GLORY IN THE CROSS!
Galatians 6:11-18
Introduction: Our series in Galatians
began the second Sunday in January, and today we’ll conclude this urgent letter
from Paul. This last paragraph is not simply a series of disconnected thoughts
as Paul is ending the epistle. It is packed with truth. And here Paul draws
together some of the major themes of the letter, a final reminder of the
message they had heard and believed, the Good News through which we can have a
relationship with God and by which we can live as His people in a fallen world.
This is a final, personal appeal from the Apostle
to the Gentiles: "See with what large letters I have written to you..."
We know that Paul routinely used a scribe to put in writing what he dictated
for his letters. Often he would add a closing word written in his own hand, as
in 2 Thessalonians 3:17, “I Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, this
is the sign of genuineness in every letter I write.” Here in Galatians, by emphasizing
his large letters, he may be saying "Don't miss this!" It is
like underlining something for emphasis, or maybe using bold letters or all
caps. I thought of John Hancock signing the Declaration of Independence and
saying something like, “The king won’t need his spectacles to read that!” For
Paul, the passion and urgency that has been present in this letter continues to
the very end! He put his “John Hancock” on this letter to the Galatians.
The “gospel” the Judaizers were tempting
the Galatians with was "no gospel at all." It was in fact contrary to
the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith which Paul preached and by which
the Galatians were saved. Paul argues that “works-religion” and “Grace” are
mutually exclusive. His exposition of the Christian life in Chapter 5 and into
6 is answering the possible charge that his gospel would lead to license to
sin. Paul has made it clear that we are saved by grace apart from works—yes
salvation is based on what Christ has done on our behalf, not on our ability to
keep the rules well enough—but a saved person, indwelt by the Spirit, is
controlled by a deeper Law, a Law not legislated from without but produced from
within, the law of love (5:13-14,16,25).
After
giving instructions for restoring a sinning brother, after warning that there
are consequences to sin—Paul exposes the false motives of the Judaizers and
shows what should motivate us as faithful followers of Jesus. Paul affirms…
The BIG
Idea: The Spirit-led believer lives for the glory of God not the praise of men.
We’ll look at that from the perspective of three questions, as you see in the outline,
A-B-C… 1. How is our attitude; 2. In what can we boast; and 3)
Have we counted the cost?
I. How is OUR ATTITUDE?
(6:12-13). Are we
focused merely on the outer appearances?
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.
Legalism is the desire to exalt human
achievement and to minimize the cost of true discipleship. It is thinking, We
can do this. Paul points out
that the legalists were guilty of being man-pleasers, and of being prideful and
arrogant. He points out the root of the opposition to him and his
message: religious pride (12a). “Those who desire to make a good showing in
the flesh…” Let’s face it, we all want people to like us. But Paul is
saying that these men are adding to the Gospel in order to win the approval of
the Jews. The offense of the Cross would be lessened if the case could be made
that Christians are observant Jews. Paul says that grace plus works in no
gospel at all. And that teaching didn’t start with Paul. Jesus had repeatedly
confronted the Pharisees over their focus on the outward, while neglecting the weightier
matters of the heart. In one such encounter we read,
Now the Pharisees, who
were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. 15
And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but
God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination
in the sight of God...” (Luke 16:14-15).
The story of the Pharisee
and the Publican in Luke 18:9-14 illustrates the hypocrisy of any system that relies on good
works to be justified before God. Luke as narrator introduces Jesus’ teaching
in that story, “Also He spoke this parable
to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others…” The pharisee in that story was self-righteous,
he was “not like other men,” but it was the tax collector, broken and
praying for mercy, that went away justified. The way that seems right
to humans but ends in death, the idea that is at the center of every man-made
religion, is “good works” as a basis for justification. Paul spoke to the issue
in Colossians 2:8,20,23, using a term, “basic principles,” [stoicheia]
which Paul has used in Galatians (Gal 4:3,9) as well. In Colossians 2:8 he said,
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit,
according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of
the world, and not according to Christ.” He then gets more specific in Colossians 2:20-23,
“Therefore, if you died with Christ
from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the
world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 "Do not
touch, do not taste, do not handle," 22 which all concern
things which perish with the using — according to the commandments and
doctrines of men? 23 These
things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false
humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence
of the flesh…”
Paul
asked the Corinthians in 1 Cor 4:7 “ For who makes you differ from another?
