Bragging in the Cross Alone

For legalists, it is not enough to be saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone. Our minds cannot grasp the concept that salvation is free for the taking. We tend to live by the rule, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” we always expect that someone wants something in return for giving something away. If that be the case, then things really aren’t free for the taking.

What do you think the apostles would have considered one of the most outlandish accessories that we wear today would be? Arguably it would be a cross. To them, the cross was a torture and execution device. With it brought the idea of humility and pain and suffering. The Jews despised the cross and Paul echoed that sentiment in as he quoted when he said “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” To be crucified was to be put to shame.

Salvation is a completely different story. It is grace (unmerited favor) that God has bestowed on us the opportunity to attain perfection.

Nero used crucifixion as a deterrent. He would mercilessly crucify Christians and light their carcasses on fire to light his garden and the roadways. Crucifixion was usually so horrible that bodies would hang for day and wild animals would pick the bones of the victims clean as people would walk by them on a daily basis.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

There is nothing we can do on our own power to achieve right standing with God. Eternal life rests solely on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Our salvation rests solely on the sufficiency of Jesus Christi and His atonement on the cross.

Once we are saved, there is nothing we can add to that that will keep us in right standing with God as we live our lives. While our brains operate well with rules and regulations, knowing what is right and wrong, for the Christian, we have a freedom that no one else will ever understand. We are no longer chained to a system of do’s and don’ts in the church. We must understand that faith is God-ordained while religion (and the religious establishment) is man-made.

Over the years, some great theological minds have tried to distill the teaching of scripture and glean as much truth from it as possible, because people tend to throw in their ideologies, the basis of faith gets corrupted.

Paul faced this very same issue with the churches at Galatia. He would have a group of men follow behind him (called Judaizers) who were of Jewish background, and they would tell the believers that in order for them to maintain their salvation, they had to adhere to the law of Moses as an outward sign of their faith (namely circumcision).

Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians specifically to refute this point. Paul makes it very clear in chapter one that if anyone adds to the gospel of Jesus they were to be “accursed” (set aside for destruction) (1.8-9). This is a pretty heavy call for those that add to the gospel. This also shows how far Paul was willing to go to preserve the purity of the gospel.

Paul wrote this letter to defend what we call the doctrine of Justification by faith. That means that it is only through faith in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that a person can be declared righteous before God. Before we place our faith into that message, we are held before God guilty of sin and rebellion against God, and once we place our faith in the work of Jesus, we are declared not guilty (justified) in God’s eyes.

Paul now closes the letter to the Galatians out writing by his own hand in our text this morning:

Galatians 6:11–18 ESV

See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on 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.

Galatians 6.

Normally, letters were dictated to what was called an “amanuensis.” They were skilled at writing proficiently for other people. Paul would dictate his letters to this person and they would write it down for him as he dictated the letter. Under normal circumstances, the author would then sign it in his own handwriting, and Paul makes an exception here. He closes the letter out with a personal benediction in our text. Paul makes it known that he is writing this last part in verse 11 by saying, “See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.” Paul began the letter in chapter one by stating his authority to be heard and ends the letter with reestablishing his authority and recapping personally what he has just sent to the churches at Galatia. It is interesting to note here the word “large.” Some scholars argue that Paul was writing in bigger letters at this point because of possibly his eyesight was failing, and others will argue that he is writing with larger lettering because of the importance of what he is saying. It would be the equivalent of sending a text message or email in ALL CAPS. IT MAGNIFIES THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT THE AUTHOR IS TRYING TO CONVEY TO THE READER. Whatever the case may be, there are some takeaways for us from this closing passage to the Galatians.

Self-Righteousness breeds self-imposed rules

Paul writes in verse 12 a final warning against what the Judaizers were teaching. He writes, “it is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.”

The Judaizers taught that a person had to become culturally Jewish in order to maintain their salvation meaning they had to submit to circumcision and adhere to all the laws of Moses in order to maintain their right standing with God. Paul has already refuted this argument by stating that the law was a guardian/tutor (3.23), and that if you adhered to the law, you had to meet ALL of the law and if you were guilty of one apart of the law, you were guilty of breaking the entire law (cf. 3.10, 5.3). The Judaizers knew that due to the high rate of persecution in that time for Christians, if they were culturally Jewish, there wouldn’t be any persecution to the Jews because of the fact that Judaism was accepted to be practiced in Roman territories, and they wouldn’t be persecuted.

