 Welcome back. So before the break, we were looking at the Old Testament law and trying to figure out in what way it applies to New Testament believers. So we saw that an entire bunch of mosaic laws, we don't even have to consider them because they stand abolished, cancelled, nullified. We don't even have to think about following any of those. There are some which Jesus talks about in the New Testament. So we need to pay attention to what he is saying in the New Testament regarding those particular laws. Obviously, you know, he talks about loving the Lord and loving your neighbor. So there's a lot of emphasis placed on that. So that applies to us new believers. I mean the New Testament believers. There are other Old Testament laws which he talks about and he gives them additional meaning. He gives an additional explanation regarding them. So obviously, those will apply to us as well, like the law on not murdering, the law on not committing adultery, his perspective of the Sabbath and how, you know, it focuses more on God's completed work of deliverance and how it's the Sabbath is more about focusing on God and doing works which please God. So all that. There's a third category of Old Testament laws that Jesus kind of touches upon in the New Testament. Those are the Old Testament laws which had completely been corrupted. I mean the original Old Testament laws had almost lost meaning, you know, with those particular laws because people had misused them in such a bad way that now those particular laws had lost their original meaning. So Jesus is very strict about those things, especially about divorce. Things had come to a stage where, you know, if a man is not happy with his wife, all he needs to do is just give a certificate to her and poor woman, she's, you know, thrown out of the house. So now, you know, she has no financial support. She, you know, and even if she has grown up sons who are maybe willing to help a little bit, then yes, she will survive. Otherwise, there's nothing left for her. Maybe prostitution is all, you know, that's left for her. So people had reduced this, you know, this particular law to that extent where you can just divorce your wife for whatever reason. So in Matthew chapter 5 verses 31 and 37, Jesus makes it very clear. You are talking about divorce. You can only talk about divorce in terms of sexual immorality. If your spouse has, you know, cheated on you, deliberately and broken the covenant, then yes, you could consider it. Then, of course, you have other verses which talk about this. So let's not, you know, just take this one verse and say, you know, divorce is good. So, you know, there are other scriptures which talk about it. But Jesus touches upon this. He says, you people are just, you know, throwing wives, you know, the wife of your youth is just being thrown out just because now she's old and, you know, she's no longer good-looking. So he says, you cannot do that. So there are, and this other law which about oath-taking, which is also mentioned in Matthew chapter 5 verse 33 onwards. Amen, they had reduced oath-taking to such a pathetic state that if you may, if you, if you, if you make a vow to God, you take an oath and say, you know, I will do this for the Lord. And you, and you say, I take my vow. I swear my, you know, I swear my vow, my oath by the temple. You can break it because temple is not very important in their eyes. On the other hand, if you've taken a oath based on the gold in the temple, oh my, that should not be broken because you say, gold is very important. I mean, imagine their value system. The temple of God is not important, but the gold inside the temple is very, very important. So they had reduced oath-taking to that level where, you know, if you, if you swear an oath and say, I will do this and I will give this much money to the Lord at the time of the festival. And then you want to back out. If you have given that oath based on, I mean, if you have sworn by the temple, it's okay, you can break it. But if you have sworn by the gold in the temple, you better go and fulfill that vow because it's a serious thing. So Jesus says, you know, this is all rubbish. So he says in verse 37, Matthew 537, all you need to say is simply yes or no. Anything beyond this comes from the evil one. So don't swear by, you know, by Jerusalem. He says, don't swear by heaven. Don't swear by this and that. Keep your word. You tell the Lord that you will do something, you do it. So there are some laws which had been treated so badly and corrupted and twisted so badly that God, you know, Jesus brings back the right perspective on how these laws should be kept. So what is the conclusion? Anything that Jesus talks about in the New Testament, any Old Testament law that Jesus talks about in the New Testament and says, please do this, live in this way, follow it in this way. It applies to us believers. Everything else does not apply to us believers. So in Sunday school, maybe it is not necessary for us to teach the children the 10 commandments. What we should teach them is that Jesus took those 10 commandments and this is the meaning that he gave them in the New Testament. So please follow these commandments in that manner because you are followers of Christ. This may be what we should tell the children, rather than just asking them to mug up those 10 commandments because then they will get the wrong impression that if they keep those 10 commandments, God will be very, very happy and, you know, he will answer their prayers and our salvation is based on grace. It's not about works. So let us not, you know, build the wrong foundation for our children in Sunday school. Let