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Galatians 6:9
“Let’s not be weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we don’t give up.”
The Apostle Paul is writing to a group of early Christian communities in the region of Galatia (modern-day Turkey). He's addressing concerns about following Jewish law alongside faith in Jesus, and here he encourages them to persist in ethical living within their community.
What forms might 'weariness in doing good' take in our own lives, and what motivates us to keep going?
Then — the setting
Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians around 48-55 CE, from places like Antioch or Ephesus. The churches in Galatia were primarily Gentile converts who were being influenced by 'Judaizers,' who insisted that Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised and follow other aspects of the Mosaic law to be truly saved or fully Christian. This pressure created theological confusion and division, likely leading to practical weariness. Adhering to the law might have seemed like a more concrete path to righteousness than faith alone, offering a sense of tangible effort and reward. Socially, these early Christians lived in a world where their faith was a minority and sometimes viewed with suspicion, making the 'doing good' they were called to (like supporting one another, resisting pagan practices, or sharing resources) potentially costly and discouraging.
Across the Testaments
The New Testament passage in Galatians emphasizes patient endurance and the eventual 'reaping' of a harvest through persistent good deeds, rooted in God's grace and the Spirit's work. The Old Testament also frequently links righteous action with future blessing and divine favor, as seen in proverbs and prophetic warnings against abandoning justice (e.g., Proverbs 11:18, Isaiah 1:16-20). However, the New Testament, particularly Paul, reframes the motivation for 'doing good' not as a means to earn salvation or justify oneself (a central theme in Galatians concerning the law), but as a fruit of salvation already received through faith. While both testaments call for ethical living, the New Testament grounds it more explicitly in the new covenant, where the Spirit empowers believers to live out their faith, preventing weariness through divine enablement rather than self-effort under the law.
Keep thinking
Read alongside it
Echoes the theme of not growing weary in doing what is right.
Encourages perseverance by considering Jesus' endurance against opposition.
Advises patience in suffering and persistence in prayer, implicitly in good deeds.
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