Galatians 6:6-10 - Empty Glory

By now, most of you have probably heard about the Great Thompson Van Fire of 2019. On the way home from homeschool co-op one day last spring, our trusty Kia Sedona suffered a major heart attack, flinging fragments of the rods and pistons through the engine, slicing the starter neatly in half and punching a hole straight down through the oil pan, releasing hot oil that caught fire as it came into contact with the manifold. (Selah and Lizzie will be happy to recount the harrowing events of the day for you if you want!)

But the part of the story that you may not have heard is that we had had the van into the shop at least two other times before the catastrophic failure in the parking lot of the Brookville Fireman’s Club. Over several weeks the engine had been developing an odd rattle that seemed to be getting worse as time went on. The first time the mechanic removed some loose guards under the transmission, which seemed to account for the noise. But the problem returned, and we found ourselves going back in again—this time they suspected some kind of timing issue with the transmission, which was checked and was fine.

As it turned out, the problem wasn’t in the transmission or the undercarriage shielding—there had been an internal oil leak that had gone out through the catalytic converter—which burned it all up so efficiently that there were never any signs of burning oil that would have alerted us to the problem in time to fix it! (Needless to say, we check the oil in our vehicles a LOT more regularly now!)

But that sort of thing can happen to us a lot—we think we’re fixing the problem, but there’s another problem underlying the problem we think we’re fixing! And unless we properly understand the underlying problem, none of the other “fixes” will ultimately make any difference.

The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Galatians to address the deadly apostasy that was gripping the churches—they were turning away from the grace of God in Jesus and trying to make themselves righteous by their own good deeds of the Law. And in the past few weeks we have seen that one of the most devastating effects of that legalism is the self-centeredness it creates. If you are trying to make yourself “good enough” for God by your deeds, then your focus has to constantly be on yourself. And that selfishness will poison your relationships with other people in the church—that is why we have been hearing Paul warning the Galatians to stop “biting and devouring one another” (5:15).

And through the last half of Chapter 5 through the beginning of Chapter 6 (that we saw last week), Paul is laying out for the Galatians what a church that is led by the Spirit should look like. Instead of following the Law of the Flesh (“my life over yours”), Paul says that we are to follow the Law of Christ (“My life for yours!”) Instead of being harsh and proud and blaming others for our spiritual shortcomings, we display Christlike gentleness, humility and honest responsibility before God for our lives.

So Paul is calling the Galatian Christians to address the destructive effects of selfish legalism through Christlike selflessness. But even here we have to think carefully, because--just like that rattle in the van that we “fixed” twice before it blew up--it is possible to be “selfless” in a selfish way! (C.S. Lewis once described a woman who “lived for others”—and you could usually tell the “others” by their hunted expressions!) We can be “sowing to the Spirit” in such a way that we are actually taking pride in our selflessness! You can be “fixing” the rattle of selfishness in your life in such a way that you are ignoring that underlying pride—and that spiritual pride in our selflessness can be every bit as destructive as our fleshly selfishness! Jonathan Edwards once said that “Pride is a great obstacle to the entrance of spiritual light into the soul”. And here is what Paul is showing us this morning in these verses:

We cannot be filled with the Spirit if we are full of ourselves!

We saw last week that Paul warns us against being “conceited”—the word in Greek literally means “empty glory” (KJV, “vainglory”)— “thinking we are something when we are nothing” as Paul puts it verse 3. So as we are learning to fulfill the selflessness of the Law of Christ (“my life for yours”)—as we are learning to lay down our lives for one another as Jesus did—we see here that we need to guard against this “empty glory” of becoming proud of our selflessness!

And the thing is, it can be really hard to diagnose the presence of that “empty glory” in our lives—how do we know we are simply being “selfless” and not being proud of our selflessness? One author made the distinction like this: When you are “waiting patiently” for someone, you usually don’t notice you’re waiting patiently! If you think to yourself, “Wow, I sure am being patient waiting for her!”—you’re not being patient!

