Ep. 26 | Loving Without Pride

Speaker: Jesse Turkington

Summary: Do you ever get that warm and fuzzy feeling that false humility gives you? It's super nice.

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Music created by Chad Hoffman
Artwork created by Anthony Kuenzi

Jesse’s Personal Notes:

Galatians 6:1-5

Introduction

Hey welcome to Pickled Parables! My name’s Jesse. 

I have an important announcement to make before we get into things. It is summer time! as you might have noticed me mention in the last couple of episodes. It is hot! But that’s not the announcement. The announcement is that for this season of the year, summertime, we’re going to enter into a bi-weekly episode release schedule. So, starting with today, every other week we’ll release a new episode. And we’ll do this for the summer. 

Hopefully, in the Fall we can go back to weekly episodes but for right now this will be a good idea. 

We are in the tail end of our series in Galatians. We should reach the end of it very soon. We’re getting into the last chapter today. Today we are going to focus on chapter six, verses one through five. 

So buckle in, strap on your helmet, put on your floaties; we’re gonna dive in. 

Galatians 6:1

When you work for something it’s always good to see results from it. 

If you’re working a job, that paycheck at the end of the month is super nice. 

If you’re working the ground in an agricultural sense; when crops start to grow it’s not only reassuring that life still works the way it should but it’s a feather in your cap because you did that. This is literally the fruit of your labor. 

In the last episode, we looked at something called the Fruit of the Spirit … which was contrasted with something called the Works of the Flesh. It was made evident in this passage that the “fruit of your labor” (as it were) had no meaning before God. It was only the work of your flesh. It’s insufficient. In fact, more than that, it’s competitive. 

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do (Galatians 5:17 ESV).

Throughout this letter that Paul wrote, there is a sub-theme about the Holy Spirit’s indwelling of believers. 

The Law of the Old Testament imprisoned everyone under it with the bondage of a holy morality. It was instituted under the most righteous and holy God. Now, don’t get me wrong, the law is wonderful because it gives 613 examples of God’s worldview. But because of mankind’s sinful condition, it proved God’s righteous judgment. 

Paul talks about this in his letter to the Romans. Chapter seven:

The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure (Romans 7:10-13 ESV).

This was mankind’s position before Christ came. We were imprisoned under the law because it proved God’s judgment.

 Now, when Christ came, He fulfilled the law in a way that no one else could. Christ, being the Son of God, having God’s nature, fulfilled the law in every way that it was meant to be. Then in a sacrificial act, He died a death that He did not deserve. In this death, Christ offered Himself as a spiritual substitute for any to escape the righteous wrath of God. Three days later, Jesus was resurrected from the dead and He took His place before God the Father as an intercessor for any who believed in his sacrifice. But when Jesus went to the Father, the Holy Spirit was commissioned by Him to indwell and reside with every believer who accepted Christ’s substitutionary work of salvation. 

Through this faith in Christ, we are credited and dispensed the righteousness of God. Now, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we enter a process of renewal away from our sinful condition. Paul said in Galatians chapter two:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20 ESV).

 Paul also said in chapter five:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24 ESV).

Paul’s speaking to the substitutionary work of Christ as it was Christ who suffered the death of crucifixion but it was for the purpose of saving you and I. So, in this way we have died to our old nature. But if we carry this analogy along with us, then we must admit that we still carry that corpse with us. We have died through Christ and with that death has gone our sinful passions and desires. But we still live in our physical bodies. Because of this, the Holy Spirit who indwells in us, works to renew our minds and produce in us fruit of spiritual growth. Notice what some of them are: peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  

Why is self-control mentioned? Because through Christ we have crucified the flesh along with its passions and desires and are now able to live in the victory of Christ’s resurrection, however, we must continue living on this earth in our fleshly bodies. Through Christ we have victory and that victory lives with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. So, self-control, as a Fruit of the Spirit, is necessary until we attain complete sanctification before the throne of God. 

The Holy Spirit is vital for our life here on earth because without Him, the works of the flesh will be the only thing that we submit to. But through freedom of Christ and with the opposing nature of the Holy Spirit, we are able and empowered to live (or as Paul likes to say, walk) in the Spirit. 

So all of this leads us to the conclusion that believers who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, will continue to live out their days on earth in their fleshly physical bodies striving to die to self and live in the Spirit. This is an impossible task, which is why we were given the Holy Spirit. He is our Helper in the most divine sense. 

Let me just give a shoutout for the Holy Spirit right now. The Holy Spirit enables and fully equips those that He indwells for the service of God. You know the Spirit of God that would indwell people for certain periods of time in the Old Testament? That’s the same person that we are indwelt with. We don’t have to pray payers like David, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me (Ps. 51:11). We have been sealed with Him. He resides in us. The Holy Spirit makes daily victory possible. 

And don’t confuse this victory with self-willed achievement. These victories are only through the grace of God and for the purposes of dying to self and living in the Spirit. 

Now, the passage that immediately proceeds this knowledge is Galatians chapter six, verses one through five. This passage carries with it this information and addresses an important community aspect. 

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1a ESV).

Notice the words being used and also remember the context of this vocabulary. 

… you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness…

Remember, just a few verses away, Paul said,

… the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (Galatians 5:17-18 ESV).