them know that this is a faith which has to be expressed through love. It's about being a new creation and behaving like a new creation. It's not about keeping those 10 commandments outlined in Exodus chapter 20. Okay, so it's very important for us to get these things correct, the perspective correct. So having spent a lot of time on the Old Testament law and how we should view it today, let's move on with another to the next topic. So if we are not going to be following the law, then what should we be doing? So that he goes on to talk about in verses 16, all the way up to verse 24. A lot of important things are said over here in verse 16. Galatians 5 verse 16, this is what he says. So I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Again in verse 18, he says, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law because you see in the Old Testament time that Old Testament law acted like a guardian. It acted like a tutor. It forced the children of Israel to behave in a particular manner. Sometimes they listened, sometimes they didn't, but at least the law tried to forcefully impose itself upon them because that's basically what a guardian and a tutor does with little children. Little children haven't yet learned enough. They haven't matured enough. So sometimes you just have to say, no, do it. If you don't do it, you'll get a beating. That's it. Very, very basic. You've got to use force to make them learn the right things. Hopefully as they start growing up, they will realize that whatever they have been told is actually good. It'll actually benefit them. So hopefully they start maturing in their thinking and then you don't have to force them by the time they are teenagers. Hopefully they will now understand that this is good and beneficial and they will start walking in it on its own. So that's the physical worldly example. So in the same way, in the Old Testament times, that law, the Old Testament law acted like a tutor. It forced these children of Israel to do it, whether you like it or not, do it. And hopefully as the thousands of years went by, these Israelites began, hopefully began to understand that what God is, the standards which God is setting are good. It is something that can make a difference for them in their lives and hopefully it also convicted them that they can never do this on their own by their own strength. And so you have Ezekiel and you have Jeremiah speaking up and saying, a day will come and don't worry, the law will be written on your heart. You'll actually be able to keep it because God is going to do something and when that thing happens, the law will be written on your heart and you will be able to keep it. So all these lessons, the tutor, the Old Testament law, try to teach these people. So here Paul is saying, those who are led by the Spirit don't have to be under the tutor anymore. Now the gentle Spirit will lead them. He will tell them what to do and what not to do. They don't have to look at those 613 laws. They just have to follow what the Holy Spirit is telling them on a day-to-day basis. So he says, those who are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. And so in verse 16 he says, so I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. And then he goes on to talk about what are these desires of the flesh. So in verses 19 to 21, you have a list of the acts of the flesh. All the actions, the acts of the flesh are mentioned. And then in verse 22, it doesn't talk about the acts of the Spirit. It talks about fruit of the Spirit. Look at the contrast being made over here. Verses 19 to 21, you have a long list of the acts, the actions of the flesh. And then verses 22 to 24, you don't have the acts of the Spirit being talked about here. You have the fruit of the Spirit. It's very, very significant, very, very important to understand this. Let's look at verse 24, Galatians chapter 5 verse 24. There it says, those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. And then verse 25 it says, if we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. So here it's talking about people who choose to walk by the Spirit, who choose to be led by the Spirit. What are these people basically doing? On a daily basis, the Spirit tells them, take that desire, nail it to the cross. Take this passion of yours, crucify it. Do what I'm asking you to do rather than following those desires and those passions which are driving you in different directions. So people like this who have made a choice to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires, something happens to them. A fruit starts growing inside them. They didn't produce the fruit. They could not have ever produced the fruit. The Lord tried for centuries to produce that fruit and said them it could not. Now something amazing is happening. All these people are doing is they are walking by the Spirit. They are being led by the Spirit on a daily basis, listening to him and he's very specific. He says that grudge you're holding against that person, please nail it to the cross. That three hours that you want to spend tomorrow going to the mall, I want you to sacrifice it and I want you to spend time with me because something is coming up. I need to prepare you for that. I need you to be spending those three hours with me. Going to the mall is not a bad thing. Going to the mall is a wonderful thing if you have money in your pocket. So it's a good thing. But when the Spirit says to you, take that and nail it to the cross because I have something else in mind for you. You choose to nail that desire or that passion to the cross. You're doing that on a daily basis. And as you start doing that, he starts