Legal activity is but labouring in the fire for vanity; and if, alas! As we saw it in the Corinthians applied to judge the worldliness of the saints there, so here it judges their legalism. at least as zealous for the Jews' religion as any Jew of the straitest sect. And you will observe the immense importance attached to this simple account; for all here is plain matter of fact, but pregnant with the weightiest consequences as long as the church and the gospel last here below. we know too well the result from sinful man. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love ( Galatians 5:6 ). When once a covenant is "signed, sealed, and delivered," it must not be meddled with. If Christ's, they were Abraham's seed already, "and heirs according to the promise;" for Christ, he had shown before, was the one true Seed; and if we are Christ's, we belong to that one true Seed, and therefore are the children of Abraham without circumcision at all. "Then after three years," he says, "I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter." When He gave the promise to Abraham, He said, "I will give." How could it be otherwise with one persecuting at the moment that he was arrested, in hot deadly opposition to God's church up to his most unexpected call from heaven? But then there is another point of exhortation too; and surely we ought not to forget that there are not only the common links of love, and the willingness to succour one another, as we see, beginning with a most extreme case and ending with a general one; but still further, "Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things;" and not only that, but also the general responsibility of the saint and in a solemn manner. Man had his duty to God, and be ought to have. He had before been exhorting these Christians by love to serve one another (Galatians 5:13; Galatians 5:13), and had put them in mind of what would be the consequence if, instead of that, they did bite and devour one another,Galatians 5:15; Galatians 5:15. It is a joy whose foundation is God. It is . And a little leaven soon leavens the whole lump. Jesus, the rejected Messiah, was the Son of the living God, the giver of life, the quickening Son of God. "The death of Christ for you isn't sufficient. "I through law am dead to law." Again it is worth while to look at each word separately. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. He is baptized into Christ's death, which is the sole means of deliverance out of his state of sin. No effort, no work on your part. I say something that is not of the Lord. 3. Even as in a natural man there is something of this struggle (the convictions of his conscience and the corruption of his own heart strive with one another; his convictions would suppress his corruptions, and his corruptions silence his convictions), so in a renewed man, where there is something of a good principle, there is a struggle between the old nature and the new nature, the remainders of sin and the beginnings of grace; and this Christians must expect will be their exercise as long as they continue in this world. Again I give my word to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is under obligation to keep the whole law. And mark how the Holy Ghost turns Abraham into an additional and most unexpected proof of the grace of God and the truth of the gospel. but for what he can get out of it. But when men would have anything fraught with distress to His people, when through their folly confusion must ensue, contrary to all that His heart loved, then it was left to others. And this comes up every day in many situations, and I have actually the choice in this situation. No doubt this might be provoking to human importance sometimes. And facts tell on their mind. We can understand a foolish man making a covenant, and the next day repenting of it, which is never true of the divine purposes. He went simply to make the acquaintance of Peter, and abode with him how long? . Galatians 5:16. How little is man to be accounted of! How abortive is man in the things of God! It was a very unusual circumstance. I was crucified with Christ, but now I have to reckon it in so many situations everyday. "I certify you, brethren," says he, "that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. Next he turns to direct exhortation, the chief salient points of which will call for but few words. divided against itself, can stand long, so no religious one; and What makes you righteous before God is your faith, which works in love within your heart and life.Now, it is interesting to me how that those who opt for rules, those who opt for laws, those who want to lay down the laws upon the people, or those who want to live under the laws that are laid down upon them, always seem to be striving. Very powerful words for those who would seek justification through the law, through rules, through keeping rules, through keeping ordinances. Sense of duty is not power. Thus a decisive blow is struck at the principle of connection with the law; and it was evident that they did not truly "hear the law." Such is the effect of Christianity, and such in perfection was Christ Himself. And this life is sustained by the very same person who is its source. They're wanting to strive, they're wanting to argue; they're wanting to prove their points how that baptism is essential for salvation. Kindness and goodness are closely connected words. (ii) There is the obligation to our fellow men. He feels what he ought to do, but he does it not, and thus is increasingly wretched. All that I have as a living man in the world is gone, not, of course, as a mere matter of fact, but, what is far more important, as a matter of faith. These other words are defining what the agape love actually is. 2. "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. It brings in deliverance for man in the accomplishment of God's purpose in Christ. So the stumbling-block of the Cross is removed, is it? Causes me to become judgmental. With this paragraph Paul's letter changes its emphasis. And this leads to another point, the relation of the law to the promises. The truth is the distinctive boon and mark of Christendom. If I am a man, I am responsible as such; being fallen and sinful, this will end in judgment. What ground is there for boasting in this? Basil called it "grief at your neighbours good fortune." (vss. By biting and devouring (89) he means, I think, slanders, accusations, reproaches, and every other kind of offensive language, as well as acts of injustice arising either from fraud or violence. The word is hairesis ( G139) , from which comes our word heresy. is this all? We are free, but our freedom loves its neighbour as itself. "Yeah, but I had the right to do it." The Jews will surely be exalted, as well as converted nationally, and they will then put down their enemies, being made the head when other nations become the tail. It is not a question of my loving Him, though this is and must be true of the saints; but this would tend to throw the soul on self, and it is not the reckoning of grace. