What we have here in Galatians is an error so serious that it takes one off the ground of Christianity altogether. All that Paul had to do to escape the persecution and the opposition of the established ways of Judaism was to circumcise the Gentiles. This would put them under law.
“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing” (Gal. 5:22Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (Galatians 5:2)). When you’ve been circumcised (as a religious ritual observance), you’ve abandoned Christian ground for Jewish ground.
“For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law” (vs. 3). He’s taken himself off Christian ground—which is grace—and put himself under law.
The Apostle goes on in verse 11, “And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offense of the cross ceased.” The Jews thought themselves superior to the Gentiles because they had the law, they had the promises, and they were the circumcised. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were uncircumcised—unclean dogs. Jewish brethren were trying to elevate the Gentiles in the assembly up to their supposedly higher spiritual level (by putting them on the principle of law through circumcision). That was absolutely wrong, because there aren’t two levels in the assembly. We are all members one of another—no member is superior to the other (see 1 Cor. 12:21-2621And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 22Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked: 25That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. (1 Corinthians 12:21‑26)).
When He saves us and gives us a new life in Christ, all of those distinctions that existed in the Old Testament are obliterated by the cross. He’s taken it out of the way (Col. 2:1414Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Colossians 2:14)) and now we stand in an altogether new relationship to God, and that is in grace and by virtue of the finished work of Christ.
A Higher Level of Christianity?
If I, a Gentile, submit to circumcision (as seen in Galatians 5), then I am, in principle, seeking a higher level of Christianity. Now, if we promote that kind of spirit among ourselves, we allow the idea that there can be a group that, because of certain practices, are more spiritual than others. That is absolutely unscriptural and it ministers to the flesh. In Galatians 6:1212As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. (Galatians 6:12), the Apostle says, “As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.” Paul refused circumcision for Gentiles because that would deny the ground upon which they stand before God—the ground of grace.
He also says in Galatians 4:99But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? (Galatians 4:9), “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?” They (the Gentiles) were previously in bondage to a system of their own religion. Their religious practices consisted of worshipping false gods. They never worshipped the true God as did the Jew, nor were they ever under the law of Moses. They had their idolatrous laws and regulations as to what they could do and what they couldn’t do—their own rules on how to offer sacrifices to the gods they worshipped—constituting their idolatrous bondage.
Now the Jew was putting the Galatian believers under the same kind of religious bondage (in principle) by putting them under a different kind of law from what they had known in idolatry, though it is not exactly the same thing because one who worshipped under Judaism was worshipping the true God and the Gentiles worshipped false gods. But in principle it amounts to doing something after a ritualistic fashion to gain favor with the deity—that is Judaism; that’s the principal of law.
In Galatians 4:10-1110Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 11I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. (Galatians 4:10‑11) he says, “Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you.” Now Christendom has got that today. It has days and months, times and years, and religious holidays. The Roman church has even added more, observing official holidays throughout the year, all of which is supposed to give them an even higher standing before God. But it is a total falsification of the truth of Christian position, which is pure grace.
Grace is God bringing us into favor based upon the finished work of Christ, not based upon anything that we do.
Any Good in the Flesh?
In Leviticus 13-14, where you have the law of the leper, there was one case where the leper was totally covered with leprosy. The priest might look at many cases where sores broke out in the arm, the forehead or some other place in the body. He may have to look at it and see how deep it is and whether it grows or not. But here’s one case where the whole man is full of leprosy and that is the very one who is pronounced clean.
That’s a type of a man who couldn’t say, “Ah, there’s some good flesh. I’m not completely covered. I’m not completely bad. I’ve got some good in me. There’s a piece of good flesh.”
But the man that was completely covered with leprosy saw himself as vile and totally leprous. This is a picture of one who has judged himself before God as being totally sinful. When we come to that, that’s the total denial of self.
Grace or Law?
We’re no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in us (Rom. 8:99But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (Romans 8:9)). Circumcision is something that we could do that we might glory in the flesh. But if there’s anything that we can glory of in the flesh, then we’re totally off Christian ground. That’s what we have got to get hold of. They just wanted Paul to consent to the circumcision of the Gentiles, that’s all. But Paul says, “If you do that, you are a debtor to do the whole law.” In seeking to keep one point of the law, they were condemned by all the law. Further, those that did were off the ground of grace and back on the ground of law.
It’s the principle of law that is deadly, not the law itself. The law is holy and just and good. But we’re not under law; we’re under grace, and to get a hold of that is so important. Mr. Darby once said that the hardest thing for us to get a hold of is grace—pure grace.
C. J. Hendricks (from a reading)