Galatians 6:6-10: Sowing and Reaping

Galatians 6:6-10: Sowing and Reaping

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and today the next passage we come to is Galatians 6:6-10. It says,

6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 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. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we’re told that the one who delights in your Word is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and that has leaves that do not wither. We want to be that tree. So please, open up your Word to us this morning so that we can be rooted in your Word, nourished in your Word, and sustained by your Word. Holy Spirit, use the things taught in this passage to change us from within. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

The universe in which we live operates according to certain natural laws and does so because that’s the way God designed it to operate. For example, there’s the law of gravity, which tells us that all objects are pulled toward each other and that this pull gets stronger if the objects are heavier or closer together. That’s why you and I are being pulled down toward the earth rather up toward the moon. 

In addition, a law called “Newton’s Third Law of Motion” tells us that, for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. So, if you punch a wall, let’s say, not only will your fist exert a force on the wall, the wall will also exert an equal and opposite force on your fist—and perhaps even break a few of the bones in your hand. That’s one reason why, if you’re ever tempted to punch a wall, it would probably be in your best interest to pause for a moment and remind yourself of Newton’s Third Law of Motion. 

Yet, just as God’s designed the universe to operate according to certain physical laws, he’s also designed it to operate according to certain moral laws. And we find one of the most important of those moral laws here in our main passage of Galatians 6:6-10. In the words of verse 7 specifically, that law is that whatever one sows, that will he also reap. That’s the main idea of this passage. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. It’s a universal law that’s just as absolute as the law of gravity or Newton’s Third Law of Motion. 

That means it’s just as unwise to ignore this law of sowing and reaping as it would be to ignore the law of gravity or any other physical law. Now, I suppose you could try to ignore the physical laws of the universe, right? Like, you could try to attach some cardboard wings to your arms and jump off the roof of your house if you wanted to. But I don’t think that would turn out very well for you. And this passage in Galatians reminds us that the same is true spiritually if we try to ignore this moral law of sowing and reaping that God’s woven into the fabric of the universe. 

So, let’s walk through this passage together and see what it has to say to us about what exactly it means to reap what we sow and how we can order our lives according to this great moral law. 

Look with me first at verse 6. Paul writes, “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.” So, before Paul states the great moral law of sowing and reaping, he begins with a very interesting statement about showing appropriate honor and appreciation to those who teach the Word. Now, I’ll admit that I feel a little awkward teaching on this verse. It feels a little bit like a conflict of interest, I guess you could say. But I have a duty to teach the Bible, so I don’t feel right about skipping this verse either. I’m teaching systematically through Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and this is the next verse we come to on that journey. 

So, I’ll just be very direct and say that this verse is one of the key verses that confirms that it’s good and right to give financial compensation to those who devote their lives to teaching the Bible. We could even go a bit further and say that it’s very appropriate to give generous financial compensation to those who teach the Bible. Notice that Paul doesn’t just say to share “some” good things or “a few” good things with the one who teaches but rather states, “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.”

This is also consistent with 1 Timothy 5:17, where Paul says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” There’s widespread consensus among Bible interpreters—and not just those who are pastors but others as well—that the phrase “double honor” there has significant financial overtones, especially when you consider that the very next verse states that “The laborer deserves his wages.” So, Paul states in verse 17 that elders who labor in preaching and teaching should receive “double honor” and then goes on to say in verse 18 that “the laborer deserves his wages.”

So, going back to verse 6 of our main passage, it’s good and right to support those who devote their energies to teaching the Bible. It would also seem to be in the congregation’s own best interest to do that, so that those who teach the Bible can focus the majority of their energy on teaching the Bible well rather than having to worry to about how they’re going to pay their electricity bill. And I’ll just say, for the record, that Becky and I feel very supported and very blessed by this congregation. 

Paul then gets down to the very heart of the point he’s making in verse 7. He writes, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Now, why do you think Paul begins this verse by telling his readers, “Do not be deceived”? Why might he say something like that? Could it be because this is an area in which people are often deceived? That seems like a pretty safe assumption. 

When people are able to disobey God’s commands and rebel against his authority and not immediately experience any significant consequences for their actions, it’s very easy for them to be deceived into thinking that there won’t ever be any consequences for their rebellion. Yet, that’s just not true. 

