Gal. 5:13-15 - Love Your Neighbor

13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Called to Freedom

Vs. 13: - “do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh” - Return to the start of this chapter - “For freedom that Christ set us free”. Verse 13 is the same idea, except with a twist. We are free from the strictures of the Law. We are free to worship Christ, to follow Christ, to receive salvation. We can do this without worrying, “Have we done enough?”

In this letter leading up to this verse Christian behavior is not emphasized. The message to this point is freedom from the Law.

There is a swap in emphasis here - a turn from “freedom from works” to “freedom to love one another”. The change is from trying to prove ourselves to God by our efforts, to proving our salvation by our lives. In the first, we are trying to earn our way to heaven. In the second, we show others the mercy shown us.

- “opportunity for the flesh” - This verse is often cited as a warning against immorality. For sure, this is a valid viewpoint.

However, the reference is much bigger and broader than merely (!) immoral behavior. The first four and one-half chapters of this letter emphasizes that we can DO NOTHING to earn our salvation. Whatever we do, in the flesh, counts for nothing with respect to earning salvation. Moreover, the message of the New Testament is the flesh is weak. (Matt. 26:41, Mk 14:38) The ‘flesh’ leads to living by sinful passions, controlled by lusts. (Rom. 7:5, Eph. 2:3)
Being controlled by our ‘flesh’ leads to death. (Rom. 8:6, 12, 13) Living controlled by our fleshly passions means we cannot please God, and are hostile to God, and so will not have an inheritance in the kingdom of God. (Rom. 8:7,8; 1 Cor. 15:50)
Although Christ lived in His flesh fully human, He did not sin. His death abolished the barrier between God and man. Christ was made alive in the Spirit. (1 Pet. 3:18; Eph. 2:15)
We live our Christian lives in the Spirit, not in the flesh. We are in a spiritual war, not a fleshly war. A war that cannot be won by fleshly effort, but must be done in the power of the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor. 10:3, Eph. 6:12) Remember Christ said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

We have been saved by faith in Christ. We must live out our faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul uses most of the rest of the letter contrasting living in the flesh versus living by faith. We are not yet perfect, nor will we be until Christ comes again, or we die and go to Him. We will have these earthly bodies until then. We will have this struggle between living ‘normally’ (in the flesh) or living empowered by the Holy Spirit. We must choose everyday whom we will serve. (See: Gal. 2:20)

- “Through love serve one another” - No surprise here. Living by faith starts with love for others. Love non-believers because Christ loves them. Love fellow believers because they are family. Does that mean you love believers more than non-believers? Maybe not more, but differently. Believers have the same reference point - salvation by grace through Christ. For example: would you rather be at a football game with fans that root for the same team as you, or be the lone voice of ‘reason’ among fans of the other team? I know where I want be - with other believers

Vs. 14: - “the whole Law is fulfilled in one word” - Love. It is central to our faith. The quote in this verse is from a conversation Jesus had: Matt. 22:36-38, also in Matt. 19:19 . These “greatest commandments” are from Deut. 6:4,5 (The Shema), and from Lev. 19:18. These commands are a primary aspect of Christianity. They are the fulfillment of the Law. (Rom. 13:10) God sent His Son because He loved the world. (John 3:16) Jesus commands we love one another. (See: John 13:34; 14:21, 23; 15:9, 10, 12, 17) Our love will prove we are Christ’s followers. (See: John 13:35; 14:15; Rom. 13:8; 1 Cor. 16:14; 2 Cor. 5:14, 8:24).

Vs. 15: - “But if you bite and devour one another” - Anger breeds anger in return. Hate gives birth to hate. When we take our focus off Jesus, our human nature takes control. Our human nature, the flesh, is not controlled by the Holy Spirit. Where the Holy Spirit is not controlling, sin grows and expands. (See: Matt. 24:12).

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Gal. 5:10-12 - Adopt No Other Way

10 I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.
11 But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.
12 I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.

Stumbling Block ?

Vs. 10: - “I have confidence in you...” - Paul has chewed them out. (“You foolish Galatians!”) (Gal. 3:1) He has shown them the right path. “It was for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Gal. 5:1) Now he is exhorting them to make the right decision.

