Galatians 3

Welcome/Weekend Intro

In between services here at Cedar Falls, I usually stand outside the front door and kinda catch people as they’re heading out and coming in.

And so I was doing that a couple of weeks ago—and got stopped by a guy on his way out who had bought a book and was reading it.

And here’s what he said to me—he goes:

“Man… you talk about circumcision a lot in this book.”

“Like… a weird amount.”

And he’s right.

But there’s a reason for that:

Paul talks about it a weird amount in his letter to the Galatians. 12 different times, actually.

And there’s a reason he does that, too—which we’ll dive into here in a sec.

But let’s just acknowledge something here:

There’s a lot of stuff in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, that just seems…

Weird.

And that’s part of the reason why it’s so important for you to get to church. Because when you’re here, we can help you with the weird stuff—

And:

Believe it or not, even in the weird stuff, there’s some important stuff for us.

SHOW GALATIANS SERIES SLIDE: CHAPTER 3

And that’s true for us this weekend here as we dive into chapter 3: there’s a lot going on that you’re going to have difficulty understanding unless we can better understand why Paul’s talking about circumcision so much.

And so even though he doesn’t reference it specifically in chapter 3, it’s kinda implied in the first few verses.

Circumcision: Who, What, & Why

Open up your Bible with me, and let’s read the first few verses of chapter 3 together:

START TV SLIDE

Galatians 3:1–3 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?

Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”

END TV SLIDE

So what Paul is referring to here when he’s talking about “the works of the law” or by “means of the flesh” is this practice of circumcision and what it represents.

And Pastor John talked about this a little bit last week—but I just wanna give you a brief summary of what’s going on in Galatia… under the simple headings of “Who,” “What,” and “Why.”

So here’s what’s going on—and why Paul is having to talk so much about circumcision:

START TV SLIDE

Who: The “Judaizers.”

A group of Jewish Christians from Jerusalem who followed in Paul’s wake to the churches he planted, preaching a “different gospel.”

END TV SLIDE

Now: the title of “Judaizers” never appears in the letter. But in chapter 2, when Paul talks about how he confronted Peter, he does use this term as a verb: he asks Peter why he’s trying to “Judaize” the Galatian church; why are you trying to make it more Jewish? And he refers to a group from Jerusalem.

So that’s who the Judaizers are.

Now: here’s the “what”—what they were preaching; this “different gospel:”

START TV SLIDE

What: Believe in Jesus AND be circumcised.

The Judaizers preached that even if you believe in Jesus, God still requires you to be circumcised.

END TV SLIDE

Which might seem weird to us now—but actually, God had required this of all males—whether born as a Jew or converted later in life—to be circumcised…

Since the very beginning. Since father Abraham.

It’s all through the Torah—the Jewish law; our first (5) books of the Bible.

But now… let’s talk about why.

START TV SLIDE

Why: Circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant.

When you submitted yourself to circumcision, you were signaling that you were going to live with God, submitted to God. His ways. His laws. His terms—

His covenant.

END TV SLIDE

(Pause.)

On my left hand, for the last 19 years, 6 months, and 10 days—

Every one of those days, I’ve worn this ring.

This ring is a sign that I’m in a covenant relationship with my wife. We’re in a marriage covenant.

A covenant is a relationship based on a promise. It’s a relationship that rests on the people in that relationship keeping certain promises to one another.

My wife and I have made promises to one another. Promises to be faithful. Sickness and in health. Til death do us part.

This ring is a sign that I’m in a covenant relationship.

And this sign communicates a few things:

It communicates that I’m set apart. I’m hers.

I’m off the market. I’m not looking. I’m not available. I belong to her. It’s a sign of the covenant relationship I’m in with her—that I’ve made promises to her that I intend to keep.

If I were to deliberately take this thing off and just start walking around—especially when I’m traveling or going to places without her—that would potentially communicate something about me that isn’t true of me.

And so for millennia—

For literally thousands of years—

This is what circumcision was to Jews who wanted to follow God. It was a sign that you were living with him, submitted to him, and committed to following him and his ways. His laws. That you were loyal to him.

START TV SLIDE

Circumcision wasn’t just a law; it was the sign that you were going to live under all of God’s laws.

END TV SLIDE

And so maybe now you can understand why there was this group of people who,

When they heard that there was this guy named Paul who was preaching Jesus and not preaching circumcision,

Took it upon themselves to swoop in after and clean up his theological mess.

Because if we stop preaching circumcision,

What other laws also go out the window as these uncircumcised Christians just start walking around?

What about what God says about sex?

Or about our diet?

Or about our friendships and associations?

Or what about our culture? Our identity?