As Paul reminds us, “God is not mocked.” Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for people to imagine that they’re able to mock God. One very disturbing example of this took place a few months ago at the Paris Olympics. During the opening ceremony, performers depicted Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting. Yet, instead of Jesus and his disciples seated at the table, it was a group of drag queens. And one of the drag queens was seated in the center with a large silver headdress resembling a halo, just as Jesus is often portrayed with a halo in many paintings. So, it would seem that the organizers of this ceremony were attempting to make an open mockery of Christianity. 

Yet when Paul says here that “God is not mocked,” he seems to be thinking of an even more specific way in which people attempt to mock God—and that is by thinking they can sin all they want to without ever having to face any serious consequences. They think they can openly rebel against the way God’s told us to live and be immune from God’s punishment and in that way make a mockery of God. Yet, as Paul says, God won’t be mocked in that way. 

Paul then explains, “for whatever one sows, that will he also reap”—which, as we said, is the main idea of this passage. “[W]hatever one sows, that will he also reap.” The seeds you plant today will be what you’ll end up harvesting tomorrow. 

After all, I don’t think anyone in this room has ever planted tomato plant seeds in their garden and returned several weeks later to find pine trees growing. I also don’t think anyone’s planted watermelon seeds and returned to discover that they’ve produced pumpkins. Instead, whatever kind of seeds you sow now are what you’ll inevitably end up with in the future. That’s just the way things work. 

And it’s also the way things work when it comes to our lives. Of course, it may take some time for us to experience all of the consequences for our actions—just as it takes time for physical seeds to produce a physical crop. But even though the consequences of our sin may at times be slow in coming, they’re just as inevitable as certain seeds producing certain crops. 

For example, if you make irresponsible financial decisions—such as racking up a massive amount of credit card debt through reckless spending habits—you’re going to have to deal with some very painful financial consequences. Or if you’re unfaithful in your marriage, you’re going to have to deal with some very painful relational consequences. Or maybe you don’t go so far as to be unfaithful in your marriage—I know that’s a more extreme example—but perhaps you’re nevertheless habitually selfish in your marriage or insensitive or uncaring toward your spouse. Those attitudes are going to have consequences as well. 

You could also extend this to the way parents relate to their children. If you parent your children in a manner that makes life excessively frustrating for them, don’t expect to have a great relationship with them when they get older. Or if you’re not deliberate about teaching your kids about God and instilling biblical values within them and making church involvement a priority above sports or other activities, then don’t be surprised if your kids don’t have much interest in God when they become adults.  

In addition, this law of sowing and reaping also applies sinful behaviors in our lives that we might be tempted to indulge in privately. You might be tempted to think that you can view pornography and then not have to suffer any negative consequences for that sinful indulgence as long as you ask for God’s forgiveness soon afterward. But even though God will forgive you for that sin, don’t think there won’t be consequences. The same also goes for other addictions or struggles people might have. It’s true that Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross is sufficient to cover any sin a Christian might commit. Yet it’s equally true that our sin always has consequences. There will always be a price to pay for our sin—and that price is almost always a lot higher than we think it’s going to be. 

So, I hope it’s evident that there are plenty of ways in which this moral law of sowing and reaping will show itself to be true in our lives. Don’t ever let yourself think that you can live in a way that’s contrary to biblical teaching without facing consequences. 

Yet there’s also an even greater way in which this is true. The law of sowing and reaping means that sin has consequences not only in our earthly lives but also for our eternal future. Paul makes this clear in verse 8. He writes, “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.”

When Paul speaks of “the flesh” here in this verse—as well as in many other places in his writings—he’s referring not to our physical bodies per say but rather the sinful desires we often have. So, for a person to “sow to his own flesh” means choosing to follow those sinful desires. Every time we choose to do something that God forbids or fail to do something that God commands, we’re sowing to the flesh.

And the result, Paul says, is that we’ll “from the flesh reap corruption.” The Greek word translated here as “corruption” is also translated as “destruction” or “decay.” That’s what happens to us when we sow to the flesh. And we know that Paul’s specifically talking about eternal corruption or destruction because he contrasts it with eternal life. “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.” So, the message comes through loud and clear that if we spend our lives following our own sinful desires, we’re going to reap eternal consequences for our rebellion in hell. 

And that’s a very sobering reality that should lead us to consider our lives very carefully. Are we sowing to the flesh by following our sinful desires or sowing to the Holy Spirit by allowing the Spirit to guide our lives? 

You know, throughout most of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he’s been warning his readers about the dangers of legalism—which is the mentality that the Galatians were being tempted to fall into of trying to earn a right standing with God through their own moral accomplishments. That, as we’ve seen clearly throughout Galatians, is utterly impossible to do. There’s no way we can ever live lives that are good enough to earn God’s favor or earn eternal life. 

