Are You Trusting In Works Righteousness? (Galatians 5:1-6)

Introduction

The basic doctrinal error of the Judaizers was works righteousness, the same error that is the heart of every other man-made religious system.

It should be noted that the symbolism of cutting off the male foreskin was to be a constant reminder to all generations of Jews, for whom God desired to cut away the evil from their hearts (cf. Deut. 30:6; Jer. 4:4; 9:24–26).

Paul’s objection here is not to circumcision in itself. Like all Jewish boys, he himself had been circumcised as an infant (Phil. 3:5). He did not object to a Christian’s being circumcised if, as in the case of Timothy (Acts 16:1–3), the act would open doors for ministry. Because Timothy was half Jewish, Paul had him circumcised in order that they might together have greater opportunity to witness to Jews.

Paul’s warning about circumcision pertained only to the false idea that in itself it carried spiritual benefit or merit.

The Jerusalem Council was convened to deal with this false teaching, which declared, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.… It is necessary to circumcise them [Gentiles] and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses” (Acts 15:1, 5).

Main Idea: Trusting in works righteousness leads to tragic consequences.

1. If you trust in works righteousness, you forfeit the benefit from Christ’s work (Galatians 5:1-2).

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.

Behold I, Paul, say to you undergirds the apostolic authority (see 1:1) by which Paul makes this serious assertion.

The atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, perfect and complete though it was, cannot benefit a person who trusts in anything else, because that something else, whether circumcision or any other human act or effort, then stands between him and Christ.

All the people to whom Paul was writing had made a profession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord or they would not have been part of the churches of Galatia. Many, perhaps most, of them had genuinely trusted in Him for salvation.

To trust in Jesus Christ for salvation is to acknowledge that one cannot save himself.

A person becomes acceptable to God only by placing his full trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, and after he is saved he perseveres in living a life acceptable to God only by continuing to trust in Christ alone. Whether before or after conversion, trust in human works of any kind is a barrier between a person and Christ and results in unacceptable legalism.

Paul explained to Roman believers "that Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works" (Rom. 9:30-32).

2. If you trust in works righteousness, you are obligated to keep the whole law (Galatians 5:3).

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses.

A second consequence of trusting in circumcision is that the person who does so obligates himself to keep the whole law. To live by part of the law as a means of attaining righteousness demands living by all of it.

"Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point," James says, "he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10).

Even if a person were somehow able to keep all of the law for all of his life, if he broke a commandment during his last minute on earth, he would forfeit salvation. It is easy to understand why Paul declared that "as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them'" (Gal. 3:10). Because God's standard was so obviously impossible to attain, that truth quoted from Deuteronomy 27:26 should have driven every Jew to seek His mercy.

3. If you trust in works righteousness, you have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4).

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.

A third consequence of seeking to be justified by circumcision or any other form of the law is that it causes a person to become severed from Christ and thereby become fallen from grace. Become of no effect is from katargeō, which, when followed by the preposition, means to be separated or loosed from (cf. Rom. 7:2, 6). Fallen is from ekpiptō, which means to lose one's grasp on something. Simply stated, a person cannot live by both law and grace. To attempt to be justified by law is to reject the way of grace.

Paul is not dealing with the security of the believer but with the contrasting ways of grace and law, works and faith, as means of salvation. He is not teaching that a person who has once been justified can lose his righteous standing before God and become lost again by being circumcised or otherwise legalistic. The Bible knows nothing of becoming unjustified. Those "whom [God] predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Rom. 8:30).

Paul's primary point in this passage, as throughout the letter, is that law and grace cannot be mixed.

Legalism does not please God but offends Him. It does not bring a person closer to God but rather drives him away.

Applied to one who was really an unbeliever, the principle of falling from grace has to do with being exposed to the gracious truth of the gospel and then turning one's back on Christ. Such a person is an apostate. During the time of the early church many people, both Jews and Gentiles, not only heard the gospel message but witnessed the miraculous confirming signs performed by the apostles. They became attracted to Christ and often made professions of faith in Him. Some became involved in a local church and vicariously experienced the blessings of Christian love and fellowship. They were exposed first hand to every truth and blessing of the gospel of grace but then turned away. They had "been enlightened," had "tasted of the heavenly gift," and had even "been made partakers of the Holy Spirit" by witnessing His divine ministry in the lives of believers. But they refused to stand fully with Christ by placing their trust in Him, and they fell away, losing all prospect of repentance and therefore of salvation (Heb. 6:4-6). They came to the very doorway of grace and then fell away, back into their works religion.

