Galatians 6:11-18
Today’s passage is the end of Galatians. Paul wrote this letter to remind Galatian believers of the true gospel of Jesus Christ and to protect them from false teachers. False teachers deceived believers that circumcision and observing the Mosaic law were required to be saved in addition to believing in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
NIV’s subheading for today’s passage is “Not Circumcision but the New Creation.” Through Paul’s final message to the Galatians, may we firmly hold on to the true gospel and live the new creation life the Holy Spirit calls us to live.
Let’s pray.
Look at verse 11.
“See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!”
Up to this point, Paul might have had a friend to scribe the letter as he spoke. But now, Paul writes the conclusion in his own handwriting to emphasize his main point, and to make a final, strong appeal to hold on to the true gospel.
What was his final argument?
Look at verses 12 and 13.
“Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.”
Paul has returned to the issue of circumcision. The false teachers insisted that Galatian believers in Jesus Christ must also be circumcised according to the Jewish law to be saved. As we have learned this summer, this was a major issue in the book of Galatians.
Now Paul says why they were doing this. Why did they do it? It was to impress people by means of the flesh. It means they were trying to earn the approval of other Jewish religious leaders by the number of new Gentile Christians they convinced to be circumcised. It was all about numbers and trying to impress people!
Paul digs deeper into their motives. He says the only reason they forced Galatians believers to be circumcised is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. These false teachers insisted on circumcision because they were afraid of being persecuted by other Jewish religious leaders. It's one thing to agree that faith in Christ is necessary for salvation, but to teach that circumcision is not necessary offended Jewish religious leaders. So they took the easy way out and said both were required. Paul has taught clearly that the two cannot go together in Galatians 5:4, “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”
Now Paul says that the false teachers are also hypocrites. They do not—in fact are not able to—keep the law of Moses. Their only reason to try to get others to be circumcised is so they can boast about their conversion numbers. In other words, the Galatian believers are just stats for the false teachers, as if they were salesmen working on commission.
Paul said earlier in Galatians 5:11, “Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.” If he were preaching that men must be circumcised, the Jewish religious leaders would stop persecuting him. Why were these leaders persecuting Paul? What were they so angry about? Paul describes it as the "offense of the cross."
Why is the cross offensive to the people?
The Judaizers were furious because Paul insisted that we can do nothing by our own human effort to save ourselves. Christ paid for all our sins on the cross. The cross completely satisfied all of God's demands for payment.
Believing in the cross of Jesus requires you to acknowledge that you are a sinner. This is not quite attractive and pleasant. It may be even more difficult for those who have lived by the law and did not commit what they considered “major sins”. But the cross of Jesus said that they all had a huge debt to pay because of their sins, and that only through Jesus’ death can the debt of sin be paid.
Furthermore, the cross of Jesus tells us that salvation is received solely through faith in the cross. This means that all the good deeds and efforts we have accumulated in this world do not contribute at all to our salvation. Accepting this truth may make all the things we've done feel wasted.
Another thing that made the cross of Jesus hard to accept was that it challenged how they viewed others. Believing in the cross of Jesus meant they had to accept people they would usually condemn as those who could be saved through faith alone. But that's what the gospel says. They may have felt this was unfair, especially if they felt like they personally worked hard to live a religious life.
You see, accepting the cross as the only way of salvation challenges people's pride. This is the offense of the cross. People resist accepting the gospel, asking, “Why should I be treated like I’m a miserable sinner? Do you know the good life I have lived?” We constantly want to prove our worth and to be recognized. We want everyone to just pat us on the back and affirm us. We want to boast about what we have done. This is our human nature that is offended by the cross.
In verses 13 and 14, we see a key word - ‘boast’.
What is boasting?
First of all, originally, a boast was part of warfare. How do you get people involved in battles that could lead to death? How do you get soldiers to go, “Let’s go?” You start with a boast. We see this situation in numerous movies where the general or the king gets up and says, “Our hands are strong enough, our spears are sharp enough,” and everybody goes, “Yeah,” and they are willing to fight with the enemy. That is one example of boasting. There are some verses in the Bible where the word ‘boast’ is used in war situations. Exodus 15:9 / Egypt boasts ‘We will pursue and overtake them.’
