Verse 1
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Believers are responsible to take care of both each other and themselves.
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First, believers that fall into sin should be lovingly corrected by a mature individual.
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If you have a friend in sin, help them to repent. Speak the truth, and do so with an attitude of love and gentleness.
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For yourself, always make sure that you are careful to stay away from sin. You shouldn't be helping others repent but not helping yourself. Be repentant yourself, and help others repent. Do not be giving in to sin while trying to help someone else not to. This is a bad example.
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Verses 2-5
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Verse 2. Help others with their problems—problems that they're not addressing or that are too hard for them to solve by themselves. Work together with your fellow believers to help them overcome their struggles, whatever they are.
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This fulfills Christ's command to us to love one another (John 13:34-35).
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Verse 5. You also have your own responsibilities that you should handle yourself. So, manage yourself, and also help others.
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Verses 3-4. If you're not taking action in these areas, don't think you're doing well. In this way, don't think of yourself too highly (Romans 12:3). How would you think too highly of yourself?...
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By being pretentious—thinking you're doing better than your actions actually show.
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So, have your own works and service to others to be happy about. Don't think you're doing well if you're not being responsible both for yourself and your fellow believers.
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If you are taking action, though, don't get prideful. You will have greater joy in obedience, but don't turn to pride.
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Verse 6
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Share physical goods and/or finances with those who teach the Word to you (1 Timothy 5:17-18), as a way to serve/bless them.
Verses 7-8
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This is true of both believers and unbelievers. Good and bad works all have an outcome, both in this age and in the age to come (Mark 10:29-30, 2 Corinthians 5:10).
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When you sin (sow to the flesh), believer or unbeliever, you will later reap the consequences in your body (Romans 6:23). The body decays, corrupts, and falls to infirmity as a result of sin in the past.
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An unbeliever will also reap certain consequences for their sin in hell.
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But if you obey the Word (sow to the Spirit), as a believer, you will inherit eternal life in general. You will also experience more qualities of eternal life on earth the more obedient to the Word that you become.
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Investing yourself in knowing and doing the Word will bring a multiplied harvest of good fruit in your life (Mark 4:20).
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Your life will be more blessed and your body healthier if you follow the Word well (1 Peter 3:10, Proverbs 3:3-10,16-18, 4:10-13,21-22); so follow the Word closely!
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Verse 9-10
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Therefore, in doing good and obeying the Word, don't slow down or get lazy with it. Be patient (James 5:7-8)! The harvest will come if you are patient and persistent, but it takes time.
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Do good to others as often as you have opportunity, and seek to do good to fellow believers first. We are to serve the church first.
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This is how to decide when to do good, or when to serve. If an opportunity arises, to which you are able to give, take action! Therefore, “to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
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Verses 11-13
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In Paul's day, many false teachers would try to make believers get circumcised for two reasons:
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1. To boast in how many “converts” they circumcised.
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2. To avoid being persecuted by Jews who demanded people be circumcised.
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Today, there are many that baptize “new converts” or have them pray a prayer so that they can say what they've done, making conversions like trophies.
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Win souls for the glory of the kingdom, and never for your own glory.
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Also, there are some that sacrifice the truth, speaking instead for false doctrine, simply because they don't want to endure the backlash or criticism for speaking the truth.
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Always speak the truth, and don't fear persecution for it. If you fear persecution, you will slip into men-pleasing and watered-down teaching.
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Verses 14-15
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Boast only in the cross of Christ. How so? Care for nothing but Christ being glorified.
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If the world is dead to you, and you are dead to the world, this means two things:
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1. The sinful world cannot sway you into sin; it is dead to you, and you to it, so that you will not be allured to follow its sinful ways.
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2. Christ died so that all could die to themselves and live for Him instead (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Therefore, since you have died to self, you live for Christ only. And since sinners can die to self and live for Christ also, you live to seek sinners in the world to bring them to repentance.
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To glorify and bring honor to the cross of Christ, live for nothing but to obey Jesus and help others to come into obedience to Him. Period. And do this no matter the resistance you might face. This is your one purpose.
Verses 16,18
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Those who follow the true gospel of Christ will have grace, peace, and mercy, and they are the true people of God—descendants of Abraham by their faith.
Verse 17
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Paul asks here that the Galatians cease troubling him by falling to the false doctrine he spoke about in his letter. Why? He had been troubled enough through his many persecutions—having scars on his body from the physical abuse he endured.
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Understand that when people know that you are suffering for them, and thus how much you love them, they will be more careful to honor your sacrifice through their own loyalty to the Word. Give your life for others, and they will do better.
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