Paul knew that adhering to the law would not save a person, or even keep them saved, that it was only God’s grace that protected believers from the persecutions of this world. Paul understood that the law promoted self-righteous behavior in people and it became practically a competition of who could be religiously better. One word to note here is the word “forced.” It can also mean “compel.” This was the Judaizers way of getting people to fall into the corrupt gospel by saying that they weren’t truly saved if they didn’t adhere to the requirements of the law.

Regardless of where we stand in our walk with the Lord, there will be persecutions of some sort. Jesus even said so:

John 15:20 ESV

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

As a Christian, we will face persecutions in some way shape or form. While here in the United States, we don’t have to worry about dying for our faith, what about worrying about what our friends think? It is normal human behavior to want to be accepted by all people, but the truth is, because of our beliefs, we won’t be accepted by all people.

Now, let’s move this to a more relevant point: legalism. Legalism can take many forms, more than likely it takes the form of who’s doing what and who’s not doing what within the church. Many times people are quick to point out the faults in others which then draws the attention and focus away from those that have issues they deal with. This is usually done in an effort to keep the heat off of themselves so people don’t find out the faults that they have. This is the boasting that Paul is referring to. When we establish rules and regulations on people, we tend to follow after those people and pointing out their fault so that people don’t see where we fall short. Even Jesus was very clear that we should steer clear from this type of behavior when he faced the religious leaders with the woman that was caught in adultery.

John 8:7 ESV

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Deep down, we know that whatever rules and regulations we lay down as being “biblical truth,” we know that many times we will not even be able to stand up to those requirements ourselves, and this is what Paul addresses in verse 13.

Self-righteousness begets pride

Paul points out that “even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law.” What he is telling the reader here that the reason why others were being put under a system of rules and regulations regarding salvation was so that they themselves would not be considered unworthy of salvation.

The truth of the matter is, not a one of us are worthy of salvation, that is why it is called grace. We did nothing of our own power to warrant salvation, and when we set down rules and regulations within the church, we use those as a measuring stick to determine just how much of a Christian a person really is. We say things like, “they have been a member of this church since it was conceived, and they have paid their tithe faithfully, so they deserve certain benefits,” or “so and so has been seen outside the church doing this or that, they must not be a Christian like they say they are.”

What I have learned over time by being a people watcher, is we do things like that to draw away from our short-comings, and usually focus on things that others are doing that are similar to the sinful habits in our own lives so that we can feel better about ourselves and keep the attention focused on others because we don’t want the attention to come back on us. I have seen it time and time again, spiritual leader after spiritual leader that preaches so much against adultery and the evils of pornography, and then one day, they stand accused of the same things they have been preaching against so vehemently. When we focus on the short comings of others, we must take great care not to make huge productions about them because there is usually always something that we may be struggling with on the inside.

The cross of Christ levels the playing field

Paul goes on in verse 14 reiterating a point he made in 2.20 where he wrote, “I am crucified with Christ...” Ultimately, it is the cross of Christ that puts each and every one of us on a level playing field. It is only through the power of the cross that we are made righteous before God, and it is only through the power of the cross and the Holy Spirit that we can get through life. There are no need for rules and regulations in the shadow of the cross. Paul knew where the source of boasting SHOULD come from in a person’s life, and that is only through the power of the cross, and not through anything we have been able to do on our own.

Christianity is not about our achievements, it’s not based on how good we have been in our lives. It’s not about what we can do for God. It’s about what God has done for us, in us, and through us.

When we come to that point in our lives where we come face to face with our sinfulness and realize that we need a redeemer because we can’t get there on our own that we can truly boast in what God has done for us.

Through the cross, we are changed

Paul states in the last part of verse 14, “the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.” This falls into line with what he wrote in 2.20 about being crucified with Christ. He wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but Christi who lives in me.” When we come to the cross, there is an exchanging of lives: our life for the life of Christ. Jesus stood condemned in our place, on our behalf. He bore that curse that we could not bear so we did not have to bear the punishment that we deserved. When we trade lives with Christ, we become dead to this world and they systems by which it operates, and the world has no bearing on how we live any longer.

Romans 6:11 ESV

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It is through the cross alone that we are considered dead to sin and the life that we had under that old sinful nature that we can then become the new creation through Jesus.