producing a fruit inside you. You see, that's the point. A tree doesn't work very, very hard to produce the fruit. A mango tree just sits there, enjoys the sunlight, draws upon the water which is coming from the ground. It just is, it just sits there. And then as it sits over there and the branches are abiding in that trunk, fruit starts forming on those branches. Those branches didn't do any hard work. They just chose to abide in that trunk. And as they did that, the fruit began to form on its own. And so if you notice over here in verse 22, it doesn't say fruits of the Spirit. There are not multiple fruits which are being produced over here. One single fruit is being produced. What's inside that fruit? When you open up that fruit, you will find joy, love, peace, reverence. So you know the branch doesn't say to you, today I'm going to try with all my might to be joyful in the Lord and produce the fruit of joy. No, all you're going to do is just be led by the Spirit, walk with Him. He will tell you kindly take this particular passion nearly to the cross. You know, crucify this desire that you have. Obey me, submit to me as you're doing that. You look at yourself one day and realize, oh my goodness, I'm more loving. I'm becoming more and more joyful. It's a fruit which He produced in you while you were just doing your little part of walking along with Him. So such people don't need to be tutored by the law, by the Old Testament law. These people are free to just walk with the Spirit of God. Which is why in Matthew 11, 28 onwards, He says, all who are weary and burdened and you're tired of all these laws that you're following, come to me, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me because I'm a very humble and gentle teacher and you'll actually discover that my yoke is not heavy, my burden is light. This is a completely different kind of spiritual walk which is being taught to us in Galatians. So we don't have to struggle and say, today I'm going to produce the fruit of self-control. Oh, today I'm going to really work hard and being more genki. No, you choose to keep your eyes on the Spirit of God and say, Lord, I want to nail this particular passion to the cross. This thing which you're asking me today, yes, I'm willing to give it up. I want to do all of this, but Lord, I need your enabling power. You enable me, you help me, you equip me and by grace, He will enable you to do that. So all you're doing is just walking with Him. He's empowering you, He's enabling you. From your side, what you need to do is keep away the temptations because temptations will always come. So rather than focusing on your eyes on those things, you choose to continue focusing on the Spirit. You do your part. He will start making you Christ-like. So which is why he goes on to say in the next portion, since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit because when you keep in step with the Spirit, you know, daily you're walking with Him, He produces that fruit. What actually is this fruit of the Spirit? It's basically Christ's nature. I mean, if you look at the list of those fruit, or the things which I mentioned in that fruit, all those things are basically what Christ is, right? That's His nature. So the nature of Christ gets formed inside you while you're doing this daily business of just walking with Him, nailing those passions and those desires, even as He instructs you. You just do your part. He enables you, He empowers you, He encourages you, He helps you. As you're doing that, you look at yourself one day and you think, my goodness, I literally have the fruit of Christ in me, the fruit of the Spirit in me. I am now becoming like Christ. I literally have the nature of Christ in me and that will increase in measure more and more. A younger believer will have less love, less self-control, less joy, but then as they continue to grow in the Lord and that love relationship is being strengthened more and more, they're abiding more and more in Christ. So more and more of Christ is being released into them so that fruit becomes greater. So, you know, somebody like Pastor Ashish probably has got more love, more self-control and I know I would have it at a much lower level, but we are all in the growing process and we are all, that fruit is, it's not we doing it. God is producing that fruit in us while we are just doing our little part of walking with Him, being led by Him, listening to Him, being willing to take those passions and desires and nail them to the cross. So we do our part and God does His part. That is the way we are supposed to walk, not by keeping the mosaic law. Mosaic law is not going to help us in any way. So having understood all of those things, let's move into Galatians chapter 6, where we are encouraged to do something very, very important. Galatians chapter 6, if we can have someone read out for us versus 1 to 5, please. Galatians chapter 6, versus 1 to 5. Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any presence, you who are spiritually restored, such a one ill spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, please, you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and also fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load. Yes, very important point being made over here, which will actually help us in our Christian walk if we choose to follow this. Two things I mentioned. First, we are told that we should carry each other's burdens and then in verse five, we are told we should carry our own load. So it looks like a contradiction. So are we supposed to carry each other's burdens or carry our own load? So it looks like a contradiction, but once we understand the Greek words that are being used over there, the whole thing becomes very, very clear. So point one, two points are being made over here. Point one that is being made is, there may be a believer who actually has got caught in a sin. So it's talking about a trap. That person, instead of using his brains and instead of continuing to walk with the spirit being led by the spirit, what did he do? He focused his eyes on the temptation. He went near the temptation to look at it, not to actually fall into the temptation, just to look at it, admire it from all angles, see how pleasing it is, how dangerous it is, just wants to examine it. So now instead of being led by the spirit, this man is very happily flirting with the temptation, but the temptation is a trap, it's a dangerous trap, so he gets caught. Now he's stuck in that. He's trying very, very, very hard to come out of it. He's been in it for many years now. It's become like a stronghold. He's unable to come out of it. So over here in verse two, where it says carry each other's burdens, that word that is being used over there for burden, that is a Greek word called barrows. It talks about a burden that is too heavy for one person to lift on their own. You need about two or three people to together lift that kind of a burden. So here it's saying, brothers and sisters, no, please watch out for each other. This Christian life can't be lived all alone. It's not like, you know, one man army. You can't say, oh, I'm a soldier all by myself. I'll be victorious on my own. We are meant to be there for each other. So if you see a person like this who's trapped, caught in a sin, please go to them and walk with them, help them, bury their burden. And when you need encouragement, they will carry your burden. So help each other in staying true to the Lord, in obeying the commandments of the Lord. So help each other in following the Lord. Carry each other's burdens. And this is not something that we see in the church much nowadays. It's a very sad thing, isn't it? We have believers struggling on their own to please the Lord. And every time they fall, they feel so ashamed of themselves. And they wonder, is there any hope for a person like me? Will I ever grow in God? Does God even have any purpose left for me? It's so sad and we have heaps, hundreds of people like that in the church today. Why? Because everyone is so isolated. Everyone only watches for themselves. We hesitate to go to someone and say, can I help you with this? I can see that you're struggling with this. Because we don't know, they may get offended and we don't want to offend them. Because we all have got this very, I don't know, very individualized perspective nowadays. It was not like that earlier. I mean, in the early church, and in fact, in most of the Middle Eastern communities, our Asian communities, it's more like a family. Families there for each other. You help each other in your weaknesses. You lift each other up. You support and encourage each other. The Christian family is supposed to be like that, which is why someone came up with this wonderful idea of cell groups. Someone is like such a blessing. Because in a cell group setup, you have at the most, let us say maybe, I don't know, 12 people, 13 people, 15 people maybe at the most. So it's a small group where everyone gets to know each other and then they can actually help each other, carry each other's burdens. It's the only way to really have a successful Christian life. You can't do it on your own. You need the support of other people. You need the encouragement of other people. God works through each of us to help the other one. And that person helps us in return. God uses us like that for one another. We are meant to walk the spiritual walk in that way, carrying each other's burdens. So if we are not part of a cell group, please go and become part of a cell group. A small setup where you can be there for others and the others can be there for you. It's going to make a big difference in your spiritual walk. After having talked about walking by the Spirit, keeping in step with the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, it doesn't just stop there. He's coming to this point where he's pointing out that we need each other in doing this. It can't be done alone. You can't just say, Holy Spirit and I on our own, we'll do it. I don't need the rest of the church. No, it's not going to work like that. Paul has very lovingly laid down the guidelines on how to live a victorious life. So we need to take these things seriously. And then having explained this, that we should be carrying each other's burdens, he explains further in verse three he says, if anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. So just because you're helping another believer who is weak in some particular area, now don't start having a superiority complex. Don't start thinking that you're perfect because you too have your own weaknesses. So don't deceive yourself. Just because God is using you right now to lift someone and bring them out of their trap, please don't get the wrong impression that you have arrived, that you have now achieved. No, because Paul himself never said that about himself. If you look in Philippians 312 he says, not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. So even he admits and says that he has not yet arrived. So in verse three, Galatians 6 verse three, Paul says, while you're in this process of carrying the other person's burdens, helping them come out of the trap, don't deceive yourself. Don't start thinking, oh, I have arrived. I'm perfect now. Don't have the wrong impression. Rather, he says verse four