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Skip Heitzig: Paul preached grace. The Judaizers said, "Well, that's a dangerous message to preach, Paul. Because if you preach grace like you preach grace, you are basically handing people a permission slip to do whatever they want. They have liberty like you say; they're going to go out and do whatever they want and what they do isn't good. The law is what will keep you safe. It is like building a fence around the yard so that the dog doesn't get out. So, you've got to keep the fence up to keep your old nature contained."

And Paul would say, "Well, no, liberty isn't the problem. That's not dangerous. What's dangerous isn't liberty; what's dangerous is legalism. Because when you enter into legalism, you are adding to the finished work of Christ on the cross by adding your own works, and then you pat yourself on the back that you have kept the law. That's dangerous."

And Paul's saying, "Besides that, if you're walking in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If the law's written in your heart and you have a relationship, it's based on relationship, not on rule-keeping. Against such, there is no law."

Now, let's just consider these generally, the fruit of the Spirit. There's some characteristics about fruit. First of all, fruit is natural. It is the product of life. It is the unfolding of life. If there's life, there's going to be fruit. If that tree has life, that tree will produce something: leaves, flowers, fruit, some product. Life produces fruit. So, it's natural.

Jesus said in John chapter 15, "I am the vine, you are the branches. My Father is the vinedresser." And He talked about bearing fruit in that chapter. And then He said, "Here's the key to producing fruit: abide. Abide." Meno is the Greek word. Meno: remain, stay close to, have a constant, living communion with Jesus Christ. If you are in a constant, living communion with Jesus, fruit will happen naturally. You don't have to try to produce it. It'll just be there, and people will notice it.

"Wow, you've got a big old apple hanging off of you. What have you been doing?" "I've just been abiding, just been hanging in there." Have you ever seen a fruit tree strain, struggle to produce fruit? Ever see an apple tree sweat? You've never walked by a tree in an orchard and watched it go, "Boom! Man, that was hard. I had to work to produce that apple." No.

How does an apple come? The branch just hangs in there. So, what do you do, Christian? Hang in there. Stick close to Jesus. Remain. Because fruit is natural. Second characteristic about fruit: fruit is noticeable. You can tell the difference between an orange tree and an apple tree, obviously, by the fruit. You can tell the difference because there's an orange on that one, there's an apple on that one. That's an apple tree, I'm guessing. That's an orange tree.

Trees don't grow signs so you can identify them. A sign doesn't grow on an apple tree, "Malus pumila. I'm an apple tree." It's just noticeable. You notice the fruit, and people will notice it in you. It's natural, it's noticeable, and it's nourishing. It's nourishing. Is the purpose of a fruit tree producing fruit, is it so it can nourish itself? Do apple trees eat their own apples? No, it's to bless others. So, it's nourishing. Its purpose is to grow something so that others can eat of the fruit and be nourished.

So, when you're hanging in there with Jesus, you're going to produce fruit that's noticeable, and your life is going to be a blessing to people. You don't even have to work hard at it. You just got to hang in there, abide, and you'll nourish people.

I love the description of Jacob when he gives—remember in Genesis, he gets his 12 sons and he gives them his little prophetic statements about their lives. When he comes to Joseph, who had been the Prime Minister and still is the Prime Minister of Egypt at the time, and his life had been so fruitful. When Jacob gets to Joseph, he says, "Joseph is a fruitful branch. A fruitful branch, or a fruitful tree, by a fountain, whose branches go over the wall."

He's so fruitful that he is tapped into a constant source of nourishment. He's hanging in there, and he's producing the kind of fruit that goes over the wall so that others on the other side of the wall can grab the fruit and be nourished by it. I've always loved that description of Joseph. "Branches go over the wall."

I had a neighbor where I used to live years ago in Huntington Beach that had a lemon tree. And it was huge. It just grew so big, and it was right on the edge of his property, so really about half of his tree extended onto my side. Now, because it's on my side, those are my lemons by law. And I enjoyed its fruit all year. It was so fruitful, branches went over the wall, and I was nourished by it.

Fresh lemonade, lemon in my tea, lemon in my soda water. I don't bake. If I did, I'd probably do a lemon pie, but sometimes I'd give them to people who did make lemon pie. So, it was nourishing. Fruit will do that.

Against such, there is no law. And those who are Christ's, and that's you and I, you belong to Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Part of the solution to our victory is living a crucified life. Look, I'm dead to that. I'm crucified to that.

