Galatians 6:11-18 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! 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 that 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 uncircumcision means 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
Paul's conclusion of his letter to the churches in Galatia emphasizes that he has died to this world and everything in it. 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. He tells the Galatians that any part of the law is of no avail to him, for he is dead to the things of this world including circumcision. Jesus’ death has brought him into a new realm of serving God, one totally of the spirit and not of the body or the letter of the law. Paul considers the work of the flesh but dung in achieving a right relationship with God. Active faith in Christ’s work alone brings mankind into the grace of God, not man’s efforts through works. Man’s best efforts to be as God is are but filthy rags in the sight of a perfect God. Nevertheless, man has always tried to be righteous outside of God’s authority. From the very beginning, man’s rebellious nature to God’s control has been evident. His desire to be independent of God has caused mayhem on the earth; millions have experienced death, rape, torture, destruction and dissensions of all kinds under their independence from God. Paul understood well this uncontrollable law of sin that captivates mankind’s heart. Therefore, to be free from this violent nature of man, Paul knew he must die to its influence. Consequently, he would boast only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ where he would die a vicarious death IN CHRIST through his faith in Jesus’ work and nature, not in his own life and nature. Jesus completed God’s will to die for sinful man, for a wayward people who were made in his image. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5) Man’s desire to be as God was conceived under the deception of the devil. As soon as Adam and Eve were aware of good and evil, they saw themselves as naked, and then hid from a perfect God, believing their nakedness was evil. They now assessed what was right and wrong, good and evil, in their dwelling place. Man is still striving to replace God as THE AUTHORITY in his dwelling place. Much knowledge and wisdom has come to man over the millieneum. He has achieved much, but he still wants to be independent of God’s authority and will. Now he is designing artificial-intelligence, computers that will make him the COMPLETE-MAN, without error, maybe even eternal. He is taking his stand to be like God. Paul instructs us at the end of his letter to the Galatians that he will not boast in man’s will to be complete and better: he will only boast in the will of God. God had Jesus die to make him eternal, a COMPLETE CHILD OF GOD, inheriting everything God has for his children. Paul says, I will boast in Jesus’ death, for I too died with him, and now I am raised with him to dwell in the domain of the eternal God.
Salvation comes to all who put their trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, boasts in something more than just the cross and his vicarious death on the cross. He boasts about his dedication to live for Christ while he is still alive. He knows right standing with God is not achieved by works. God will only accept the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, to take away sins, not the sacrifice of men’s lives. But the natural outcome of life IN CHRIST, dead to this world and everything in it, is action. Salvation does not come through actions to earn redemption, but it is a result of grace. Christians who are redeemed will seal their commitment to God through their works to manifest God to the world. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul recounts his service to God even under strong persecution and duress. He tells those who dispute his authority over them his qualifications to be God’s servant to them. I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. (2 Corinthians 11:23 NLT) He goes on and tells them how many times he has been beaten by rods, stoned, and so on. He tells them I will boast in these things for I am not living for this world anymore. I have died on the cross. I am now alive only to Christ and his desires for me. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 KJV) And because of his complete dedication to God, his ears to the Spirit were open. Jesus said those who have ears let them hear the words of the Lord. Paul heard the words of the Lord; he was directed by God to do what he did in the flesh, he was given marvelous and deep revelations of God’s purpose for mankind, and he also was taken up into heaven. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. (Galatians 12:1-4, NLT) Because of the cross, Paul died there, but he became alive in God, living no longer for the purposes of the flesh, but for the purpose of God. He became a fisher of men, winning souls for the kingdom of God. He boasted in his weaknesses and trials to further the message of Christ alone, the Redeemer of mankind. Paul said, I will show you my faith in the cross by my works, yet he continually pointed to the cross of Christ.
James also writes to the church about faith. As with Paul he knew abiding faith in Jesus would crop up in a person’s life expressing good works. A changed person exhibits the fruit of the Spirit. A person alive to God will treat people with kindness and justice. However, James realized that some Christians in the church were preferring one group of people over others: the rich over the poor. Deference, respect, was given to the rich but not to the poor. My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? (James 2:1) Preference of one group over another is an indication that faith in Jesus Christ has not taken root in a person’s life. Faith in Jesus Christ should be more that just a strong belief: it should change how one views other people. Love for all people should be an integral part of a Christian’s life. Jesus told the disciples to go into the world, put their belief in him into action. Faith in action is revealed clearly in the Bible in many places. In jail, the angel told Peter to get up, put on his sandals and cloak, for he was free. Jesus told the blind man to wash the mud off in the pool of Siloam. Peter and the blind man showed their faith by their actions. The father of faith, Abraham, was a man of action. James reminds the church of Abraham’s life of faith. Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. (James 2:21-24) James concludes, As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Paul tells the Galatians that their faith is of no avail if they place circumcision as a necessity for knowing Christ and his redemptive power. Faith alone in Christ’s work on the cross empowers believers to be new creatures. However, as Paul reveals through his testimony of his life, real faith will cause a person to manifest God in this world. Preferences, bigotry, judgment, silence will win no one to Christ. Such weaknesses merely indicate you did not die on the cross and the Spirit of Christ is not active in you. Man was made out of dust. When we demonstrate the evil of the world, we are but dust, without the life-giving Spirit of God in us. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) Everything made out of dust will disappear on the day of judgment. But we, breakfast companions, are those who have faith in Jesus Christ alone and demonstrate our faith daily, knowing we are eternal living beings because He has breathed new life into us that will never end. Enjoy that breath of life today as you spread the Good News.
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