and verse five, each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone without comparing themselves to someone else. Because if you compare yourself to that weaker believer who's struggling in that area, you know, looking at him because he's in a weaker position, you'll think, oh, I'm in a better position, so I'm strong. So stop comparing yourself with others because that will give you the wrong picture about yourself. Compare yourself against the word of God. The word of God says you should do this. Am I lining up with that? Am I meeting that standard? If I have not yet reached that standard, like Paul, I'll say, or have not yet obtained, I have not yet arrived, but I continue to press on till I reach that standard. So compare yourself with the word of God, the standard set by the word of God. Don't compare yourself against that believer, you know, whom you're helping because then you'll have a wrong impression about yourself. You'll think that you're really great and perfect and then you will get to a point where you'll only be giving advice. You're not willing to take advice and be corrected in turn. That's a very dangerous place to be, which is why, you know, he says, do not deceive yourself, rather test your own actions. Then instead of comparing yourself with others, you'll be able to take pride in yourself, if you know if you're actually meeting up to those standards. For why am I saying this? Because each person should carry their own load. And the word that a Greek word that is used over there for load, that's a Greek word, fortion, which is talking about a load which a laborer carries. Now, this is a load which one person can carry on his shoulders. You don't need two, three people to lift up that. So he says, all of us have a responsibility of testing our actions and making sure that we are walking in line with God. And while we are busy carrying our own load and doing that, we should also make sure that if someone else is struggling, we should have the heart to go to them and invest in their life. Because you see, this is something that will take effort. You can't go to a person and preach to them and say, you know, you're doing wrong and I think you should follow these five steps. If you follow these five steps, you'll be able to come out of your temptation. Be encouraged brother and walk away. One sermon is not going to do that. And in fact, nobody likes being preached at. What you do is you go sit with them. You understand why they are not able to come out of that stronghold. What is holding them back? You know, what is that temptation which is so strong? You talk to them, you'll find out what is going on. And first of all, they'll talk to you if they trust you, which means you have to first build a relationship with them. That is what mentoring was all about, right? I mean, we talked about it last week when we had the leadership conference. So, I mean, you know, there's a lot involved in helping each other carry each other's burdens. So you first build a relationship with them. They start trusting you. Then they'll open up to you. Then you'll be able to start investing in their life. And then you will be able to build them up. And then when they see the weaknesses in you, they'll say, brother, you know, you're helping me with this, but I can see the defect in you. Shouldn't you address that? And then you should have the humility to say, yes, I do need correction in that area. So you build each other up. All of this happens. So when you're doing all of this, you know, there's a beautiful statement which he makes right in the beginning of this chapter. He says when you're doing all this, you're actually fulfilling the law of Christ because you're acting in love. You are living in love towards these others. You care, you know, you're concerned about them. The same way you're concerned about yourself. And so he says, that is the way we should, you know, be responsible for one another. And so having said that, he makes one more point in verse six. And then he goes on to, you know, kind of conclude this particular thought. So if we could have someone read out for us all the way from verse six up to verse 10, that would be helpful. Yeah, verse six up to verse 10. I certainly hope I have not put you to sleep. I'm really trying to explain in a clear way. Please, if someone could read out for us. Galatians chapter six, verses six to 10. Yes, thank you. So here in verse six, he says, you know, you carry each other's burdens while you're doing that, do not become proud. Be careful, continue to test your own actions and carry your own load. So having said that, then he says, one more point. Those who are giving you instruction in the word, he says, share all good things with, you know, with your instructors. The point that he's making is that, you know, nobody is becomes spiritually mature on their own all by themselves. There's a support network around you, which is helping you to become what you are meant to be. You are carrying others burdens. They are carrying your burdens. You're being care responsible and, you know, making sure that you are, you know, responsibly carrying your own load. And as you're doing all of this, there are people who have been placed with giftings like teaching and, you know, prophecy. And so those people are trying to impart to you things which you need to know, which will help you in your walk. So he says, don't become proud and just ignore those teachers. Don't be good to them because, you see, these were small churches, little house churches, where the man who's teaching or the man who's prophesying and encouraging and all of that, he's just another person