Galatians 6

Paul instructs believers to restore those in error with meekness and to bear one another's burdens, fulfilling the law of Christ. He emphasizes the principle of sowing and reaping, urging them to sow to the Spirit for everlasting life and not to grow weary in doing good to all, especially fellow believers. Finally, he contrasts glorying in circumcision with glorying in the cross of Christ, where only a new creature matters.

Paul begins by exhorting the spiritual among them to gently restore a brother overtaken in a fault, remembering their own vulnerability to temptation. He then calls for mutual burden-bearing, which he identifies as fulfilling the law of Christ, while also clarifying that each person must ultimately prove their own work. The apostle stresses the immutable principle that God is not mocked, and whatsoever a man sows, whether to the flesh or to the Spirit, he will reap accordingly. Believers are encouraged not to grow weary in well-doing, for a harvest will come in due season, and to seize opportunities to do good to all, particularly the household of faith. Paul concludes by highlighting his personal writing, condemning those who compel circumcision merely to avoid persecution and to glory in others' flesh, declaring his own glory to be solely in the cross of Christ, which makes one a new creature.

The sixth chapter of Galatians opens with an appeal for spiritual brethren to restore a person overtaken in a fault with a spirit of meekness, cautioning them to consider their own susceptibility to temptation. This restoration is linked to the broader command to bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ. Paul then addresses self-deception, warning against thinking oneself to be something when one is nothing, and instead urges each individual to prove their own work, finding rejoicing in themselves rather than in comparison to others, for each shall ultimately bear their own responsibility. He also instructs those taught in the word to share material blessings with their teachers. A crucial theological principle follows: God is not mocked, and a man will reap what he sows; sowing to the flesh yields corruption, while sowing to the Spirit yields everlasting life. Believers are encouraged not to grow weary in well-doing, assuring them of a harvest in due season if they persevere. Opportunities to do good should be seized for all people, with a special emphasis on those within the household of faith. Paul then shifts to a personal closing, noting the large letter written by his own hand. He exposes those who compel circumcision as seeking to make a fair show in the flesh, primarily to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ, and to glory in the flesh of others, rather than keeping the law themselves. In stark contrast, Paul declares that he will glory only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world is crucified unto him and he unto the world. He reiterates that in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but rather a new creature. Peace and mercy are pronounced upon those who walk according to this rule and upon the Israel of God. Paul concludes by stating that no one should trouble him, as he bears the marks of the Lord Jesus in his body, and offers a final benediction of grace.