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Throughout this letter, Paul has been in a battle — not a personal one, but a doctrinal one. These Jewish legalists have followed him into Galatia, telling these new churches that faith in Christ is not enough, that believers must also keep the Mosaic law — especially circumcision — to be right with God.
Paul has argued passionately, relentlessly even, that justification is by faith alone. Now, as he reaches the end of the letter, he picks up the pen himself and summarizes the entire controversy in a few powerful sentences.
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Mr. Friend of mine tells me about a time when he was in Bible college and he had a
professor who he strongly disagreed with. So one day he brought along a friend who
was also a professor from a different college to sit in on the class. Now
afterwards the two professors began discussing their differences. The
discussion quickly turned into a debate and soon a crowd of not only my
friend but other students gathered around listening intently. The problem
was these were first year students and most of them didn't really fully
understand what was being argued. You see the issues were complex, the language
and the debate between him seemed to produce more confusion than clarity.
So in the next session our student raised his hand and said professor could you
summarize very simply the detail between your position and his.
Now on hindsight I think that was a very wise request. When there's any
difference particularly a theological difference it's always helpful to pause,
take a breath clear the air and try to stay it or clarify the real
issues and to do so plainly and that's exactly what we see Paul doing here
in this closing paragraph of his letter to the church in Galicia. You see
throughout this letter Paul has been in the battle not a personal one but a
doctrinal one a theological one. These Jewish legalists who had followed
into Galicia and gone around telling these new churches that faith in Christ
was not enough and that believers must keep the mosaic law even circumcision
all these things they said had to be done to be right with God and Paul has just
argued passionately, relentlessly even that justification is by faith alone.
And now he reaches the end of the letter and he picks up the pen himself
and summarizes the entire controversy in a very powerful
in the original language virtually a single closing sentence.
So let me read it for you in our translation today it's Galatians 6
verses 11 to 18
He says see what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand.
Okay here he goes those who want to impress people by means of the
flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised the only reason they do
this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who
are circumcised keep the law yet they want you to be circumcised but they
may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which
the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor
on circumcision mean anything what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to
all who follow this rule to the Israel of God. From now on let no one
cause me trouble for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
Okay, Paul's closing statement here divides the issue into two parts.
In the opening few verses 11 to 13 he states the position and the motivation
of these Jewish legalists. Then in verses 14 to 18 Paul states his country position
before offering his close and final greeting. Now in the ancient world authors often
dictated their letters to a secretary and indeed Paul often did himself.
But here at this point in the letter Paul is emphasizing that he takes the
up the pan and he writes in large emphatic letters to differentiate from the text
that's gone before. The way of saying look I am writing this myself
it's a bit like underlining a sentence or putting it in bold face.
It's his way of saying don't miss this this is the summary this is the heart of
the matter and he begins by first describing the legalist's position.
They want to make a good show of their works and deeds and their pressurizing
believers like you and to being circumcised he says but they do it to avoid being
persecuted themselves that's their motivation they have don't themselves want
to be persecuted for being those who are now preaching the cross alone yet
the law that they demand of others follow he says ironically do not even keep
themselves you see they ultimately want to boast about what they do
and how they have won you over to their way of doing things he says.
In other words their whole religious belief is external,
superficial and ultimately self-serving it's all about appearance not about
personal transformation it's all about pride and it's certainly not about
the grace of God. Okay so Paul has summarized their position
and now beginning in verse 14 he effectively says now let me summarize mine for you.
Now this final section this final part of the paragraph in a sense
is the distilled essence of the entire book we've just read
if you want to know what Galatians is about then this is it friends right here
this is the entire book and he states it plainly and without apology
as many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh these try to compel you to
be circumcised that was their position that's what they're trying to get
them to do and that is indeed in a spiritual way is what all
legalists always try and do and some still try and do today.
Paul wants the Galatians to see that this is not some harmless little ritual
not some quaint Old Testament custom that they can adopt without consequences
because this strikes the very foundation of Christianity it is nothing less
than a denial of the doctrine of justification by faith.
