SESSION 12 STICK WITH SERVICE 142 Session 12
GET INTO THE STUDY The Point Seize the opportunity to serve. The Bible Meets Life Many people consider themselves self-made people, but the truth is no one gets anywhere without the assistance of others. Other people know they need the help of others, and they build their relationships only around what they can get out of the other person. Our relationships would thrive much better if, instead of focusing on how the other person can help me, we focused on how we can help and serve the other person. The Passage Galatians 5:13-15; 6:1-5,10 The Setting Though saved by grace, some of the Galatian believers had been beguiled by Judaizing Christians into believing they had to be circumcised to be fully Christian. Bewildered by how these Gentile believers could have been so easily taken captive by this erroneous teaching. Paul set out to explain the preeminence of faith to them (chapters 2 4) followed by ethical implications of that theology (chapters 5 6), highlighting a freedom defined by faithful service to others. 10 minutes GUIDE: Direct the group to look at the picture (see p. 142; Personal Study Guide [PSG], p. 142). DISCUSS: Question #1 (PSG, p. 142): When have you received stellar service? GUIDE: Direct attention to The Bible Meets Life (PSG, p. 143). Note the author s statement: Good customer service is not about making a sale or even keeping a customer. It s about doing what s right and helping the other person. GUIDE: Introduce The Point (PSG, p. 143): Seize the opportunity to serve. SAY: As we study together from the Book of Galatians, let s consider how much we need one another, and focus on how we can serve others instead of how others can serve us. SUGGESTED USE WEEK OF MAY 17 143
THE POINT Seize the opportunity to serve. STUDY THE BIBLE Galatians 5:13-15 10 minutes SUMMARIZE: Use the information in The Setting (p. 143) to give some background on the Book of Galatians as it relates to the focal passage. READ: Invite a volunteer to read Galatians 5:13-15. SUMMARIZE: Emphasize the principle of Christian freedom in verse 13. Explain what freedom is not. Our freedom in Christ is not a license to do whatever we please. That is, to live in bondage to the flesh like we did before we were saved. Call attention to the image of the wolves on PSG page 145. Note the ominous tone of verse 15. Galatians 5:13-15 13 For you were called to be free, brothers; only don t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. KEY WORDS: The flesh (v. 13) This term can refer to the human body, but most often in Paul s writings it denotes the sin nature. The person who lives according to the flesh is living a life which is contrary to and opposed to God. Show your love by serving the other person. Verse 13: Paul began this section by reminding the Galatians they were called to be free. He used two terms to set the limits for the Christian life. The first term is called, by which Paul meant God s call of a person to become a Christian. We often hear this word with reference to a Christian vocation. But Paul did not write to preachers; he wrote it to all those in the churches of Galatia. (See also Gal. 1:6; 5:8.) The second term is free. This freedom is not some libertine understanding of Christianity. Rather, Paul was emphasizing that Christians are free from slavery to the Old Testament law and to legalism. This freedom is not to be abused nor is it a license for believers to sin. Paul knew all too well that some Christians misuse their freedom, what he described as an opportunity for the flesh. In contrast, Paul commanded the Galatians to use their freedom in Christ to serve one another through love. The word translated serve (Greek verb douleuete) means to be owned by another, to be a slave. Thus, while Paul asserted the freedom of the Galatian Christians, he followed 144 Session 12
up immediately with the call to use their freedom in slavery to one another. Set free from self, they were now free for slavery to one another through love. The practice of selfgiving love acts as an antidote to the power of the flesh. Verse 14: After commanding the Galatians to serve one another, Paul then noted the entire law is fulfilled in the single command to love our neighbors. Up to this point in Galatians, Paul had spoken negatively of the law. He declared that no person can be justified by the law (2:16; 3:11). He spoke of dying to the law (2:19) as well as the curse of the law (3:13), and that it represented the old era of slavery in contrast to the new era of salvation (3:23-24). Yet here Paul granted value in fulfilling the law: For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. In citing Leviticus 19:18 as a way to fulfill the law, Paul followed the pattern of Jesus. In response to the question of a scribe about the greatest commandment, Jesus first cited Deuteronomy 6:5, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and then added, The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these (Mark 12:30-31). Paul s agitators in Galatia expressed grave concern that he had dismissed the significance of fulfilling the law. Paul responded that if believers are really interested in fulfilling the law, then they are to walk in love for others. The intent of the law was to create one people, one family bound together by love of God and love of one another. Verse 15: Concern for the interests of other believers builds up the church, but conflict in its ranks inevitably breaks down those efforts. In verse 15 Paul warned the readers that if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. The term for bite was used to describe the attack of a snake. The term for devour spoke of animals such as wild dogs that devoured their prey. Consuming one another in spiteful discord, believers remain oblivious to the weakening of their own lives, the destruction of the fellowship, and the loss of their witness to a world already infected with pandemic sinfulness. Stress that what we see at work in verse 15 is the flesh, our sin nature the selfabsorbed, inwardly-focused, me-first attitude that runs contrary to serve one another through love (v. 13) and ruins relationships. Explain what freedom is. Our deliverance from the bondage of the flesh is found only in the freedom grounded in an ongoing relationship with Christ (Rom. 7:25). As we focus on Christ, we also are to focus on others. We should maximize our liberty in Christ by loving people through service. DISCUSS: Question #2 (PSG, p. 146): What is the connection between freedom in Christ and the command to serve? (Alternate: How have you seen relationships strengthened through acts of service?) TRANSITION: What does loving service look like? It helps carry the load for another person. 145
THE POINT Seize the opportunity to serve. STUDY THE BIBLE Galatians 6:1-5 10 minutes READ: Invite a volunteer to read Galatians 6:1-5. SUMMARIZE: Note that today we would describe what Paul commanded in verse 1 as tough love. Draw attention to the fact that the motivation is to help restore the person. Explain that one of the most important roles we play in others lives is to help them see their blind spots. Call attention to Ben Mandrell s story about his wife s quick warning about the car in his blind spot (PSG, p. 148). Note that her motive was not to condemn his bad driving or scare him to death, but to prevent what could have been a fatal mistake. Galatians 6:1-5 1 Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won t be tempted. 2 Carry one another s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else. 5 For each person will have to carry his own load. KEY WORDS: The law of Christ (v. 2) Shorthand for Jesus teaching that the whole law could be summed up in the commandments to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Serving others means helping to carry their burdens. Verse 1: Rather than exhibit destructive attitudes and actions (see Gal. 5:26), believers are to help one another. Paul again addressed the Galatian believers as brothers (see v. 13), signaling a new topic but also emphasizing their spiritual kinship and his warm feeling for them. He gave the example of a person who is caught in any wrongdoing. Paul asserted that those who were Spirit filled have a responsibility to restore that person. The word restore carries the idea of setting something right again much like mending a fishing net or setting a fractured bone. Who among the Galatian Christians should attempt this restoration? It is clear from the whole of this letter that Paul considered all believers to have the Spirit. The 146 Session 12
word spiritual refers to Christians who follow the Spirit s leadership who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. The restoration was to be done with a gentle spirit rather than a harsh, judgmental attitude. Since Paul had listed gentleness as the eighth virtue in his description of the fruit of the Spirit (v. 23), it is not surprising he would insist that the work of restoration should be carried out with gentleness. Paul warned the Galatians watching out for yourselves so you also won t be tempted. The work of restoration should also be done cautiously. Since the flesh continues to exercise influence even over Christians, the danger exists that those seeking to restore another would either (1) fall into the same wrongdoing or (2) congratulate themselves for their sinlessness and display arrogance, an attitude at the core of the flesh. Verse 2: Not only were the spiritual ones responsible to restore fellow believers, they were also responsible to carry one another s burdens. The word burdens refers to loads too heavy to bear alone. In this context it may have referred specifically to the moral faults referenced in 6:1. The work of carrying another s heavy baggage was for slaves. Thus Paul was emphasizing here that Christian freedom was not freedom to indulge every desire, but rather it meant the freedom to enslave ourselves to others in love (5:13). This kind of burden-bearing fulfilled the law of Christ. The apostle spent most of the letter arguing that the Galatians were free from the works of the law. Justification came about by faith in Christ alone. His reference to the law of Christ, however, offered a further reminder that commitment to Christ did not mean freedom from responsibility. Perhaps the description of the Old Testament as law and the New Testament as grace has been overdone. In fact, God s grace is evident on every page of the Old Testament, not the least of which was the calling of Israel simply by God s gracious choice. On the other hand, the Christian obligation to live obediently to Christ permeates every page of the New Testament. But what did Paul mean by the law of Christ? Perhaps it was shorthand for Jesus teaching that the whole law could be summed up in the commandment to love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-28; a quote taken from Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18). DISCUSS: Question #3 (PSG, p. 148): How can we help others see blind spots in a way that strengthens relationships? GUIDE: Explain that the word burdens in verse 2 refers to loads too heavy for one person to carry alone. (ENHANCEMENT: Pack Item 9: Help Carry the Load. ) Invite one or two volunteers to share about a time when someone helped him or her carry a burden. Emphasize that this cooperative burden-bearing (I help you, and you help me.) fulfills the law of Christ. This is a further reminder that commitment to Jesus means fulfilling our responsibilities to one another. Perhaps the law of Christ was Paul s shorthand for Jesus teaching that the whole law could be summed up in the commandment to love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-28; a quote taken from Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18). 147
THE POINT Seize the opportunity to serve. SUMMARIZE: In verses 3-5, Paul put the mirror in our faces and called us to take a long, hard look. Note the author s instrospective questions on PSG page 149: Do I have a healthy view of myself, demonstrated through humble confession and openness to correction? Do I realize that one day I will stand before Jesus and answer for the amount of heavy lifting I performed in the lives of others? DISCUSS: Question #4 (PSG, p. 149): What actions and attitudes enable us to carry one another s burdens? (Alternate: What principles from these verses help us serve one another?) TRANSITION: If we are to serve one another in love, we don t just sit back and wait to see if someone else will take charge. We need to seize those opportunities ourselves. Certainly the work of restoration and burden-bearing offer fitting examples of what love for neighbor might look like in a church. Furthermore, Paul had already related the command to love your neighbor as yourself to the fulfillment of the law: For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself (5:14). Christians have a responsibility to offer spiritual help to other believers in obedience to Christ s command to love our neighbor as ourselves. Verse 3: In verses 3-5, Paul warned against pride or arrogance, the trait most likely to derail acts of love: For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Believers are not to consider themselves to be superior to others. Elevating themselves and putting others down would prevent them from restoring erring believers and helping shoulder others loads. Also, such pride is self-deception; arrogant people have lost touch with reality. Verse 4: Paul had clearly established that the Spirit-filled believer must take responsibility for others, but it is also true that a Spirit-filled person should take responsibility for himself/herself: But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else. The flesh distorts any attempt to make an honest assessment of ourselves. Self-deception and pride go hand-in-hand as twin agents of the flesh. The fleshly tendency is to select others with whom we look favorable by comparison. The word translated examine generally meant to put something to the test or make a close examination of something. Perhaps verse 4 was Paul s version of Jesus command to remove the log out of your eye before attempting to take the speck out of someone else s (see Matt. 7:5; Luke 6:41-42). Verse 5: Galatians 6:5 appears to be a flat contradiction of Paul s call in verse 2 to carry one another s burdens: For each person will have to carry his own load. To begin, Paul used one word for burdens in 6:2 and another for load here. The plural burdens meant something particularly oppressive, whether the burden of obedience to the law or the tyranny of temptations. This was a weight no 148 Session 12
individual could carry alone. The word load is similar but can mean a load that a person can, and must, carry alone. This would include a soldier s or pilgrim s backpack. Paul called on believers to take responsibility for themselves before God but also seek to help others when the burdens of life threaten to overtake them. STUDY THE BIBLE Galatians 6:10 10 minutes Galatians 6:10 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith. Seize every opportunity to serve. Verse 10: Two Greek particles at the beginning of verse 10 could literally be translated, consequently therefore. Taken together, these particles indicate Paul is about to make an application based on what he has just said and that he is bringing his exhortations to a conclusion. The apostle wanted the Galatians to understand that time was limited (see 6:6-9) and, therefore, they were to seize every opportunity to serve. The connection between verse 10 and the previous verses of this chapter, especially verse 9, is clear. In verse 9, Paul issued an exhortation to not get tired of doing good. The verb rendered get tired can mean to lose heart or to become discouraged, so Paul s primary concern was not mere physical exhaustion. Many Christians have lost heart and have become discouraged in doing good. The weariness may result from serving for a long time without seeing any visible results of our efforts. Days can turn into weeks, which eventually turn into years and perhaps decades, and still we don t see much of a harvest. Our frustration is compounded by our observation that relatively few believers appear to be joining us in the work to be done. Even though a large number of believers say that they want to serve, only a handful actually show up when the time comes to get involved. Over time our frustration can make us want to throw our hands up and quit. Believers, however, must not become weary in serving, even when there seems to READ: Invite a volunteer to read Galatians 6:10. SUMMARIZE: In verse 10, Paul mentioned the need to demonstrate love to all, but he stressed the importance of Christians investing in other Christians. Relationships inside the church are held at the highest level. Be sure the group understands that Paul is not saying we should ignore the needs of those outside the body of Christ. Sowing good seed in the lives of lost people is extremely important. But just as a person cares for his immediate family before he takes care of the neighbors (1 Tim. 5:8), believers must be sure to take care of their brothers and sisters in Christ. 149
THE POINT Seize the opportunity to serve. SUMMARIZE: Being with the body of believers is critical to spiritual growth. One of the prerequisites for healthy relationships is your consistent presence in others lives. Emphasize the challenge of serving people with whom we rarely sit and talk, those with whom we hardly ever engage in conversation. Note how easy it can be for seniors to lose track of one another when, for one reason or another, one of us becomes unable to attend church regularly. Stress the importance of staying in weekly contact with one another. Doing so will help us be aware of ways to serve one another. DISCUSS: Question #5 (PSG, p. 151): What opportunities does our group have to work for the good of others? (Alternate: How can we structure our lives to be ready to serve?) be no discernible benefit or reward. This reason is that at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don t give up (v. 9). We can rest in the certainty that a harvest will come in due time. Perhaps we will see it not long after we invest ourselves in others. However, many years may pass before we see the outcome of our acts of loving service. We may not see it until we get to heaven. Ultimately, that s where we will see once and for all the fruit of our labor in Christ. Then we ll see that all of our efforts were worthwhile and that our time wasn t wasted. In the presence of Jesus we will know that it all was worthwhile. So, until we reap the harvest, we can t let ourselves give up on the work to be done. Instead of waiting around idly for the harvest to come, we are to keep on looking for opportunities to serve. In verse 10, Paul instructed Christians to take advantage of every opportunity to work for the good of all. The Greek word for opportunity is the same term rendered proper time in verse 9. Opportunity translates the Greek word kairos, a special time given by God as an opportunity to do His will. In making this appeal Paul assumed God would provide believers opportunities for doing good. We are to be alert to them. Although the Greek term for good in verse 10 differs from the one used in verse 9, both words probably suggest outward deeds of kindness. Paul was urging Christians to actions such as giving, encouraging, and generally helping those who were poor, discouraged, and needy. Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10:38). His followers are to do the same. Paul stated clearly that our love should be directed to all people everywhere. The Great Commission calls us to reach out to lost people outside the church. God created every person, and He loves each one of them immensely. In His love He sent His Son to die for each and every one of them. We love them regardless of how they respond to us. We do good to them by being kind to them, caring for them, praying for them, nurturing relationships with them, and sharing the gospel of Christ with them. Many of them may not respond 150 Session 12
ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/BOB SCHATZ to the gospel, but our love for them won t allow us to exclude them from hearing it. Although all people without distinction are to be the recipients of Christian kindness, Paul noted that believers have a special responsibility to other Christians those who belong to the household of faith. In describing believers as the household of faith, Paul designated Christians as a single spiritual family. Instead of fighting and forming selfish factions (see 5:26), we are to build up this family by serving one another in love (v. 13). Paul s teaching remains relevant today. We should extend kindness to everyone we meet but especially to our spiritual family members. The Decumanus, the major east-west street, in Antioch facing Pisidia. Antioch was a Galatian church site. This excerpt is from, Freedom and the Christian (Sum. 1998), which can be purchased at www.lifeway. com/biblicalillustrator. Having previously experienced the life-changing grace of Jesus, the Galatians were in the process of exchanging the liberating freedom of Christ for the ritualistic restraints of religion. Freedom for the Galatians had been achieved through the obedient sacrificial event of Jesus life. To add the religious trappings of Judaism as a necessity for salvation would indicate that Christ s life had not been sufficient to provide salvation for the Gentiles. If the Galatians followed the Judaizers teaching, they would be trading their older master sin for a new master the law. Previous articles, Meekness: A Word Study (Spr. 2007), The Spirit of Restoration (Spr. 1994), and Liberty (Spr. 1986), relate to this session and can be purchased at www.lifeway.com/ biblicalillustrator. Look for Bundles: Bible Studies for Life. Subscribe to Biblical Illustrator at www.lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator, or call 1-800-458-2772. DO: Invite volunteers to share their responses to the activity, Take the Service Road (PSG, p. 151). SHARING THE GOOD NEWS The natural outflow of our salvation in Christ is our service for Christ. When we serve others, we point them to Christ. The best way to serve others is to help them understand what Jesus did for them on the cross. Each week, make yourself available either before or after the session to speak privately with anyone in your group who wants to know more about becoming a Christian. See the article, Leading Someone to the Greatest Decision of All, on page 2 for guidance in leading a person to Christ. Remind group members that page 2 in the PSG offers guidance in how to become a Christian. Encourage believers to consider using this article as they have opportunities to lead others to Christ. 151
THE POINT Seize the opportunity to serve. LIVE IT OUT 5 minutes DO: Emphasize The Point: Seize the opportunity to serve. GUIDE: Direct attention to Live It Out (PSG, p. 152; see text to the right). Be sure to review the opening paragraph to encourage seniors to seriously consider what opportunities to serve others God may be leading them to accept. Challenge each member to choose one of the options to carry out this week. Wrap It Up LIVE IT OUT How has God spoken to you as a result of this session? What opportunities for service is He laying on your heart? Consider which of these application steps you feel led to accomplish this week. > > Thank someone. Consider the person who served you, confronted you in love, or helped you carry a burden. Contact the person and express your appreciation. > > Restore someone. If a friend or family member is in the midst of sinful behavior or has made a bad decision, ask God for wisdom and direction on the best way to lovingly talk with the person. Act on your prayer. > > Serve someone. Invite a few members of your Bible study group to help you identify some individuals who need help carrying a burden. Discuss what you as a group can do to minister in these situations. Use this as an opportunity to love and bring them into your group. Let s live our lives in ways that when people think of great experiences with service, they don t think of customer service; they think of Christian service. GUIDE: Point out that we all know good customer service when we see it. Encourage the group to make it goal to begin looking for opportunities, no matter how small, to serve others. PRAY: Thank God for His ultimate service to us through His Son, the Lord Jesus. Ask Him to help us to serve instead of only seek to be served. 152 Session 12
My Thoughts My Group's Prayer Requests Additional suggestions for specific groups (women, men, boomers, and singles) are available at BibleStudiesForLife.com/blog. And for free online training on how to lead a group visit MinistryGrid.com/web/BibleStudiesForLife. A Father to the Fatherless My suspicion is that the young people in your church are never going to come to you and ask for tidbits of wisdom, which might make you think they don t care. But take it from one with experience: I would never be the husband, father, and man I am today and the pastor I am today had it not been for a few men in my church who were willing to intentionally invest in me in the formative years of my life. To continue reading A Father to the Fatherless from Mature Living magazine, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/articles, and enter the article title in the search bar. Or use your smartphone to access the article directly by scanning the QR code. 153