- “You will adopt no other view” - And the right decision is:
By faith:

• Confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
• Proclaim Him crucified for us to pay the penalty for sin.
• Rejoice in Him resurrected to eternal life, that we might live forever with God!

- “Will bear his judgement” - The person who leads someone to reject Jesus Christ and salvation will suffer serious judgement. Paul may have been thinking of the following verse, “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” (Eccl. 12:14) Perhaps He was remembering Jesus’ words, “He said to His disciples, ‘It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.’” (Luke 17:1-2) This statement is often used with regards to leading children astray. (See also: Matt. 18:6; Mark 9:42) It also applies to new believers, even adults.

What greater stumbling block could there be than teaching false doctrine?! What could be worse than leading someone away from eternal life?! Jesus is emphatic! See Matt. 18:7, "Woe to the world because of [its] stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” ( See also: Luke 17:1)

We see in Rev. 18:10, 14; Matt. 13:42 how serious this warning is, which includes:

• Lake of Burning Fire
• unquenchable fire
• gnashing of teeth (symbolizing great pain and suffering).

How serious? Kill yourself rather than face judgement because you led someone to reject the Lord. That is SERIOUS!

Vs. 11: - “Why am I still persecuted?” - Paul did not preach that circumcision provided any saving grace. These opponents did while they attacked Paul and his ministry. The accusation was Paul had been a devout Jew, and therefore he had to be in favor of circumcision.

- “If I am what you say, then why are you persecuting me” Paul asks? If he and these detractors have the same basic message, where’s the problem? However, we know Paul’s message is salvation through faith in Christ without our works.

- “Stumbling block of the cross” - If obeying the Law saves you, Christ’s death is unnecessary, not needed. Why would Christ’s cross be a stumbling block? The quick answer is we humans believe we can always do something to merit salvation. The cross is a definite NO to that understanding. Too many cannot get over that hurdle. They want to be able to say, “Look! I did this.”

The long answer to Paul’s question, “Why are you persecuting me?” starts in the OT. Jesus and His sacrifice is the cornerstone of the foundation of God’s plan of salvation - it was a costly plan, and the cornerstone is well-placed. (Rom. 9:32, 322; Isa. 28:16; Eph. 2:20) Jesus is precious to God! (1 Pet. 2:4, 6) Jesus is the point of attack on Satan’s rebellion and man’s sin. (Isa. 8:14) That cornerstone is Jesus crucified to pay for our sins.
There are two possible responses: Accept or Reject. Rejection causes a stumble because of disobedience to the word. (1 Pet. 2:8)

Paul’s ministry was primarily to the Gentiles. The Jews were were appalled at the crucifixion. It was a scandal to them. (For you and me, think of a mass murderer in our time. Could you follow a Charles Manson? Or Geoffrey Daumier? Ted Bundy? These people are repugnant to us - that’s the way some Jews felt about someone crucified by the Romans.) The Gentiles could think this was all silly! God speaking to people? Jesus dying in our place? Raised back to life? Foolishness! (See: 1 Cor. 1:18, 23)

A ‘stumbling block’ is not a little rock on which you stub your toe while walking on a trail in the woods, causing you to stagger for a moment. No, this is much more serious - more like an ‘El Capitan’ on which you fling yourself in futility.

I spent a day at the Civil War battle site Gettysburg. I stopped on Little Round Top, one the hills the Union soldiers were holding against the Confederate Army. In the valley below Little Round Top is an area called ‘The Devil’s Den’ where the Confederates gathered to attack the Union Army. If you stand in the Den, you see boulders the size of minivans between you and the top. These boulders hindered the Rebel charges. Over and over they threw themselves against the Union on Little Round Top. As the Union soldiers were running out of ammunition, the commander, Chamberlain, decided it was necessary to charge down the hill. The charge routed the Confedrates, preserving the position of the Union company defending that flank of the Union Army. When you stand at either location, Little Round Top or Devil’s Den, the thought comes, “Why would they do that? Why would they attack such a position?”
The cross is the impregnable position on which people lose their eternal life because they will not accept Christ’s great sacrifice. That is a serious stumbling block.

