Sunday LinkUP – July 6, 2025 – Galatians 6:7-16

BIBLE READING

SERMON

Sowing in the Spirit and Reaping a Harvest   

Galatians 6:7–16 NIV

Howard Schultz was the CEO of Starbucks.  But before the iconic coffee brand became famous, Howard was turned down by 217 banks while trying to secure funds to start his business.  Schultz faced constant rejection as well as family pressure, yet he did not give up.  His persistence eventually paid off as he finally secured the needed funding.  Now the company is the most widely recognized coffee brand in the world and boasting more than 137,000 employees worldwide.¹   You could say that through his persistence, Shultz reaped a harvest.

The apostle Paul informs the Galatian church that if they do not give up, they will also reap a harvest.  Our pericope today is Galatians 6:7–16.  Here Paul urges the believers in Galatia to continue sowing to the Spirit rather than the flesh and to persevere in doing good.  In doing so, a bountiful harvest awaits us.   Let us begin by reading verse 8.

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:8 NIV

Paul’s audience lived in a fertile valley where grains were cultivated.  Also, the area was agriculturally rich in fruits and vegetables.²  Because of this, the Galatian church would have easily understood Paul’s analogy about sowing and reaping.

One certainty about sowing and reaping is that you cannot reap what you did not sow.  If you sowed lettuce seeds, you wouldn’t expect to reap 10-foot corn stalks.  Paul is making the connection to the Galatians that neither can you sow seeds of an ungodly nature and expect to reap from the Spirit.

Indulging in judgment and criticism may appeal to our flesh, but it brings about destruction in our faith communities, as was happening amongst the believers in Galatia.  The Church, intended to be a sanctuary of grace and acceptance, withers when it mirrors the divisive behaviors prevalent in our society.

When we sow to please the Spirit through restoration and compassion, we reap the eternal harvest of transformed lives.  As we have opportunity, we must resist the impulse to criticize and condemn, which only drives away those who most need spiritual comfort.

Ask yourselves this question: what is it that you want to see crop up in your life or in your church? (Pun intended.)

Let us not grow weary in this spiritual sowing, for in due season we will reap a harvest of restored lives if we do not give up.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.  Galatians 6:9–10 NIV

So, how can we ensure that we will reap a harvest from the Spirit rather than our flesh?  Perhaps we should ask ourselves the following questions.

• What are our daily habits?
• What is it that occupies our thoughts?
• And in what are we investing our time?

Paul talked about doing good to others, especially those in our own churches.  In Galatians 6:2, Paul urges the church to carry one another’s burdens. (Notice Romans 15:1)   This can be done by connecting with those who are in need.  We can also look for places in the church where support is lacking, whether that be in our worship gatherings, our connect groups, or community engagements.

When our members grow in grace and their support of each other, a healthier congregation is the result.  As we recognize our individual responsibilities, while bearing one another’s burdens, we grow healthier.  And a healthier congregation serves as a better witness to the communities surrounding us by providing a spiritual environment that is inviting for them to join.

Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised.  The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.  Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.  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. Galatians 6:12–14 NIV

There were those in the Galatian church insisting that circumcision was required to complete the work of God in their lives.  The act of circumcision typically signaled to the Jewish community that a person was serious about following Torah and keeping its requirements.

Paul calls out this group for their hypocrisy, citing the fact that even they themselves do not follow the law.  These hypocrites appear to be trying to dodge any potential persecution from other Jews.  Yet, they were boasting that they were winning converts to their misguided teachings.

Here’s why this was a serious issue: if the Galatians succumbed to circumcision, it would have meant a rejection of the sufficiency of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice.  It would have been witnessed as an attempt to gain righteousness through their own works as opposed to Christ’s work.  The Galatians were being told that to be part of God’s family, they had to adopt Jewish cultural practices and adhere to the religious requirements of the law — something the “circumcision group” was boasting about.

In Galatians 6:14, Paul declares to us that our boasting should be about how we did nothing to merit God’s inclusion into his family.  Simply put, we boast in the sufficiency of the works of Christ Jesus on humanity’s behalf.   We can boast that there is One who fulfilled the law in its entirety for us.  And like Paul, we have died to everything that the flesh could boast in.  And we can boast that we are now dead to that life and alive to the Spirit.

It can be tempting to stray from the spiritual path of grace and be drawn in by voices of the flesh — voices that promise our relationship with God will be more secure or that we will become more righteous and holy, if we simply do or avoid certain things.

We also might be tempted to fear being outside of what our society declares as the norm.   None of us wants to feel the sting of disapproval or persecution.  But like Paul, we have a far greater boast that we have been received by the Father through the life of the Son — a fulfilling life in the Spirit.

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything;  what counts is the new creation.  Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule — to the Israel of God.  Galatians 6:15–16 NIV

Paul punctuates the last two verses in this section by putting an end to the argument once and for all.  In the end, it was never about getting circumcised or not.  What truly matters is that through Christ we have been made new.  We are new creations who live through the Spirit of God.

Miroslav Volf wrote: “Christian life is life in the spirit of the new creation, or it is not Christian life at all.”  As believers, we live by the finished work of Christ.  We need to stay the course and trust that what Jesus has begun will be carried to completion.  Our job is to live in the recognition and reality of that truth.  We now live daily by the spirit of the new creation that has been given to us.

• Please don’t fall for the trap of relying on our works to earn favor with God.   God’s favor has already been granted  with  no strings attached.
• Instead, we are to acknowledge the principle of sowing and reaping that Paul took us through earlier.  We are to display our good works through living by the faith of the Son of God.  We now get to sow the seeds of faith, hope, and love.  In so doing, he promised that we will reap a harvest.

Let us persevere through standing in the truth that it is through Christ alone that we have become new creations in the sight of God.  We are unashamed of this truth and our only hope is in what Christ has done.  Let that, and that alone, be our only boast.

CLOSING SONG

Small Group Discussion Questions