Galatians 6:11 See with what large letters I write to you with my own hand. 12 As many as desire to make a good impression in the flesh compel you to be circumcised; just so they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even they who receive circumcision don’t keep the law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 As many as walk by this rule, peace and mercy be on them, even on God’s Israel.
17 From now on, let no one cause me any trouble, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus branded on my body.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Don’t Boast in anything but the Cross of Christ
The whole point of this epistle is to pull the Galatians away from their sinking into Jewish legalism. Judaism (chapters 1-4) Paul keeps emphasizing the truth that you didn’t save yourself, you can’t save yourself. Works can’t save you. Rituals, rites, memorized prayers, special days or diets can’t save you. Then chapters 5 -6, How do I live as a Christian?
Don’t give in to legalism, Live by the law of love, Follow the leading of the Spirit, Do Good to others, Today, Don’t Boast in anything but the cross of Christ
We left off last time with “Do good.”
So, as a Christian, you live by love and the Spirit. They look for opportunities to do good. Not as a means of accumulating reward points for heaven, but in love, and gratitude for your salvation. Now we conclude Galatians with the last principle of Christian living—Don’t Boast.
What often happens in your Christian walk, over time, is you forget the gratitude, the emotion, of being saved. You begin to be a “good person” as you walk in the Spirit. And Satan begins whispering in your ear. “You are such a good person.” “You are really wise.” “You’re such a good friend.” And you begin to elevate your self-image in your own mind, and you can move over into the sin of pride. And pride can begin to move you into self-righteousness, which moves you out of Walking in the Spirit-no power. So Paul concludes with an admonition;
14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The last principle we need to live by is to avoid boasting and pride like the plague. We need to keep the Cross of Christ, His payment for our sins, His provision of the power of the Spirit foremost in our minds. Without Him, I am nothing. If we lose that sense, we lose our power.
We should never lose the sense of gratitude for our salvation. When we lose sight of the cross, we lose a sense of our gratitude. John MacArthur gave a good illustration of this. This is sometimes how we think of the cross. He said, imagine that you are out sitting on a blanket, under an umbrella on the beach on a beautiful day. And up runs a friend, who stops in front of your blanket and says, “Hey, I love you man. I really love you. And to show how much I love you, I’m going to die for you.” Then he runs out into the ocean waters, swims and swims straight out to sea, until he loses his strength, and drowns. What would you think of that friend? You wouldn’t be thinking that this friend had great love, but great foolishness. And you wouldn’t feel great gratitude toward that friend, but pity.
And you see, some who sit under the umbrella of Christianity have relegated Jesus to that kind of friend. They say, “Jesus died on the cross because He loved me.” I was on the beach, everything was fine. But if you ask, “How are you going to get to heaven?” They will say, “I’m a good person.” “I’ve got a religious system worked out.” I didn’t need His sacrifice. It’s nice that Jesus died for me, but I really didn’t need it, I was doing just fine when He showed up. We can begin to think like that, the longer we are Christians.
But if, on the other hand, you think like this, you are not on the beach, but rather, you are out in the deep waters, and you’ve gotten caught in an undertow. And you are bobbing in and out of the water, about to drown. And your friend sees what’s happening, runs into the water, pulls you out, does CPR. Saves you from drowning. Then you have great gratitude. And the rest of your life, you feel an indebtedness to that friend because he saved you.
That is the ongoing daily gratitude for the cross, in which a believer is to live. They are ever conscious that they owe their eternal salvation from Hell, to the Lord. They live in a Spirit of humility, not boasting about their righteousness.
Shortly
I. An Example of Humility vs 11
II. The Boast of the Judaizers vss 12-13
III. The Boast of Paul vss 14-16
IV. An example of Humility vss 17-18
I. An Example of Humility vs 11
11 See with what large letters I write to you with my own hand.
You may wonder how this is an example of humility. And truthfully, many Bible scholars have struggled with this verse. What do you do with it? Paul is essentially telling us about his handwriting. Why is he telling about his handwriting.
Well first, let me make note of a couple of things about Paul that may shed some light on this verse. Number one, Paul often used an amanuensis when composing his letters. An amanuensis was a scribe that took dictation. Paul would tell this person what to write, and they would write it down.
Romans 16:22 says, “ 22 I, Tertius, who write the letter, greet you in the Lord.” And Paul concludes many of his letters by saying, “I Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.”
What that tells us is that Paul dictated many of his letters, and then might write the conclusion himself, in order to authenticate that the letter was from him. Second, Now why would he do this? Well, as we talked about earlier in this epistle, there is evidence that Paul may have had an illness that affected his eyesight. So he used a scribe because it was difficult for him to write, and maybe it was difficult for the church to read his writing.