like them. I mean, he's not a full-time employee of a church or anything. Nobody's paying him a salary. So he's, you know, Paul is saying, you know, even as you're carrying each other's burdens, these people who are giving you instructions, be nice to them. No, no, no, you know, make the part of your family. You know, if you're having a special occasion, invite them as well, you know. Let them be part of your family. Let them feel like as if they are part of you because he says, you know, they are providing you instruction in the word. So he says, you should share all good things with your instructor. So never think that you have become great spiritual, spiritual giant all by yourself. That's a very, very wrong idea. We need a lot of other people, you know, walking with us, helping us to reach the goal that, you know, God has for us. So, you know, having said those things, now in verse seven, he says, you know, all the things that I have told you, please take it very seriously because God cannot be mocked. If you're really being led by the spirit, if you're really following his leading and, you know, trying to please him on a daily basis, then definitely you will reap eternal life. On the other hand, you know, if you're ignoring all the things which I have told you and you are sowing to please your flesh, you will reap destruction because God is not mocked. God is watching. God is seeing on a daily basis, whether you're pleasing the spirit and nailing those things to the cross or, you know, you're very happily pleasing your flesh. And based on what you are, you know, sowing, you will reap that. So, if you have been on a daily basis, if you've just been sowing, you know, fleshly satisfaction, you feel like going to the mall, you just go ahead to the mall. You know, you feel like, you know, saying really nasty to somebody who was mean to you, you just say it. You've been doing all that. The fruit which you're going to reap, it's going to be destruction is what it says over here. It's a very, you know, horrible word in Greek. It's not unpleasant word. Your life will be destroyed. It'll come apart. The things which the plans which God has for you will not be fulfilled because you're happily sowing to please your flesh. So, all the things that you're doing are not bad things. It's just that the spirit asked you not to do that particular thing on that day and you failed to follow his leading. You said, no, it's going to the mall is all right, so I'm going to go. But that is not what God wanted for you on that day. So, you know, you choose not to please your flesh, rather you choose to please the spirit. Lord, you are urging me in my heart to do this. Fine, I will listen to you and I will do what you asked me to do. If you start pleasing him, if that is what you have been sowing, there'll be a wonderful reward which you will reap one day is what he says. Therefore, he goes on to say in verse 9, let us not become weary in doing good because sometimes, you know, for months on end, you'll be doing pleasing the spirit. But there's no reward coming. I mean, all the prayers which you have been praying are still standing unanswered. And then you start thinking this wrong thought comes into your head. See how carefully I've been trying to please the spirit. But my prayers have not been answered. So, he says here, to not become weary in doing good for at the proper time, the Holy Spirit knows what the proper time is, you know, when your prayer should be answered. God knows when to grant you what is required. At the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. So, he says, you know, just because this is sometimes, you know, it's not like instant reward. Obedience doesn't always yield instant reward. Of course, on many occasions, it does and it feels really good. But there are times when God wants to test our hearts, like he did with the Israelites. You know, why did he withhold, you know, water from them? I mean, he definitely did not want them to die. He withheld the water just to see what is there in their heart. Do they have faith which is expressed through love? Or, you know, is it a fake kind of faith, you know, where it's like, you know, business like a thing. You do this for me, I'll do this for you. So, he wanted to test and see what was in their heart. So, sometimes God may not reward you immediately because he's just holding back to see how you'll respond. But if like Abraham, you say, oh, I will trust him even up to death, then God will, you know, do his part. So, he says over here, let us not become weary in doing good. For at the proper time, the God appointed time which God already fixed long back. We don't know when our prayers are going to be answered, but God already has fixed the time. He knows when it's going to be answered. So, if you hold on to him and don't give up, you know, if you don't stop doing good, you will reap the harvest which he has waiting for you. So, don't lose out on it and, you know, choose destruction instead where your life will be messed up is what he's advising. So, therefore, he says, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. So, yes, we should be, you know, doing good to all people and especially to the family of believers because these are our direct family members. They are part of the kingdom of God. And so, we have a personal obligation towards them. Having said all of that, now Paul is finally coming to his last concluding comments. And there's some very lovely things mentioned over here which I think we should know kind of grasp. So, let's look at this. If we can have someone read out for us versus 11, to 15, yeah, we wanted the reds 15 and 