Now, it's positional, but it's also practical. So, back in Galatians chapter 2, verse 20, Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." That's positional.

I'm crucified with Christ. I identify with Jesus. So, His death, resurrection, and ascension, I identify with that. He died, I died. He rose, I rose. He ascended to heaven, I'm in the heavenlies. We'll get to that in Ephesians chapter 1. So, that's positional.

But then there's the practical part. And the practical part is what Paul said in Romans, "I die daily. I mortify the flesh. I say no to certain things, and I have the power to do that because the Spirit is in me. And as I walk in the Spirit, I don't fulfill the lust of the flesh."

So, we face a battle, but we also have a victory. We face a battle, but we have a victory. And these are ways to get that victory. The other truth it tells me is, as I think I mentioned last week, even if you fallen, you can get up. You've seen the commercial, "I've fallen and I can't get up!" If you've fallen as a believer, you can get up.

What do you do if you've fallen into sin? Well, you confess your sin. "Lord, I've sinned." None of this, "Lord, I'm sorry if I've sinned." If? Wait a minute. Why are you even bothering to pray if you're not sure that it's sin? Call it what it is. "I have sinned. I confess."

So, that's step one: confess. Second: claim forgiveness. First John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Confess your sins, claim forgiveness. And then cut off opportunities.

This is hearkening back to what Paul wrote in Romans, "Reckon the old man dead." Suppose that it's dead, count it to be so. It's dead. Cut off opportunities. Don't keep looking, lingering. "I'm so curious about that." Just walk away from it. Cut off opportunities and move on with your life.

Now, we have chapter 6. You laugh. "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass," because we do blow it. We don't always walk in the Spirit. So, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, and there's an imagery here in the original language, there's picture somebody running away from a sin, but the sin runs faster than he does and catches up with him and ensnares him or traps him with that. So, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, "you who are spiritual," make sure you qualify. "You who are spiritual," I love this, "restore."

So, Paul here is answering the question, how does a spiritual person live under grace in his or her treatment of other people? Because the Judaizers didn't do this. They didn't restore. They just condemned. They pointed fingers at people. The law does that. "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness."

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Skip Heitzig: Jesus washed feet, and He washed them gently. He didn't take steel wool out and sandpaper and a file. "Peter, you've got some calluses and corns, and I'm going to get them all off." He washed them gently. Meekness is one translation. "Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness or gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted." In other words, you realize that could be me. It's not me by the grace of God. So, what am I going to do? I'm going to restore him.

Remember when Peter denied Jesus three times? He really denied Him. He cursed. He swore. Jesus had a special meeting with him after the resurrection. And because Peter denied Him three times, Jesus restored him three times. He said three times, "Peter, do you love Me? Peter, do you love Me? Peter, do you love Me? Feed My sheep. Tend My sheep. Feed My lambs." He restored him gently in the spirit of meekness.

So, the difference between a legalist and one under grace can be seen in this verse. The legalist is a sin sniffer, a fault finder, a finger pointer. One under grace embraces, restores. Doesn't point the finger; opens the arms and the hands and restores that one in the spirit of meekness or gentleness.

So, here's an example of a legalist approach to somebody who has sinned: a woman was caught in adultery. The Pharisees dragged her to Jesus. "This woman was caught in adultery in the very act! The law commands you stone her!" That's the law. That's a legalist.

I've always been interested in that because they brought the woman to Jesus. What about the man? If she was caught in the act of adultery, it takes two. What, he's okay? Was he one of your buddies? Is that why you brought her? And then Jesus said, "Okay, that's what the law says. So, you who are without sin, throw the first rock."

Another example of legalism is the mob in Jerusalem that attacked Paul because they thought that Paul had brought a Gentile named Trophimus the Ephesian into the temple court. He didn't, but they thought he had. So, they just mobbed him. They wanted to kill him. That's legalism.

That's not this. This is restoring. And the word restore, by the way, is a beautiful word. It means to mend a broken bone. It was a word used in medicine to set a bone that had been broken or to mend a net, a fishing net that had been torn, so that it's usable again, so that the person can walk again.

"Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Well, wait a minute. You're saying we're not under the law, but now you're talking about the law of Christ. What's the law of Christ? Well, the law of Christ is back in chapter 5, verse 14. Look at it. "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

That's how Jesus summed it up. So, the law of Christ is the law of love. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, which is to love. Get good at loving people. Get good at bearing burdens for people. Don't be a burden; bear a burden.