Applied to a believer, the principle of falling from grace has to do with a person who genuinely trusts in Christ for salvation but then outwardly reverts to a life of legalism, of living under external rituals, ceremonies, and traditions that he carries out in his own strength, instead of living with a spirit of obedience to Christ.

Obviously, true Christians will not reject the true way of salvation, but they confuse themselves and others when they try to live by works because the mark of true discipleship is continuing obedience to Christ (John 8:31). The security of salvation from the divine side is guaranteed by God to His own (cf. v. 10; Rom. 8:28-39; 11:29), but from the human side it is manifested by perseverance in grace (see John 8:31; 15:4-9; Acts 11:23; 13:43; 14:21-22; Rom. 2:7; Heb. 2:1; 3:14; 4:14; 10:23; 1 John 2:19). Paul is here calling for such perseverance in grace by the genuine believer.

Contrary to justifying grace, sanctifying grace is interruptible. Living by the flesh interferes with living by the Spirit, and living by the flesh may even involve doing the right things for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way. For example, to worship God from the heart and for His own sake is to live by the Spirit. But to worship Him only outwardly or to impress others with our supposed spirituality is to live by the flesh. To witness to a person while trusting in God to convict and convert him is to live by the Spirit. To witness with the intention of converting a person through our own knowledge of Scripture and powers of persuasion is to live by the flesh. No matter how worthy and God-ordained a person's outward activities may be, to perform them by the flesh is to live by the way of law and to forsake the way of grace.

4. If you trust in works righteousness, you forsake the hope of righteousness (Galatians 5:5-6).

5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.

6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

A fourth consequence of trusting in works is to be excluded from the righteousness for which the believer has hope, to forsake the true life of blessing God desires for His children.

The Judaizers' hope of righteousness was based on adding imperfect and worthless works of law in a vain attempt to complete the perfect and priceless work of Christ, which they assumed to be incomplete and imperfect. We, that is, true believers, Paul says, through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness that is based on God's grace.

Believers already possess the imputed righteousness of justification, but the yet-incomplete righteousness of total sanctification and glorification still awaits them. "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us... The creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8:18, 21). In this life, believers are still waiting for the completed and perfected righteousness that is yet to come.

Paul here mentions three characteristics of the godly life.

First of all, it is a life lived through the Spirit rather than the flesh. Second, it is a life lived by faith rather than works. And third, it is a life lived in patient waiting and hope rather than in the anxious uncertainty of bondage to the law.

Nothing that is either done or not done in the flesh, not even religious ceremony, makes any difference in one's relationship to God.

Life in the Spirit is not static and inactive, but it is faith working through love, not the flesh working through self-effort. Believers are "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10). But their working is the product of their faith, not a substitute for it. They do not work for righteousness but out of righteousness, through the motivating power of love.

As Paul declares a few verses later, "the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Gal. 5:14; cf. Rom. 13:8). A person does not, for instance, steal from or lie to someone he truly loves. He certainly does not kill someone he loves. The person who lives by faith works under the internal compulsion of love and does not need the outward compulsion of law.

Conclusion

Legalism or works righteousness look like this:

1. If I obey these rules, I will become a more spiritual person. I am a great admirer of this religious leader, so I now submit myself to his system.

2. I believe I have the strength to obey and improve myself. I do what I am told and measure up to the standards set for me.

3. I’m making progress. I don’t do some of the things I used to do. Other people compliment me on my obedience and discipline. I can see that I am better than others in my fellowship. How wonderful to be so spiritual.

4. If only others were like me! God is certainly fortunate that I am His. I have a desire to share this with others so they can be as I am. Our group is growing, and we have a fine reputation. Too bad other groups are not as spiritual as we are.

Grace through faith righteousness looks like this:

1. I have been set free by Christ. I am no longer under bondage to the law (Gal. 5:1–12).

2. But I need something—Someone—to control my life from within. That Someone is the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:13–26).

3. Through the Spirit’s love, I have a desire to live for others, not for self (Gal. 6:1–10).

4. This life of liberty is so wonderful. I want to live it to the glory of God, for He is the One making it possible (Gal. 6:11–18).

Which one do you possess - works righteousness or grace through faith righteousness?