16, right? So, okay, 11 to 14 if someone could read out. 11 to 14. Now, in these last sentences, I want to emphasize in the bold scrolls of my, sorry, I'm reading in the message translation. No problem. Okay. See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand, as many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised. Only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Okay. There are two points that he makes regarding these, you know, false teachers, these two diesers who want the people to follow the mosaic law. Two things that he wants to say about them. And it's so important he's no putting it in his own handwriting. Up to now he's been dictating the letter to a secretary and the secretary has been writing down. But now he picks up the pen and he's using his own handwriting over here because he really wants to get this point across to them. He's telling them, please don't be impressed by these two diesers. Point number one, you know, these people, even though they're telling you to keep the law, first of all, they don't keep the law. Yes, they have been circumcised, but when it comes to the other 612 laws, they're not bothering to keep them. So that is one main argument against them. Okay. So they're asking you to keep the law, but they themselves, when it comes to their private lives, they're not bothering to keep the law. So please don't be impressed by them and follow them. The second thing, the reason that they are promoting circumcision is because they don't want to be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Because you know, all the Jewish people will go against them if they say, oh, we want to give up the mosaic law. And they don't want persecution. They don't want a position. So they want to see, they want to be people pleasers, please their entire Jewish community. The community will be happy with them. They'll be happy with the community. They want that. Another thing that he says over here, they're asking you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. Then they can go around and say, you know what? I have this many followers. These are the number of people who have now, they subscribe for all my YouTube sermons. They subscribe to my channel. They are my, I got this many likes. So these people, these Judaizers are doing it with all the wrong motives. And the basic point is, they're not even keeping the law, which they want other people to keep. So please don't be impressed by them. Rather, you know what? You should be boasting in only one thing. And now he makes this very important statement. In verse 14, he says, so let us not be impressed by these Judaizers. Rather, let us boast in just one single thing. And he says in verse 14, may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. You know, I mean, we have been reading all these scriptures. We've been reading our Bible since from the time we were born. So we are like so familiar with these verses. Sometimes the impact of the verses don't even hit us. But words like this, when he would have spoken them in those days, in the time of the Galatians, those words would have hit those people, you know, literally they would have come out of the page with emphasis because he says here, I never boast except in the cross. The cross was not something to be boasted about in those days. It was something very shameful. It was something very low, very cheap. You know, in our Indian culture, I mean, in older generations, I think now maybe it only happens in villages and hopefully not even in the villages to humiliate a person, you know, they would strip them of their clothes or at least most of their clothes. They would make them sit on a donkey. They would put ashes on them and make them go through the village. So being mounted on a donkey and being paraded through the village in that manner with ashes on you was a humiliation, a deep humiliation. You would never wish that for anyone, you know, that you like for your family members or your friends or for anyone. The cross was something like that. It's like a stigma. I mean, if someone associated with the cross is stigmatized, everyone looks down on them. Everyone, they're considered cheap, they're considered low. Nobody in society, in respectable society wants to associate with the person who's undergone an experience like that. Jesus chooses that kind of a humiliating form of crucifixion and punishment and death. That kind of a sacrifice. So when Paul says, I boast in the cross, he's taking something very derogatory and low and he's saying, you know, what am I? My boast is that these people, juridises are boasting about how much of the law they know. They're boasting about how they have been circumcised on the eighth day when they were born. They're boasting about all those things. You know what I'm boasting about? I'm boasting about the cross. That would have been like a shocking statement for them because the cross is something that you talk about in whispers. It's not a pleasant topic. It's not something that you talk about and shout proudly about. Like back then in our Indians, nobody would say, you know, I was humiliated like this. I was made to ride on a donkey and I was, you know, ashes were put on me. Nobody would proclaim that loudly and say, I'm happy about it. They would in fact want to cover it up. They would in fact want to cover it up. So when Paul says here, I am boasting in the cross and moreover he says, the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. He said, these terms cross crucifixion which he's using in the Greek language those were strong words. They were shameful words. The word that is used over