Galatians 6:5 Commentary

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Galatians 6:5

Comments

The reason we won’t help bear the burdens of others is because we think too highly of ourselves; we think too highly because we don’t estimate our own work soberly; we fail to estimate our own works soberly because we compare ourselves with others instead of with the Lord. Paul now chooses a more positive word because there is another burden which the believer should be thankful to carry, and the proper carrying of it brings a reward from God. We will be judged on our own, bearing our own burdens, that is, bearing the responsibilities and carrying out the tasks that God has laid upon us. Although our lives are entangled with the lives of many other believers and even non-believers, each life can be and should be viewed in isolation, for when God judges us at the last day, he will be able to completely disentangle us from those around us, and, taking into account every minute detail of our lives and all the influence of others on us. He will judge us according to how we obeyed him in the light of the burdens he required us to bear. In this sense we each carry our own load. If anyone is inclined to say, ‘But this person did this or that to me’, God will answer, ‘I know it, and this is what I planned for your life so that you should prove me in this situation.’ ‘For every man shall …’. The verb is future and looks forward to the Day of Judgment. In that last day, it will be impossible either to excuse ourselves on the basis of injustices suffered from others, or to credit ourselves by favourable comparison with others; only one standard will count: the standard of God’s law, written in our hearts and published in his word. That judgment will be awful in its honesty, in its penetration of every secret, of every pretence. Then the self-deceived will be able to deceive themselves no longer.

Application

What hope for any but to repent and be found washed from their sin? Our view of self has such an enormous effect on our lives, on our expectations, or handling of trials, or our relationships with others, and because of pride it is so difficult to come to an accurate view of self. None but the Spirit of God can truly show us ourselves. So the truth is that not only must we bear the burdens of others, but we must learn to bear our own burdens in a right way.

Questions

The Greek word translated ‘burden’ by the KJV in this verse is different to the word in verse 2, and therefore some versions translate it ‘load’ instead. It describes something carried for a worthy purpose, while the word in verse 2 indicates a weight or hardship. The word used in this verse allows the meaning that the carrying of the burden is a duty which will be rewarded, but the word used earlier speaks of a burden that someone may rightly rid himself of if he can. However, the word for ‘bear’ is the same verb, and with a writer as precise as Paul the repetition so soon afterwards indicates a connection.

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Introduction

Galatians 6:5 Commentary and Bible Study