Bearing Each Others’ Burdens, Carrying Our Own Loads
Bible study is invaluable for our growth as Christians. But it’s not always easy. Sometimes, the truth is hard to hear. And sometimes it is hard to understand. A friend wrote to me last week with a question that falls into the second category.
The Question: In studying Galatians 6, we are told that we should bear one another’s burdens. But a few verses later we are told that each will have to bear his own load. Those seem like opposing ideas. Are they?
Of course, I could simply say, “No,” since we know that Scripture doesn’t contradict itself. But that would not be helpful. We must learn what the text means. The passage itself is in a paragraph near the end of the book. Having talked about staying true to the gospel of Jesus and the need to continue in the truth that brought the Holy Spirit into our lives (chapters 1-4), chapter 5 teaches us how to live the life of the Spirit. But what about those who are believers but who have fallen into sin? That is where this paragraph comes in.
Galatians 6:1-5
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. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.
Because the book is speaking to the church, the “anyone” here refers to believers—any believer in this situation. What is the situation? This believer has been defeated by sin—he has been “caught” in a transgression. To be “caught” doesn’t mean someone walked in and saw the sin taking place—although that could have happened. It isn’t just exposure that is the issue, it is being trapped, ensared, overcome by the sin. Someone did not just, on a whim, do something wrong. There has been control exercised over the believer by the power of the sin. It is serious, because it is called a “transgression”—a breaking of a commandment or law that has continued in some fashion as the believer has not escaped.
Paul speaks to this, not as some rare occasion, but a “whenever this happens” instruction. Believers have been set free from sin, but sadly, we still are susceptible to its temptation and can fall. That isn’t news to a Christian, but what is suggested next may be for many. Paul wants this believer restored to his rightful position in Christ’s freedom and among Christ’s people. How can that happen?
The answer is in verse 2—spiritual people taken to restore the sinning believer. Now, that opens up another question: who are these spiritual people. Some would assume it is church leaders or teachers. It should include them but isn’t limited to them—and some of them may not actually fit the bill.
In Galatians 5, the apostle spends quite some time talking about what it is to be spiritual, and it isn’t what lots of people might think. Spiritual people are those who:
Walk by the Spirit (v. 16). Their lives have come to them through the Spirit'‘s indwelling and they seek to live under his direction.
Are led by the Spirit (v. 18). Their conduct is not driven by outward commandments, but by inward direction to do what the Spirit desires instead of what the flesh wants.
Bear the fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23). Their demeanor and attitudes show that the Spirit is in control.
Keep in step with the Spirit (v. 25). This means following the patterns laid out by the Spirit—those who have been in marching band know something about this. These patterns are revealed to us in Scripture.
Aren’t those the kind of people you want helping you when you’ve fallen and you can’t get up on your own?
To “restore” means to “repair, fix what is broken, sometimes by replacing a part or mending a tear.” This one word captures a whole range of potential actions, which is good because each person’s circumstance may require a unique kind of restoration. Sometimes “restoration” can be simple, but often it is long term.
The spirituality of the helpers is seen in their “spirit of gentleness” (part of the Spirit’s fruit in chapter 5 and one of Jesus’ beatitudes). It’s easy to be angry or exasperated with a sinning believer, especially if this isn’t a first time problem. But Paul says restoration requires a “gentle power.” The word here (sometimes translated as “meek”), was used by Aristotle to describe the perfect balance between unreasoning anger and the inability to become angry—not blowing up uncontrollably, not impassive and uncaring, but right in the middle! Sin can make us angry, but in restoration we bring the Spirit’s gentle but sovereign power to bear against it.
This is where “bearing one another’s burdens” comes in. It is not just helping someone in a time of trouble. It is specifically seeking to help with the burden of sin—entering into that burden with others and helping them to stand up under it. This means we are to be willing to enter into the pain of the process of restoration with the burden bearer.
Two observations we can make here. First, we can’t bear burdens we don’t know about. In many cases a sin has been exposed that needs to be addressed. But if you are wondering why the Body of Christ isn’t helping you fight against sin, it may be because you haven’t told anyone about the battle!
Second, bearing one another’s burdens of sin is a fulfillment of the law of Christ. What is that law? It is the new commandment that Jesus gave his followers the night of his betrayal, and echoed throughout his ministry. He told us, “love one another, as I have loved you (John 13:34).” This love would mark Jesus’ followers. And doing this burden-bearing selflessly is following in the Lord’s footsteps when he reminded the disciple he and not come “to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).”
To bear one another’s burdens is a calling, and it has a cost in our entering into the process. But it also requires cautions to those who attempt to help a sinner. First, there the warning, “Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” Paul is not unaware that if one believer could fall into sin, another who thinks he is ready to help restoration may also fall. The first person’s temptation might become a snare to the helper. But even more dangerous, seeing the sinning person’s weakness may cause us to think of ourselves as strong. We may start to think of ourselves as “special” (v. 3). Such pride will keep us from bending down to bear this burden and can easily lead to deceiving ourselves (also v. 3)—thinking we are something when we are nothing. Concerning self-deception, C. S. Lewis wrote, “There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.” It makes us judges rather than burden-bearers.
How do we protect ourselves? Through honest examination of ourselves and acknowledgement of our own weakness. Others’ sins ought not be our continuing focus. Pastor Kent Hughes writes that we should, "“Grade our own work, and let others do the same.” We should consider what we are supposed to be doing ourselves, not comparing ourselves with others. And if you are a part of helping someone be restored, don’t get overly greedy for credit for the efforts of others. That is what it means when it refers to “boasting” in one’s own work.
We should remember that we each have a God-given role to play in each other’s lives and in the church. Each of us has our own load/responsibility to bear, and for which we will be evaluated by the Lord himself. That is a fearsome thought. Martin Luther said this passage was “forceful enough to frighten us thoroughly, so that we do not yearn for vainglory.”
So, the burdens we share (v.2) are those we take on in helping others overcome sin. And the load that is ours to bear alone (v. 5) is the responsibility for doing what we have been called to do within the Church as God's children.
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