Paul's Closing Argument; Galatians 6:11-18

Introduction

We are finishing up the book of Galatians today

Paul has defended the gospel, his ministry and the church from Judaizers that have come in to pervert the gospel

Summary of the book of Galatians - We cannot earn God’s favor through legalism, for the gospel is free and freeing.

Today - Paul’s Closing Argument

Last week I made the statement that we like to live by comparison.

usually to others in a way that we think will make us look better

The reason that we want to look good is that we are trying to impress

we want to impress people

we want to impress God

Matthew Henry, “Proud, vain, and carnal hearts are content with just enough religion as will help to keep up a fair show.”

Only when we embrace the gospel does the stress to impress leave and strength come from the spirit to stand.

Galatians 6:11–18 (CSB)

11 Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting.

12 Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised—but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

13 For even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.

14 But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.

15 For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.

16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!

17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

PRAY!

Stress to Impress

Paul writes with large embarrassing letters

The usual way that Paul wrote his letters were by dictation

He would speak and a scribe would write down what he was saying

Romans 16:22 (CSB)

22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

Galatians 6:11–13 (CSB)

11 Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting.

Paul begins to write with his own hands for two reasons

he wants to stress this point one final time

this is not just written down by my scribe

this is not just hyperbole

I am writing this myself!

He is showing his own weakness

many believe that Paul had problems with this eyes

had to write them in big letters so that he could see well enough to read them

Now we have a man, so secure in Christ that he is not afraid to share his weaknesses

Paul who had been able to heal people through Jesus

Paul who had been stoned only to survive

survived a ship wreck

I am sure that he had people saying the same things about him as they said about Jesus on the cross

He has healed others, lets see if he can take care of himself.

His writing contrasts that of those who had troubled the Galatians about circumcision

12 Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised—but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

13 For even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.

to impress we need something to brag about

constantly pointing to something we think is good

kids accomplishments

work accomplishments

I really love the ones who want to brag, share what they are proud of but you just won’t bring it up

you will talk about something, and out of the blue they will be like, “Yeah, I had…”

the passive aggressive way of bringing something up so that the other person will tell you how great they are

Pastors are really good at this when we get together

“ugh… Our attendance was down a little today. We only had 200 in service.”

begging for the question, how many are you running

The ones who came to Galatia to make them be circumcised are just trying to impress others

trying to impress other Jewish people who were of the circumcision party

not because they wanted to be something in that party

but out of fear

they feared persecution for the cross of Christ

this tells you all you need to know about what these people thought of the Galatian people

to impress others, these people became projects to be bragged about

you are an accomplishment, not a brother or sister in Christ

I am not telling you this out of love, but because I have something to gain

even worse, I care nothing about you, but I am trying to save my own hide

these people came in with one objective, to be accepted by some that they were afraid of

they were afraid of the persecution that would come to them if people thought they relied on the cross of Christ

the easy, and I think unproductive way to preach this passage, this point, would be to speak to you about being bold in your faith

you must be willing to stand regardless of the persecution that will come your way

we must fight to show that we are worthy of the name Christian

we have to stand up and show those people just who we are

so you need to pray in public

vote the right way to keep our freedom of religion

you need… blah blah blah

even all of this pride, boasting of the wrong thing and trying to impress

We strive to impress the wrong person and in the wrong way

we long to impress the one who came to save us, but how do we do that

it is not with the amount of people we evangelize to

It is not with a dollar amount given to certain places

it is not with a, “I will show them,” attitude

what does the Lord want

over and over in scripture it says that God does not desire sacrifice

Jeremiah 7:21–23 (CSB)

21 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves,

22 for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice.

23 However, I did give them this command: ‘Obey me, and then I will be your God, and you will be my people. Follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.’

