Galatians 6 | Grace in Community

We’re wrapping up our series in Galatians by looking at what grace looks like in real life—especially when someone falls short. From restoring others gently to boasting only in the cross, this final chapter gives us a powerful picture of what it means to live out grace in community.

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👉 Big Picture:

The entire letter has been Paul’s passionate plea: stop adding to the gospel. Salvation is not Jesus plus anything—not circumcision, not temple work, not “after all you can do.” It is faith alone in Christ alone. He’ll come back to this at the end of the letter, but first…

What happens when you DO screw up in a grace-filled community?

• That’s what Paul answers next 
• Along with:
• Financial generosity in that community
• Should you pay your pastors?
• And some final thoughts

1. Restore Gently, Carry One Another’s Burdens (Galatians 6:1-5)

Galatians 6:1-5 (NLT) 1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. 4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Key Point:

• Spirit-led living means being a community of restoration: when someone sins, we help them back—not with condemnation, but with gentleness and humility.

Contrast with LDS Approach:

• In Mormonism, serious sin often leads to public confession to leadership, loss of temple access, and time-based restoration that can feel shaming and hierarchical.
• In the Bible, restoration is immediate through grace and repentance (James 5:16).

👉 Biblical Truth:

We are all saved by grace and need to be carriers of grace for one another.

2. Share All Good Things with Your Teachers (Galatians 6:6)

Galatians 6:6 (NLT) 6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

Key Point:

• Those who receive spiritual instruction are to share generously with their teachers—this includes financial support.

Expositor’s Commentary Insight:

• Paul is likely referring to money and material support.
• The context of doing good (v.10) and Paul’s broader emphasis on helping the poor (Galatians 2:10) points to generosity as a heart issue.

LDS Accusation: “Hirelings of Satan”

• Joseph Smith called Christian pastors “hirelings of Satan” (History of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 385) for receiving pay.
• The LDS system’s unpaid clergy is presented as more righteous, but the Bible never condemns paid ministry—only false motives (1 Corinthians 9:13-14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18).

👉 Biblical Truth:

It’s not about whether a teacher is paid—it’s whether they are faithful to the gospel.

3. Sowing and Reaping: Generosity and Righteousness (Galatians 6:7-8)

Galatians 6:7-8 (NLT) 7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

Key Point:

• You reap what you sow—whether in your generosity or in your moral choices. This is both a spiritual principle and a financial one (2 Corinthians 9:6).

LDS Distortion:

• Mormonism turns this into a works-for-reward system: obey the commandments, earn blessings, climb the ladder to exaltation.
• Biblical Christianity says: salvation is never earned. Good works flow from salvation, not toward it (Titus 3:5).

👉 Biblical Truth:

Sow to the Spirit, not the flesh. The harvest is spiritual, not merely temporal reward.

4. Don’t Grow Weary in Doing Good (Galatians 6:9)

Galatians 6:9 (NLT) 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Key Point:

• Doing good can be tiring—but Paul says: Don’t give up. The harvest will come.

Contrast with LDS Perfectionism:

• The LDS system demands lifelong “worthiness” with no assurance of salvation. It leads to weariness and shame.
• In Christ, we persevere with joy—not because we fear losing heaven, but because we are secure in grace.

👉 Biblical Truth:

We don’t work to become accepted—we work because we are accepted.

5. Do Good to All, Especially the Household of Faith (Galatians 6:10)

Galatians 6:10 (NLT) 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Key Point:

• Generosity and kindness are not limited to insiders—we’re called to do good to all, but especially fellow believers.

Expositor’s Insight:

• This echoes almsgiving and financial generosity—another sign that Paul had material support in mind throughout this passage.

LDS Contrast:

• The LDS community often focuses on helping fellow members, while non-members are seen as projects for conversion.
• Biblical love and generosity extend beyond church walls—to neighbors, enemies, strangers (Matthew 5:44).

👉 Biblical Truth:

True generosity reflects the boundless grace of God.

6. Paul’s Final Words: Boast Only in the Cross (Galatians 6:11-18)

Galatians 6:11-18 (NLT) 11 NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING.

12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 

Key Point:

• Paul takes the pen himself (v.11) to personally emphasize his closing thoughts.

• He warns again against those who boast in external religion—in his day, circumcision; in ours, temple works, missions, and LDS ordinances.

• How Mormons Commonly Boast (Explicitly or Implicitly):
• 1. Boasting in Temple Worthiness
• A key measure of “worthiness” in Mormonism is holding a valid temple recommend—which requires adherence to a strict code of behaviors (tithing, Word of Wisdom, sexual purity, church attendance, sustaining LDS leaders).
• Many Latter-day Saints subtly boast in their temple status, seeing it as a badge of spiritual superiority over non-temple-worthy members or outsiders.

• 2. Boasting in Missionary Service
• LDS young adults who have served full-time missions are often given elevated status within the community. Returned missionaries are admired, and their service is seen as a spiritual rite of passage.
• There is unspoken pride in having served a mission, with some viewing non-returned missionaries as less committed or “less faithful.”

• 3. Boasting in Genealogical Work and Proxy Ordinances
• Mormons often highlight their participation in baptisms for the dead and other proxy temple ordinances for deceased ancestors.
• Success in genealogical research or number of ordinances completed can become a spiritual measuring stick—something to quietly brag about in lessons or talks.

• 4. Boasting in Church Callings (Leadership Roles)
• LDS culture often places high value on leadership positions—bishoprics, Relief Society presidencies, stake leadership, or area authorities.
• Holding important callings can become a source of spiritual pride, with those without leadership roles sometimes seen as less faithful or capable

• 5. Boasting in Family Size and Obedience to LDS Family Ideals
• Mormons frequently boast—sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly—in having large families, temple marriages, and obedient children.
• The “ideal Mormon family” is often presented as a benchmark of righteousness, leaving singles, childless couples, or those from broken homes feeling spiritually “less than.”

The Real Boast:

• Paul says: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.14).
• He makes it clear: external signs (circumcision then; temple garments now) mean nothing—what matters is being a new creation in Christ (v.15).

Galatians 6:15-18

15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

18 Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

The True Israel:

• Paul speaks peace over those who follow this rule—those who understand that salvation is by grace, not law (v.16).

Final Thought:

• Paul closes with grace—the same way he started (v.18).
• The gospel of grace is the true gospel—anything else is slavery.

👉 Biblical Truth:

The Christian life is grace from start to finish. Our only boast is the cross, not our own performance.