Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
When it comes to evil attacking Christ’s people (always of course in the form of agents of evil who most often disguise themselves as fellow sheep), Christ commands us to come to one another’s aid. We always did this when I was a police officer. Call for help and the whole force would come running to back you up.
For the most part I stopped experiencing this backup when I resigned from the police force on a Friday and became a pastor on Sunday. Although in these past few years now we really do back up one another in our church. We are down to the genuine core.
Wicked people like to single out their victim, getting them away from the flock and abusing, assaulting, molesting, enslaving them in secret. It’s the age old wolf tactic you know. All of us must constantly be on guard for this strategy of darkness and never be surprised when it is discovered among us.
Now, Christ tells us that we are to bear one another’s burdens. He says elsewhere through the Apostle Paul something very similar-
Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
And so I want to ask you. In these dark, dark times in the evangelical church, are we seeing churches being obedient to these marching orders of our Lord? With few exceptions, I have to give this answer: no way. In fact what is happening is that people who are being oppressed by evil are being sent away by churches and essentially told, “go suffer for Jesus. Stay in the oppression. And don’t bother us by talking about it anymore.”
You say that is too harsh and that I am exaggerating? I can prove to you that it is not. All you have to do is read the first hand accounts of hundreds of people who testify that this is precisely how they were treated when they exposed the evil they were being assaulted by and asked their pastor, elder, fellow church member, for help. Did they experience a whole team ready to back them up, all set and prepared to shoulder their burden and do what was necessary to protect them? In a few cases, yes. But in very, very, very few.
How can anyone claim to be living out the love of Jesus Christ when their “bearing another’s burdens” is all just talk? Or worse, outright telling the “victim “it’s your cross to bear”? That is precisely the evil that James shouts at hypocrites about:
James 2:15-16 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, (16) and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
Let’s translate that so no one misses it. “If a brother or sister is being abused or sexually molested, if they have no money because their abuser refuses to provide for them, and you say ‘Go! Be quiet now. Trust Jesus. Forgive your oppressor and reconcile with him,’ when all the while you have the necessary means to stop that oppression, what good is your religion? It is worthless. It is worse than worthless.”
Where we see a habitual refusal to share the burdens of the oppressed among us, we can know that we are looking at counterfeit religion.