Notice the situation that Paul presents:

… if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1a ESV).

 So, Paul is presenting an example that doubles as an instruction about the opposition of natures. First, he sets the stage for who he’s addressing, “Brothers.” So, this is addressed to members of a church. Brothers and sisters in Christ. This does not apply to people outside of the church. 

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

So again, this goes to show that people do not become sinless once they become indwelt by the Holy Spirit. People don’t lose their sinful natures once they’re saved. But the Spirit is able to reside with sinful people because of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is through the blood of Jesus, the payment of Jesus, that we are given the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. 

Now the Holy Spirit opposes the nature of our flesh. And in this struggle, we have a lot of control. We are free-willed people by original design (or maybe a better way of saying it is self-willed people) and we have a tendency to sin (or transgress the ways of God). 

So:

·      Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. 

So for those that are walking by the Spirit and have made progress in dying to self, these people (you who are spiritual) should approach those who have transgressed and restore them with a spirit of gentleness. 

Now, with that last bit, it’s clear that we’re not supposed to approach them within our own power. Gentleness was just listed as something that comes from the Spirit. So, we’re to walk in the Spirit towards those who need restoration.

 And this is fortified with the warning of:

·      Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted (Galatians 6:1b ESV).

Galatians 6:2-5

Verse two says:

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2 ESV).

 Wait, the Law of Christ? But I thought we weren’t bound by the law? What’s this law of Christ? 

That is the exact question Paul wants us to ask! 

Because he has just spent hundreds of words explaining that Jesus Christ fulfilled the law of the Old Testament and that through Him we now live in a freedom that He provides. But Paul makes clear, within this freedom that we’re given … freely submit yourselves to one another. 

I’ll read it. Galatians 5:13-14 – 

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:13-14 ESV).

 The law of Christ is not a new ordained ordinance. It is the lifestyle and natural state of life with the Spirit. It is a willful submission produced from love. 

Verse three:

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load (Galatians 6:3-5 ESV). 

The common thread through these verses here is a warning. We are called to love one another. But something Paul has addressed throughout this letter is that mankind often tries to fulfill God’s ways without God. If we were to love one another, to offer correction to one another and help bear one another’s burdens, the sinful condition of man will take opportunity and promote pride. 

Like verse three says:

… if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 

This deception becomes established in accomplishment. “I loved that person so much I put them first, above myself. I corrected that person and I got them back on track. I helped carry that person through their problems. I did that.”

Verse four says:

But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.  

In this freedom that we’re given, we must act responsibly and not give opportunity for the flesh. 

 Verse five:

For each will have to bear his own load.

Simply put: we need to love each other without pride. Without becoming conceited. Without cultivating a false humility. We need to love each other with the love of Christ and through the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

We need to love one another without becoming puffed up. Remember, we’re supposed to submit to each other. We’re supposed to serve one another in the freedom that was bought with the blood of Christ. 

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Tempted by what? The same transgression as your brother? Not likely. 

The temptation of pride? The feeling of superiority? 

 …

 Do you know what guys often ask each other when they first meet new people? “So, what do you do?” Meaning, what’s your occupation? What do you do to fill your time? What have you accomplished?

And this is more than a conversation piece; this is an assessment. The guys are trying to see where they stand among each other. 

1.     “Oh, you do that?” (impressive)

2.    “Oh, you do that?” (unimpressed) 

It’s a measuring game. How important are you and what do you do? 

Now for women, I’ve found that the typical question is: “So, who are you with?” It’s not dissimilar, it’s just a different value system. It’s much more focused on relationship. Who are you connected to? Who do you know? And more importantly, who knows you? 

We are a prideful people and we look for any opportunity to cushion our ego. 

It is very easy to become prideful in how you love people. 

Conclusion

Like I said at the beginning, when you work for something it’s always good to see results from it. 

To love someone and then finally receive reciprocation or to offer a mentorship and see positive growth. That’ll do it. 

 We take pride in the results of our work. It’s not just a reassurance that we did something good or maybe accomplished something, it’s a feather in our cap. It’s progress for becoming better or more important than other people.

But the problem with this is that it flies in the face of what Jesus did for us. Even though He actually was more important than us, He became a servant to us. He submitted himself and took our punishment. 

And we are called to imitate His love by submitting to each other. There is no room for pride in this submission. 

That’s why Paul makes it clear that we need to walk by the Spirit especially when we love each other through correction and encouragement. 

 We need to leave our pride at the door and love each other with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Love one another without pride. 

 My brothers:

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load (Galatians 6:2-5 ESV).

Outro

Hey, thanks for joining today! 

Pride is a weird thing where it can manifest itself in all kinds of different places in your life. Who would have thought that loving other people could have produced pride? Incredible stuff. It’s also very resilient so be careful with how you deal with that. 

Again, let me remind you that we are going to be entering a bi-weekly release schedule, starting with this episode. We’ll do this for the summer and come Fall we’ll try to go back to weekly episodes. 

Thank you for sticking around! If you need to find something to fill in the gap week that we’re going to have now, go back and listen to one of our older episodes. We tried to make evergreen content so that it’ll never goes out of style. But go check out our old stuff, we have 26 episodes out and they’re not all bad. So you get to sift through those to see if there’s anything you missed. 

Until next time, I’ll catch you later!