Galatians 6:9 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

NASB: Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.

CSB: Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

NLT: 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.

KJV: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

NKJV: And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Paul has just asked the Galatian Christians to be convinced, once again, that trusting their flesh in this life will only lead to corruption. Reliance on our own power only leads to decay and death. That is true whether we trust human effort to save us by following the rituals and sacraments of the law, or by following our own selfish, sinful desires. Salvation comes only by "planting" the Spirit. Through faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sin, God gives to us His own Spirit. Only that Spirit will deliver eternal life in the end (Galatians 6:6–8).

Now Paul urges the Galatians not to grow tired of doing good. Doing good is hard work, especially if someone begins to doubt whether it matters. Paul is urging the Galatians to keep living in a way that is consistent with what they believe. They are free people in Christ, and God's Spirit is with them. Eventually, the crop of eternal life will come up and they will see it for themselves.

In a more immediate sense, the good works the Galatians are doing in the power of the Spirit will also bear fruit. God will often allow His people to see how their investment of themselves to do good matters both in this life and in the life to come.

Galatians 6:1–10 focuses on how those in Christ should treat each other, through the power of God's Spirit. We should restore those caught in sin with gentleness and humility, and we should help to carry each other's burdens. Having said that, Christians should be honest with ourselves about what God is doing through us. We need to take responsibility for what He has asked us to carry. Because eternal life comes from planting God's Spirit by faith in Christ, and not by works of the flesh, we must keep doing good. The harvest will show that we planted well.

Galatians 6 includes instructions for how people who are free in Christ and walking by God's Spirit, should treat each other. Christians should restore those who are caught by sin, and we should bear each other's burdens. Only those who plant the fruit of God's Spirit, by faith in Christ, will harvest eternal life. Believers should not get tired of doing good for each other! The harvest is coming. Paul concludes the letter, writing in large letters that circumcision means nothing. Only becoming a new creation through faith in Christ matters.

Galatians 5 wrapped up with a focus on what it means to be led by God's Spirit. Galatians 6 starts with describing how Spirit-led Christians serve each other by restoring those caught be sin and bearing each other's burdens. Only those who plant God's Spirit in this life, through faith in Christ, will harvest eternal life. Paul concludes the letter by writing in big letters that circumcision does not matter, only being made a new creation by faith in Christ matters.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.