GALATIANS 5:1-12
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Verse 1 is a transition statement, and can be attached to either the end of the previous passage, or the beginning of the present one. First, it summarizes a major thrust of what Paul has been demonstrating by the previous arguments: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Then, it states what we are to do because of this, anticipating what will follow: "Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Positively, believers must stand firm in the freedom that they possess in Christ. Negatively, they must resist all attempts to place them under slavery again, and this means to resist both the practice and the promoters of circumcision.

Paul addresses those who would accept circumcision, and writes that "Christ will be of no value to you at all." As verse 6 indicates, it is not circumcision as such that Paul opposes, or that will render Christ of no value to a person – there he says that even uncircumcision is of no value. But in the context of the present crisis, circumcision represents the adoption of works as a way to obtain justification, and as a way of living. This, Paul says, is incompatible with faith in Christ. And a man who accepts circumcision (who depends on works for his justification) is obligated to obey the whole law, so that he is enslaved to it. Since no one can obey the whole law, the person who accepts circumcision is also spiritually doomed.

Verse 4 is especially clear about this incompatibility: "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." Anyone who tries to be justified by law is cut off from Christ. Anyone who depends on Christ for his justification cannot then accept circumcision, as if he depends on the law as well to establish his righteousness or sanctification before God.

A person who tries to be justified by law has "fallen away from grace." To "fall from grace" does not mean to lose the favorable disposition of an important person, although it is true that one who tries to be justified by law cannot also find favor with God. Rather, here the expression means that law and grace are mutually exclusive as principles by which one seeks justification before God.

Those who depend on God's grace do not work for their righteousness, but they wait for the final revelation of righteousness that will occur on the day when God will publicly pronounce all his chosen ones "justified" in his sight through faith in Christ (v. 5). Again, Paul is not referring to the physical procedure of circumcision, but the theological (and here legalistic) reason behind it (v. 6a), so that circumcision has no value, and uncircumcision has no value (1 Corinthians 7:19).

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." So it is not that faith does not perform works, only that it does not perform works in order to obtain justification. The works of law that strive to obtain a righteous standing before God is bound to failure, and is opposed to the way of grace. But the works of faith proceed from a person who is already justified through faith in Christ.

Paul turns his attention to those who would advance circumcision, that is, as a way to attain righteousness or spirituality. The Galatians have been advancing in the faith, but the Judaizers have cut in on them with their false doctrine, preventing them from obeying the truth. Contrary to what these legalists claim, rather than introducing a superior system to the Galatians, their doctrine is impeding their progress. This message is not from God, and it will spread like a contagious disease if left unchecked (v. 8-9).

The apostle expresses confidence that the Galatians "will take no other view." As for the Judaizers, Paul's attitude toward them has been consistently hostile and condemnatory. He probably has the leader of these agitators in mind when he writes that this person will "pay the penalty, whoever he may be." He is most likely referring to God's judgment. To say "whoever" does not necessarily suggest that Paul does not know who this person is, but it means that he will "pay the penalty" regardless of his identity or status.

Of course, there were more than one false teachers, for then Paul refers to "the agitators." And here comes a statement that would astound and offend many modern readers: "As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!" Suppose some Jews were to tell my converts to get circumcised in order to be saved or to become better believers. Now if I were to say that they will pay for it, and that I wish they would castrate themselves, I would probably be denounced as an unloving extremist, and the strongest criticisms would most likely come from those who call themselves Christians.

But this is exactly what Paul says about the Judaizers. It is true that ritual castration was practiced by some pagan religions, and Paul seems to again classify the Jews' misuse of the law with paganism. To the ancient Jews, this does not decrease the offense, but greatly increases it. Those professing Christians who protest in heated indignation when this type of rhetoric is used against false teachers betray their own enslavement to the worldly ethic and etiquette of their culture. Scripture thinks that such talk is entirely appropriate, so that their attitude demonstrates nothing of the holiness of God or the love of Christ.

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