Paul gives three exhortations here in these verses that clue us in to areas where we tend to be full of our own “empty glory”, leaving us no room to be filled by the Spirit. Look at verse 6:

Galatians 6:6 ESV

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

Now, as Paul is giving us all of these exhortations of how to be selfless with one another, why does he introduce this particular topic? If your pastor, your teacher, has taught you the Word, then share all good things with him! Evidently the Galatians weren’t doing that, or Paul wouldn’t have brought it up, right? They weren’t sharing with their pastors—they weren’t supporting them. This brings us to the first area where our “empty glory” will undercut the Spirit’s work in our lives, and that is being “full of ourselves”

I. In Our Discipleship (v. 6)

How were the Galatians being “vainglorious” in their discipleship? How were they being “full of themselves?” One Sunday after I had spoken at a church in another town, I had a fellow come up to me and shake my hand and say, “Good sermon. Of course, I already knew all of that, but it’s nice to hear it again from time to time!” Now, what was he saying by that? “You don’t have anything to teach me—I already know everything you know!”

Surely that is the issue at the heart of the Galatians not supporting their pastors and teachers (which Paul had taught elsewhere was appropriate to do - 1 Timothy 5:18, ox, laborer). “This guy doesn’t have anything worthwhile to say—why should we support him? He’s a lightweight—I’m more spiritual than he is; in fact, I could probably be a better preacher than he is!” When we are full of ourselves, in our own “empty glory” of how knowledgeable we are and we don’t need to be taught, that pride will undercut the work of God’s Spirit in us!

And so Paul says that it is important to

Be a grateful learner

Don’t be like a three-year-old when it comes to your discipleship. You know what I mean by that? Have you ever had a conversation with a preschooler where every time you tell them something they respond, “I know… I know… I know...” Paul says, “Don’t act like you know everything—be willing to learn from your teachers, and show your gratitude by sharing with them and supporting them! After all, when Jesus Himself was a boy, He didn’t sit in the Temple with the teachers saying, “I know… I know… I know...” The Scripture tells us in Luke 2:46 that he sat among the teachers, “Listening to them and asking questions!” Christian, if your Savior was humble enough to sit and ask questions of His teachers, where do you get off thinking that no one has anything to teach you??

But there is another implication here for the way “empty glory” can undercut the Spirit’s work: Not only are we called to be grateful learners, but this verse also means that it is essential to

Be a humble teacher

And I say this especially to you who have responsibilities for teaching and preaching here in the body and elsewhere. Paul says that the teachers who teach the word are to be supported, not the teachers who use the Word as a springboard for their own ideas!

There is a bizarre, topsy-turvy sickness in much of Evangelicalism today when it comes to preaching. If a preacher gets up and reads a Bible verse and then spends the next 45 minutes talking all about his struggles and his thoughts and the ways this verse makes him “feel”, everyone walks away and says, “Wow! He’s so transparent, he’s so humble!” But if a preacher gets up and reads the Scripture and then says, “This is the Word of the LORD—this is what the Almighty God has spoken to you, and you must obey it!”, everyone walks away and says, “Wow, was that guy ever arrogant! To say that he was speaking for God!”

Now which one of those men was being humble? The guy who spent 45 minutes talking about himself, or the one who said, “Thus saith the LORD?” The humble man is the one who submits to this Word when it says

1 Peter 4:11 ESV

whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

In our Person of Jesus Bible study a couple weeks back we saw how everything Jesus ever taught in His ministry was directly connected back to the Old Testament. And so if your Savior taught under the authority of the Scriptures, then you will too! That is where humility in teaching comes from, and that is a teacher who is worth being supported.

We cannot be filled with the Spirit when we are full of ourselves in our discipleship, and in verses 7-8 we see the dangers of our “empty glory”

II. In Our Holiness (vv. 7-8)

Galatians 6:7–8 ESV

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Here is where that “empty glory” can be spiritually devastating—when we think so much of ourselves that we disregard God’s warning not to “sow to the flesh”. That vainglorious attitude makes us believe that we are so spiritual that we’re holy enough to sow a little bit to the flesh here and there! “I know that gossip is a spiritually destructive sin, but just this once I’m going to call and dish on what I heard at work about so-and-so!” “I know that anger is a work of the flesh, but he really had it coming!” “Galatians 5:19 says that porneia is a work of the flesh, and those who practice it will not inherit the Kingdom of God, but just one video won’t be a problem!”