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law ( Galatians 5:3 ). it is added, he conferred not with flesh and blood; neither went up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before him; but went into Arabia, and returned again, not to Jerusalem, but to Damascus, the place near which he had been called at first. Well, then, it stands written in it that Abraham had two sons; one was the son of the slave girl and one was the son of the free woman. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Concerning these things, or those in whom these fruits of the Spirit are found, the apostle says, There is no law against them, to condemn and punish them. In this case it was God that gave the promise; it was He that confirmed the covenant to Christ, without saying a word about the law till four hundred and thirty years after. "To Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed.". This highlights the problem of reading contemporary ideas back into Scripture. "Paul closes this little section on the idea of circumcision and all and he gets a little testy with those. And then they started to rail on me and prophesy my death and things of this nature. Such is the secret of true power. Paul was a trained Rabbi; and that is what he is doing here. "Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are." Galatians 5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another Another reason inducing to love is taken from the pernicious consequences of a contrary spirit and conduct. God did not intend man to live that way, because man living that way is alienated from God who is a Spirit. This may be concluded from what frequently happens in the divine dispensations, as well as from an express declaration by the hand of Moses. . And you develop your own little following, which really appeals to your flesh. II. What gives power is the heart surrendering itself in everything, and thus set at liberty by Christ. The law kills instead of giving life, and puts under condemnation instead of giving that Spirit which is necessarily a spring of sonship and liberty. "But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me; but contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter," etc. On the contrary, "the Scripture hath concluded all under sin" not under righteousness by law. And people to follow after me, you know. The apostle, as far as I know, wrote no other letter to any one of the churches of the saints. Flesh and blood had not revealed it. Don't marvel when I say, 'You've got to be born again.'" Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai, which is in Arabia, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem; for she is a slave and so are her children. And Peter said, "I suggest that we not place a yoke of bondage on them which neither we, nor our fathers were able to bear" ( Acts 15:10 ). "I through law am dead to law, that I might live unto God." It is for the purpose of bringing in transgression, answers the apostle. You were running well. to bite, N.T.o. Just as he had shown that God in His love to man had given the promise direct, so the apostle Paul acts in his care for the saints of God where all the foundations were endangered. I really like to say that to the Jehovah Witnesses that come to my door. These works of the flesh, of course, are related to our body drives, so many of them. After all, what God had at heart was the accomplishment of His own promise in grace. The new creation is a present blessing that the soul already enjoys. "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?" Note, The best antidote against the poison of sin is to walk in the Spirit, to be much in conversing with spiritual things, to mind the things of the soul, which is the spiritual part of man, more than those of the body, which is his carnal part, to commit ourselves to the guidance of the word, wherein the Holy Spirit makes known the will of God concerning us, and in the way of our duty to act in a dependence on his aids and influences. Romans 7 indicates that under the very law by which they are attempting to be justified there is no way, once a person sins, for the inner man to gain control of the tendencies of the flesh. This it is to which we are come now under Christianity. And now the apostle enters on another part of his subject. So, "do not use your liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love," the real key is love, "serve one another.". Don't become seekers after empty reputation; don't provoke each other: don't envy each other. And so, it was something that was quite familiar the castration. This is the only sin Paul warned the Galatians to avoid. "Oh, well, He laid down His divinity before He died." and circumcision, and the necessity thereof to justification and The Galatians were succumbing to false teaching (7-12) III. Do your souls go along with Paul's decision? 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. He intimates also how vain a thing is legalism, because those that were pleading for circumcision in no case carried out their own principle. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Because you'll never come to their beliefs just by reading the Bible. Exhortation to Stedfastness; Persuasives to Stedfastness. against such there is no law ( Galatians 5:23 ). Thus, the idea is, in their contentions they would destroy the spirituality and happiness of each other; their characters would be ruined; and the church be overthrown. 