On Course Together

-Reese Kauffman

The Holy Spirit has given us help in the form of other believers.

When I correspond with other believers I often greet them with the hope that the day finds them consciously walking in the presence of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we grow as Christians, walking in the Spirit becomes increasingly important in our lives yet we never become so mature that we never walk in the flesh. The Bible says if we say we have no sins we deceive ourselves, and how easy this is to do!

But we don’t need to be defeated. The Holy Spirit has given us help in the form of other believers.

An interesting word study in the New Testament is the number of times one another is used. Nearly all these references contain instructions for believers to support each other. WE are to love one another, encourage one another, give to one another, rebuke one another, exhort one another, and pray for one another and on and on.

Helping Others Walk

Galatians 6:1-5 teaches us that those who are walking in the Spirit are to help those who are walking in the flesh to correct their course. The first thing we need to do is pick up someone who fails. Verse one gives instruction regarding a person caught in a sin. It doesn’t say “terrible, hideous sin” or “great moral problems” or “a scandalous affair.” It simply says a sin. You could say, “If anyone is caught walking in the flesh.”

The verse continues by addressing “you who are spiritual”-those who are walking in the Spirit. The spiritual believer is directed to restore those who are caught in any sin.

How we deal with our Christian brothers and sisters is critical. Our attitude must be one of gentleness. We must also do this carefully. Matthew 18:15-18 gives specific guidance on how to restore a believer.

Warning Signals

We must never feel that we won’t be tempted to walk in the flesh, too. The rest of Galatians 6:1 warns us how easy it is to fall into temptation. Our hearts are so wicked that we don’t really know what we might be capable of doing, given certain circumstances. I was made extremely aware of this when I visited Auschwitz, the German death camp of World War II. I was told that the German soldiers who committed the atrocities against fellow Europeans had been, just a few months before, happy family men participating in normal activities.

Our human weakness easily leads us to look down on those who don’t seem as spiritual as we are. “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else” (Gal. 6:3-4). These verses warn us against comparing ourselves with others. The minute we do this we are in the flesh and powerless to help anyone else.

Sharing Strength on the Way

Verse two of Galatians six shows us how to fulfill the law of Christ, which is love. We are to bear the burdens of others. In this verse burden means an extremely heavy load, and we are to bear them with endurance. We are to hold others accountable, follow up on them, and continue to encourage them to walk in the Spirit and love them, even when we’d like to give up.

All of us have gifts with which to minister and all of us need the strength that comes through the gifts of others. Ministering with an attitude of love, we are the channels through which the Holy Spirit lifts others.

Together we can stay on course-walking daily in the Spirit. We need to pick up one another when we stumble, hold up one another with endurance and build up one another with the love of Christ. When we do this there will be fruit in our lives that glorifies God.