So this is what that might mean here.
11 See with what large letters I write to you with my own hand.
Paul may, as was his custom, have taken the scroll from the amanuensis to write the conclusion to the letter. He writes it in his own handwriting. But because of his eyesight, he writes with big letters so he can see them, and so the Galatians can read them. And as he’s writing these letters, he notices the difference in size between his writing and that of the amanuensis. And maybe, for a moment, he feels a twinge of embarrassment. Here’s this highly educated man whose handwriting now looks like a child’s. But then, it occurs to him, that this is a perfect illustration of the difference between himself and the Judaizers.
The Judaizers are all about outward appearances. Smooth words, putting on a good churchy show. And Paul’s elementary handwriting would probably have been something to ridicule Paul for. His frailty, his illness, may have been something to scoff at. But Paul suddenly moves from embarrassment to pride. He is not concerned about all that outward stuff,
14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Yes, I’ve got child-like handwriting- that doesn’t matter—in my weakness—He is made strong.
And that’s how Christians are to live; without pride in anything but what Jesus has done for us. That’s the example of humility.
But that’s not who the Judaizers were. They were all about outward appearances of righteousness. Making yourself look righteous to others
A Contra example
A negative example
II. The Boast of the Judaizers vss 12-13
12 As many as desire to make a good impression in the flesh compel you to be circumcised; just so they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even they who receive circumcision don’t keep the law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh.
Circumcision is the major theme of these two verses. He refers to it three times. It’s mentioned 12 times in the 6 chapters of Galatians.
Incidentally, someone commented to me after one of my Galatians sermons that I kept talking about circumcision. You kept saying “circumcision.” Reminds me of a mother in our church in Mound Valley who was helping her kids to pay attention to my sermon. So, she would listen to me start the sermon, then she would figure out what the sermon was about, some word, love, whatever, and she would have her kids count how many times I said that word during my sermon.
So, my apologies that I said “circumcision” “circumcised” so much. But Paul talks about it a lot. So I’ll try to use some other word as we go along today.
So, what’s the big deal with circumcision?
Well, it is the mark of being Jewish. And these Judaizers were telling the Gentiles in the Galatian churches that, in addition to believing in Jesus as their Messiah, they had to become Jews in order to be saved. But don’t think that they were all that concerned for the salvation of the Gentiles. They had other reasons for wanting Gentiles to submit to circumcision. Paul tells us 3 reasons. Avoid persecution, cover their failure, to boast
Why do the Judaizers want the Galatians to be become Jews? (see, I changed it. I could have mentioned circumcision, but I said “become Jews” instead of circumcision. That way I won’t say circumcision so much.
A. To avoid persecution 12 (fear of persecution)
12 As many as desire to make a good impression in the flesh compel you to be circumcised; just so they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
They are preaching that you have to be circumcised, because if they preach what Paul did, that you don’t have to, they will face the animosity and hatred of Jewish religious authorities, like Paul did. You see, it’s one thing to say that Jesus is the promised Messiah, it’s another to tell people that circumcision is unnecessary. Paul had been imprisoned, beaten, almost killed, principally at the hands of Jewish people who were offended that he was preaching salvation to Gentiles, without the law. Without circumcision
So these Judaizers were just avoiding the offense of the cross. They are compromising the truth of the gospel in order to avoid trouble with the orthodox Jews.
And that shouldn’t surprise us. People in the church have been doing that since the church began. Preachers of the gospel have done it. When we get up to preach, if you want to attract the biggest audience possible, you can’t offend your audience. So you preach positive messages. Preach what people want to hear. Don’t get down into the meat of doctrine, because doctrine divides people. Doctrine offends whole denominations. Preaching doctrine can make enemies, so you avoid it.
Well, what is another reason these Judaizers preached circumcision?
B. To cover up their own failure 13a (guilt over their sin)
13 For even they who receive circumcision don’t keep the law themselves,
Here’s the long and short of it; they wanted to convince the Galatians to follow the law, because that puts credit to their righteousness account. They couldn’t follow all the laws, rites, rituals of Judaism perfectly, so in their own minds, they are guilty before God. So how do I assuage my guilt? How do I wrack up some righteousness brownie points? Persuade some others to follow those same laws and rules, so their brownie points can accrue to your righteousness account.
