In Step with the Spirit

In his recent chapel message at Reformation Bible College, Dr. Derek Thomas spoke to us from Galatians 5:25–6:5. His thesis revolved around our calling as believers to keep in step with the Spirit. Now that we have been purchased through the substitutionary atoning work of Christ, we are to live in accordance with this truth. Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia was written to address members of the church who were withholding grace from their brothers and sisters in Christ. These members were sowing seeds of division in the church, keeping them from harmonious fellowship. This is the urgent matter that Paul confronts, and it is one that also appears frequently today.

Dr. Thomas applied this passage to our contemporary context, emphasizing the need for us to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2). We are not to deride another person for his or her failings, but rather we are to restore that brother or sister in “a Spirit of gentleness” (6:1). In much the same manner as the Holy Spirit intercedes for and ministers to us, we are to approach those struggling in the church with the goal of restoration, not condemnation. Doing so benefits the church. By communicating with various parts of the body of Christ in love and kindness, we are harvesting a culture of grace. We are keeping in remembrance what God did for us in Christ and are extending that same kind of grace to our brothers and sisters in the pews. Dr. Thomas’s message brought forth much-needed conviction, exhorting us to bear one another’s burdens, to extend grace to those who are struggling, and to seek unity in Christ. This can only be done if we keep in step with the Spirit. The gospel underlies unity, and the Spirit empowers us to strive for it.

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Mark Triplett, Jr. is a junior student at Reformation Bible College.