there, stauros. S-T-A-U-R-O-S. That's the Greek word for cross. Just not a nice word. It's not a word that people would mention happily in public. And from where do we get all this information? Basically, there's this person who was a Roman statesman named Cesaro. He wrote something called the pro-rabirio. Okay, that's his written work, which he wrote in those days. In that, he talks about the stauros. He talks about how humiliating kind of punishment it is. And in fact, he says, you know, when the judge would give out an order for someone to be crucified, he doesn't even want to mention that word stauros because it's a very bad word. So, basically that person would use the words arbore infelici suspendito. Okay, that's basically my treat. It basically means in English, hang him on the unlucky tree. They don't use the word stauros because that's a very cheap word. Rather, they would prefer to say the unlucky tree. Indirectly saying, I'm basically giving an order that you should put him on the cross. So, in that writing of his, Cesaro says, the stauros is not something that you discuss in respectable society. Jesus chose that kind of a humiliating form of sacrifice for himself. I mean, he went down to the lowest level so that he can identify with the lowest and cheapest sinners. In him, even the lowest and cheapest, the kind who are placed on a cross. I mean, not the kind who are politely killed. The kind who are actually hung, naked on a cross. He wanted to identify even with such rotten people. So, and he has set us free through his sacrifice so that we can walk in freedom, so that we will not go back into the yoke of slavery, of sin and the law. Because he has done such a great sacrifice that we can walk in freedom. Let us choose to be led by the Spirit. Let us walk in the Spirit. And even as we are doing that, we will see a fruit being formed in us. The fruit of the Spirit will get formed in us and we will discover that we are becoming more and more like Christ. Literally demonstrating the nature of Christ through our lifestyle. Because that fruit is formed inside us by God. So, this cross is able to achieve this kind of a fruit for us if we choose to follow. So, the statement he makes over here is, in fact, earlier also in Galatians 2.20, this is what he said, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God. So, the old self was crucified on the cross. It was put to death. And then the Holy Spirit birthed a new creation. I am that new creation which he has birthed. That old self which I was, that person is crucified and gone. So, now I am going to start behaving like a new creation. I am going to start nailing my passions and desires to the cross because I know that I am a new creation. An old self would have struggled to do that. But now I know that I am a new creation and I know that I am empowered by the Spirit to actually be able to nail those things to the cross. So, I am going to behave like a new creation and I am going to live in this way. So, which is why here now in this last chapter, he says in Galatians 6, 15 to 16, he says, circumcision and uncircumcision doesn't mean anything. What counts is the new creation. I have chosen to start behaving like a new creation on a daily basis because this is what I believe. I believe that he actually made me a new creation that day at the moment of salvation. At that moment of salvation, the old self was crucified and buried with him and done away with. That's basically our romance is where all these things are explained in great detail. So, because the old self was crucified, I have now been made a new creation and that's who I am. I'm going to start behaving like a new creation. I choose not to behave like the old self and go back into the yoke of slavery. So, he makes these amazing statements and so he says in his final sentence, he says, From now on, let no one cause me trouble for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The same way Jesus was crucified, the same way he paid the price, now I have placed myself under him and I'm willing to carry my cross on a daily basis. So, when you look at my physical body, you'll literally see the bippings which I got, the beatings which I got, all of that you will see. It will prove to you that I'm a true follower of this Jesus. So, he's saying I literally bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The crucified Christ whom I'm following, I have carried my cross and I have followed him. So, therefore, he says, Let these judas not cause me trouble anymore because I bear the marks of Christ and so he concludes with a wish. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may it be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. So, let's just quickly close with a word of prayer. Lord, we just thank you so much for all the truths that you have revealed to us through Galatians and we pray, O Lord, that you would bring this back to our remembrance again and again because it is so important, O Lord, that we should be led by the Spirit because when we do that, you're going to start forming your fruit inside us and everyone will start seeing that love and that joy and that self-control and that forbearance and we will be so beautiful to look at because we will start looking like Jesus. Lord, we want these things to happen in our lives. We are eager for it. We are hungry for it. So, we pray that you would enable us to walk by the Spirit, to keep in step with the Spirit and to be led by the Spirit on a daily basis, O Lord. Help us, O Lord, in our walk. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you so much. We will have, we'll start Galatians. I'm in Ephesians next time. Thank you.