Now to help us see this clearly I just want you to keep a sort of
a metaphorical finger so to speak in today's text Galatians 6
and for a minute turn with me to Romans 15. Now before reading this verse for you
let me say the date of Galatians is debated by some scholars
but my and many other conservative Bible commentators
have affirmed conviction that Paul wrote Galatians
before what is called the Jerusalem council that is described for us
in Acts 15 here. Now not everyone agree agrees with that
position however it is important to note that even if you don't believe that
that the issues being dealt with in both situations
almost everyone agrees are identical and for me the flow of events that makes
the most sense of it is if the Galatian letter came first
that is simply because of the Jerusalem council had already taken place
and they had made this decision and it was the same as what Paul was saying here
Paul would have probably just said read the letter sent out from Jerusalem
after the council was held there because their apostles have already settled
this but anyway let's hear what happened in Acts 15
In verse 1 of that chapter it says certain men came down from Judea and taught
the brethren unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses
you cannot be saved can you see that this is the exact same issue as here in
Galatia unless you're circumcised they say you cannot be saved
so if we know back to Galatians 6 Paul says what these people are doing
is exactly same as what would later be discussed in Acts 15
in the Jerusalem council is there's people moving amongst us who want
for you to be circumcised so he's not telling them anything new here at this
point in the letter they already knew that he already
set that out for them but what he does here is explain to these to us which
he's not gone before why these guys want them
circumcised what's the real motivation behind this
only helpfully gives us three reasons first in the first half of verse 12 he
simply says they want to boast about it as many as desire to make a good showing
in the flesh these try to compel you to be circumcised
simply they want to show off about it they want to parade your circumcision
as proof of their success they're not even doing this out of conviction
they're doing it for appearances and for the pre as they think they'll get
for persuading you secondly in the second half of verse 12 he says they're
actually also doing it to avoid persecution
and that's their main motivation now this is crucial because of course if you
preach the cross of Christ and you preach that Christ died and paid for all your
sins and that you don't any longer need the law but you don't need circumcision
you don't need the mosaic rituals you don't need the ceremonies you don't
need the law and rules of Moses to finish what Christ has already
accomplished then you're going to be persecuted by those who still hold up
you obviously so if you drop the law and cling to the cross
those who still cling to the law will persecute you
so he's saying part of the motivation these guys in preaching circumcision
is to avoid their own persecution they wanted safety they wanted
acceptance they wanted to stay in good standing
with the traditional Jewish community and thirdly he says they simply want to glorify
in your flesh verse 13 listen again for not even those who are circumcised
keep the law but they desire to have you circumcised that they make glory in
your flesh the point is the same these guys want to boast about you
they want to brag about how many converts they have made and brought back
to their religious belief system and then Paul adds the devastating observation
but even those who claim this and do this and who are circumcised themselves
don't keep the law they just claim to keep the law
they claim circumcised in as necessary for salvation but Paul says they then
don't keep the law themselves not really
now he's already argued this point in chapter three when he said cursed as
everyone who does not continue in all things written in the book of the law
so this is the position about if you want to be saved by the law
then you must keep all of it perfectly continuously inwardly outwardly
and of course no one does that and no one can so Paul has argued here and said
they want to glory in your flesh they want to boast in their accomplishments
through you they want everyone to say look what these guys have done
and Paul argues that that is actually the motivation
and the whole essence of their position and this is important for us to
understand friends because it's still happening today
now of course the particulars and the context may have changed
but the spirit is the same some people still today
in the Christian church glory in their formulas in their religious
tradition whether they be baptismal formulas or christening celebrations
some glory in external religious practices
some glory simply hen how many people they can convince to follow them
and this is in many ways the same spirit Paul is confronting here in Galatians
it is the spirit of religious pride but before we point fingers
Paul is gently reminding everyone reading this even today
that we need to be wary because there is a little bit
if not a whole lot of this and every one of us
because at heart we all like to boast really we all like to say
look what God has done through me and when we understand that
then the natural question that arises out of understanding that becomes
well is there anything legitimate anything legitimately
that we can spiritually boast about is there anything that we can in fact
glory in and Paul answers that in the next
section and it's the heart of his position
verse 14 he says may I never boast except