Get this now:

START TV SLIDE

Circumcision wasn’t just a law; it was the sign that you were going to live under all of God’s laws.

It was also a symbol that set you apart as a nation from the rest of the world.

END TV SLIDE

Again, it’s kinda weird to think about—but this physical act of circumcision became not just a part of their religious identity, but their national and cultural identity as well.

It’s what made them different as Jews; as Israelites…

Not just as individuals but as a nation who was in a special relationship with God that no other nation was in.

We don’t “just get circumcised;” we are circumcised people.

It’s not just something we do; it’s who we are.

Mess with a symbol like that—

A symbol that’s become an identity,

And not just for a person, but a nation—

You better be prepared for a fight.

Wear Cyclones gear at Kinnick,

Bears gear at Lambeau,

Or Yankees gear at Fenway,

And maybe you add a couple of beers into the equation, and you’ll see this in action.

Now maybe those are silly examples. So let’s try this one:

(Pause.)

Try kneeling instead of standing at attention before the flag during the anthem. You’ll see it there, too.

Sacred Symbols Can’t Save

Here’s what I want you to see:

START TV SLIDE

We hold on to some symbols like they are sacred.

END TV SLIDE

And so it’s no wonder that there was a group of Jewish Christians who felt like it was their God-given duty as proud Israelites to protect this sacred, sanctifying practice that set them apart—that distinguished them from everyone else—

That signified both their divine heritage and divine inheritance.

But Paul’s up for a fight in this part of his letter. He’s ready to poke the bear. And if I were to sum up his point, I’d say it like this:

START TV SLIDE

We hold to some symbols like they are sacred.

But even sacred symbols can’t save.

END TV SLIDE

I often imagine if Paul wrote a letter to us today like he did to the Galatians, would he have to say some of the same things to us? Not about circumcision, of course; that’s not one of our symbols. But maybe about some others?

Would he have to say:

“Hey: who has bewitched you?”

“Who has attached their symbol and their message to Jesus and his cross?”

“Who has convinced you that following Jesus also means following whatever they are peddling to you?”

Pauls opens up this part of his letter with a not-so-rhetorical question:

“Are you so foolish?”

Look with me at verse 5:

START TV SLIDE

Galatians 3:5 “So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?”

END TV SLIDE

Jesus plus circumcision? No.

Jesus plus the dietary laws? No.

Jesus plus doing the right thing? No.

Jesus plus accepting others and being kind? No.

Jesus plus the red elephant or the blue donkey? No. No.

START TV SLIDE

Jesus plus anything changes nothing.

Believing in Jesus is the only thing that can change everything.

END TV SLIDE

So, beware of being bewitched:

Because there’s a lot of voices out there trying to be in your ear,

Telling you that they’re on Jesus’ side,

Slapping their symbols like bumper stickers on his cross.

But what they’re really telling you

Is that real change comes

When you join their ranks. Their side. Whatever that is.

(Pause.)

I have no doubt that Paul would say the same thing to us today

That he said to his Galatian friends back then:

Jesus plus anything changes nothing.

Believing in Jesus is the only thing that changes everything.

Transition: In Christ

Now:

Paul’s going to unpack some things specifically that Jesus changes for us in this chapter—all under the heading of:

START TV SLIDE

When You Believe In Christ

END TV SLIDE

In fact, in a bunch of his letters, Paul shortens this phrase to simply “in Christ.” That’s his shorthand; “in Christ.”

But there’s a couple things Paul highlights in this part of his letter that believing in Jesus changes for us who believe in Christ. First thing I want to draw your attention to is this:

His Name Before Any Other

START TV SLIDE

When You Believe In Christ

You go by his name before any other. (3:26-29)

END TV SLIDE

You go by his name before any other.

Like when someone says, “Hey - my name is Henry. But I go by Hank.” Whatever they “go by” is what everyone knows them as.

In the same way:

When you believe in Christ, you go by his name before any other.

Jump down to verse 26 with me. All the way at the end of the chapter. Read along with me:

START TV SLIDE

Galatians 3:26–29 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

END TV SLIDE

For the Galatians, Paul couldn’t have picked more powerful labels; more defining names | than he did in these (4) verses.

And he does that deliberately—

Because these labels distinguished groups of people all the way down to an identity level. They defined whole groups of people and governed how they operated: who they associated with; what they could and couldn’t do; how they saw themselves and one another.

There were places you couldn’t go in the Jewish world if you were a Gentile.

There were things you couldn’t attain the free world if you were a slave.

There were opportunities that you couldn’t take advantage if you were a woman.

But Paul is saying:

If you believe in Christ, those groups do not define you.

