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.
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. “
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. “
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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