2 Mark my words! They're contrary, and I do not always walk after the Spirit. All question of natural ties drops in death; as the cross is the disproof of any right to Christ in either. The apostle concludes this chapter with a caution against pride and envy, Galatians 5:26; Galatians 5:26. It was not a question of man's wit. Plutarch says that it has a far wider place than justice. Being, of course, dying men, whether it be the general privileges of Israel, or the special place of the priest, all was transmitted from father to son. "Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. There can be no compromise; but to be exclusive in any sense save as the expression of the truth in Christ would be in its own way an utter and heartless falsehood. And I had some who were determined that they were going to convert me to their way of thinking.And I would listen to them and listen to them and listen to them; I don't really make a practice of arguing scriptures. "Now, the other way to be righteous is through faith in Jesus Christ, receiving that grace of God through Him, where God accounts me, as He did Abraham, righteous because I believe. Christian baptism, contrariwise, supposes man dead; and the only death that can deliver man out of his own death is the death of Christ. For the world there is nothing yet executed, any more than the great results of grace for the saints as yet appear in their fulness. But if you bite -- By an improper use of the tongue. "Before faith came we [Jews] were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. It's amazing, isn't it, what difference being born of the Spirit really makes. Far otherwise is God's way with souls. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do." It was the practice that priests and really devout worshippers of Cybele mutilated themselves by castration. He tells them that as many as take the ground of law works are under the curse already. The truth of the gospel, therefore, was compromised. ", I have nothing to do with the law any more, even if I had been once under it as a Jew. Born and bred in the abominable idolatries of the heathen, they were strangers to the institutions of Israel. Thus, then, God directed and ruled that the apostle should go up and have the evil condemned on the spot, and at the centre from which it had emanated. The inheritance, therefore, depends on the grace of God fulfilling His promise, not on man's accomplishment of the law, even if possible. Men of, disposition, careless and unthinking, consume othersthose of, But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another, , but if ye be biting and eating up one another. How wholesome is the language here, "Every one shall bear his own burden!" And I can choose whether or not to walk in the flesh, or then again, to commit it and walk after the Spirit. He had been brought to a place of blessing outside himself and by another, the Saviour, which in itself gives the soul motives indeed but not power; whereas, for the soul who is brought to God by the gospel, and planted in the liberty wherein Christ makes free before God, it is no more a question of flesh, but of the Holy Ghost who is given to him. And in the fifteenth chapter of Acts, we read how that Peter stood up and told the brethren how that the Lord had called him to go to the Gentiles to the house of Cornelius. The apostle stands to the truth preached and received. . To this the apostle endeavours to persuade these Christians, and there are two considerations which he sets before them for this purpose:-- (1.) enjoyment that has degenerated into licence. We saw the second of Corinthians characterized by the most rapid transitions of feeling, by a deep and fervent sense of God's consolations, by a revulsion so much the more powerful in a heart that entered into things as few hearts have ever done since the world began. Dissension; literally the word means a standing apart. And this is always true in its measure, and shows the exceeding gravity of opposition where God raises up for His own special work in this world; but more particularly where, as in the apostle's case, the mere manner of his conversion, the special form of his separation unto God, bears the impress of the truth he was to preach. The essence of it is that it does not describe the spirit which desires, nobly or ignobly, to have what someone else has: it describes the spirit which grudges the fact that the other person has these things at all. No doubt he heard Peter use it there in Acts 15 , and he said, "Stand fast in the liberty wherein Christ has set you free.". "When Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed: for before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles; but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. Get Access To 3 Exclusive Articles (for FREE) Want articles like this one delivered straight to your email? But now I have liberty in Christ Jesus, for I don't have to follow after the flesh anymore. The very defence set up, and the meanings which these men put on the forms and ceremonies of which they make Christianity so largely to consist, demonstrate their most barefaced turning back to idolatry. With the utmost simplicity he shows that his own separation from man was a part of God's ways for the purpose of making more strikingly felt the great truth that he was afterwards to proclaim. From the beginning Hagar had been inclined to triumph over Sarah, because barrenness was a sore shame to a woman; there was an atmosphere charged with trouble. Now, if you're trying to be justified before God or being made righteous before God by the keeping of the law, then Christ is of no effect to you. In Galatians 4:1-31 the relation is taken up, not of the law to the promise, but of the Christian now to the condition of the saints of old a very important point also. The tragedy of life is that people who hold different views very often finish up by disliking, not each others' views, but each other. All sprang, no doubt, from the same God, from the same Lord Jesus Christ; but even so from God and from the Lord in other relationships. 1. He was saying that we each worship something - we seek to fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts, but our worship is all vain, it's all futile, unless we worship the one true God. The particulars he specifies are of various sorts; some are sins against the seventh commandment, such as adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, by which are meant not only the gross acts of these sins, but all such thoughts, and words, and actions, as have a tendency towards the great transgression. Successor to Paul there is none; if so, who and where? 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