NOT CIRCUMCISION BUT A NEW CREATION
TEXT: Galatians 6:11-18
I. LARGE LETTERS (v.11)
Galatians 6:11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
A. PAUL AUTHENTICATED THE EPISTLE
1. Paul had a practice of dictating his letters.
2. Evidently someone had written a letter to the Thessalonians claiming it was from Paul.
3. 2Thes.2:2 Paul says don’t believe any letters supposedly from him which claimed the Day of the Lord had already come.
4. From then on, he personally signed each of his letters.
5. Not only did he sign Galatians, he wrote the last paragraph in his own handwriting.
B. WHY WERE THE LETTERS LARGE?
1. Some have claimed that Paul used large letters because of poor eyesight.
2. This is purely conjecture.
3. Others have claimed that Paul used large letters because he had poor penmanship.
4. This is highly unlikely due to Paul’s scholarship and familiarity with the Greek language.
5. I believe Paul used large letters for EMPHASIS!
6. It is likely that Paul deliberately used large letters to call attention to what he was about to write.
7. Dr. MacGorman from SWBTS said, “The boldness of the handwriting at the end matches the boldness of the letter throughout.” (Class notes)
C. PAUL WROTE IT HIMSELF AND HE WROTE IT LARGE!
1. Paul signed the message to prove that it was AUTHENTIC.
2. Paul signed it in large letters to prove that it was IMPORTANT!
3. It was important because they had LARGE PROBLEMS…
II. LARGE PROBLEMS (v.12-16)
Galatians 6:12-16
12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.
13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.
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.
15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
A. OBSESSION WITH ECCLESIASTICAL STATISTICS
12a Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised.
13b …they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.
1. The legalists wanted to make a good impression on the Jews.
2. They wanted to boast about their number of circumcisions.
3. They were trophy hunters obsessed with statistics.
4. Sometimes, people will do things out of competition that they would never do from self motivation.
5. I read the testimony of a Mormon missionary once who did not even believe in the teachings of Mormonism, however he wanted to baptize more people than anyone else because he had a competitive nature.
B. FEAR OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
12b The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.
1. The legalists were afraid of Jewish persecution.
2. Many of them were Jews and faced the possibility of being ostracized by their families, friends, and business associates.
3. They decided to mix Judaism with Christianity to pacify both sides.
4. In so doing, they compromised the message of the cross.
5. Many today compromise the message by mixing it with other religions.
6. Mixing AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY AND MARLBORO
The Hollywood branch of the American Cancer Society decided to hold a benefit night in conjunction with a professional tennis tournament. It turned out to be embarrassing for them, however, when they learned that a major tobacco company was sponsoring the competition. Officials of the society found out too late that they had committed themselves to selling 500 tickets to an event that was named after a well-known brand of cigarettes. The publicity sent out by the Hollywood chapter portrayed a young woman with a tennis racket in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
7. It is just as bad to try to mix grace with legalism as to mix the American Cancer Society with a tobacco company.
C. CONCERN WITH EXTERNALS
13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh...
15 ...Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
1. Like contemporary legalists, the legalists in Galatia were only concerned with externals.
2. They were only worried about how things looked.
3. Their faith was shallow.
4. They were only worried about the surface, they were not worried about the inside.
5. They valued human approval more than God’s approval.
6. Modern day legalists are more concerned with church programs, than with church people.
7. They are more concerned with church ordinances than with church orphans.
8. They emphasize such things as water baptism, church membership, church traditions, dress codes, and outward appearance.
9. They are men pleasers and not God pleasers.
10. Some day we all must FACE THE MUSIC
The expression "face the music" is said to have originated in Japan. According to the story, one man in the imperial orchestra couldn’t play a note. Being a person of great influence and wealth, he had demanded that he be given a place in the group because he wanted to "perform" before the emperor. The conductor agreed to let him sit in the second row of the orchestra, even though he couldn’t read music. He was given a flute, and when a concert would begin, he’d raise his instrument, pucker his lips, and move his fingers. He would go through all the motions of playing, but he never made a sound. This deception continued for two years. Then a new conductor took over. He told the orchestra that he wanted to audition each player personally. One by one they performed in his presence. Then came the flutist’s turn. He was frantic with worry, so he pretended to be sick. However, the doctor who was ordered to examine him declared that he was perfectly well. The conductor insisted that the man appear and demonstrate his skill. Shamefacedly he had to confess that he was a fake. He was unable to "face the music." In the realm of Christian service, many professing believers go through the motions, but they are only pretenders. Someday they will be called upon to stand before the Judge of heaven and earth, and their deception will be revealed. God will then separate the "phonies" from the real Christians. No one will be able to hide in the crowd. Each will be made to "face the music."
D. THE GOSPEL LEAVES NO ROOM FOR BOASTING
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.
1. We live in a “do-it-yourself” society.
2. Thousands of “do-it-yourself” books have been written.
3. There is everything from “do-it-yourself” plumbing to “do-it-yourself” medicine.
4. We take pride in our own works and we build trophy cases and take pictures to remember our accomplishments.
5. There is a lot to be said for carrying one’s own burdens in society.
6. But, there is no such thing as carrying one’s own salvation.
7. There is no such thing as a “do-it-yourself” salvation.
8. There will be no boasting in heaven except boasting of Christ!
III. LARGE MARKS (v.17-18)
Galatians 6:17-18
17 Finally, 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.
A. “FINALLY, LET NO ONE CAUSE ME TROUBLE”
1. This does not mean that Paul wanted the Galatians to stop telling him of their problems.
2. He loved them too much to grow weary of helping them.
3. This does not mean that Paul was asking the legalists to leave him alone.
4. He knew that would be a waste of time.
5. Paul’s biggest trouble was hearing that someone had actually fallen prey to the legalists.
6. When he says, “Let no one cause me trouble” he is asking them not to break his heart by departing from the gospel.
B. “I BEAR ON MY BODY THE MARKS OF CHRIST”
1. Paul had suffered hardship for Christ.
2. 2Cor.11:24-26
24 Five times my own people gave me thirty-nine lashes with a whip.
25 Three times the Romans beat me with a big stick, and once my enemies stoned me. I have been shipwrecked three times, and I even had to spend a night and a day in the sea.
26 During my many travels, I have been in danger from rivers, robbers, my own people, and foreigners. My life has been in danger in cities, in deserts, at sea, and with people who only pretended to be the Lord’s followers.
3. We notice the marks that people wear.
4. A red nose, red eyes, jaundiced skin, slurred speech are marks of alcholism.
5. Track marks, saggy skin, dark eyes, and memory loss are the marks of continued drug use.
6. But, Paul had a different set of marks.
7. Paul had a very rare kind of marks.
8. He had the same kind of marks Jesus had.
9. When you think of someone with wounds, you generally think of someone who is hardened, mean, and uncaring.
10. Jesus was marked, but he was tender and kind.
11. Paul was marked with the marks of persecution, but he somehow was able to write “…faith, hope, and love. These three abide. But the greatest of these is love.”
12. Paul was wounded but not hardened.
13. Some of us don’t even have to be wounded to be hardened.
14. We get hardened just because we almost got wounded or we almost got into an argument or we almost had to give an answer for our faith.
15. What effect has your wounds had on you?
CONCLUSION
Paul’s marks were proof of his love for Jesus.
They were also proof of his love for the Galatians.
Paul’s marks had not caused him to be hardened and mean.
Paul’s marks were proof of his love.
