“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7
Each sower decides what his harvest will be for the law of the harvest is immutable. Sow a little; reap a little. Sow much; reap much. (2 Cor. 9:6-11) We are ultimately what we choose to be for God has given us free will. (Joshua 24:15)
As in farming we reap what we sow. If we sow tomato seeds we will not reap corn. Some people sow wild oats and pray for a crop failure. But sowing always (ultimately) means reaping although there is always a delay. God has established both physical laws and moral laws for his world. “You may be sure that your sin will (ultimately) find you out.” (Num. 32:23) Jesus paid for our sins but He doesn’t remove all the consequences.
Yet the law of the spiritual harvest must take in our heavenly recompense for in this life there is not a one to one ratio between sowing and reaping. As the righteous psalmist Asaph lamented: “I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me, till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” (Psalm 73:3, 13,16,17)
“The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (v. 8) This does not mean we lose our salvation (“will reap destruction” or “corruption” – NASB) if we sow to the sinful nature (flesh) nor “earn” eternal life by sowing to the Spirit. Salvation is by grace through faith. It means that there are temporal and eternal consequences for sin for believers and unbelievers. And it means that as believers we reap spiritual growth and fruit as we sow to the Spirit and grow in our capacity to experience intimacy with the Lord. Jesus defined eternal life as knowing Him and the Father intimately not just going to heaven. (John 17:3
Although as Christians we will not be judged for our sins (praise God) we will be judged for our works and be rewarded or suffer loss of reward at the judgment seat of Christ. “By the grace God has given me, I (Paul) laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Cor. 3:10-15)
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (v.9) although we are not saved by good works we are saved for good works. (Eph. 2:10) Sometimes when the fruit of our spiritual labor is delayed and not seen right away we may get weary and want to give up. But Paul reminds us that we must continue to water and weed (continue “doing good”) or the seeds we have sown will reap a diminished harvest. Reaping always involves a long wait after we have sown the seed (good deeds) and requires patience and perseverance which, in itself, produces a harvest of Christ-like character that will redound to God’s glory forever. As seen above in Psalm 73 we will not see our full reward until heaven.
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (v. 10) Paul makes the application of all that he said above. Sow every time we have an opportunity for one day we will reap a harvest. Psalm 90:10-12 Until we understand from God’s perspective the value of time we may only do a better job of scheduling time but not do a better job of spending time on who/what He would have us spend it on.
Because time is our most precious resource Scripture exhorts us to: 15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. (Eph. 5:15-17)
Peter Drucker says that Know Thy Time (how you use it) is closely related to Know Thyself (i.e what you truly value). But the real question is what does God value?13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, (do it now, not some day in the future- as you have opportunity) sins. James 4:13-17
Do good to “all people,” believers and unbelievers, even as Jesus did. But we are to put our Christian family first even as we are called to care for our natural family first. “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Tim. 5:8)
GALATIANS 6:7-10
Discussion Questions FOR APPLICATION OF GOD’S WORD
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7
How do we sow to the Spirit and what “seeds” do we use?
As in the natural, our harvest (fruit, crops, etc.) is much better than the seeds we planted. What are some of the blessings (harvest) you have seen for sowing spiritual seeds? What are some you can look forward to in heaven? See 2 Cor. 9:6-11; Luke 16:9; Gal. 5:22-23; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 1 Thess. 2:19-20; Matt. 25:21
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”(Heb. 11:24-26) Does the promise of eternal rewards per 1 Cor. 3:10-15 above motivate you to radical obedience?
Read the first 17 verses of Psalm 73 and compare it to the Scripture memory verse below. Can you identify with Asaph? How does verse 17 apply to Gal. 6:9?
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (v. 10) Paul makes the application of all that he said above. Sow every time we have an opportunity for one day we will reap a harvest. Peter Drucker says that Know Thy Time (how you use it) is closely related to Know Thyself (i.e what you truly value). But the real question is what does God value? What steps can we take to use our most precious resource, time, as God would have us use it?
Scripture memory verse: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)