This coming Friday marks the fifty-fourth anniversary of the death of Jim Elliot and four other missionaries who went into the jungle of Ecuador to share the gospel with the Auca Indians and were murdered. As they sought out the Aucas, they were not anticipating their certain deaths. Just a few days before his death, Jim had written his wife, Elisabeth, a letter that said, “Perhaps today is the day the Aucas will be reached,” and Ed McCully had written his wife with a list of things they needed.1
However, they did give thought to what message they wanted to put in their heads as they went about seeking out the Auca’s, and so after praying together for the mission, they sang together the hymn, “We Rest on Thee.” The song was a reminder that they did not go forward alone, that Christ was their righteousness and foundation, that they were weak and needed God’s grace, and that the battle was the Lord’s as was the praise. And though they were not in their minds heading toward their certain deaths, it was a reminder to them that when they died, death would not be ultimately triumphant, but they would walk through the gates of pearly splendor as victors through Christ. The last words sung by these men were powerful reminder for them whether they knew they would be their last words are not.
The way Paul ends the letter to the Galatians, it is clear that he wanted to provide for them a powerful reminder of the truths in this letter before he closed. First, in order to show the importance of these final words, he writes to them in verse 11, “See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.” Perhaps Paul had been dictating the letter to someone else who had done the actual writing for him up to this point. However, as he closes he takes the pen in his own hand and begins to write. And, more than that, he points out to the Galatians that he is writing with his own hand. Why? It seems most likely that Paul points this out so that the Galatians know that this letter communicates what he himself wanted to communicate, regardless of who had done the actual writing. Also, Paul most likely wanted them to pay close attention to these final words with which he was closing the letter.
And as we look at these final eight verses, it becomes clear that Paul was not using these final verses to go in a different direction or to say something that he had failed to mention before. He was concluding by reminding them of what he had been saying to them. He had written what was necessary, and so now he was just reminding them of these things that needed to be held closely and tightly by the Galatians.
Therefore, it is fitting for us to close this series with the last words that Paul wanted the Galatians to hear. Like those five martyrs who went into the jungle of Ecuador over fifty years ago didn’t know what awaited them, so I do not know what awaits us tomorrow, the next day, or the day after that. But I have become more convinced that regardless what tomorrow holds, the message of this book concerning the sufficiency of the gospel and the freedom from condemnation that is ours in Christ is a word that we will need, that will be fitting for our situation, and that would be a precious promise to rejoice in, even if we were to die. Therefore, even as Paul wanted the Galatians to be reminded of these precious truths again before the letter closed, so I want us to remind ourselves of what this letter has taught us and reminded us of before we close.
Therefore, the things I want to mention today are nothing new. They aren’t even things that I have failed to mention through the fifteen weeks of this series. But they are things truths that I want to make sure we remember as we go on from this the study of this book, which has been a precious study for us. Therefore, let’s look at what Paul truths Paul wants to reiterate as he concludes this letter.
First, Paul speaks of these false teachers who had been the source of these problems. They had brought in a false gospel that was no gospel at all. The Galatians had been very tempted to believe them. So, Paul reminds them again, lest there be any continuing sympathy for the teaching of these false teachers that those opposing the gospel do not have godly motives.
There’s a sense in which this seems like stating the obvious. It perhaps feels like saying those who try to kill you aren’t looking out for your best interest. It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Of course those opposing the gospel don’t have godly motives. They’re not opposing the gospel because they want to honor the Lord. We know that.
However, there can be a strong temptation to want to see those who oppose the gospel in a very appealing light. I mean, don’t we find ourselves sometimes thinking, “He’s proclaiming a lie against the truth but he’s just so gracious and earnest in what he’s saying”? There’s a temptation to think that though someone is opposing the gospel, he’s simply trying to do what he thinks is best. Therefore, Paul blows up that thinking altogether. He writes in verses 12-13, “It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.”
Paul tells the Galatians that these false teachers simply want to praise of men. They want to be able to boast that the Galatians have followed their teaching, that the Galatians are their converts. They want to avoid persecution that comes with proclaiming Christ as our only hope. Instead of being the target of persecution, they want to be the target of praise, and the Galatians are the means by which they are seeking that praise. Worse than that, these false teachers are putting the Galatians under a burden that says they must keep the law in order to have life, and yet the false teachers themselves are not keeping the law. How does Paul know this? He knows it because no one obeys the law perfectly. That’s why trying to be justified by the law always and without exception simply leads to being cursed before God, facing his judgment.
Now, why do you think Paul would start this important conclusion on this note of exposing the motives of the false teachers? If I guessed, it would be because he knows that one of the greatest threats to the gospel is the attractiveness of those who oppose it. The enemy knows better than to try to dissuade us from the truth through a person who holds no attraction. There are people who look good, sound intelligent, seem earnest and compassionate who will oppose the truth of the gospel by faith alone. And when you hear them, remember that their motives are not godly. They oppose the gospel because they refuse to hold to the sufficiency of Christ’s work and want to boast in their own works. Therefore, oppose their teaching, seeing it as it is – an attack on the gospel of Christ.
Having revealed the motives of the false teachers, then, Paul reminds them of the nature of the gospel as he reminds them that holding to Christ by faith as our hope means we hold to nothing else as our hope.