Vs. 12: - “Mutilate themselves” - Paul is upset with those who lead others astray. He previously hurled epithets at those who preach a contrary gospel. (See: Gal. 1:8,9) Paul does not want the false teachers to circumcise themselves, probably because they were already Jews! No, Paul wants them to be so disfigured that people will be turned off. Paul had some sort of physical disability, yet the people in Galatia welcomed Paul, because he preached a message of hope. Paul wants the false teachers to be so repugnant, both spiritually and physically, that people will turn away in disgust.

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Gal. 5:7-9 - You Were Doing So Well!

7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.

This Did Not Come From God

Vs. 7 - “You were running well” - They were progressing nicely, maturing in the faith. What happened? Paul uses the image of an athlete running or competing in his letters. We understand competition, trying to win. Have you seen grown men competeing to see who can put a child’s puzzle ball together the fastest? (Been there. Done that.) We are encouraged to live out our faith in Christ by preparing and participating like an athlete would in a sporting event. (See: 1 Cor. 9:24, 26; Heb. 12:1)
We are encouraged to evaluate our performance - have we kept the faith? Are we fooling ourselves? Confusing motion with progress - running in vain? (See: Gal. 2:2; Phil. 2:16) Can we look back on our Christian life and say, “I believe I have done what was asked of me. I did my best for You, Jesus”? (See: 2 Tim. 4:7).
Remember: it is not the running that saves you. It is the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. The running is an evidence of your commitment to the Lord. (See: Rom. 9:16; Titus 3:5,6).

“Who hindered you” - Who? Satan? The Judaisers? Yourself? Do not be deceived. Satan may play a small role. He is the teller of lies. (See: John 8:44) The false teachers also have a part in leading you astray.
The responsibility is entirely yours. Especially if you were living by the power of the Holy Spirit, and then diverted to a siding rather than stay on the main track.

Vs. 8 - “Did not come from Him” - The Holy Spirit who draws you to faith in Jesus will never reverse course to pull you away from the faith. God is faithful and will not lie to you. (Num. 23:19, Titus 1:2) He will not woo you to everlasting life; then say, “Ha ha! Just kidding! Eternal damnation for you!” C.S. Lewis said in The Screwtape Letters, “God does not coerce, He only woos you to believe in Him”. All too often we reject the truth of God and reach for the lie! (Rom. 1:25).

Vs. 9 - “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” - When making bread, leaven is a good thing. Six or seven cups of flour, some water, and little salt and 2-4 grams yeast makes bread. That little bit of yeast makes the dough expand two or three times the original volume.

The Jews are intimately familiar with unleavened bread. They prepared unleavened bread when fleeing from Egypt - there was no time to wait for yeast to work that incredible night. One of their festivals, Feast of Unleavened Bread, is a reminder they escaped with their lives from Egypt.

Leaven is a negative picture here, any amount will ruin the consecrated bread for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Likewise, any amount of sin or rebellion will break our relationship with the Holy God. Turning to legalism to follow the Law fouls your relationship with a loving and forgiving God. “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?.” Mic. 6:8

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Gal. 5:1-6 - Freedom!

1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.
4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

No Longer Slaves

Vs. 1 - “It was for freedom that Christ set us free” - This paragraph starts with an enigmatic statement. Didn’t Jesus Christ come that we might be saved, that our sins might be forgiven? Set us free from what? Giving us freedom to do what?

All of us are sinners starting with the original sin of Adam. We cannot break free on our own from the effect of sin. We are slaves to sin. (John 8:34) God promised to set the captives free. (See: Isa. 61:1) The Jews were freed from Egypt - that is not the promised freedom. God’s plan is to “free those doomed to death”. (Psa. 102:18-21) Jesus came to set the oppressed free. (Luk 4:18)
In Rom. 6:20, we see we don’t have any righteousness. (That is: we are “free” from it.) We can run wild in unrighteousness, for there is nothing holding us back. Isn’t that an odd way of putting it: righteousness as a negative? The world the considers righteousness bad. Sin equals fun and excitement.
Jesus came so we will be free from death - not physical death, but eternal separation from God. (Rom. 7:24; Heb. 2:15). In fact, the ultimate end is to set all creation free from corruption, and launch us into freedom. (Rom. 8:21) Jesus Himself tell us that when the Son makes us free, we shall be free indeed. (See: John 8:36)