And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive
it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” No boasting – Jesus
did it all! He gets the glory.
The
false teachers were also motivated by fear of persecution, 6:12b. “…simply
that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ…” Why do they do it? “So
that…” they may not be persecuted. It is easy to compromise the
truth when there is a cost. Remember Peter’s bold assertion when Jesus said
they would all leave Him? “Though they all leave, Lord, I will never leave
you! I am ready to die with you!” But after His arrest, what happened? Three
times Peter denied that he even knew Jesus! Peter failed, but he was
graciously restored by Jesus after the Resurrection (John 21:15-19). Then,
empowered by the Spirit, we see this same Peter boldly proclaiming the message
of Christ (cf. Acts 4,5)! Faithful preachers of the Gospel won’t
compromise the message because they fear the reaction of the world. The Cross,
has always been an offense…
For
Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ
crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but
to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God (I Cor 1:22-24).
The Gospel message assumes
we need to be saved; we are sinners deserving judgement. That wasn’t a
popular message for the Jews of Paul’s day, nor for the Greeks. And it isn’t
a popular message today. People have the idea that all paths lead to God
and that we have the right to do whatever we want, as long as it makes us
happy. When we say with Peter that “There is no other name under heaven,
given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), people can take
offense. “That is ok for you, but don’t tell me what to believe!” Listen: We
don’t get to make the rules. God is God. We are not. Jesus said, “I am the
Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father, but by me” (Jn
14:6). Is that exclusive? Yes. Is it offensive? To unbelievers it will be,
until God intervenes and opens their heart to the truth. Read the book of Acts
and you will see how unbelievers responded to the preaching of the Apostles. We
read in Acts 5:29-33 (ESV),
…Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God
rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you
killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right
hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy
Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." 33 When
they heard this, they were enraged [literally, “cut to the quick”] and wanted to kill
them… (Acts 5:29-33).
Ok, Peter was pretty direct,
wasn’t he? Even after being threatened and arrested twice, he had to tell
the truth, no matter the cost. This time, they would be beaten and then
released. Later, we see Stephen (Acts 7) and then James martyred (Acts 12).
Ultimately, preaching the truth led to all of them laying down their lives for
the Gospel (except John, who apparently died in exile on Patmos). The last
quarter of the Book of Acts Paul is a prisoner. It strikes me that that is the
same pattern we see in the Gospels, the last quarter or so dedicated to the
final week, the passion week, of Christ. Jesus said “Do not be surprised if
the world hates you, it hated me first” (John 15:18; cf. I John 3:13). The Judaizers
in the Galatian churches wanted no part of such suffering, they were unwilling
to take Christ at his word, and so to take up their cross and follow Him. They
wanted to make the message a little less offensive by requiring the outward
obedience to aspects of the Law. We can be in danger of the same error, if
we are so concerned for cultural sensibilities that we water down the truth. We
can be so “seeker sensitive” that we never tell people they are lost sinners
needing grace!
According to Paul, that attitude amounts
to religious hypocrisy (v.13)—they knew the impossibility of keeping the Law
themselves, and yet were essentially enslaving others. Jesus similarly said in
Matthew 23:2-5,
"The
scribes and the Pharisees… bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on
men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their
fingers. 5 "But all their works they do to be seen by men.”
The Gospel leaves no room
for boasting in ourselves. God gets all the credit. And the Spirit-led believer
lives for the glory of God, not the praise of men.
II. In what can
we BOAST? (6:14-16).
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.
The believer's only basis for boasting is
what Christ has accomplished on the cross “May it never be that I should
boast, except…” God forbid that I boast for any other motive than
this… Paul words this as a strong negative prohibition, God forbid that
this should ever happen. No boasting is warranted, none is justified, if it
is focused on my ability or character or achievements. And the wording
makes that emphatic: God forbid “…that I should boast…” Like the
song says, “Not because of what I’ve done, but because of who you are…
because of what you’ve done…” The pronoun here is in an emphatic position, “May
I never boast…” These false teachers are boasting in their
human accomplishments, they are proud of their rule keeping as a demonstration
of their supposed spirituality. Paul is saying, “As for me, may the only
boasting that you hear from my lips be in what Christ has done on my behalf.”
