If you have young children in your life, you know the importance of enforcing the rules. Now, it would undoubtedly be easier just to let them get away with whatever they want, but that would lead to raising entitled and disobedient children and serve them poorly in life. During the weekend service, we talked about a false belief that Jesus is only about teaching grace, focusing only on the forgiveness of sins without caring about how we live our day-to-day lives. This teaching is, indeed, false, and it sets Christ followers up to sin continually, believing that they can live however they want without consequences. We know that this teaching is false because our sins do certainly have consequences, and Jesus does care deeply about our everyday actions.
The apostle Paul taught that our actions certainly matter to Jesus in the book of Galatians. He wrote in Galatians 6, "Don't be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant" (verse 7). The picture of harvesting gives us a visual image to help us see how our actions, for better or worse, have consequences. Paul continued writing about these consequences in Galatians 6, "Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from their sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit" (verse 8). Our actions have consequences. If we live for ourselves and give in to sin, we will reap decay and death. That is the guarantee if we live according to our sinful natures. There is no other option. Conversely, if we live according to the Holy Spirit, we will reap everlasting life. Our actions have direct consequences. We will either reap a harvest of death or a harvest of life in the Holy Spirit. The good news is that we get to determine which we will reap by our actions.
Clearly, our actions matter. If we live with the false mindset that our actions do not matter and live for ourselves, we will set ourselves up for disappointment. We will set ourselves on the path of destruction. May we all take our actions, each and every one of them, seriously and reap a harvest of life as a result, and may we encourage others around us to do the same.
Take some time now to evaluate your own life. What sin has crept into your life that you have been ignoring or minimizing? Confess it to God now. Tell Him that you are sorry for your sin and acknowledge that your sin is costly. Ask Him to help you as you seek to turn away from that sin and live in a way that honors Him.
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
11 Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting.
12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.
14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.
17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.
18 Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