But when you do that, you are deceiving yourself, and you are making a mockery of God’s warning! You can’t just “give yourself a pass”, because when you do that you are saying that God’s warnings don’t have to be taken seriously! Instead of being full of your own empty glory that says you can “handle” a little sin here and there,

Be honest with yourself (6:3)

As Paul says in verse 3,

Galatians 6:3 ESV

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

That “little sin” that you so easily dismiss, that doesn’t really even trouble your self-righteous conscience? That sin put your Savior in agony! Would you really be willing to approach Him on that Cross, beaten beyond human recognition, His final breaths rattling in His chest, what blood there was left in His body dripping from His feet onto the stones, and say, “Hey, You don’t mind if I just tell this one little lie to my sister—You forgive me, right?” You need to be honest with yourself about your actions—it is not a “little” thing! It is a sin that will damn you apart from the blood of Christ that you are taking for granted!

Be honest with yourself about your actions, and

Be dependent on Jesus (cp. Gal. 2:20; John 15:5)

Remember what Paul said in Galatians 2:20:

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

And what Jesus Himself reminds you in John 15:5:

John 15:5 ESV

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

This life that you are now living is the life of Christ in you! Jesus does not live His life in you to give you the ability to “handle” a little sin here and there—He lives in you to give you the ability to say NO to sin! His life in you is not a “free pass” to “get the slate clean so you can dirty it again”—His life in you is the power to live in holiness before Him! Don’t be full of yourself, in the “empty glory” of your own personal power to “manage” your sin—Jesus didn’t “manage” your sin on the Cross, He killed it so that you can kill it! So depend on Him!

When we are full of ourselves, it affects us in our discipleship, in our holiness, and third

III. In our Fellowship (v. 10)

Look at verse 10:

Galatians 6:10 ESV

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Again, this seems strange—why would Paul stress that we especially need to do good to our church family? (The word “household” literally means “family members”). I think what was going on here was another symptom of the Galatian Christians being “full of themselves” in their spirituality. You hear this kind of attitude from time to time from Christians who say, “I just don’t have any patience with people in church—they just don’t get the real nitty-gritty of ministry like I do! I love Jesus and I want to serve Him and I’m willing to go wherever He leads me, no matter how rough or difficult the situation He sends me to! I’ll give my life for the lost! But I just get so frustrated with church—I’m much more comfortable spending my time with lost people! Christians just get on my nerves!”

Paul makes it clear here—of course we should be looking for every opportunity to do good! But if we have this attitude of being so full of ourselves as believers that we despise our church family members in favor of “the lost”, we “think we are something when we are nothing”, and we are “deceiving ourselves!”

Of course we are to

Love the world as Jesus did (cp. Mark 1:32-33)

Mark’s Gospel tells us how Jesus never turned down a chance to do good, to the point where the entire town would bring Him people who were sick or oppressed by demons and He healed them all. Over and over again the Gospel writers tell us that Jesus healed “all who were sick” or demon possessed—He never turned down an opportunity to show love to anyone. And if we are His children, then we are to love like that—always looking for an opportunity to do good, even if it drains us!

But what the Galatians were missing (and what conceited Christians today miss), is that we are not just called to love the world as Jesus did, we are called to

Love the Church as Jesus did (cp. Eph. 5:25-27)

Christian, you think you’re “too spiritual” for church, that those Christians just “get on your nerves” and you’d rather just spend all your time with the lost? How did Jesus Himself view the Church?

Ephesians 5:25–27 ESV

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

Jesus absolutely loves His Church! He labors over her, cleansing her, building her up, making her “holy and without blemish” so that she can join Him in splendor! Jesus is absolutely, completely, unshakeably committed to His church, and does everything to make her as beautiful as He can because He delights in her! So where do you get off complaining about how “Christians get on your nerves!?” Quit being so full of yourself, so conceited over your heart for “the lost” that you despise the Bride that Jesus gave Himself up for? You can’t love the world the way He does unless you love the church the way He does first!

We cannot be filled with the Spirit while we are full of ourselves. Our empty “self-glory” will undercut the Spirit’s work in our discipleship, in our holiness, and in our fellowship. The only way that we can be filled with the Spirit is to

IV. Die to our Empty Glory

How do we do this? How do we fight against that conceited attitude that dismisses a teacher or preacher because we “already know all that”? How do we kill off the tendency to use a teaching or preaching position as a chance to talk about what we think instead of what God says? How do we sever the root of pride that says we can handle “a little sin here and there” and thereby despise God’s warning that we are sowing our own destruction? How do we tear out the arrogance that says that our fellow church members aren’t worth as much of our time and energy as “the lost”?