Before you identify as anything else, you are a Christian. You are a follower of Christ. You bear his name before any other.

Even your gender identity doesn’t define you as deeply as Jesus does.

(Pause.)

Listen to me:

Jesus’ name means something. It does.

His name defines us because he lived a life clearly defined by some very particular things.

His name means something.

This is the guy who said to love your enemies. And then he died for them while they were still his enemies.

This is the guy who said to forgive one another as I have forgiven you. And then he forgave them as they were murdering him.

This is the guy who said to love one another as I have loved you. And then he put a towel around his waist and washed his disciples’ feet—including the guy he knew just hours later would betray him to his death.

This is the guy who said do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

He’s that guy. That’s who Jesus is. That’s the shape of his life.

That’s the reputation he built—because not only did he tell us to do those things; he lived out those things. Perfectly.

When people heard the name Jesus, all of those things came immediately to mind.

This is why Jesus says things like “the world will know | that you belong to me | when you love one another | like I have loved you”—

When you live in line with my reputation. When the Name you claim is the Name you also live by.

And here’s where it’s gonna get sticky for you. Here’s where the rubber meets the road:

If you believe in Christ,

And you start taking seriously this new reality—that you don’t go by any other name before you go by his—

Then you will find yourself, inevitably and quickly, in an uncomfortable position where you have to choose his name | before some other.

At some point, your politics will tell you that it’s ok to not love your enemies.

At some point, your career will tell you that it’s ok to not love your neighbor.

At some point, your friends will tell you that it’s ok to drink a little too much | or that it’s your money to spend how you want | or you gotta just chase your own happiness.

At some point, whatever group you’re in will live and move in a way that Jesus doesn’t live or move.

And you will have to decide: who… are… you…

First?

Will you go by Jesus’ name before you go by any other—

No matter the cost?

There won’t be Republicans or Democrats in heaven.

There won’t be rich people or poor people.

There won’t be immigrants or illegals.

There won’t be private school people or public school people or home school people or charter school people.

All of these names that we take on and fight over and fight for—

None of them will last. They will be in eternity a memory of a distant past.

And what’s so amazing about believing in Christ right now is this:

We can choose to live now—under the name Jesus, and no other—

And in so doing, open the door for the rest of the world to let go of whatever name they go by and to take on Jesus’.

But they will only do that when we choose to go by Jesus’ name before any other.

When they see that, no matter our politics, no matter or social status, no matter our education, no matter our station,

Our lives look so strangely and clearly like Jesus’.

Here’s the other thing that Paul spends quite a bit of time unpacking about who we are in Christ, and what Jesus changes for us:

START TV SLIDE

When You Believe In Christ, you…

Stop trying to be the solution. (3:10-14)

END TV SLIDE

You stop trying to be the solution.

Jump up and read verse 10 with me:

START TV SLIDE

Galatians 3:10 “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

END TV SLIDE

If I were to summarize this “curse” of the Law that Paul is talking about here, here’s how I’d define it:

START TV SLIDE

The Curse of the Law:

The law helps us to know what’s right but can’t help us to do what’s right.

And God’s standard isn’t to just be right, but to live rightly.

END TV SLIDE

This is why, my friends, it’s so hard for me to jump on any cause under the banner of …

“We really gotta take a stand for _______.”

Even causes that I have deep and personal convictions on—

Human sexuality, or marriage, or when life begins, or someone’s legal status, or whatever.

And I’ve got convictions about each of those—which I share in this book, actually. Like you, I’ve done my best to allow God’s Word to shape my convictions in those areas.

But even if I’m 100% right about each one of those,

I don’t always do what’s right. And it’s the doing that God cares most about.

(Pause.)

I can take a stand for all the right things

And be in the same predicament as those who stand on the opposite side of me

Because when it comes | to not only knowing what’s right

But doing it

When it comes to that, we’re all in the same boat.

We all have the same problem.

We all need to be rescued—

Not from our convictions,

But from our sin.

Because God’s standard isn’t to be right about all of the things

But to live rightly—

And none of us do.

Which is why Paul says in the very next verse:

START TV SLIDE

Galatians 3:11 “Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”

END TV SLIDE

Our only solution, my friends, is to abandon ourselves as the solution—and grab onto what Jesus and only Jesus can do and has done for us.

Verse 13:

START TV SLIDE

Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…

END TV SLIDE

You and I should not only know what’s right—but we should do it.

(Pause.)

We don’t. But Jesus did.

(Pause.)

You and I should suffer the consequences of all of our sin against God.

(Pause.)

We don’t. But Jesus did.

On the cross, Jesus takes what should have been our curse to the grave with him and buries it forever.