Forget Not the Rule

Series on Galatians

III The Apostolic Applications

G The Yea and Amen

Text: 6:11-18

Introduction

Every November 11 we have a national holiday called Veteran’s Day. The purpose is to remember the sacrifice made by of those who fought and died in the defense of our freedom and way of life. At the end of World War II, and the beginning of the “Cold War” with communism that followed, Winston Churchill spoke to an audience in Fulton, Missouri: “As you look around you, you feel not only the sense of duty done but also feel anxiety lest you fall below the level of achievement.” What Churchill wanted Americans to remember, and muster anew, was the devotion to duty, the unified sense of purpose, the courage, and the resourcefulness that had equipped his generation to attain victory in World War II. As we face the conflicts in our society today, and in the world at large we need to remember as Ronald Reagan said, “No weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have.” Sadly we are losing that today and we lose it because we forget. Here Paul is ending his letter with the same thing in mind. He doesn’t want the Galatian believers to forget what he has said lest they lose all. Careful studies of thousands of letters written in Paul’s day show that most of the letters exhibit two styles of handwriting: a refined style of a trained secretary in the body of the letter and a more casual style of the author in the conclusion. When letters were written by dictation to secretaries, called amanuenses, the author would personally write only a few lines at the end of the letter. The concluding lines in the author’s own hand summarized the cardinal points of the letter, and served not only to verify that it was he who had actually made those points but also to underline the points he wanted his readers to remember. Thus the Apostle certifies and summarizes at the same time as he says in verse 11, See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! Some commentators think that he wrote with large letters because of bad eyesight. We don’t know that for sure, but it does make sense to suppose that Paul wrote his conclusion in large letters because he wanted to emphasize the importance of the main points of the letter in his conclusion, as we might use boldface type or double underlining of main points. Here then Paul comments on the cowardice of the apostates, the courage of the Apostles, and the consequences of the acceptance.

I Cowardice

Thus the Apostle’s first memorable point is the cowardice of the Judaizers whom were undermining the gospel. He writes in verses 12 and 13, Those who want to make a good impression outwardly 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 obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. There are cowards in romance, and cowards in athletic competition and cowards on the battlefield. Everybody has fears. Cowards give in to their fears; brave men do not. It is understandable that the Jews that had professed belief in Christ were afraid. Look at all the trials that Paul went through at the hands of his own people. A small insight into this can be gained from Paul’s account of his trials in II Corinthians 11:24-26, Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen. The Jewish converts know very well that a Jew who departs from the Jewish traditions and accepts Christ wholeheartedly can expect nothing but bitter persecution: ostracism, threats, calumny, and physical and mental torture. Let’s face it, standing against the tide takes courage. Even today people seek outward conformity to avoid dealing with troubles. For the Jews circumcision was the outward sign of their Jewishness. Walter Hansen reminds us that “We should see how often outward uniformity in such things as mode of baptism, type of clothes and even hairstyle has become a major concern in our contemporary churches. Some in our churches have become so totally preoccupied by the “circumcision” or “cutting away” of certain external practices (smoking, drinking and dancing) that they seem relatively unconcerned with inward change. Since we can keep impressive statistics about outward conformity, we tend to focus on it: so many people came to church, so many people were baptized, so many people were well dressed and clean-cut, so many people voted for the right politician.” The Pharisees had all kinds of traditions to identify themselves and if you did not keep their customs you were ostracized. Jesus was snubbed and rejected, but he was no coward. He told the Pharisees that they made void the word of God by their tradition in Matthew 15:6, and he said in Matthew 23:4 that, They tie together heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to raise a finger to lift them. Mahatma Gandhi said, “A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave. Shakespeare wrote, “Conscience doth make cowards of us all” In that famous quote conscience doesn’t have our modern meaning. The word conscience meant, “carefully thinking things through, thoughtfulness.” Thinking too much about the consequences causes people not to act at all. The Judaizers pondered the consequences of following the true gospel and their cowardice is evident and it sowed seeds of hatred in the church. This is the way of the world.

II Crucifixion

In contrast to the way of the world, which is cowardice, the Apostle presents his way, choosing the cross, in verses 14 and 15, 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 a new creation. Crucifixion is the opposite of cowardice. In us it represents the courage to suffer for Jesus as He pointed out in Mark 8:34 and 35, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For Jesus crucifixion represented the courage to endure unimaginable pain and suffering. The prophet Isaiah struggles to describe it in words taken from chapter 53:2-10, He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief… Surely he hath born our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted…He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth….Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief. This is His love; to go to the cross for us, and what enhances this love immeasurably is the sovereign liberty with which Christ delivered Himself up: He offered Himself because He willed it, and he said that no man took His life from Him. He laid it down Himself. He told His disciples, Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. For Jesus, the cross was the way of courage because in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, as we read in Matthew 26:39, saying, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. This is the path that Paul chose and which he was urging the Galatian believers to choose the way of the cross that left no room for self-righteousness and Jewish ordinances. This is the cross which as Paul tells the Corinthian believers is a stumbling block to the Jews, and it was a stumbling block because it eliminated all salvation by keeping the laws of Moses. This is why Paul says in verse 15 that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, only a new life. That new life comes from the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus as Paul said in Galatians 2:20–21 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! William Hendriksen suggests that for Paul the cross was everything. It was a mirror of his need and Christ’s great love. It was a means of full redemption. It was a magnet to draw all men, Jew and Gentile together in one great salvation, and it was a model to be reflected in the lives of God’s servants.

III Consequences

And so Paul concludes his letter with a review of the consequences in verses 16-18, Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God. Finally, 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. Amen. In verse 16 Paul manages to sum up in a nutshell the entire argument of the letter. It is an accepted fact, even with the Judaizers. that the peace and mercy of God rests with His chosen people which is the “Israel of God.” This letter, however, redefines what is meant by “Israel.” Israel consists of all those of any nation and any race, Jew or Gentile, who follow the rule. The rule is the way of the cross where Jewish ordinances do not count and there is no place for law-keeping as a way of justification and forgiveness. Salvation is a gift of grace received by faith. That is the rule. Through faith, not works one receives the grace mercy and peace of God because only by grace through faith can one have peace with God as Paul declares in Romans 5:1 and 2 as Weymouth translates it, Standing then acquitted as the result of faith, let us enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also, as the result of faith, we have obtained an introduction into that state of favor with God in which we stand, and we exult in hope of some day sharing in God’s glory. The cross of Christ has replaced circumcision as the ground of our confidence before God. All those, every single one, who, by means of the cross, have changed from the old life to the new are recipients of the apostolic blessing regardless of their heritage. What Paul says next ends all argument, stops the debate, terminates the discussion, Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. What an exquisite irony! The Judaizers trusted a mark on their bodies, circumcision, for their salvation, but Paul says that he has the marks that count. They are the stigmata received in his sufferings as an apostle of Jesus Christ. The scars demonstrated his unswerving loyalty to the gospel. While the false teachers were preoccupied with the mark left by the ritual of circumcision, Paul drew attention to the marks left by the reality of serving Christ. The best account of how Paul got those scars is given in his defense of his apostleship in II Corinthians 11:21–28, What anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Runaway slaves were commonly branded with a disfiguring mark on their foreheads and on their hands. Decent folks regarded such people as despicable. Paul, however, gladly calls himself the slave of Jesus. What more can be said in favor of the gospel of God’s grace. Could the law produce such faithful service? No, only grace could command such obedient suffering, and so Paul concludes by praying the same for the Galatian Christians, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.