Bear One Another’s Burdens
By:  Jeremy Crump

Galatians 6:2 tells us to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” What does that mean exactly?  A proper understand of this verse cannot be separated from the context in which it appears.

The Context: Christ’s New Covenant
Paul is writing to a church in Galatia that has been infiltrated by false teachers whom Paul says are “troubling” (1:7) and “unsettling” (5:12) the church there. These false teachers are evidently influencing the church to a considerable extent.

Paul’s reaction is stated in Gal. 1:6: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel!”

These false teachers were apparently teaching that the ceremonies of the old law still had to be kept. Throughout the epistle, Paul attempts to impress upon the Galatians their foolishness by showing them that they are under a new law in Christ.

Christ Is Our Example
With this context in mind, we begin to understand that the command to bear one another’s burdens is an integral part of the new law with Christ, and is based on His example.

Christ, of course, is the ultimate burden-bearer as He was the one who took mankind’s burden of sin (Gal. 1:4) and the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13) upon Himself.  To bear one another’s burdens is to imitate Christ.

Bear One Another’s Burdens
One writer pointed out that it is common for men to say, “every man for himself”; but that should not be the attitude of a Christian.  There is a difference between the way of men and the way of the Spirit.

Christians are part of the same family and it is our responsibility to take care of our fellow brothers and sisters in their struggles.  Romans 15:1 points out that “we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, not to please ourselves.”

Sometimes we become weighted down in the troubles of the world.  Family issues, health problems, financial worries all come to everyone.  Sometimes we struggle with sin. As brothers and sisters in Christ we should be aware of what is happening in each others lives.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice with those that rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15) and “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (I Cor.12:26).

This command is reciprocal in nature. Though we don’t expect reward in helping others, those who are strong should do well to remember that sometimes they need help as well.

The Old Law vs. The New
Earlier in the epistle, Paul had reminded the Galatians that they were now free of the old law:

“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:15-16).

When Christ died, the old law was done away with (Col. 2:14-17; Eph. 2:14-17; Rom. 7:1-6).  However, just because the Jews were free of the Jewish ceremonial laws did not mean that they were free from obeying God’s moral requirements.

So what law is Paul referring to when he says the “law of Christ”?

The Law of Christ
The “law of Christ” is all of the things that Jesus taught.  Paul is using the phrase in a more specific sense in this passage as he has already pointed out earlier in 5:14: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’”.

If we follow this commandment fully, the result will be obedience to the rest of God’s moral law as Paul reminds us in Romans 13:8-10:

 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

To a Christian, bearing one another’s burden should not be a burden.  It is the normal response of a Christian.  We need to look out for each other and do what we can to help others attain the goal of Heaven.  In doing so, we not only help others but we help ourselves fulfill the law of Christ.