Kind of reminds me of some Multilevel marketing schemes. In multilevel marketing businesses, I can make money in two ways. I can sell the stuff we’re selling, or I can get my downline to sell the stuff. I get a certain percentage of the profit that my downline sells. So, basically, I could go out trying to sell the laundry soap, or whatever, but nobody wants to buy it, I’m a bad salesman. But I still need to make some money. So I try to recruit others to become sales people for this stuff. I profit by their sales.
They couldn’t keep the law themselves. Jesus pointed this out on numerous occasions. They weren’t supposed to any degree of labor on the Sabbath day, but they all had to fudge in caring for their animals. They were obligated by the law to care for their aging parents, but they created exceptions to the law that allowed them to break that commandment. They were supposed to love their neighbors, and be faithful to their wives, but internally they hated Gentiles, and were unfaithful to their wives.
They knew that their righteousness was at best hypocritical. So, to tamp down the guilt, they went out to gain converts to Judaism.
They were motivated by fear of persecution, guilt over their sin, and also, here’s the big one,
C. So, they have something to boast about 13b (pride in proselyting)
“but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh.”
Here we’re back to the main theme of this sermon; A Christian life is to be characterized by humility, not pride and boasting. But these Judaizers were trying to convince the Galatians to follow Jewish law, not because they were so concerned about these Gentiles being saved, but so they could brag to their fellow Judaizers about how many converts they got. They were doing what they considered to be good—out of pride, and as an occasion for boasting.
Let me tell you something. And this is important. Let’s say you are doing something good, I don’t care what it is, feeding poor people, building houses for the homeless, giving money to a worthy cause. You need to check your motivation. You need to look inside yourself to determine why you are doing it. How do I do that?
Ask yourself a couple of questions. Number one, after the good deed is done, am I content if no one but God knows about it? Or do I feel compelled to go around telling everyone about the good thing that I did? Here’s number two—motivation check. If I don’t get a thank you, or if nobody notices the good thing that I did? Do I say, “Well, nobody appreciates me, I’m not gonna do that again.” Am I resentful if I don’t get kudos.
The Judaizers were motivated to convert Gentiles to Judaism, for the praise they would get for it.
But a Christian is to be in constant check of their pride. And Paul offers himself as an example of humility. We’ve seen the negative example of the Judaizers. Now the positive.
III. The Boast of Paul vss 14-16
14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 As many as walk by this rule, peace and mercy be on them, even on God’s Israel.
What is his motivation for doing good? His glorying in the cross of Christ. He’s not going to brag about his good deeds. He’s not going to boast about the number of converts he has brought to the faith. Why? Because the only reason he can do any good thing, is because of the salvation he received at the cross of Christ. So, if he boasts about anything, he will boast about the cross of Christ.
But what does that look like? How do you boast about the cross? Well, in those moments when you are tempted to be puffed up with pride, in those moments when someone praises you for something good you did, try these phrases;
Praise God, not me, praise God.
That was all God.
To God be the glory.
There, but by the grace of God, go I.
I’m glad God could use me.
And I’m not talking about some sort of pious false humility. “I am so proud of how humble I am.”
Here are three ways that Paul boasted in the cross. The Judaizers had three sinful motivations for seeking Jewish converts, now Paul has three Godly motivations glorying in the cross. It severs my ties to the world, it transforms me, it bestows on me God’s gifts.
A. It severs my ties to the world 14
14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
What about the cross of Christ causes me to boast? Through it the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
The cross of Christ severed my ties to the world. Back to the illustration, to carry us to the end. It’s as though I was walking along merrily with the world system, it’s religion, it’s standards, and we came to a fork in the road. At that fork stands the cross of Christ. To one side lies the narrow path marked by the cross of Christ. Now here’s something that not everyone understands. The wide way, and the narrow way are both labeled “heaven” or salvation. But the world and I came to the place where the narrow way veered from the broad way. I want to choose the narrow way to salvation, but the world tells me, “No” stay on the path with me. I am on my way to heaven, to salvation. I say, “No” the only way to salvation is by the cross, down the narrow way. The world becomes angry, and accuses me of being narrow, ignorant, hateful, bigoted, etc. And at that cross, we part company. Now I no longer walk with the world, the world doesn’t walk with me. We are like a married couple who broke up (divorce). The old partner can occasionally try to influence me, but they no longer have the legal basis, or power to demand anything of me.
So Paul boasts about the cross, because the cross loosed him from his bondage to the world.
Why else does he boast in the cross?
B. It transforms me 15
15 For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Key words—new creation
What is he saying here? That because of the cross, all this external stuff, the clothes you wear, your diet, ritual hand washings, circumcision, are irrelevant. First, you have parted company with the world system, and second, the cross made you into a new creation. How did it make you into a new creation?