Our deeds count for nothing in light of the cross

In verse 15, Paul writes, “neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” Our deeds don’t make a difference in the plan of salvation. We cannot do anything under our own power to save ourselves from the eternal condemnation that we are rightfully deserving of. It is only through the cross of Jesus Christ that we become a totally new creation. The word used for creation here is defined as, “to make or create something which has not existed before,” and is used solely in reference to the creative acts of God. This is the new creation that Paul also refers to in his second letter to the Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

We are transformed by the power of the cross in Jesus Christ. We are no longer the person we were before we came to know the saving grace of God, and are created something entirely new. We turn our backs on the old, sinful life, and begin a journey of transformation that takes us on the path to become more Christlike daily.

Romans 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is a constant transformation that a person undergoes daily. As humans, we are made in the image of God, and as Christians, we are constantly transformed daily into the image of Christ.

There are no rituals or traditions that will ever keep us in a right standing before God. While traditions are important, they must never become to focus of or attention. When we place tradition above everything else, we then risk idolizing those traditions to the point of making them a requirement for right standing before God, and scripture is very clear that will never happen.

The new life is lived in the shadow of the cross

Paul writes in verse 16, “And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” There is one rule that we must follow, and that is, “depend on the cross to do the job it is supposed to do.” Live in the grace and mercy that we find in the cross. That is the only way we can ever be counted righteous before God in His ultimate judgment. Not by doing the right things, or saying the right things.

It is at the foot of the cross that we find peace and mercy through the power of God’s forgiveness. we are no longer enemies of God at the foot of the cross.

Romans 8:1 ESV

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Once we come to the cross and depending on God’s mercy, we can be at peace knowing that we are no longer condemned under sin. We are no longer at odds with God. We become part of the spiritual Israel. This is what Paul was referring to in chapters three and four in regard to being part of the promise of Abraham. We are part of God’s chose people through Jesus.

False requirements split the body of Christ

Paul closes the letter out with one final warning, “From now on let no one cause me trouble.” As you read this, you can hear the weariness of Paul. Letting a false teaching loose in a church will cause a division. Just as it did with the churches at Galatia. Some will follow the teaching and others will not. This becomes troublesome for the leaders of a church. It causes a split in the church, and scripture is very clear on not causing a rift in the body.

1 Corinthians 12:25 ESV

that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

1 Corinthians 11:18–19 ESV

For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

Romans 16:17–18 ESV

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Romans

We must be watchful of those that are looking to divide the body, and make sure those teachings do not fester. We must not fear persecution in light of the truth of God’s word. I believe that as we stand up for the truth of God’s teaching, God will honor that and we will be truly blessed.

Paul has made it clear that he has suffered for the truth in this area. The teaching that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. He writes here that, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” The word he uses here is “stigmata.” The word means, “a permanent mark or scar on the body, especially the type of brand used to mark slaves.” This was not something Paul took lightly, he wore his marks with pride because of the cross.

2 Corinthians 11.24-

2 Corinthians 11:24–28 ESV

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Paul went through many trials to deliver the gospel to people because he believed so deeply in his calling to take the gospel to the world, and his body showed the signs of what he had endured. This was a mark of pride for him that he was able to boast in his obedience BECAUSE of the cross.

Putting it into practice

No one is immune to spiritual drift

If it could happen to believers in the first century, it can happen today. Many of us have probably experienced spiritual drift. Some of us today, may be experiencing a spiritual drift. Maybe you have slipped int that frame of mind that there is something you should be doing to maintain your salvation or you have slipped to the other side of the spectrum and using the freedom we have from sin and guilt to live as you like and not act in obedience to the call God has put for you in your life. Here is where the gift of grace comes into play. All we have to do is repent of that behavior or attitude and seek God’s forgiveness and we can get back into God’s will for our lives.

We all start at the same place and on the same level in God’s eyes

When we come to the cross, we all start out as rebels. It doesn’t matter your background or status in life, we are all sinners, and we all fall short of God’s glory. There is nothing we can do on our own to make ourselves right before God. Maybe you’ve never experienced the freedom from the bondage that sin has in our lives, or perhaps you are are bound to that sin once again in your life. There is always time to repent from those sins today. It’s never too late as long as you have breath in your lungs to turn to God and seek His forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

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