1 Samuel 2:1 / Hannah prayed and said “... My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.”
On an individual level, boasting is a way of showing pride and glorifying oneself. In the world, boasting is not just for those who have wealth, power, high social status, and so on. Everyone boasts. Social media is filled with boasts. Why do we boast? The motivation for boasting is to get approval from people, and to derive from that our confidence, strength, and security. Where does your confidence come from? Where does your strength come from? Where does your security come from?
What we boast about is closely related to our identity and value system. So, everybody boasts about various things because everybody wants to find confidence in something. Everybody wants to prove that they are something.
But what does the Bible say about boasting?
Jeremiah 9:23,24 “This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Psalm 44:8 “In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.”
Paul says what he would boast about in verse 14.
14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
[NLT] 14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.
What does it mean to boast in/about the cross of Jesus Christ?
It means to find confidence, strength, and security solely in Jesus. As Paul confessed in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”, it is all about Jesus Christ living in me. The NLT version of verse 14 says, “Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.” If we fully accept the gospel of the cross, our interests in this world are crucified. Gratifying the desires of the flesh is no longer attractive to us. Now, the world has nothing to offer to us. We find it all in Christ.
To boast about the cross of Jesus means to always remember what Jesus Christ did for us through his death and resurrection. It is to talk on and on about all that Jesus did for me. It is to keep giving credit to Jesus, who set me free from our sins. It is to keep praising Jesus for the beautiful relationship with God we get to enjoy as his children forever.
Look at verse 15.
“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.”
Remember what Paul wrote in Galatians 5:6? “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Paul says faith is the only thing that counts; and here, in the final section of the letter, Paul develops this further and says, “what counts is the new creation.”
What is the new creation? In John chapter 3, a man named Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. He was a Pharisee, a member of the Jewish ruling council Sanhedrin, and a rich man. He seemed to have everything but still felt something was lacking. Jesus said to him, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. You must be born again.” Jesus did not say he should achieve more or do more good things to make an alteration or an improvement to his life. Instead, Jesus said, “You must be born again.”
We were all dead in our transgressions and sins (Eph 2:1). We considered the things from the Holy Spirit foolishness, and could not understand them (1 Cor 2:14). What we have done could not make any contribution to God’s salvation and calling for us (2 Tim 1:9). But only by grace, God saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Ti 3:5), newly creating us like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24). Just as a newborn baby has no role in its birth, the new creation cannot be achieved through human efforts. It can only be accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit, which is beyond our understanding.
There is no distinction between those who are saved by faith, as Paul said in Galatians 3:28,29: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Look at verse 16.
“Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.”
The rule Paul refers to here is the main theme of this letter, which is salvation by faith. This rule further directs us to walk by the Spirit, gratifying the desires of the Spirit and doing good to others out of love.
I thank God for allowing me to newly meditate on the gospel, that salvation comes only through faith in the cross of Jesus. In the past, I lived seeking the approval of others, and felt great pride in being recognized by people. Through continual Bible study, the Lord helped me realize that I am a sinner and led me to believe in the cross of Jesus. Afterward, the Lord began to change me, from living a selfish life to that of a shepherd that thinks about others. I began to shepherd college students who did not know the gospel of Jesus. I am thankful for this grace. After finishing my Ph.D., God led our family to the US, with the clear direction to live primarily as gospel workers. However, reflecting on today’s passage, I realized and repented that I still live a life that seeks to boast about myself. Although I am living by the Lord’s grace, I at times feel proud of my commitment to God’s work. I realized how difficult it is to live solely boasting in the cross of Jesus. My unconscious thoughts still revolve around me. Lord, I confess that without Your grace, I would have died only boasting in vain. You have saved me only by Your grace. Please help me to continue to keep in step with the Spirit. Help me not become conceited, but do good to others only because of Your grace and love upon me. Amen.
In conclusion, Paul’s final message to the Galatians emphasizes the new creation resulting from faith in the cross of Jesus Christ. As new creatures, we are to boast about the cross of Jesus. May we walk in step with the Holy Spirit so Christ may be revealed through our lives. May Paul’s confession become our confession as well. Let’s read verses 14 and 15 together.
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.”