Galatians - To The Churches In Galatia
Week 23: Lay Down Your Burdens

God sends His Spirit to dwell in us so that we are no longer orphans, but family; we become adopted children of God. We must continually return to the means by which we were saved—the Gospel. One of the greatest ways others can see the transformation of the Gospel in our lives is how we love one another. Gal 5:26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. This is how we are to live together as the family of God.

• In your opinion, does our church/group/family/friends/display this type of living?

After talking about walking with the Spirit, Paul now shows us what a Spirit-led community looks like.

Read Galatians 5:26-6:5.
What do people who are led by the Spirit do? They restore one another, carry one another, and allow others to grow when they need to learn to carry their own load. A snapshot of a Spirit-led community in action is captured in a single phrase: burden-bearing. “Bear one another’s burdens,” he says, “and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

• What does burden-bearing mean?
• What is stopping you, or if in a group, us from bearing one another’s burdens?

Paul lays out 4 factors of how God works in our lives:
1. Family – Brothers is a word that means brothers AND sisters and so speaks of family.

The Bible tells us we are to be one family. The household and family of God is not easy, but when we live in it, we learn (albeit slowly) how to love, support, encourage, and admonish each other.

• How can we, as a group, be better at living with one another— growing in love, support, encouragement, and admonishment?

2. A church must practice Biblical accountability. When we live as families who love one another, we long to restore each other when we have stepped into the enemy’s trap.

Biblical accountability is about restoration and humility; we trust that Jesus alone is perfect and can rescue us. We recognize we need others to step into our lives and help us SEE our own brokenness and speak the truth.

• How can we better notice traps of sin and help each other be set free?
• How would we change if we more readily lived this way?

3. Restoration: “you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” Accountability is not about policing one another, it always has an eye toward restoration.

Discipline, accountability, and restoration all go together; the goal is correction, not punishment. It is about growing in Christlikeness. How do we do that? Evaluate and Protect…Discern and Restore: We are responsible for our own actions, but Galatians DOES teach that we are all DEPENDENT on each other as well. God leads us into family; our lives, therefore, become a community matter. When we fail, we should never be in isolation.

• How can we better evaluate, protect, discern, and restore?
• What is your motive when you try to hold someone accountable?

4. Reason out burdens and loads: A load is something light enough to carry; a burden is too heavy for one person to carry alone.

God lays lighter loads on people to help them to grow, but there are also times He allows burdens that would crush us if we tried to carry them alone. When we are faced with a burden, we need brothers and sisters to help us carry it.

• What is the difference between a load and a burden?
• How have you grown through carrying a load?
• When have you needed help with a burden? Did someone help?
What did it look like? How has this group helped? How could we have been better?

The challenge and heartache of the church’s messiness always involves people. We can’t fix the mess on our own; the fix comes from Jesus’ rescue of us, as portrayed in the Gospel. When we understand and trust the Gospel, we can speak it into one another’s lives.

• How can we be more Gospel-centered?
• Ask the Spirit to lead you and your community.