Gal 6:11-18[1]
Preached at Rolling Hills Church on 10 Oct 2010.
Gal 6:11-18
11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Message: Our boasting is in the cross. We'll briefly examine this passage with three contrasts; what is here and what is not, what to boast about and what not to boast about, and what doesn't and what does count. First off…
Closing: what's here and what's not
Here: autographical certification (2 Thess 3:17), concluding exhortations, the peace blessing, and the grace benediction[2].
Missing: Personal greetings, rejoicing and praise. The tone and the theme of this letter are too serious to suddenly change to 'all is well'; Paul was very concerned for these people and for their grip on the gospel. There is even a warning; don't let these false teachers cause me trouble any more! This is very unusual for Paul's epistles, but we do see similar warnings of other troublemakers in Timothy's letters and in Philippians 3. So that is what is here and what is not. Now…
Boasting: what not to and what to boast about
Not in the flesh. Not in accomplishing goals of turning entire evangelical churches in to pseudo=Jewish congregations. Not in gaining a few more proselytes to Judaism who then believed Christ and could be numbered in both camps.
Boast in the cross. Now we can accept this rather smoothly; we sing it, say it, and we are grateful for what Christ did there. However, we must gain a 1st Century perspective. F.F. Bruce wrote that it is a major problem for us after centuries of seeing the cross as a positive symbol, "to realize the unspeakable horror and loathing" which the mere thought of the cross would have provoked in Paul's day[3]. You see the cross would have been described as ugly, horrible, shameful, publicly humiliating, and devastating. Embarrassing wouldn't even begin to describe what having your leader die on a Roman cross would be! And yet Paul uses one of his favorite phrases (far be it from me, may it never be, God forbid) to make certain he would NEVER NOT boast in the cross. We can't be ashamed of our Lord, of His suffering, His death; you see, that death is our only hope! Let me read one of the most powerful laments ever written of the cross; and it was written about 725 years before the cross…
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Yes there is shame, humiliation, and horror with the cross; but it was OURS. Our Lord, who was righteous, never deserved that death. The fact that He took our sins upon Himself is our source of joy, regardless of how backward that may seem to an achievement-driven, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world. Our boasting is in the cross. So we see what is here and what is not, and what to boast about and what not to boast about. Now to finish up…
Circumcision doesn't. Paul's entire argument is that circumcision in and of itself doesn't matter. Circumcision as a way to seek righteousness, is dangerous; in the context of salvation, it defiles the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not sin; it is not evil; it has no saving value, yet it is heresy to teach that it DOES have any saving value. If you learn anything from this letter, learn that Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and that to the glory of God alone. No other work, no human work, no help needed; God saves us through faith in Christ Jesus, the Lord. That death on the cross has satisfied the wrath of God. Circumcision, to be counted in the Old Covenant is unnecessary when faith in Christ counts us right in the New Covenant, the one in His blood.
New Creation does. This is what Christ came to do, and what was accomplished on that cross; to make dead men live; to make sinful men righteous, to turn enemies of God into sons and daughters of God, and to transform condemned souls into new, forgiven creatures. THAT matters. It matters that God has seen us as righteous, having been counted such through the death of His Son Jesus Christ. When we die and stand before God it won't matter whether or not we were identified with the covenant of Moses; what will matter is whether or not we were in Christ! Church, our boasting is in the cross.
Let us celebrate and glory in the cross by having the Lord's Supper together to remember the death of our Lord Jesus on that cross. But before we do, let me ask a few questions…
Do you know that God has made you a new creation?
Have you been to that cross to confess your sins and place all your hope there in Christ? I mean for forgiveness, for right standing with God, for eternal life – do you believe Christ purchased that for you?
Are you, as a Christ-follower, growing to hate sin the way God does?
Are you, as a Christ-follower, growing in your love for Jesus, His love, and saving grace?
Let's contemplate such things while the brothers pass out the elements and we prepare to take the Lord's Supper together.
[1] All Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved
[2] As noted in the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary Volume 14, on Galatians, by Gerald L. Borchert, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, IL © 2007 by Gerald L. Borchert
[3] ibid.
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