Galatians has shown us our need for
grace. There is not room for boasting. The paradigm for sin is the famous
example of the boast of the King of Babylon, perhaps also reflecting the
rebellion of Lucifer, in Isaiah 14, “I will make myself like the Most High…”
Satan indeed used that idea as he tempted Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, “…you
will be like God…” No. We need to see ourselves rightly, God is God, we
are not! We boast only in the Cross of Christ. Paul knew the person
of the cross-the crucified and risen Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned
at least 45 times in Galatians – the heart of the Christian faith is not a
religious system, it is a Person, and a relationship with Him. We don’t convert
people to a religion when we witness, we introduce them to Jesus. Salvation
isn’t found at the end of debate. It is God supernaturally opening a heart to know
Him.
Paul also knew the purpose of the
cross – it was not a defeat, but victory! God accomplishing our redemption, paying
a debt we could not pay. And so, He brought into the world a new people of God,
the church, composed of Jew and Gentile, without distinction. He knew as well the
power of the cross – two cross beams, stained with blood, to the world
an object of disgrace and defeat, not only a means of execution, but of
humiliation and scorn. For the Christian it is “Good News” – Paul said in I Cor
1:23-24, “…we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to
the gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called… Christ the power of
God and the wisdom of God.” The Cross of Christ, the pivot-point of
salvation history!
The
power to free men from the world’s bondage (14b). I am crucified to the
world, it has no power over me. I am free from bondage. And the world is
crucified to me, it is dead to me. The life I live in the flesh, I live
be faith in the Son of God! The only “life with meaning” is the life lived
in Christ, by faith (Eph 2:1-7). It doesn’t mean we are never influenced by
sin, it does mean that we are not under its dominion!
The power to
do what the flesh cannot do (v.15). “For neither circumcision counts for
anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” Man needs a new life: we
enter into that life by grace through faith. He used similar language in 2 Cor
5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ — a new creation! Old things
have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” I don’t think Paul
is talking about our transformation or sanctification in these verses, but he
is looking to the future, to our sure hope in a new creation – the New
Heavens and the New Earth. In a certain sense, believers, sealed with the Holy
Spirit, who is the down-payment of our inheritance, are already experiencing
the blessings of the age to come!
The power to
bring salvation (v.16). “Peace and Mercy” speak to present salvation, “peace”
speaks of a new, right relationship with God; “mercy,” the forgiving of sins
and setting aside of judgment. “Rule” translates the word “canon,” which refers
to a “measure or standard.” It refers to God’s way, the way of Grace. Because
of what God has done in Christ, the Spirit-led believer
lives for the glory of God not the praise of men. But no one said living
by faith in a fallen world would be easy. That brings us to…
III. Have we
counted the COST? There is a price to pay for those who would be a
committed follower of Christ (6:17-18).
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.
Jesus said in Mark 8:34,
"If anyone wishes to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Salvation cost us
nothing, Jesus paid it all, “It is finished,” that is, "The debt is
paid." Yet discipleship is a call to radical commitment – “Take up your
cross and follow me!” is about as committed as you can get (cf. Rom 12:1,2)!
In v.17, Paul suffered for his faith. He
could have taken an easier path but chose to follow Jesus. He was beaten,
arrested, stoned and left for dead, imprisoned, and finally, according to tradition,
beheaded. He kept believing, he trusted in Jesus as Messiah, Savior, and Lord. This
is the man who said “God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ…” Grace keeps the focus on Jesus, and grace is Paul’s
final word, “The grace of the Lord be with you all” (v.18).
What is God
saying to me in this passage? How is our attitude, do we see our desperate need for
grace? We can boast in nothing but the
cross of Christ. Have we counted the cost, are we willing to take up our cross
and follow Him? Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust
of the flesh. The Spirit-led believer lives for the glory of God not the
praise of men. We’ve called this series, “Getting the Gospel right.” When you
do, it changes everything. It is the foundation for our new life, and it fuels
New Creation living, now.
What would God
have me to do in response to this passage? Have you decided to
follow Jesus? If you have recognized the truth about yourself, that you are a
sinner, if you have understood that there is no other way but through Him, if
you believe that He took the wrath of God against sin for you, then you have
understood the Way of Grace. That is how God showed His love among us.
Does that astonish you? When we begin to grasp His love for us, it will
change us. Read the love letter He has given us (the Bible), ponder every word,
and so know Him and love Him. And be ready, because that love will overflow in
a changed heart, a heart set on obedience and service. You will see the church
differently, and you will see the world differently. When you get that, it
changes everything! Amen.
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