Galatians 6:6-10
Seeds and Fruit – I read a fable about a man who
was browsing in a store when he made the
shocking discovery that God was behind a sales
counter. So the man walked over and asked, “What
are You selling?” God replied, “What does your
heart desire?” The man said, “I want happiness,
peace of mind, and freedom from fear … for me and
the whole world.” God smiled and said, “I don’t sell
fruit here. Only seeds.”
Joanie Yoder
Last week we discussed bearing one another’s burdens
and helping restore those who are caught in sin back into
fellowship with God and the church. We talked about the
dangers of pride and the importance of humility.
This week Paul speaks to the concept of sowing and
reaping.
Galatians 6:6
Shared Blessings
Paul mentions the one who is taught and the one who
teaches.
Each has an obligation to bless the other.
The one who teaches is the pastor.
He is responsible for dividing the Word correctly and
making sure to teach sound doctrine. Teachers are held
to a higher standard. Pastors should bless their
congregation by preaching the word faithfully.
Preaching is the number one responsibility of the pastor.
We see this in Acts when the church “…devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the
prayers.” Acts 2:42
Also in Acts 6 where the apostles said,
“…It is not right
that we should give up preaching the word of God
to serve tables.” Acts 6:2
The pastor’s job is to provide a spiritual blessing to
the church members by preaching/teaching the
word.
The pastor should also be preaching the whole counsel of
God’s word.
The one who is taught refers to church members.
The responsibility of the church is to share all good
things with the pastor. Having received a spiritual
blessing from the pastor, the church should respond by
taking care of their pastor with material blessings.
The pastor should receive a monetary blessing for
faithfully bringing the word to the church.
1 Corinthians 9:11 “If we have sown spiritual
things among you, is it too much if we reap
material things from you?”
Warren Wiersbe writes “We must remember that
what we do with material things is an evidence of
how we value spiritual things.”
Galatians 6:7-8
Principles of Sowing and Reaping
To understand the principle of sowing and reaping we
should consider agriculture.
The seed determines the harvest.
Good seed will produce a good crop.
Bad seed will produce a bad crop.
How we sow determines the amount we will reap.
If we sow sparingly we will reap sparingly.
If we sow plentifully we will reap plentifully.
The seed we sow can’t be changed once it’s been
sown.
If you sow a corn seed you are going to reap a harvest of
corn.
If you sow a wheat seed you will reap a harvest of wheat.
No one in their right mind thinks that they will grow corn
if they plant wheat seeds.
Sowing the Wrong Seed – I once read a fable about
a farmhand who was given instructions to plant a
field of barley. He acted immediately, but he sowed
oats instead of barley. After several weeks, the
owner of the farm went out to inspect the crop and
was astonished to see oats growing instead of
barley. The workman was told to report to the owner’s
office at once. “I told you to plant barley,’ he said.
“Why did you sow oats?” “Oh,” the man responded,
“I didn’t think it would make any difference. I
figured that even if I planted oats, I could expect
barley to come up.” Enraged, the owner shouted,
“Are you crazy, man? What ever made you think
that?”
The farmhand replied, “I got that idea from you,
sir.
I’ve been watching the way you live. And I’ve
noticed that even though you’re constantly sowing
‘seeds of evil,’ you expect to be reaping `fruits of
virtue’!”
From Our Daily Bread
This is why Paul writes do not be deceived, God is not
mocked.
No one is able to fool God. He knows when we are sowing
seeds of our flesh. He wrote about this in chapter 5:16ff.
Whatever we sow, that is what we will reap.
If we walk by the flesh we are going to reap the
harvest of the flesh – sexual immorality, impurity,
sensuality, idolatry, and so many more. In Galatians 6:8
Paul calls it corruption.
If we walk by the Spirit we receive the fruit of the Spirit
and in verse 8 again Paul writes that we reap eternal
life.
Sowing to the flesh is selfish indulgence
Sowing to the Spirit is selfless service
Galatians 6:9-10
Encouragement to Keep Sowing
I like the way Paul writes, do not grow weary of doing
good.
It’s easy to become weary of doing good especially when
we aren’t seeing the fruit of our labor.
William Carey, the father of modern missions, felt called
to go to India in 1793.
For 7 years he preached the gospel with not one native
Indian turning to the Lord for salvation. But he never
grew weary of doing good.
Listen to the words he wrote to his sisters in England:
“I feel as a farmer does about his crop: sometimes
I think the seed is springing, and thus I hope; a
little blasts all, and my hopes are gone like a cloud.
They were only weeds which appeared; or if a little
corn sprung up, it quickly dies, being either choked
with weeds, or parched up by the sun of
persecution. Yet I still hope in God, and will go
forth in his strength, and make mention of his
righteousness, even of his only.” William Carey
In December of 1800 William Carey baptized his first
convert and that began a mighty harvest of souls that
were saved in the Serampore Mission in India.
In due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
We must never give up. We must keep doing good.
Let’s take a moment to think about some of the good
that Paul has called the Galatians to.
Serve One Another in Love Gal 5:13
Restore a Brother Caught in Sin Gal 6:1
Bear One Another’s Burdens Gal 6:2
Give to Those Who Teach Gal 6:6
Do Good to All Gal 6:10
In verse 10 Paul reminds the Galatians to do good to
everyone, especially those of the household of faith.
Goodness is one of the fruit of the Spirit.
We must be good to others because they were created in
God’s image just like we were.
Paul says that our emphasis should be our Christian
family.
We should make sure to take care of other believers and
especially those in our church.
APPLICATION
Consider the Seed that We are Sowing
What Thoughts am I planting?
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is
anything worthy of praise, think about these
things.”
We should be sowing to the Spirit
Thoughts become words.
What Words am I planting?
Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of
your mouths, but only such as is good for building
up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to
those who hear.”
Words become actions.
What Deeds am I planting?
Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light
shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.”
Our Character is shaped by our conduct.