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been
crucified to me and I to the world
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now it's helpful to understand what Paul means by the term when he uses
the world here and the world being crucified to me and I to the world
because it's very easy to think he's is referring to that list of things that
you should do and don't do the worldly activities that were all warned about
the thing he's talking about the sins and the dangers that we can all fall into
but I don't think this is what Paul is talking about
specifically in this passage I think in the context of Galatians
I believe Paul is using the word the world to build upon and refer to the
religious world that he's come out of the whole system of the rights rituals
and regulations and the religious pride that lay behind what these guys were
promoting so when Paul says the world has been crucified to me and I to the
world he says I'm dead to everything these guys stand for all the idea of
religion and religiosity here they are he says coming among you and
shouting at the top of their lungs we keep the law we observe the sabbath
we've been circumcised look at our religious credentials they're glorifying
in all the religious externals and Paul says I simply glory in the cross
because the cross crucified me to all of that stuff
and that is exactly what he also says in Philippians chapter 3
let's just turn there for a very quick moment
Philippians 3 beginning in verse 3 says for we are the circumcision who worship
God in the spirit and rejoice in Jesus Christ and we are the ones who have no
confidence in the flesh then Paul in that chapter lists
his own religious resume if you like and if you're judging people in that way
it is indeed impressive he says I was circumcised in the eighth day
I have of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of the Hebrews
a Pharisee zealous enough to persecute the church
blameless concerning the righteousness in the law
that was Paul's world the religious world and he had credibility
upon credibility layer upon layer inner group within inner group
but then he adds in verse 7 what things were gained to me
these I have counted loss for Christ in other words those things that I thought
meant something are nothing compared to what I've gained through Christ
and a verse say it he says I count them as rubbish
that I may win Christ and be find in him not having my own righteousness
which is from the law but which is through faith in Christ
that's exactly the same thing as what Paul is saying here in Goliath in 6
he's saying I've been crucified to all of that I've been severed from the
entire idea that religion can save you in his particular case in context of course
it was the religious rules of these Jewish legalists
but for us today if you've grown up in a church or a religious environment
that demanded endless rules and requirements
and they positioned them as being a thing that were needed in order to make you
right with God then you may recognize exactly what Paul means here
and what a relief it can be to discover that it simply just has to be
recognizing that Jesus Christ died for you and that his death on the cross
fully finally and forever settled the sin question for you
what a relief to know that you don't have to keep all the regulations of man
or the rituals of religion anymore and Paul is saying here
look I've died to all that and it's died to me I'm divorced of it and I'm glad
of it because I simply know and accept Christ as Lord
so he glorifies in the cross because it was the cross that severed him
from the requirements to follow that entire system
but he gives another reason he glorifies in the cross
because not only did the cross separate him from trying to follow the rules of
the religious world he adds in verse 15
for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or nor
uncircumcisions reveals anything but a new creation
now what's going on here I think you can almost if you read between the lines
here the debate in Galicia one group is saying
I'm proud I've been circumcised you can be proud of your circumcised
and maybe the other side of the argument was becoming a little bit like well
I'm proud of myself because I haven't been circumcised
so there's a half and have not each glorifying in their own position
those glorifying in the false position and those taking a little pride
in reacting and standing against us and Paul says let's be clear
let me tell you something in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision counts for anything you've had it done
doesn't matter it's worthless now you don't have it done
doesn't matter either it's still worthless what does matter
is being a new creation being born again that is what matters the new birth
and that is the only thing that counts before God
I glory in the cross because the cross made me a new creation
I was born again I became a new creation in Christ
and that not religious rules not rituals not religious achievements
none of that matters before God and that my friends is the great motif of the new testament
it's the very difference between death and new life
I am crucified yet I live Galatians 2 verse 20
put off the old man put on the new that's Ephesians chapter 4
we are buried with him and we are raised with him
that's Romans 26 all of it saying the same thing
death to the old life in the new and Paul sums it up here
by saying I glory in the cross because it killed off the old world
and created a new one and a new me to live in it
and then a final blessing for those who walk in this way
he closes Ben verse 6 thing by saying as many as walk according to this rule
then peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God