- “do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” - We have no way to NOT sin if we don’t accept and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. We are held captive to our sin nature. Therefore we are slaves - it is a yoke around our lives. A yoke is a collar apparatus that connects oxen or horses to a wagon. It settles on the shoulders and around the neck. The only thing the beast can do is pull the wagon. An alternate meaning is as a bond or a tie. We are bonded to sin, tied inexorably.
Only Jesus can set us free. He did this so we may face God the Father unafraid. We are worthy because of His sacrifice. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Jude 1:24-25

You have been set free from the curse of sin. Do not voluntarily put yourself back under its control. Paul equates obeying the Law with slavery, not freedom from sin. (Gal. 4:21-31) The Law did not (indeed, does not) get rid of sin, nor the penalty of sin. If it had done so, Christ’s sacrifice was unnecessary.
People obeying the Lsw in faith would have the penalty held in abeyance until the time was right and the price was paid. That right time and price was at the cross of Jesus. Hebrews 11 of tells of the faithful people who did not receive the ultimate reward until Christ came, died and was resurrected. “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. Because of Jesus Christ we can be perfect.” (See: Heb. 11:39, 40.) If we can’t be perfect, neither can they. Jesus makes them perfect, just has He makes us perfect through our faith in Him.

Vs. 2 - “if you receive circumcision” - Paul is addressing Gentiles - the uncircumcised. Jewish males were circumcised (See: Gen. 17:11, 14, 23; Lev. 12:3), similar to baptism for us - a symbol of commitment to God. It was to be evidence the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were God’s people.

First this command was given to Abraham - he had Ishmael and all the male servants circumcised with him. The practice was continued during captivity in Egypt, for all the men who escaped were circumcised. All of those men died while wandering through the wilderness because of their rebellion (except for Joshua and Caleb). There were no male children circumcised in the dessert. (See: Josh. 5:3-7)
I don’t know why there was no circumcision during the wilderness period (I may be misunderstanding, and the males were circumcised a second time (yikes!) to be ‘purified’ before entering in to Canaan). Perhaps, even though the Jewish men in Egypt had practiced circumcision for 430 years, their hearts were not given to the Lord. Circumcision had become a physical act, with no spiritual meaning or understanding. The command was given (Lev. 12:3), complimenting the command given to Abraham, and the practice was discontinued for the years of wilderness wandering. Circumcision is part of the Covenant between God and the Jews. The Israelites had lost that connection in the years of slavery, and performed the act by rote. (“We’ve always done it this way.”)

- “Christ will be of no benefit” - Is this saying you are not saved if you turn to following the Law? There may be two possible scenarios here.

First: someone accepts Christ as Lord and Savior, but as they are discipled (taught and guided in living out their faith) some false teaching is fed them, “You must obey the Jewish Law in order to fully realize your salvation.”
Second: The new believer was led astray from the beginning, “You must become a Jew first, then you can accept Christ.”

Both are an abomination of the true gospel. It was clearly understood by the apostles that salvation is by faith alone. Gentiles and Jews no longer had any obligation to follow the Law. (See: Acts 15:6-20)
There are two basic fatal errors.
(a) The most egregious - Christ’s death on the cross did not satisfy God’s justice, and you must complete the job.
(b) Only slightly less wrong - you must follow the Law for Christ’s sacrifice to work for you.
Both are dead wrong! Both involve you “doing deeds in righteousness” (Tit. 3:5,6).

Half faith and half works means all is lost.

Vs. 3 - “under obligation to keep the whole Law.” - Circumcision was ‘given’ first, before the Law was instituted - to Abraham, (Gen. 17:11, 14, 23) then through Moses, hundreds of years later. (Exo. 20:3-17, see also Leviticus and Deuteronomy). The two are inseparable. If you circumcise as a way to meet God’s approval (that is: satisfactory to pay the price for sin) then you must also obey the rest - again follow all that is in Exodus through Deuteronomy. Paul has already shown that is not possible.

