Do Not Reject Your Only Hope

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Galatians 5:1–6 (ESV)

1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Opening Prayer

A Call to Sober Attention

It’s easy to pass over this first word in v.2...

As a casual “look”

It’s not casual at all.

Paul is calling for their sober, focused attention...

When he says Look: (it’s like--behold, pay attention, look me in the eyes, teacher clapping)

Galatians 5:2 (ESV)

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.

He is saying to them...

You will either trust in circumcision or Christ.

You will either rely on your works...

Or you will trust in Christ alone.

There is no middle ground.

If they choose circumcision, then they have no hold on Christ.

Christ will not benefit the one who does not solely and exclusively trust in Him.

This truth is so important for them to understand...

And, so, he states it again, in a slightly different way in v.3...

Galatians 5:3 (ESV)

3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

If you take on circumcision as a means for being right with God...

You are taking on the demand for the keeping of the Law to perfection...

That the Law of God demands.

You are saying your trust is in yourself.

Your ability to keep the Law perfectly.

You are saying, through behavior, that you do not need Christ...

That you do not need the finished work of Christ imputed to your account.

Paul is saying think about the gravity of such a thing...

Think of the burden of such a way of life.

Think of your inability to do it.

The Law doesn’t give do overs, no mulligans…

Once you break it, you’re guilty of the Law.

I don’t know about you, but my hope is not...

Should not… Cannot be...

In my keeping of the Law to satisfy the Justice of God...

Here is my hope, our only hope...

Hebrews 4:15–16 (ESV)

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Christ kept the law of God perfectly.

He never flinched and gave into sin.

His life was completely lived for the glory of God...

His life was motivated out of love for God...

And, expressed in worship through obedience.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

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

And, because of this great exchange...

We can, as Hebrews just told us...

Enter the throne room of God with confidence...

Based on the merits of Christ being imputed to our account.

But, if you take on circumcision…

If you take the step into religious ceremony...

In the hopes that you’re keeping the ceremonies and laws...

Makes you righteous before God...

Then you cut yourself off from the grace of God.

Galatians 5:4 (ESV)

4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

Some try to use this verse to say you can lose your salvation...

Or you can break covenant with Christ...

But that is not what Paul means here.

What Paul means here is that if you hope in your Law keeping...

Then you manifest you never believed the gospel...

And, that you are rejecting the only means of salvific grace that God extends to mankind.

It’s like that game we used to play when we were kids.

You hide something and the person looking for it gets prompts like...

You’re getting warmer, you’re getting colder.

Hotter meaning closer...

Colder meaning farther away.

Paul is saying if you choose circumcision you are walking away from your only hope...

Which is salvation by the grace of God.

Now, look how Paul states the stark contrast between v.4 and v.5.

Galatians 5:4–5 (ESV)

4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. [Why?] 5 For [Because] through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

Law vs. Spirit

IOW, those who trust in the Law manifest that they do not have the Spirit of God.

They show that they’ve turned from the grace of God presented to them in the gospel.

Why?

Because the true children of God have the Spirit of God living in them...

And, the work of the Spirit is expressed through abandoning hope in Law-keeping...

And, the work of the Spirit is expressed by faith in Christ...

And, a hope of righteousness that is granted to us in Christ...

Not in our own merit.

Our hope for a righteous standing before God at judgment...

Is not in a list of what we’ve done...

But, of what Christ has done for us.

This is exactly why Paul in Philippians 3 stated how great his resume was...

In relation to the Judaizers mindset.

His resume was Valedictorian...

But, he wadded it up and threw it away so that he might gain Christ...

And, by gaining Christ...

We inherit the promises of God.

And, Christ is gained by faith in Him.

Now, I want to zero in on something that could be easy to pass over.

Galatians 5:5 (ESV)

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

How does one...

Eagerly Wait?

Such a statement seems in opposition...

Especially in our culture, which is so immediate with everything.

How can we eagerly wait?

How can we want something terribly bad...

And yet wait for it with patience, calmness?

And, here is why...