now the word rule here is actually referring to the carpenters measuring line
a plum line a standard Paul is saying this is the standard
by which we measure boasting and it is simply that of the cross of Christ
so he's saying so whether you're a Jew or a Gentile in heritage
it matters not if you glory in the cross then peace and mercy be upon you
will be upon you and then Paul's final subtle brilliant little comment
little job perhaps and from now on let no one trouble me
for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ
like this is classic Paul subtle sharp and brilliant
there's a word play going on here remember the whole issue in Galatia
is them being told they needed to be circumcised
these Jewish legalists are proudly saying look at the marks on our bodies
this is proof of my piety and Paul says don't bother me with that argument
ever again if you want to talk about marks look at the marks I bear in my body
the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ he's talking about the fact that he's been beaten
stoned whipped imprisoned all because he preached across
he literally carries physical scars on his body
for standing firm in the gospel of grace and he says if you want
to boast about any marks then book about about that
you boast in marks of circumcision he's saying I actually bear the marks of
persecution I have suffered for the cross the very cross
you guys are by nature ashamed of
okay Paul then brings this remark but letter to a close
with these tender words brothers and sisters he says may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you in your spirit now if you flip through Paul's
other letters you'll notice he ends every one of them
with a benediction of grace and here and only here
in this one do we see him add the words brothers and sisters at the start
the point being is after all the sharp warnings all the rebukes all the
doctrinal corrections he's had to made the passionate appeals he's made
at the end he softens his tone and draws everything to a close
it's as if he's saying I've spoken firmly in this letter to you
but ultimately I've done it because I love you you are my brethren my brothers
and sisters and what I want most for you is that you know the grace of God
and notice the lovely final tree of blessings he leaves them with
peace mercy and grace you see if you're glorifying in the cross and that is the
center of your life if you're walking by that
rule and that way of thinking not religious rules and
systems then peace and mercy and grace are years
and are promised to be yours in abundance these guys wanted to boast in their
converts in their religious rituals in their achievements
they wanted to say look at what we've done but Paul says here there's only one
legitimate spiritual boast in all of the universe
and that is to glory in the cross of Christ and God forbid I should do
anything except that that's it that's the whole Christian life and one
sentence it's not about your accomplishments it's not about your performance
religious or otherwise it's not about any resume
spiritual or otherwise you might have it's not your religion
your disciplines your sacrifices or indeed your personal successes
the only proper boast and measure is the cross of Christ
because Christianity is not what you do for God it is ultimately about what
God has done for you and done for you in Christ
our only confidence in life and death should be the finished
work of Jesus Christ so that means don't get puffed up even when you do
something for the Lord yes we should serve him
yes we should labor and work hard for him yes we should give him our best
but remember what Paul says I am what I am only by the grace of God
if we understand that where then is boasting
Paul tells us it is excluded and Paul ends this latter as I do also today
by simply saying brothers and sisters in the light of all we've learned
may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you in spirit thanks for being
with me today Amen
you
Okay, we're closing our season today, working through the vocalizations.
I want to thank you for traveling this road of grace with me.
We've watched Paul defend the gospel with fire in his belly, haven't we?
We've seen him plead with believers that they not return to a life of slavery, and we've
heard him call us to walk in the Spirit, to love one another, and to serve one another,
and to boast only in the cross.
Galatians has reminded us again and again that the Christian life begins with grace, continues
in grace, and ends in grace.
And if this letter has done its work in you and I, then we should leave it with lighter,
hard, freer consciences, and a deeper gratitude for the one who loved us and gave himself for
us.
But our journey isn't over.
After a couple of days off of preparation, when I'll post some bonus episodes, we'll
return in a few days and start our next season, and we're going to step into a very different
landscape.
We're going back into the Old Testament, and the books of one and two kings.
Now, if Galatians showed us the freedom of the gospel, kings will show us the consequences
of forgetting it.
We will see leaders rise and fall, nations flourish and crumble, and through it all the faithfulness
of God will shine like a steady flame in the darkness.
So I invite you friends to return for the next episode, and for the next season, as
we continue learning how to work with God in a world constantly, and pulls us away from
that.
Until then, my friends, when the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Spirit.
Until then, friends, may I reiterate what Paul said, being that may the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you in your Spirit.
Thanks for being with me today.
Bye-bye for now.



