17 March 2024 PM – Text: Galatians 6:6-10 – Topic: Christian Life
Introduction: One of my favourite vegetables to grow in the summer is tromboncino. They are resistant to disease and pest, taste great, and they produce abundantly. Each year, we allow one of the fruits to fully mature so that we can harvest the seeds. These are the seeds from just one fruit. Not only does one plant produce scores of fruits, but it also produces a lot of seeds. This is true because of God’s law of sowing and reaping.
Transition: Read Galatians 6:6-10. These verses give us three very important facts about God’s natural laws of sowing and reaping that ought to motivate us to sow right.
1. God Established Natural Laws (v.7).
a. God established natural laws at Creation.
1) When God created plants on the third day of Creation, He designed within each one the ability to reproduce itself through its seeds. (Genesis 1:11-12) “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.“
2) God also applied these natural laws of reproduction to the fish (Gen.1:21) and to animals (Gen. 1:24-25).
3) Amazingly, a seed can lay dormant for a long time, but when placed in moist warm soil, it comes to life, grows, and becomes a plant like its mother plant.
b. You cannot mock God’s natural laws.
1) Paul challenges us not to be deceived. In other words, we must not go astray on this fact.
2) God cannot be mocked. To “mock” is to turn up your nose in scorn at something or to ridicule it. In other words, God is saying that the laws of sowing and reaping are fixed. You cannot change them. If you sow a tomato seed, you will not get a pumpkin plant. That is impossible.
3) As long as man does not tamper with a seed, that seed can produce a plant like its mother plant every time.
4) Paul is about to apply these facts of sowing and reaping to our lives. We cannot disobey God and claim that God understands our situation. Also, those who try to change their gender cannot mock God. They are still the gender God made them.
2. God’s Natural Laws are Consistent (v.7-8).
a. Three facts are true of sowing and reaping.
1) You will reap WHAT you sow.
a) When we were first married, we planted tomato seeds in cups of soil and put them in the window to sprout. The plant that came up did not look much like a tomato plant, but it was growing happily. After transplanting the plants in our garden, a gardener came and laughed at our plants. He said they were weeds. The tomato seed did not produce a weed plant. Evidently, our tomato seeds never sprouted, but weeds did.
b) God’s law says that if you plant tomatoes, you will reap tomatoes. Yes, you will reap WHAT you sow.
c) In your life, if you plant seeds of bitterness, you will not reap blessings. If you plant rebellion, you will not reap righteousness. Conversely, Solomon tells us that if we sow a soft answer, we can reap a calm situation (Pr. 15:1). You will reap WHAT you sow.
2) You will reap MORE than you sow.
a) This is so cool. In good soil, a typical kernel of corn will produce an ear of corn that has about 800 kernels. That is 799 more than you planted.
b) Not all seeds produce as abundantly as corn, but unless you have crop failure, you will reap MORE than you planted.
c) This principle is true in life as well. One small lie can produce a lot of trouble. One lustful thought can lead to a broken life. One sinful action can lead to years in prison. On a positive note, Jesus said that one cup of cold water given in His name will lead to eternal rewards. You will reap MORE than you sow.
3) You will reap LATER than you sow.
a) In the garden, it would be awesome to plant a tromboncino plant and moments later be able to pick a basket full of ripe tromboncino. However, that is never the case. Reaping is always later than you sow.
b) Some seeds grow faster than others, but even then, the reaping is later. If you sow radishes, you could be eating radishes in just a few weeks. If you sow garlic, you won’t be reaping any for about 6-8 months.
c) The same is true in life. If you cheat in school and fail to study, later you will reap the consequences of ignorance.
b. These facts equally apply to spiritual sowing.
To interpret verse 8 correctly, we must note the context. Paul is writing to Christians (v.1). The context is not about salvation but about service (v.6). Christians do sometimes walk in the flesh rather than in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-17, 25). The word “corruption” means decay or ruin. Eternal life is not earned by the way we live. Therefore, I believe this verse describes the Judgment Seat of Christ when fleshly Christians will reap ruin and loss of reward, and spiritual Christians will reap from the Spirit rewards for all eternity.
1) If you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption. The emphasis here is on the certainty of this loss. You cannot live a fleshly life and expect to receive eternal rewards.
a) Sowing to the flesh may mean pleasing self instead of pleasing God. It may be neglecting personal Bible study and prayer.
b) On the other hand, it may be reacting in anger, feeding lustful thoughts, looking at filth, listening to godless music, or harming your body with substances. In the previous chapter, Paul made a long list of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21).
2) If you sow to the Spirit, you will from the Spirit reap everlasting life.
a) Sowing to the Spirit is living in obedience to God’s word, yielding to the Holy Spirit’s conviction, and keeping sin confessed and forsaken.
b) The fruit or evidence of sowing to the Spirit we find listed in Galatians 5:22-23.
c) If we will sow to the Spirit rather than to our flesh, we will reap rewards eternally.
3. God’s Natural Laws are Sure (v.6, 9-10)
a. God’s laws apply to our giving (v.6).
1) The immediate context of this passage begins in verse 6. Paul said that those who are taught in the Word ought to communicate or share with the teacher.
2) It is right for the teacher, who is planting God’s word, to reap a material harvest of money or produce for his labours.
3) Those who share goods with the teacher of God’s Word can expect an eternal reward for their spiritual sowing. God expects us to do good to others, especially if they are of the household of faith – they are believers (v.10).
b. We must patiently wait for the harvest (v.9).
1) Paul did not live in the “instant age” in which we now live, but even back then people did not like waiting for the harvest. They were tempted to become weary, weak, or faint while waiting for results.
2) God assures us that in due season we will reap if we do not faint or give up.
Conclusion: God’s laws of sowing and reaping do not change. You will reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow. If you sow to your flesh, you WILL reap ruin. If you sow to the Spirit, He will reward you eternally. Living for the flesh is just not worth it. Do not let the devil deceive you.
If you have lived for the flesh, praying for a crop failure won’t help. However, confessing your sin and changing your ways will set you on the right course.