Vs. 4 - “Severed from Christ” - Interesting choice of verbs, since circumcision is the cutting off of part of your body. Look back to verse three in this chapter. Compare “Christ will be of no benefit” to “You have been severed from Christ.” People asked Jesus what work would they have do in order to do the works of God. His reply: “believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:28,29) A young rich man wanted to know what else was there? (He had kept all of the commands.) When told to give up all his possessions and follow Jesus, he went away sad. The disciples were astounded. If a rich man could not buy his way into heaven, what chance did regular folks, poor people have in getting to heaven? Jesus’ rely, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt. 19:16-26)
When you insert yourself into the equation, making “deeds done in righteousness” (Tit. 3:5), or what you do in order to satisfy God’s justice you have rejected God’s grace.

- “Fallen from grace” - Does this mean you have lost your salvation? I do not think that is what was meant here. Most of the commentaries I looked at agreed there is a difference between “out of grace” and “from grace”. I know this seems to be splitting hairs. “Out of grace” is believed to indicate this person does not have, nor ever had, the experience of salvation by grace. “From grace” indicates the person is not living by faith in Christ. Paul was writing to believers in the Galatian church. He did not say, “You are no longer saved.” By trusting in justification by the Law, they were losing the opportunity to have the Holy Spirit live in them, control and empower them.

They were losing the benefit (See verse 2, above) of the abundant life Christ promises. (John 10:10) God wants us to come to Him by faith, and live for Him by faith. We cannot say, “Look God. We have done all these things to prove we are worthy.” We are never worthy. Only the love of God, and the sacrifice of Jesus makes it possible for us to stand before Him “blameless and without blemish”.

We are to live our faith, and it will show in our good works. These are an outgrowth of our salvation, not a method to obtain salvation. If you cannot satisfy God’s demands by works for salvation, how do you expect to live out your salvation by putting your faith in the Law, or works. This is not an entirely rhetorical question.

Vs. 5 - “through the Spirit, by faith” - Paul says it clearly, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Col. 2:6-7) The Holy Spirit drew you to Christ Jesus. By faith, a gift from God, you believed in Him. (See Eph. 2:8-10) Let your salvation be seen in the world by the way you live, act, and treat others. (Jam. 2:27)

- “Waiting for the hope of righteousness.” - Vince Lombardi (Green Bay Packers coach) told his players, “Gentlemen, we will chase perfection, and we will chase it relentlessly, knowing all the while we can never attain it. But along the way, we shall catch excellence.” This is the way we should chase righteousness. Only when we are resurrected, and stand before Christ will we know righteousness because then we will be like Him. (1 John 3:1,2) Until that day, pursue righteousness by the power of the Holy Spirit living in you.

Our hope is in the promise of Christ. He said he was leaving to prepare a place for us in His Father’s mansion, and would return for us. I think our understanding of ‘hope’ is different than the hope in the gospel. We ‘hope’ we get a puppy, or a raise in salary, or win the lottery. This hope is based on desire alone, with no assurance the wish will be granted. The hope of our faith is based on Jesus’ promises. We have confidence that He will deliver. Why can we be so sure? He is resurrected from the dead. The tomb couldn’t hold Him. The rock blocking the entrance could not stop Him. (Mark 16:3,4) The Roman soldiers guarding the grave were helpless in the face of God’s power to resurrect. (Matt. 28:2-4) The disciples wanted understanding of what it meant that the grave was empty - closed doors and solid walls did not keep Him from revealing Himself to them. (John 20:19-30) Changed lives of those who accept and believe in Jesus is evidence.

Vs. 6 - “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything” - It does not matter if you are circumcised or not circumcised. Both of these actions are physical acts - which have no significance with respect to the righteousness of Christ. If you place your faith in the act, your faith is misplaced and Christ is of no benefit to you. If you place your faith in rejecting the act, you have gained nothing over the circumcised one. Your non-act will not avail you of the benefits of Christ.

- “Faith working through love.” - Faith in Christ Jesus, the love of Christ Jesus, because of the love of God for you will bring you to Him, face to face.

A path to Jesus Christ can be found in the following:
“God loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life.
“Man is sinful and separated from God...
“Jesus is God’s only provision for man’s sin...
“We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord...” (see note 1)
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Note 1: Bill Bright. Four Spiritual Laws. Campus Crusade for Christ. 1965.
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