith" in this verse is the Greek word "pistis" and means the system of religious (gospel) truth itself. The New Testament Church. Those who are of the "household" of faith are those who belong to a particular church. The church is not a building, but are the people who gather together to worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Wherever those people meet at is the place where they gather. Richardson Baptist Church meets here in this building. When someone joins a church, they become a member of a body of believers. The church is the "Ekklesia". It means a calling out; a called out assembly. To keep this in context our verse is specifically speaking about those who are alive on this earth whom the Lord has redeemed. Believers congregate together. These are the household of faith.
Have you ever stopped and looked at the different kinds of people that make up a local congregation? We see people from all walks of life. Jesus Christ saving our souls is what brings us together. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new," II Corinthians 5:17. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost," Luke 19:10. At the moment the Lord saves us we become the adopted children of God. God takes us from the kingdom of satan and places us in His Kingdom. " Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son," Colossians 1:13. With this translation comes a transformation (Galatians 5:19-24). The Lord gives us a new heart, a new mind, which gives us new desires. These desires are towards Him. We see God differently than we have ever seen Him before because we are seeing God through the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding of the Scriptures; therefore, our eyes are opened to who God really is. Our eyes are also opened to who we really were and are. We are a people who are broken over our sins, and our sinfulness. We cry out, Lord be merciful to me a sinner, while at the same time praising Him for His mercies which are new every day.
We see God in a biblical way, we see ourselves in a biblical way, and we see others in a biblical way. When we look around at a local congregation, we see people whom the Lord has saved and placed together to serve Him, and to serve each other. Some lived what many consider to be a good life, while others lived in the depths of sin. Regardless of where we were at, God saved our souls, placed us together to serve Him, to serve others, and to serve each other. We are now focused on pleasing God, not ourselves.
It would be nice if after the Lord saved us that we did not have any more problems with sin or our flesh, but that is not the case. Much of what is written in the New Testament Epistles is dealing with problems that stem from sin and our flesh. This is another reason we are to be patient with each other as we grow in the Lord. Turn to Ephesians 4:11-5:20. These Scriptures are written to a local body of believers, those of the household of faith. We have the same problems today that they had back then. We tend to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. This causes us to be prideful, and as a result we look down on others. When we look down on others, we will not do good unto them. We should never forget where the Lord saved us from.
We are commanded to do good unto all men as we have opportunity. Opportunity simply means occasion. "Let us do good" is a good work; something that is useful and profitable. As we have occasion let us do that which is useful and profitable to all people. When we are Kingdom minded we will do all that we do for the honour and glory of God, and for the good of others. "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men," I Thessalonians 5:14-15. "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highmindedly; nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate," I Timothy 6:17-18. "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men," Titus 3:8.
We serve God as we are serving others. In all that we do, we do it for the honour and glory of God. We love Him, and we love people. When Christ looked at the multitudes, He had compassion on them as sheep not having a shepherd. He met their physical needs after teaching them the things of God all day long. Christ did good unto all of them that were there, even those who hated Him. Christ always did right, and He also proclaimed truth. He called out the false teachers of His day (Matthew 23). The writers of the New Testament Epistles followed the same example of Christ. We should not serve God and others out of drudgery, but out of love (I Corinthians 13).
May the Lord grant us grace to do what we have learned today. It is a blessing to be part of a church that knows it is made up of sinners who have been saved by the grace of God. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
