fallen into any sin of which the saint- liest believer is not capable. There is in each human being, because of the heritage received from Adam, the pos sibility of any sin. There is nothing in human nature of which to be proud or in which to boast. All are members of the human race, sinners of a com mon nature, chips from the common block, fallen and frail. The believer may certainly boast, but all such boast ing is in Another, Who alone keeps him from falling, the Lord Jesus Christ. We should therefore bear one another’s burdens (or frailty, verse 3), while we each must bear our own bur den (or responsibility, verse 5). It is the gospel of the grace of God which guards against selfishness (6:6- 10). “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” has frequently been the urge against certain sins or sinful ways of living. While this verse most surely carries this message, its pri mary application is seen in the context which has to do with the matter of giving material good for the spiritual. Taking without return what God gives through His appointed teachers is to turn what He gives to corruption. The fact that the teacher may not be in Dr. Lloyd T. Anderson, pastor of the Bofhany Baptist Church o( West Covina, prepares a broadcast of "The Blola Hour" from his study desk. As also a member of the Blola Board of Directors, Dr. Ander son's helpful messages, concerning various verse by verso book studios, have boon extremely well re ceived by listeners through the past years of his dedicated ministry ever the air.
In the whole passage the student should note the difference between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. It is the gospel of the grace of God which guards against spiritual pride (6:1-5). Because a believer commits sin or is overtaken by a fault (tres pass), he does not lose the salvation he received by grace. Many think that when a Christian commits sin he loses his hope in Christ and needs to be IF WE ON LY UNDERSTOOD Could we but draw back the curtains That surround each other's lives, See the naked heart and spirit. Know what spur the action gives; Often we should find it better, Purer than we judged we should We should love each other better, If we only understood. If we knew the cares and trials, Knew the efforts all in vain. And the bitter disappointments, Understood the loss and gain— Would the grim, eternal roughness Seem— I wonder— just the same? Should we help where now we hinder? Should we pity where we blame? Ah, we judge each other harshly, Knowing not life’s hidden force Knowing not the fount of action Is less turbid at its source; Seeing there, 'midst the unlovely, All the golden grain of good; And we'd love each other better. If we only understood. saved over again. But the Spirit says here that such a one needs to be “re stored.” “Ye that are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness.” The word “restore” means reset; as when a bone in the human body be comes dislocated and needs to be reset or “restored.” But the spirit of meekness is re quired to restore an erring brother, and the absence of this spirit is the reason why so few restorations are seen in the church. Self-consideration, with its revelation of possible heinous sin, will keep any honest believer in the spirit of meekness and guard him from spiritual pride. No man has ever
32
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker