Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 66:10-14
Epistle Lesson; Galatians 6:1-18
Gospel Lesson; Luke 10:1-16
Sermon Text; Galatians 6:1-18

Our sermon text for today brings to a conclusion the book of Galatians. Throughout the book of Galatians the Apostle Paul was addressing confusion. This was a confusion that the Jews stumbled at. This was a confusion that the Greeks thought was foolish. And this was a confusion in which a group of people known as the Judaizers thought they could say, "Yes. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for my sins. But, I also believe that if I follow the Law of Moses, with all of its rites and ceremonies, that will also help in my salvation."

Near the end of our text, in verse 14, Paul brings everything full circle, reminding us how it is that we get to Heaven. In verse 14, this is what he says.

"May I never boast

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

We are saved by faith alone. There is no confusion, whatsoever. It is our Savior Jesus who took the perfect life that He lived in our place. He took that directly to the cross, where there, He suffered and died to pay for your sins and to pay for my sins, so that we could have eternal life with Him in Heaven. There is no confusion. And so, may we never boast except in the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Last week Pastor Bartels preached his sermon on the chapter right before ours for today, from Galatians chapter 5. He was talking about the proper use of freedom. In that chapter, Pastor Bartels reminded us of what the apostle Paul said. We are free from the Law. We no longer live under the Law of Moses. But that does not give us a license for a life of sin.

Again going back to the focal point. Paul reminds us in verse 14,

"May I never boast

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

With that being the case, the Apostle Paul now tells us

how it is that we are to live,

how it is that we are to interact with our brothers and sisters of Christ,

and how it is also that we are to interact with those who are outside of the Church.

From this point forward, I am going to use a couple of illustrations, then look at our text, and some examples that Paul gives us on how it is that we are to deal with others.

In May of 1953, two men climbed to the top of Mount Everest. Edmund Hillary, from New Zealand was one of them, along with his guide from Nepal, Tenzing Norgay. They reached the summit of Mount Everest, and they were on their way back down, when Edmund Hillary slipped. He would have fallen to his imminent death, but Tensing Norgay stuck his ice ax in the ground. The rope that was binding the two of them together stretched, and it saved Edmund Hillary from falling to his death. They made it back down to the base camp and at the base camp the international press was there, covering this big story that had just occurred. They kept asking the guide, Tensing Norgay, the question. "You are a hero. Look at what it is that you have done!"

And to all the questions that were asked of him, this is the statement that the guide said over and over. He simply said, "Mountain climbers always help each other."

Now just as mountain climbers always help each other, we as brothers and sisters in Christ, should look for opportunities and make the most of every opportunity to care for and help our fellow Christians. Paul gives us some examples in our text.

First of all he says, "If someone is caught in a sin." Notice, he does not point out one particular person's sin here. He keeps it very general, when he says, "If someone is caught in a sin." He is not talking about someone who is entrenched in a sin, but someone who sins accidentally.

And so, if someone is caught in a sin, how are we to deal with him or her?

Well, our sinful nature loves to get in the way. As we are restoring a brother or a sister in Christ, our sinful nature may restore them, but say, "I would never fall into that sin." Or, maybe we’ll hold it against that person, or say, "I am better than that."

That is not what Paul says. He simply says,

"If someone is caught in a sin,

you who are spiritual

should

restore him gently."

As members fall into sin, we should make the most of every opportunity to restore them gently, (certainly to point out sin, but also to bring them to the cross), bring things full circle, (just like Paul did), and remind them that they are forgiven of their sin. May we never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul also goes on to say that we should, "Carry each other's burdens."

In our bulletin for the last few years there has been a paragraph that simply says,

"PRAYER CONCERNS?"

It goes on to say, "Our prayer chain is a large group of Holy Cross members who join you in calling upon God with your prayer concerns."

And then it goes on to use this verse from Galatians 6:2, "Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ."

There are members who may be suffering spiritually, and/or physically. The prayer group is a group, here at Holy Cross, who is able to listen to those concerns, so that more people are able to come before God in prayer, and so that more people may carry those spiritual concerns and burdens of members, which may then, in turn, lead to helping out with their physical concerns and burdens. Now, in a physical sense, just as many hands make light work, so also as we, as members of the church, carry one another's burdens. It makes the burdens of the person who is suffering lighter, so they are able to handle those struggles or concerns that they are going through.

Again, let us go back to the focal point. The focal point is the cross.

May we never boast,

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That being the case, may we also, then, make use of every opportunity to help our brothers and sisters in Christ and care for our fellow Christians. But, Paul is not just asking us to just focus on those who are members of the church. He is also asking us to look for opportunities outside the church and to do good to all people.

In the 1850s, steam was the big invention of the day. In Hyde Park in London, England there was a big exhibition at the Crystal Palace. Many people came to look at all of these inventions. On display were steam locomotives, steam looms, steam plows, and steam cannons. Mr. Baxter, (who is our organist) you are going to love this one! There were even steam organs on display!

The invention that won first prize was an invention that was made up of 7,000 parts. There were many bells and whistles. This invention looked very impressive, and yet it did nothing. There was no purpose to it. It did nothing. It sounded beautiful. It looked beautiful. But, it was 7,000 parts that did nothing.

I have a question of us. Are we a church of thousands of parts, doing very little? Are we a church that looks good and sounds good, but does very little? Paul, in our text, encourages us to do good for all people. That is including those who were outside of the church. We look at Jesus' words in our Gospel Lesson for today.

"The harvest is plentiful."

Now, what Jesus is asking us to do is to be His workers, go out into His harvest field, and simply share with others the focal point, that Paul brings us back to:

May we never boast

except in the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is Jesus who lived a perfect life for us. It is He who took His life to the cross and there died. It is He who has forgiven our sins. It is He who has given us eternal life in Heaven.

May we make the most of every opportunity! Just as Tenzing Norgay said, "Mountain climbers always help each other," may we say "Christians always help each other." And, may we not be thousands of parts doing nothing, but may we be thousands of parts looking for opportunities to do good to all people, for Jesus' sake!

Amen.