Answering 439 Bible Contradictions
Answer: Everyone should help carry the problems of others, but on the final day of judgment, each believer must answer for himself.
Problem: Paul seems to contradict himself, telling believers to “bear one another’s burdens” in Galatians 6:2, then saying “each will have to bear his own load” (6:5).
Explanation: There is no discrepancy between v. 2 and v. 5 because Paul is urging the Galatians to “bear” different items, in different ways, at different times.
In vs. 2, the apostle commands believers to help their fellow brothers carry their “burdens” (Gr. baros) , which are oppressive weights and heavy loads. These difficulties may include battles with sin, physical ailments, family problems, mental challenges, financial hurdles, or demonic oppression. Is your sister depressed because of chemotherapy? Help her carry the load. Is your brother overwhelmed with lustful temptations? Put your broad shoulders to use.
“Bear” is in the present tense, connoting a continual process, meaning Christians may have to help their brothers tote these problems for a long time. John Newton helped carry the burdens of his friend William Cowper, the famous hymn writer that battled decades of depression. There were years when Newton feared to let Cowper out of his sight.
Paul doesn’t say “bear other’s burdens” but “one another’s burdens”. We all need help. Every Christian suffers. The solution is not Stoicism, the myth that a happy life entails total self-reliance. Paul comforted others, but he also needed others, as when he said he was comforted by the coming of Titus (2Cor. 7:6).
In v. 5, however, Paul says we must carry our own “load” (Gr. phortion), not a burden too heavy for one man to carry (as in v. 2), but a man’s own obligations and responsibilities that he alone can bear. For example, if God has given you children, you alone must carry the weight of fatherhood. You can’t pass it off to others so you can enjoy the single life. “Bear” is also in the future tense, pointing to the future day of judgment. On that day, I cannot give an account for others or carry their failures. I must bear my own load.
As First Corinthians 3:13 says: “Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.”