Because we trust in the providence of God...

And, in this case, in particular, God’s timing of His providence in our life.

His providence and His timing is perfect.

And, so we can want something terribly...

And, rest in the truth that God will give it in His perfect timing.

Now, look at what Paul says...

Galatians 5:6 (ESV)

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Circumcision Nor Uncircumcision

Neither mean anything in the Kingdom of Christ.

Paul restates this a little later in...

Galatians 6:15 (ESV)

15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

What counts is being born from above...

Made alive, spiritually, by God the HS...

To walk in newness of life.

Entering the new covenant has nothing to do with something you can do, physically.

It’s not about lineage.

How many times did John the Baptist and Jesus point that truth out in the gospels.

This whole argument in Galatians is to help the Galatians see this truth.

Entrance into the new covenant is not a physical act...

It’s a spiritual act.

And, can I say...

I feel I should insert this here with sensitivity...

Baptism Does Not Replace Circumcision

If baptism replaces circumcision...

As some of our brothers and sisters from other denominations state...

If baptism replaces circumcision...

This whole epistle is somewhat a moot point.

Judaizers...

Listen, you need to be circumcised in order to be in covenant with God.

Paul...

No, no. Baptism replaces circumcision.

You see, you no longer need to be circumcised...

You need to be baptized to be in covenant with God.

But, that is not Paul’s argument at all.

Paul’s response to the demand to be physically circumcised is...

No!

You no longer need to be physically circumcised of the flesh to be in covenant with God...

You need to have faith to be in covenant with God.

And faith is a fruit of the HS’s work on someone in regeneration...

That’s highlight of the New Covenant.

Paul argues that it’s no longer being physically born of parents in the covenant...

It is being born from above...

It is being born of the Spirit...

Not being born physically from people.

It is strictly being connected to the Federal Head of the New Covenant…Jesus.

And that connection comes through Spiritual circumcision of the heart...

Physical circumcision in the Old Covenant has been replaced by spiritual circumcision in the New Covenant.

Not physical circumcision of the flesh.

Not physical lineage.

Not your connection to your parents...

Or your physical connection to Abraham.

If baptism replaces circumcision...

This epistle could have been 1 Chapter long.

But, Paul says here in v.6 neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything...

Only faith working through love...

Only faith counts.

Counts for what?

Counts for you being in covenant with Christ.

Counts for you being granted an eternal inheritance in Christ.

Counts for you being in the Lambs Book of Life.

Counts for gaining the promises of God.

Those promises be obtained by and given through Jesus Christ...

The Promised Seed & Offspring.

Paul states the only thing that matters is faith working through love…v.6b

Faith Alone Saves, But Faith is Never Alone

This is beautiful.

God not only saves us by faith...

But God works in us...

He produces love in us.

Love for Him.

And, love is expressed.

We cannot help but express our love.

And, expressing our love to God is through:

Obedience

Adoration

Praise

Communication

Imitation

And all biblical expressions of love towards God are expressions of worship.

Working through love

Love of what?

Love of God & Love of Neighbor

1st and 2nd greatest commands...

The Law of God summed in to two rules.

So, we Love by example, imitating God in Christ...

For God so loved the world...

Are we loving the world like Christ loved us?

I don’t mean love the world’s beliefs or behaviors...

I don’t mean loving the world’s fallen systems...

I mean loving the people in the world, caring for people...

Ministering to people.

I thought about how this would be tested...

What is the litmus test of loving others?

I think it is this:

Loving them in spite of, or without concern for, how they treat you.

Anyone can love someone that makes much of them...

Or adds to their feeling of self-success.

But, can you love someone that:

Persecutes them.

Demeans them.

Belittles them.

Makes them feel small and worthless.

If you can, it is a fruit of the Spirit of God working in you...

both to will and to do according to His good pleasure.

God, who, while we were ungodly and at enmity with Him...

Sent His Son to die for the redemption of a people for Himself.

So, this morning, think about this…

How you are loving God?

How you are loving your fellow man?

Closing Prayer