Yet, as we see in this passage, we need to be mindful not only of the danger of legalism but also of the danger of what’s historically been called “antinomianism.” “Anti” is a prefix that means “against,” while “nomos” is the Greek word for “law.” So, “antinomianism” literally means “against the law” or “in opposition to the law.” It refers to a style of life in which we cast aside the moral requirements of the Bible and instead live however we desire to live and follow whatever sinful desires we have. In the language of verse 8, it’s basically sowing to the flesh. So, it’s as if there’s a road with two ditches on either side. On the one side is the ditch of legalism, while on the other side is the ditch of antinomianism. 

Or, to change the metaphor slightly, one commentator describes the difference between legalism and antinomianism in the following way: “[L]egalism and [antinomianism are] two parallel streams that run between earth and heaven. The stream of legalism is clear, sparkling, and pure; but its waters run so deep and furiously that no one can enter it without being drowned or smashed on the rocks of its harsh demands. The stream of [antinomianism], by contrast, is relatively quiet and still, and crossing it seems easy and attractive. But its waters are so contaminated with poisons and pollutants that to try to cross it is also certain death. Both streams are uncrossable and deadly, one because of [its] impossible moral and spiritual demands, the other because of [its] moral and spiritual filth. But spanning those two deadly streams is the bridge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only passage from earth to heaven. The two streams lead to death because they are man’s ways. The gospel leads to life because it is God’s way.”

So, the only viable alternative to both legalism and antinomianism is the gospel—the message of Jesus rescuing us from our sins. The Bible teaches that, in response to our wretched and helpless condition, God’s shown us extraordinary mercy to us. God the Father sent his own Son Jesus to this world in order to rescue us from the consequences our sins deserved. Jesus did this by entering this world as a man, living a perfectly sinless life, and voluntarily allowing himself to be crucified in order to make atonement for our sins. Essentially, Jesus suffered the consequences for our sins so we wouldn’t have to. 

So, to put it in terms of sowing and reaping, you might say that we sowed sin, yet Jesus stepped in and reaped the eternal punishment our sins deserved. Keep in mind this doesn’t mean we won’t ever have to face any consequences for sin in this life—since we often do have to face ongoing consequences for sins we’ve committed in the past. But Jesus did pay for our sins in such a way that we don’t have to face the eternal consequences our sins deserve. 

Yet that’s not all. Not only did Jesus reap the punishment our sins deserve, he also allows us to reap the rewards of his life of perfect righteousness. The Bible teaches that we’re clothed with his righteousness, as it were, and have his righteous status transferred to us. So, Jesus reaps the consequences of the sin we’ve sowed, while we get to reap the rewards of the righteousness life he sowed. I’d say it’s a pretty good deal. 

So, the great moral law of sowing and reaping isn’t contradicted by the gospel. Rather, the gospel upholds the law of sowing and reaping. Sin still has terrible consequences, and righteousness still has wonderful rewards. It’s just that, in the gospel, we’re united with Jesus in such a way that he suffers for our sin while we benefit from his righteousness. 

Of course, in order for all of this to go into effect, we have to put our trust in Jesus as our Savior. This involves renouncing both the antinomian mentality of following our sinful desires as well as the legalistic mentality of making ourselves right with God through our moral accomplishments. And instead, we put our trust exclusively in Jesus to rescue us and surrender our lives to him. 

And the external evidence of us having done that is that we spend our lives sowing to the Holy Spirit—to use the words Paul uses in verse 8 of our main passage. He writes, “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.” Understand that Paul’s not teaching that we earn eternal life by sowing to the Spirit but rather that a lifestyle of sowing to the Spirit demonstrates that we possess saving faith in Jesus. Sowing to the Spirit means that we live as the Holy Spirt leads us to live and thereby demonstrate that our faith in Jesus is genuine. 

Then, moving on to verse 9, Paul shifts gears from warning his readers to encouraging them. He writes, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Just as it’s easy for someone to assume that their sin won’t ever have consequences because those consequences aren’t immediate, it’s also easy for those of us who are seeking to live for God to be discouraged when the rewards for our service to the Lord are long in coming. Many times, we may not see any of these rewards until we’re with Jesus in glory. 