It is not the law, not the actions and boldness to stand that will impress the Lord

but faith, that is what obedience is, faith in him

disobedience says I trust in my way over yours

Strength to Stand

Reminder of how ruthless Paul was

was a top student in the pharisee party

He himself said that he was more zealous than all others

not zealous to know God, but zealous to keep the law, be better than all others

allowed to go after Christians

Christians at the time were looked at as worse than the Jews

they did not keep the law, according to the jewish people

they brought everyone, people from other nations into this where they did not worship their own king, caesar

the religious leaders gave Paul permission to go after, arrest, torture, kill those that believed that Jesus was the messiah

Paul was willing to walk hundreds of miles to go and capture these law breakers and bring them back to Jerusalem

then he saw the Lord

he was not seeking him out, the Lord came to him

the same as the Lord revealing himself to your heart, he appeared visually to Paul on that Damascus road

when the Spirit of God comes to you it changes your heart and desires

Galatians 6:14–15 (CSB)

14 But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.

15 For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.

You cannot have a little Jesus and a little world

Paul had plenty to boast about

past life, best of the best in terms of obeying the law

Deuteronomy 8 is a very interesting chapter (read this week in Bible reading plan)

God told the Israelites that he humbled them in the wilderness

Deuteronomy 8:3 (CSB)

3 He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Jesus quoted this in Matthew 4:4 when being tempted by Satan

God goes on in Deut to warn the Israelites that they cannot become proud in the promise land

when they get there and have all of the blessings of God, the richness of the land

they cannot take it for granted as if they no longer need God

Paul had everything that he needed for a “rich” life in this world

but he did not have God

he did not have salvation

when our view changes from me right here and right now, to eternal, we realize that this world is nothing compared to eternity with Christ

It is easy to get complacent, rest in the richness that we have been blessed with

read this week that if you make $32K a year, you are in the top 1% worldwide (in terms of wealth)

we cannot assume that wealth, of any type, equals blessing from God

remember, Satan tempted Jesus with all the blessings of this world

We must get to the place where we have nothing to boast about but Jesus Christ and him crucified

does that mean that wealth is bad

absolutely not - God will grant some believers wealth to finance ministry of the gospel

it is a tool, a thing in this world that is not to be worshipped, admired and hoarded for your own glorification or for your own sense of security

Like so many worldly things, our hearts can desire them, love them and trust them more than God

There is only one who can save your soul

Jesus told his disciples that it was better to enter eternity without a hand or blind then to go through eternity in hell having two hands and can see

this is where we must get to to only boast about the cross

understanding that I am nothing without him

even at my best, I have earned eternity with the demons

But the cross

I am nothing and have nothing to boast about, but look to Jesus!

this is the life of Christians

Paul acknowledges that all of his accomplishments are nothing

But the Lord has done all that is needed for the salvation of all who would believe in him

why would I boast about anything else!

why would I boast about anything that I have done

Standard of Grace

The law sets a standard that we all must keep to avoid judgment

we fail, not even coming close

so the beauty of the law is that it brings us to the realization that we need grace

when we understand that need and the Lord reveals himself to us through his word our hearts find the grace we long for

and with that, comes peace

peace - to live in harmony with others

in this case with God

Galatians 6:16–18 (CSB)

16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!

17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Grace gives us a desire to see others come to this understanding

Paul’s heart is not to keep this to himself

may others have this peace

they can only receive this peace through the cross as well

Grace gives us boldness to speak truth even with scars

it is this standard that Paul has gained scars

the opposite of those who came in to avoid persecution

As we go, as we have opportunity, may we proclaim the grace we have received, so that others might live with the peace that we have!

Exalting Jesus in Galatians Reflect and Discuss

Reflect and Discuss

1. How does Paul speak of the hypocrisy of the false teachers in these verses? How does legalism lead to hypocrisy?

2. In what possessions, gifts, and opportunities are you tempted to boast? How does the message of the cross change your perspective?

3. What does it mean to boast in the cross? How can you boast in the cross practically every day?

4. Why might proclaiming the cross bring persecution?

5. How does Paul say the cross should affect our view of the world?

6. Do you think many people perceive Christianity as “being nice” instead of “becoming a new creation”? How does the latter change everything?

7. What does Paul mean by “follow this standard” (v. 16)? How does this relate to Paul’s confrontation of Peter (2:14)?

8. How do “peace” and “mercy” relate to the gospel?

9. How is Christ’s death on the cross unique and unrepeatable? How is it a pattern for His followers?

10. What role should the cross play in a gospel presentation? Be specific.