The Judaizers were a burden. They came and laid burdens on people. And you remember, I know you do because you know your Bibles, you remember that Jesus in Matthew 23 chided the Pharisees and the scribes, these legalists. And He said, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit at Moses' seat. Do what they tell you to do because that's the law of God, but don't do like they do because they're hypocrites."

And then He said this: "For they lay heavy burdens, too hard to bear, on men's shoulders, and they won't lift one finger to alleviate the burden themselves." Don't be a burden; bear a burden. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Some people spread joy and peace and love and make people happy wherever they go. Other people make others happy whenever they go. You know the difference. You see some people coming and you go, "Oh, man, I love it. Encouragement is coming this way." You see another person go, "Oh, man. That person won't bear your burden; they'll be your burden." And when they go, it's like, "Whew! Hallelujah!"

So, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. "For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." Now, go back to Peter and Jesus. Peter denied Jesus.

But you remember the conversation that Jesus and Peter had and Peter said to our Lord when Jesus said, "You know, all of you are going to be offended tonight." And Peter said, "Well, they might be, but not me. These other disciples that you picked, they're flaky, but not me. I'm Peter. I'm the rock."

But Peter was sure that he was incapable of committing the sin Jesus said that all of them would commit that night. "Not me, Lord." Why? Because Peter was confident in himself. He thought himself to be something. That really was the root of the problem.

When you point fingers at people, it's because you think they are lower than you are and you have something on them. You are better than they are. "For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing," you're not all that hot, "he deceives himself."

But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. You know, just have your own walk before the Lord. People will often ask me to tell them what the will of God is for them. And I have to convince them that I have enough trouble finding the will of God for me, let alone for me and them.

So, that's on you. You walk your walk of faith, I'll walk my walk of faith. If I can pray for you and give you biblical advice, I'll do that. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, not in another.

Now, verse 5 seems to be a contradiction to some. It says, "For each one shall bear his own load." Verse 2 says, "Bear one another's burdens." If you have an old King James, it's the same word in both verses. Verse 2 is, "Bear one another's burdens." Verse 5 is, "For each one shall bear his own burden." So, that has caused some contention. Don't let it be.

There's two completely different Greek words, and that's why the New King James differentiates: burden verse 2, load verse 5. "Bear one another's burdens." And the Greek word there is barre in verse 2. Barre means back-breaking burden. Something that's so heavy you can't bear it alone. You need to spread that load out on the shoulders of other saints. Bear one another's burdens. The things of life that crush in on them.

But in verse 5, "each one shall bear his own load," that's the word photion or phation in Greek. And that means a smaller, manageable, carryable load, like a backpack. A soldier's backpack would be a photion in ancient times. A Roman soldier would carry a pack. He can manage that on his own. He didn't have to bear everybody else's backpack, just bear his own.

So, there's certain things you and I can only do alone, but there are other burdens that we bear that require the encouragement and love and bearing of others in our lives. But let each one bear his own load. So, remember Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you." Then He said, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light." He won't give you more than you can handle in your own personal life. Sometimes it seems like He does, but that's just a vote of confidence that you're going to manage it. You'll make it. If it seems too heavy, get others to bear it with you. Pray with others.

Okay, verse 6, got to finish this up. "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches." Now, when it says share, the word share means remunerate. So, let him who is taught in the word remunerate in all good things with him who teaches.

It's the same principle. I wish I had time to unlock Romans 15 and 1 Corinthians 9, which mentions the same kind of things. "Look, we're taking up an offering for the poor people in Jerusalem. You have partaken of their spiritual blessings. It's not a big deal if you give to them your material blessings and support them." The workman's worthy of his wage. Jesus said that.

And so, that's the idea here. Evidently, the Judaizers, one of the things they did is they were saying, "Don't support Paul, and don't support these teachers that Paul has set up in your churches who are teaching you the word of God. Don't support them. It's wrong to support them."

And Paul is saying, "Let him who is taught in the word share, remunerate in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. He who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

Guest (Female): Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember: your generosity helps share God's word with families around the world, offering truth, hope, and encouragement where it's needed most. And this month, we'd love to thank you for your gift of $50 or more by sending you Reconnecting with Family, Pastor Skip's new book focused on restoring God's design for family and relationships.

It's filled with biblical insight and practical encouragement to help families grow stronger, even in challenging seasons. Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888. See you next time on Connect with Skip. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.