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Tuesday, 12 February 2019

Galatians 6:6-8 - God is not mocked

6:6
It is difficult to see the purpose of this verse in context. In general we can see that it means we should respect and reward those who teach, but why say that here? Perhaps it is an attitude of sitting in judgement on teachers, we make assessments of whether we prefer that preacher over some other preacher. Or perhaps Paul was telling them to honour the teachers among them who were faithfully teaching the gospel, rather than the false teachers.

6:7,8

We commonly read this as a warning against doing wrong things. Ie, if we do bad things then we will reap a bad harvest, sin has an effect. Conversely, if we good things then we will reap a good harvest. However, true as that might be, I do not believe that that is what Paul is saying here. Look at the context, what has the whole letter been about? It has been about whether following the Law, in particular being circumcised, will help us please God or not. There is very little indication that wanting to do overt sins was an issue in Galatia. What I believe Paul is saying is that if we seek to live by the Law, then we are living by the flesh and we will inevitably reap the harvest of the flesh, as outlines in 5:19-21. God has told us that the heart above all things is deceitful, that we cannot save ourselves, we cannot make ourselves righteous. So if we then try to make ourselves better by the Law we are calling God a liar! We are mocking God. Conversely, if we sow to the Spirit, ie if we seek to live by faith in Christ then we will reap from the Spirit, we will reap eternal life.

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