SERMON SUMMARY
Still couched in the context of a communal, Spirit-led approach to life Paul teaches in these verses to support your Bible teachers with generosity and ultimately that there is a sowing / reaping principle to life that God has woven into the fabric of our world. We will inevitably experience the consequences of our actions, attitudes, and thoughts whether that is flesh-led or Spirit-led. A life sown to the self will reap corruption, but a life sown to the Spirit will reap life.
Verse 6.
This serves as a heart check. We tend to find money for the things we value. Paul’s emphasis in this verse is putting a mirror in front of our hearts (and finances) and encouraging us to evaluate how our value of God’s word, the local church, and teachers can be seen in our generosity.
However, this is not saying that Bible teachers should be wealthy. On the contrary the focus seems to be on two things: the basic needs of teachers are being met and our hearts being generous towards God’s Kingdom. One thought Paul might be having here is of a Bible teacher who is bi-vocational. With divided time and struggling to have financial stability they might not be therefore able to focus on the immense responsibility to faithfully steward the Word of God to their congregation. Therefore, in the context of communal living (the local church) Paul wants to make sure that local teachers are taken care of in their basic needs so that they can more effectively concentrate on study and teaching.
Furthermore, there seems to be a string connected to the beginning of the letter to the Galatians who had false teachers come in and give them a distorted view of the Gospel. Maybe in Paul’s thinking, if we can make sure our teachers are financially supported they will be able to better deliver the Word of God and therefore we will have congregational unity in our doctrines.
In addition Paul is inviting us into generous living and not financial idolatry. Generosity seems to be the direct overflow of being filled with the Spirit of God. God who modeled generosity to us by the giving of his Son, our salvation, grace, mercy, friendship, physical blessings, etc… is actively at work in our hearts and as we partner with the Spirit we are prone to become joyfully generous towards the things of the Kingdom.
Verses 7-8.
We are invited into truth, not deception. The fact that this warning is here serves as a reminder that just because we know the truth does not always mean we live into truth. Paul is saying that it is possible for us to be deceived in our thinking - that we somehow might come to believe that the principle of sowing and reaping may not be true for us after all. This is a call back to the Genesis narrative where the great deception first took place. Somehow the serpent’s whispers are still echoing in our ears today, “Are you sure God said that?” “God won’t do what He said He would do.” “You don’t need Him.” Paul wants to remind us that the seeds we plant will be the fruit we harvest. Rebellion seeds will reap brokenness. More specifically to Galatians 6, self seeds reap corruption, but Spirit seeds reap life. What is sown is what is grown.
Not only that but the emphasis of the metaphor itself helps us understand the very nature of how formation is happening. It is not overnight. It is not instant. The image is a seed. Seeds take time to grow. The ratio of what went in compared to what comes out is vastly different. Paul is helping us understand our thoughts, actions, and attitudes are all seeds. What we plant, we may not see the immediate effects of, but when the harvest comes we will get out far more than just a seed. We will reap a harvest. So let us sow to the Spirit, not the flesh. If you’re struggling in your faith or have become discouraged in your spiritual maturity, take heart. It doesn’t happen overnight. God is patient in growing you. Have a futuristic perspective. Who you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, will be planted today. Growth happens consistently, not instantly.
Finally, it is worth noting that the metaphor of planting is an action. We ought to be careful here not to slip into legalism or earning mentalities, but effort is entirely different. The Spirit is inviting us to partner with what He wants to do in our lives. That doesn’t come from passivity it comes from activity, BUT it needs to flow from salvation not for salvation. In other words, we are operating out of the truth and confidence that we are already saved, loved, forgiven, wanted, redeemed, adopted, Spirit-filled, and invited. Those are the baseline truths that give us freedom in the Spirit. We are not trying to earn those things, we already have those things. So our actions come from the overflow, not the lack. Let the grace of God encourage you today to sow to the Spirit, not out of an earning mentality, but an effort mentality. You are participating in what the Spirit wants to do in your life. Or, in the words of Paul, walk in the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
*We are a church located in Greenville, South Carolina. Our vision is to see God transform us into a community of grace passionately pursuing life and mission with Jesus.