We need to die to that empty glory, we need to kill that root of conceit and pride that so hinders the growth of God’s Spirit in us. We cannot be filled with the Spirit if we are full of ourselves. And how will we do that?

Pastor John Piper talks about a little acronym that he has developed to help him in his battle against temptation—a way to go to war against that “empty glory” of conceitedness in our hearts. He calls it “APTAT. You can go down the blanks there in your handout to follow along. The first step, “A” is to

A: Admit you can do nothing (John 15:5)

“God, I have no ability to fight this temptation apart from You! I need the life of Christ living in me to sow to the Spirit and not to the flesh!” Second, after you have admitted you can do nothing

P: Pray for help (Psalm 50:15)

Psalm 50:15 ESV

and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

So we call out to God for help: “God, I can feel the disdain for this teacher rising in my heart—please help me not to be conceited and dismissive!” “Father, it feels like this little sin isn’t a big deal—but I know it is! Please help me to feel the horror, the disgust and revulsion for this sin that it deserves!” “Lord, I need Your enablement to love my church family the way I should! Help me—deliver me from my empty glory!” And after you have prayed for help,

T: Trust a specific promise from God

If you are struggling with impurity, trust God’s promise from 1Peter 1:14-16

1 Peter 1:14–16 ESV

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

If you are struggling with bitterness, trust God’s promise from Romans 12:19

Romans 12:19 ESV

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

If you are struggling with fear, trust Isaiah 41:10

Isaiah 41:10 ESV

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

And when you have trusted in the promise of God,

A: Act on the promise (Philippians 2:12-13)

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Once you have that promise from God, believe it by going out and doing what He calls you to do! Do it because He is living in you, and He is empowering you to “will and to work His good pleasure!”

And then, when you have believed His promise, you have acted on it, and He has enabled you to kill that conceit and empty yourself of that vainglory,

T: Thank God for His goodness (Psalm 106:1)

Psalm 106:1 ESV

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Thank God for the life of Jesus Christ in you, His Spirit that dwells in you to enable you to put your self-glory to death and be filled with His glory!

And you may be hearing this and thinking it is never going to happen in your life—the roots of conceited self-glory seem to go way too deeply. But there is one more promise for you to hold on to as you Admit, Pray, Trust, Act and Praise—the promise that the harvest of godliness is coming!

Galatians 6:9 ESV

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Are you weary, Christian, in your fight against sowing to the flesh? Are you worn out from struggling against your self-righteous pride that seems to stain every good work that you do in His Name? Are you here this morning broken down and discouraged because of a loved one who has just spiraled into another round of self-destructive behavior? Have you been trusting God and holding on to His promises for you only to have the rug pulled out from under you and now your faith is battered and bruised and so weak you don’t know how you’ll hold on? Here is your promise, Christian—if you belong to Jesus Christ by faith, if you are trusting in Him alone to save you and not your own attempts at goodness, if you believe that He died for your sins according to the scriptures—then He will bring that harvest of godliness!

So admit that you have no self-righteousness, no “self-glory” to lean on—apart from Jesus Christ dwelling in you and you in Him, you can do nothing! Pray to Him to help you in your weariness and discouragement, trust His promise that if you don’t give up, if you don’t grow weary of doing good, that harvest of righteousness will come someday! So get back up off the mat, wade back into the battle for holiness, jump back into the fight for the soul of your loved one, holding on all the time to His promise for you! And that day will come—in this life or in the one to come—when you will see that harvest of righteousness in your life, in the life of that loved one, and you will rejoice to be emptied once and for all of your conceit and vainglory, and be filled forever with the glory of your Savior Jesus Christ!

BENEDICTION

Jude 24–25 ESV

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

Have you ever let your pride get in the way of listening to a teacher or a preacher? What are some signs that you are being “full of yourself” when it comes to studying the Bible with others? If you are a teacher, how have you seen your own pride get in the way of teaching? How does this passage help you overcome that pride?

Is there an area of your life where you are making room for the “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21)? What do verses 7-8 say will happen to someone who regularly gives in to sin? What does verse 7 say about your attitude towards God when you don’t fight sin in your life?

Keep this handout in your Bible this week and refer to the “A. P. T. A. T.” acronym to help you die to your “empty glory”. You can learn more by visiting https://www.desiringgod.org/a-p-t-a-t.

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