Yet Paul encourages us not to “grow weary of doing good.” Even though our good dees may not always have an immediate payoff, that doesn’t in any way mean we won’t eventually be rewarded for them. Instead, Paul assures us quite emphatically that “in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” 

Imagine a young boy—with the help of his mother—planting some seeds in a garden bed behind his house. Let’s say he plants a whole row of sunflower seeds. After that, the boy goes to bed that evening and wakes up the next morning. And when he wakes up, what do think he might expect to see in the garden? In all likelihood, he probably expects to see a row of sunflowers, right? And he might be confused and disheartened when he looks outside and only sees the dirt in the garden instead of the sunflowers he was expecting. Yet, I imagine that his mom would at that point explain to him that it simply takes time for the sunflowers to grow. The seeds will produce sunflowers, but it’s going to take a few months for those sunflowers to grow. 

In a similar way, we also can have absolute confidence that the good deeds we sow today will eventually receive an abundant reward. “In due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” So, let me encourage you not to grow weary of doing good. 

You know, I’ve come to the conclusion that many—if not most—of the ways in which we can make the greatest gospel impact aren’t glamorous at all and, at first glance, can actually appear to be rather mundane. For example, motherhood usually isn’t very glamorous. Yet I’m not sure I can think of anything that would have a greater long-term impact for the gospel than raising children who know and love and the Lord and can spend their lives in faithful service to the Lord and raise their children to do the same. 

In addition, most of our efforts to share the gospel with people around us usually aren’t very glamorous either. Recently, our church offered an evangelistic training course designed to equip the people of our church to meet with a non-Christian friend in order to go through the Gospel of John together using a discussion resource that makes it incredibly easy to do that. And it’s been so wonderful to hear some of the stories of people taking that resource and going through the Gospel of John with friends and family members and coworkers. 

Yet even though there’s a lot of excitement surrounding that, it’s also true that there are times when we can be discouraged in our evangelistic efforts—particularly if some of the people we’re seeking to reach with the gospel just don’t seem to be interested. Sometimes, we may be tempted to question whether we’ve even accomplished anything in our efforts to share the gospel. Yet we know from Romans 1:16 that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” We also know from Isaiah 55:11 that God’s Word doesn’t return to him empty but always accomplishes his purposes. This means we have every reason to believe that the seeds of the gospel we plant today will bear fruit in people’s lives tomorrow. 

Moreover, there are many ways in which we might minister to others in and through this church. And many of these ways aren’t glamorous but nevertheless have an enormous impact. Whether it’s bringing a meal to someone who would be blessed by that or visiting someone who can’t get to church or simply writing a card or sending a text to someone, there are plenty of ways we’re able to make an impact on others. And of course, let’s not forget the various volunteer roles that are needed on Sunday mornings in order to make this worship service possible. There are so many people who serve behind the scenes at this church in ways that aren’t glamorous or highly visible but that are nevertheless critical to our church’s ministry. 

And here’s the thing about all of these avenues of ministry I’ve just mentioned. Here’s my point: not only do each of these things make a significant impact on others and thereby bring glory to God, they’ll also result in us receiving substantial rewards one day. These things might not be outwardly glamorous, and they might not result in us enjoying lots of notoriety or recognition in this life. But you can count on the fact that all of these ministry efforts will be richly rewarded in the future. Even though we don’t earn heaven, the Bible’s clear in numerous places that we do earn rewards in heaven—and this is how we do that. In the words of verse 9, it’s by not growing weary of doing good but instead remembering that “in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” 

And not only will we reap, I believe we can expect to reap exponentially more than what we’ve sown. Even though we’re not told the exact nature of the rewards we’ll enjoy in heaven, we do know that they’ll be unimaginably glorious and will make everything we sacrificed during our earthly lives to obtain those heavenly rewards seem insignificant in comparison. 

So, just to get super-practical: take a moment and ask yourself how you might live differently in light of what we’ve seen in this passage about sowing and reaping. Specifically, what’s one sinful habit that you need to stop doing today, with the understanding that it’s going to have negative consequences? And on the flip side, what’s one worthwhile endeavor you need to start doing today—or perhaps start doing more today—with the understanding that you’ll be richly rewarded for it in the future? Perhaps those might be two good questions to consider before you leave here today or sometime this afternoon. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. So, what’s one thing you need to stop doing and one thing you need to start doing? 

After that, Paul concludes this passage with a final exhortation in verse 10: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” So, we’re supposed to do good to every person we encounter, but especially to fellow Christians, knowing that we have a unique responsibility to them as members of the same spiritual family.