Galatians 5:1-12 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves.
The Jewish law addressed a division in the relationship between God the Creator and man the created. This separation was called sin, a permanent condition of alienation between man and God that could not be overcome by effort, for man needed a spiritual transfiguration. This condition of sinfulness in mankind, a self-willed nature, separated men and women from an eternal God of goodness and love. Through miraculous events, God delivered his chosen people out of slavery. On Mount Sinai, God gave Moses laws and regulations that would provide the Israelites a right relationship with the God who freed them from Pharaoh’s hands. The law, the word of God written by God’s own hand, given to Moses on Tablets of stone became a way to life for the Israelites. God’s written words on these tablets revealed his holiness and his demands on the Israelites’ lives. Along with the law came demands to offer sacrifices to God to keep the people safe from judgement because of the sinful nature of mankind. Sin separates man from God. Sin will never exist with God; it has to be dealt with by death. Millions of animals were put to death on altars to keep open a safe relationship between man and God. Otherwise, as in the day of Noah, man would be abolished from the face of the earth. We see the Israelites sacrificing bulls, sheep, goats and birds to satisfy God’s wrath on sin. God’s holiness is so great that sacrifices were demanded from them, for even their unintentional sins. If any member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, when they realize their guilt and the sin they have committed becomes known, they must bring as their offering for the sin they committed a female goat without defect. (Leviticus 4:27-28) In addition to the sin sacrifices there were burnt offerings, guilt offerings, and peace offerings. All of these sacrifices were required by God to keep the Israelites in a place of favor with him. If they failed to obey his commandments and regulations, they would come under severe discipline, especially if they offered their servitude to other gods by worshipping idols. Paul, because he knows Jesus’ transforming power, is telling the Galatians not to add circumcision to their free redemption, for circumsicion will not bring them any closer to God, but will be a yoke of slavery. Adding any part of the law will not achieve a better relationship with God. In fact, doing so will harm them so much that Christ will be of no value to them at all. The law and its obligations were allowed so that God the Father could have a relationship with his chosen people. But the law would never make people holy: only Christ could do that by presenting to the Father a complete sacrifice of a perfect and righteous man in the flesh. God desires a familial relationship with those He created. Sin had to be done away within the sight of God; Christ did away with sin before God’s eyes by paying the full price for sin on the cross. Sacrifices of birds and animals never opened the door of man’s heart to God; only Christ’s sacrifice could do that. You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand--you do not require burnt offerings. (Psalm 40:6) God needed a transformation in the heart of mankind, and this transformation was achieved through the death of Jesus Christ. He brought God’s holiness to the human heart though the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Now humans can say, I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart. (Psalm 40:8)
Paul is warning the Galatians do not assimilate the law into their salvation, for if they do, they will have to be obedient to all the law to satisfy God’s requirement on their lives. The law will make them entangled into something that no one has ever completely performed, for God will not accept a person in his domain who does not even have knowledge that he has sinned. Otherwise, the person dies, not knowing that he is not pleasing to God for his sin had not surfaced in his conscience. Paul warns them that ever jot and tittle of the law will be required of them, not their perspective of the law, but God’s understanding of his law. I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. James extends this theme of doing what God considers right or wrong by saying, if you discriminate between people for various reasons, you are violating the nature of God, which is love. Loving God and loving your neighbor sums up the whole law. Therefore, any lack of love for others is open for eternal judgment. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. (James 2:8-11). The law is comprehensive and reflects the righteousness of God. No man will see God without judgment unless he is completely righteous, holy, and eternal as God is. Christ alone has brought righteousness, holiness, and eternal life to us. Therefore, we walk in the presence of God securely and safely forever. But following the law jeopardizes that freedom of being with God in harmony with him. The law only reveals wickedness and waywardness, does not bring a solution to our sinful condition. But God’s grace and mercy through the sacrifice of Jesus completely satisfies the judgment of God on sin. We are not to be judged by any other standard than Jesus’ grace and mercy towards us. God is the judge who is satisfied by the work of Jesus on the cross, not on our rightness or wrongness. His love for us through Jesus is the standard of judging anyone. James reminds us of that by saying, Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11-12) We might assume in this scripture that James is referring again to the cardinal law of love. God is love and we ought to love our neighbor as ourselves. We speak against this love when we judge our neighbors. By not loving others because of some act of the law, we are judging God’s love, determining who should be loved and who should not be loved. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge. Whether people have experienced circumcision or not, they are not to be judged as being more holy or less holy. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Our assessment of others should never be based on the deeds of the law, but upon people’s commitment to Jesus Christ as their Lord and their love for others.
Paul is concerned for his Greek brothers in Galatia. He is fearful that his teaching of faith in Christ alone is being distorted by the Jewish brethren. If this yeast of the law is able to take a foothold in the churches of Galatia, it will destroy the work of faith in Christ alone. He knows the Galatians will lose their freedom and their place in the household of God if they seek God’s favor through the law and not through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross. The law had its place in the Jewish community. Jesus told the people to obey the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, for they are the experts in Moses' cannon. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (Matthew 23:1-4) The culture and the society in Israel revolved around the law and its regulations. Order and awareness of God the Creator came through the law, but as with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, their lives did not reflect the mercy and grace of God. In fact, they were willing to place the burden of the law on the people, with additional pharisaical demands that crushed the people. We see in these verses a seeming contradiction. Jesus tells the people to follow their instruction, but then says they are being horribly burdened by them. He knows they are not living by their own standard of how to please God. In fact, Jesus tells the crowd that they are hypocrites and children of the devil, not God. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. (Matthew 23:15) The law kills unless it is summed up in loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself. By being faithful to the law of Moses, you should understand that it is a vehicle to love God and to love your neighbor, to treat God with reverence and all people with respect. The Pharisees were doing the opposite. They were taking advantage of the people, loving the people's deference to them, but not loving the people. Jesus knew that, and He castigated them for their boldness to corrupt the law for their own advantage within the Jewish culture and society. Now we see Paul upset that this sanctimonious attitude of obeying the law to gain favor with God was creeping into the churches of Galatia. Paul understood well as a rabbi that the law will never satisfy God’s demand on the human condition. Sin is endemic in people: a law of waywardness to God’s authority is in the nature of mankind. No law or regulations will make man give up on his nature. A new creature must be formed in the hearts of men and women. Faith in Christ alone and his works changes that nature of willful disobedience to God. Paul is disgusted with this teaching of circumcision. He tells those who teach this cutting of the flesh as a means of righteousness should go all the way and emasculate themselves if they think they gain favor by cutting away parts of their flesh. I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves. He knows favor with God only comes through Jesus Christ, "hear ye him." God acknowledges only his Son as a means to righteousness. Abraham tried to achieve God’s favor through Hagar, but God said, Sarah’s dead womb would actualize God’s promises to Abraham. Only Jesus Christ's death on the cross achieved God’s promise to us of eternal life. We live according to that promise today!
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