You see, when you came to that fork in the road, and chose the narrow way, the way of the cross, and parted company with the world, your choice didn’t change you. Let’s go back to the previous analogy. I may be in a marriage. And that marriage may be dissolved because we part ways. But I do not become a different person simply because I parted company with a person who influenced me negatively. I am still me.
Just because I parted company from the world doesn’t make me a new creation.
But, at the moment of that choice, God came to be your companion on the narrow road, in the Holy Spirit. I lose the world as a companion—and gain the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16-18 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [a]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
So Paul boasts in the cross of Christ, because by it he is separated from the world, and made a new creation by the Spirit. And because of the Spirit, you also can walk that narrow path with a settled heart.
Why else does Paul glory in the cross—not his own righteousness.
C. It bestows on me God’s gifts
16 As many as walk by this rule, peace and mercy be on them, even on God’s Israel.
As many as walk by this rule—verse 15—in Christ, neither circumcision is anything, or uncircumcision but a new creation.
Here we are back to a previous passage. “Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” So Paul says, if you are walking in obedience and communion with the Spirit, you will have God’s gifts, three things, peace, mercy, citizenship in the Israel of God.
Back to the analogy of the wide and narrow path—part company with world, new companion in the Holy Spirit, new companion gives gifts, gifts for now and for eternity.
1. Peace
The abiding of the Spirit in you gives you that inner confidence, and tranquility, regardless of life’s circumstances. Eternal peace—at the end of the path—enter glory.
2. Mercy
I am not held justly accountable for my sin, and He daily gives me mercy. He keeps on forgiving when I sin. I don’t deserve that. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So He gives us gifts. And the last gift that is mentioned, I think would have been especially significant to the hearts of the Galatians,
3. Citizenship in the Israel of God
16 As many as walk by this rule, (What rule—verse 15) peace and mercy be on them, even on God’s Israel.
Who is he talking about, God’s Israel? --as many as walk by this rule.
He’s saying that if these Galatians hold to what he has taught them—they are God’s Israel.
Romans 9:6 Israel’s Rejection and God’s Purpose
But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
Romans 9:30-32 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law [a]of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, [b]by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.
So these Gentiles in Galatia, who have been vexed by Judaizers, Jews who were saying, “You’ve got to become Jews to be saved,” Paul concludes his letter by saying, “If you have the Holy Spirit, if you are saved, you are the true Jews, the true Israel. You are God’s Israel. You didn’t need to become Jews physically to be apart of God’s Israel.
Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
So Paul won’t boast in his own righteousness, he boasts in the cross of Christ, that separated him from the world, made him a new creation by God’s Spirit, and continues to give him peace and mercy and gives him citizenship in God’s Israel.
Well we close this passage as we opened it, with Paul’s example of humility.
IV. An example of Humility vss 17-18
17 From now on, let no one cause me any trouble, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus branded on my body.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
As Paul finishes this letter, writing with his own hand, in big letters, it’s as though his mind comes back from discussing these lofty theological concepts, and he stops and takes notice of the physical things around him. Earlier, he was thinking about his big handwriting. And it reminded him that his ministry was not about putting on a good show, like the Judaizers. He had problems with his sight, and he would be happy to glory in his weakness, his eyesight that forced him to write big letters so he could see them. And now, he concludes with a thought about what he sees on his own body.
17 From now on, let no one cause me any trouble, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus branded on my body.
Maybe as he was finishing his writing, he noticed a scar, on his hand, or arm, his foot or leg. And then he began looking at all the scars he had on his body.
Why would he have scars? 2 Corinthians 11.
23 Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—
This is an example of humility. The Galatians had begun to turn away from the gospel that Paul brought them. And Paul could have countered their preaching by presenting his own credentials. He could have said, “How dare you turn from my preaching! Don’t you know who I am. He could have told of his education and breeding.
But he concludes his letter by pointing out his scars. This is such humility. It’s as though Paul closes his letter by saying, “Here’s your scarred, and half-blind preacher. I bring you the good news of freedom in Christ. That should be enough.”
What a fitting end to this epistle—glory not in yourself—but in the cross of Christ.
Let us pray, Heavenly Father. We thank you for the time we have had in this epistle. And I pray that we can remember and live by its truth; We are saved by grace, not works. We walk by the Spirit, not the flesh. We walk in humility, because we brought nothing to our relationship with Christ, and even after our salvation, only that which we accomplish by your power is of any value. And that, the cross of Christ is our boast. Thank you Lord, we this in the name of our Precious Savior, Amen.