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In that day every man shall bare his own burden both of responsibility and of reward,
it would be wise to make all our estimates in the light of that day.
"Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good
things" (Gal. 6: 6).
Is this the opening sentence of a new subject? Or is there a logical connection with
what has gone before? The adversative conjunction de is used by the Apostle; this is left
untranslated in the A.V., but is included in the R.V. "De arrests a former topic before it
passes out of sight" (Lightfoot).
Do not think, Paul seems to say, that because every man must bear his own burden,
this exempts any one of you from sharing in the general welfare of the church as a whole
or with those who by virtue of their calling may be more dependent upon your liberality.
More so, in that in the foregoing sentences, certain warnings and strictures have been
made particularly applicable to those who rule and teach in the assembly. Each man must
bear his own burden: but this does not exempt any one of you from the responsibility of
sharing with those who are teachers of the Word. The figure of `sowing and reaping'
with which the Apostle endorses this lesson here, is found elsewhere in the epistles. "If
we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal
things?" (I Cor. 9: 11).
In the closing verses of the epistle to the Hebrews there is a reference to this need for
practical `communication', set over against `the fruits of the lips'--thus:
"But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is
well pleased" (Heb. 13: 16);
and it is recorded by a thankful Apostle to the continual praise of the Philippians that
when he departed from Macedonia "No church communicated" with him "as concerning
giving and receiving" but the Philippian church only (Phil. 4: 15).
Katecheo `to teach' which is used here, is not of very frequent occurrence, the word
commonly used being didasko which gives us the word `doctrine' which is either
didaskalia (the substance) or didache (the act). The word used in Gal. 6: 6 will be more
familiar to some in its English garb `catechize', `catechism' and the like. Teaching in
this form was usually oral, and in the form of question and answer, a method in the hands
of those `apt to teach' that is truly excellent. Moreover this form of teaching `brings both
teacher and taught very close together, and the `communication' consequently could not
be one sided.
"God is not mocked." An undiscerning use of `texts' for preaching purposes has
placed undue emphasis upon this text from the point of view of the `sinner', what we
need to do is to reinstate the warning as one primarily addressed to the `saint'. Moreover,
Paul has chosen a peculiar word here. The most usual word for `to mock' is empaizo, to
treat as a child, but the word used by Paul in Gal. 6: 7 is mukterizomai, a word not very
familiar to the reader, but which nevertheless appears in the English dictionary as
"mycterism, a gibe, a scoff". The word derived from mukter `The nose' and alludes to