Text: Galatians 6:1-10, 14-18

Title: You who are spiritual

This is a splendid lesson for us to examine our Christian lives, as our nation’s Independence Day has fallen on a Sunday. This lesson has everything you need to teach you how to live as an American, who is, above all, a Christian.

First, watch the lives of your fellow Christians: "If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." Second, look out for your own life: "Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." Third, since you want others to be helpful to you, be a Golden Rule person to them: "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." And, fourth, put your life under a microscope: "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."

You know, this sounds downright un-American. What do you mean, I have to bear my own load? Isn’t that what the government is for, to bail me out when I get myself into hot water?

A year ago, we cashed in our clunkers. We bailed out our bankers. We finagled our Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For private citizens, we constantly provide for those who cannot carry their own load, with welfare, food stamps, and host of programs.

Are these the responsibility of government? Are these the responsibility of Christians? While this isn’t a nation that is governed by Christ, are there not enough Christians that, if we were to generously give of our resources for the good of those who cannot carry their own load, could the government be freed up to spend their money on other things, or, perhaps better yet, to balance their budget?

Do you really need to own a travel trailer, a piece of land up north, a boat and several snow-mobiles? How about that second and third and fourth television, along with all of the DVD players, and movies, and game consoles, to go with them? Could you get by with a five-year-old, higher mileage sedan, rather than that almost-new, gas-guzzling SUV or truck?

How about all of that fast food you eat? How about all that pop, and beer, and chips? How about the hobbies into which you have poured countless dollars? (I wonder how much money I have spent on novels, which are quickly filling the parsonage basement.) How much more money would we have, if we spent money the way our grandparents did?

Please, I’m not picking on anyone; I’m picking on all of us. This is our life. This is the wonderful freedom of being Americans, and of being Christians. We can do as we like, or not. However, as you were reminded in today’s lesson, you Americans are those "who are spiritual." You are different—you are to be different—from regular Americans.

We are very much a "let the government take care of it" people, when it comes to the lives of others. We Christians have fallen for the lie of this age, that it’s not my problem, it’s not my affair, it’s not for me to judge.

But, um, that’s not what God says. When you heard that you are to watch out for your fellow Christian, when "anyone is caught in any transgression," God is telling you that the lives of your brothers and sisters in Christ are your problem, your affair, yours to judge.

You are to be your fellow Christian’s keeper, whether he has fallen into a sin, or she cannot carry her own load. This is basic Golden Rule stuff, kids. Ask yourself: "If I were trapped in a sin, and others knew about it, would I want my fellow Christians to help me to be freed from the devil’s snare?"

If you knew a church member, who was addicted to drugs, would you help him? How bad does the situation have to be, before you would reach out? Or, would you make an excuse, that it’s not your job, or there must be a government program to help him?

The government is a function of the law, but you Christians are a function of the Gospel. The Gospel is not a command, it is an act of love. What God is teaching you, today, is for you not to let laws rule your thinking, but to govern your heart and mind with the love of Jesus Christ. This is what your Lord means, when Paul wrote, "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Would your Lord want you to do everything in your power to help a friend who is addicted to drugs? Sure, He would. How about if your friend needed groceries, or couldn’t make her rent? What if he’s notoriously bad at misusing the Lord’s name, or she’s a world-class liar? Would your Lord want you to help these, who are regularly caught in these transgressions? Sure, He would. That’s what today’s lesson is about.

The American way is to sow to the flesh. It’s to walk the flee markets and buy more and more stuff to fill our homes. It’s to use all of our evenings, our weekends, our vacations, to sow for ourselves, to recharge our batteries, and not to look out for the welfare of others.

Yet, your God says, "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith . . ." This means that Christians are to look out for their fellow Christians, first. After all, if you wouldn’t help a fellow Christian who has fallen into a transgression, or who cannot presently carry his own load, why would you ever give a hoot about an unbeliever, a Muslim, a Hindu, an atheist?

On the Fourth of July, we happily say, "It’s a free country." As Americans, who are Christians, we know freedom like no others. As we don’t fear inference from the government—they won’t break into my house to see what I’m reading, and they don’t censor what I post on Facebook, and they don’t force me to eat a healthy diet—neither do I fear the Lord interfering.

For freedom, God has set you free. But, free to live in what way? Martin Luther said that God has made us free in order to be slaves. He meant that we are under no law to carry anyone’s load, or to restore another who is caught in any transgression. But, enjoying Jesus’ gift of freedom—from death, devil, and damnation, for life, liberty and, yes, the pursuit of happiness: that is, godly happiness—we love to enslave ourselves to our brothers and sisters in Christ, to work for them, to watch for them, to carry their load when they can carry it, and to free them from sin when they become trapped in the devil’s snare.

See, Jesus didn’t only die for you so that you could have eternal life; He died for you so that you could die for your fellow man. This is how you live the law of Christ, by living as Christ lived. Did He help everyone who came to him? Yep. So, do the same. Did He help those trapped in sin? Yep. So, do the same. Did He bear the burdens of others? Yep. So, do the same.

Because Jesus died for you, and because you have been baptized into His death and raised with Him in His resurrection, you carry the image of Jesus Christ in you. You eat with Jesus, where He puts His living body and blood inside of you, and this nourishes His image in you. You receive His forgiveness through the Gospel proclaimed to you, which removes the dirt and dust of your sin so that your holy nature might shine as you live as a Christian American, in a town, a county, a state, a nation, which needs its Christians to shine.

You Americans are the ones who are spiritual, for you possess the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ. Thus, I will close as Paul did in our lesson: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit," brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.