In contrast to the false teachers, who boast in themselves and hope to boast in the Galatians, Paul writes in verses 14-15, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”
The reason Paul refuses to boast in anything except what Christ has done is because the gospel is such that you cannot add to it. Either you stand before God and are declared righteous utterly and wholly because of Christ or you stand before God on the basis of your good works. And if you try to mix the two, then you forfeit anything of Christ. He is of no advantage to you. You are severed from him. Therefore, as we were reminded a few weeks back, it is a severe thing to try to look to your works even as a portion of that which puts you in right standing before God.
You see, Paul’s issue in this letter wasn’t circumcision, per se. It’s not that circumcision was a great evil. If circumcision is practiced in our culture, and in no way seen as something done to merit salvation, Paul would have encouraged you to circumcise your sons if you wanted. His problem wasn’t with circumcision. He makes that clear by noting in verse 15 that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything. His problem was the thought that there was something that we can do that can merit even a portion of our righteousness before God. So, if someone was circumcised or remained uncircumcised in an attempt to merit righteousness before God, Paul would have opposed them. And he would have opposed them because Christ must make up 100% of our righteousness before God if we hope to be justified.
So, I want to remind us this morning. When you placed your faith in Christ, you died to the world just as Paul did. The elementary principles of this world say to everyone, “Do this and live.” For some, they try to do good and generous things for others to gain righteousness before God. For others, they simply try to avoid really bad things. For others, they just try to make sure good outweighs bad. For others, they forfeit their own lives in hopes that God will reward them. But no matter how differently they approach it, they are all trying to be justified on the basis of something they do, something they can point to in themselves, something they can boast in. When you became a believer, you died to that. You knew that you could offer nothing for righteousness and so looked wholly to Christ alone for your salvation. Don’t forget that he must always be your complete hope of righteousness. Either you will boast in Christ alone or you will boast in yourself, but only Christ alone will allow you to stand righteous before God. Preach that truth to yourself.
However, as Paul had reminded us, so he reminds us again, that faith in Christ is powerful. In the end of verse 15, Paul reminds us that being declared righteous by God through faith in Christ makes us new and makes us children of God.
If we hold to Christ by faith, we are made new and are God’s children (15b-16)
Paul writes, “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” (15-16).
You see, the reason circumcision and uncircumcision are irrelevant is because the Lord wants to make you new. And nothing we do can accomplish that. But as you have faith in Christ, what happens is that the Spirit comes to dwell within you, and he changes your desires. You are no longer the person you once were. God changes you. This is why preaching that we are declared righteous before God on the basis of our faith alone and not in any way because of our good works is not a risky teaching that inevitable leads to sin. The reason is because those who truly have faith are made new, have different desires, and can walk according to those desires – the desires of the Spirit.
And to the one who is justified and has the Spirit and sees Christ as sufficient, instead of bringing upon themselves a curse such as comes from being under the law, they have peace and mercy from God upon them because they are God’s children.
Do you remember God’s promise to Abraham that he would bless his offspring? Paul reminds the Galatians and us in verse 16 that we are the recipients of that promise, the true Israel of God, if we believe. That is, God has not only justified us, he has adopted us as his sons, those who will inherit the promises given to Abraham. So, let us walk according to the desires of the Spirit that God has placed within us because we can.
Therefore, Paul is concluding this letter with the precious reminder that we are justified because of Christ alone, but then he also reminds us of another reality as in verse 17 he reminds us that proclaiming the gospel of freedom will invite persecution.
The false teachers had wanted to avoid persecution and therefore preached a message of man’s need to work for his righteousness. Paul, on the other hand, had preached Christ alone as sufficient for our righteousness, and as we might guess, it had led to his persecution. Paul writes in verse 17, “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Christ.”
The world wants to boast in something that they’ve done, something they can present so that they might say, “See, I’m righteous.” Therefore, the message of the gospel is an offense to man, telling him that he cannot be good enough and that nothing he does counts toward righteousness before God but only condemnation. That message is offensive, and the world will hate it. They always have. The children of the slave woman will always persecute the children of the free woman. Those who know the bondage of trying to be justified by works and failing will always persecute those who hope in Christ alone and are free from condemnation.
So remember that. Paul is not an exception. All those who proclaim the gospel in this world will face persecution of some sort. But let us proclaim because even if they take our lives, we will walk through the gates of pearly splendor as victors because through Christ we truly are free from condemnation.
Finally, Paul gives them a benediction to remind them that God’s grace will continue to be with them. Let me say it to us this way: just as you wholly needed grace when you were justified, so you wholly need it now, and it will always be yours in Christ.
Think of how you were justified. For all of us, whether we remember the details or not, there was a realization that Christ was our only hope. We weren’t relying on our works, for we knew they were worthless. And we believe that Christ was sufficient. We could merit nothing; we needed God’s grace. And so we looked to Christ in faith, and we were saved. God’s grace came to us.
Well, Paul ends every letter by reminding his recipients that just as God’s grace came to them, so it will continue to be with them. Galatians is no exception. In 6:18, Paul writes, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.”
He is blessing them by reminding them that just as you looked to Christ in faith and found sufficient grace to be justified before God when you were first saved, so his grace will continue to be sufficient. We are not justified wholly because of Christ and then start to contribute before our righteous standing before God as we grow in the Christian faith. God does not stand over us and say, “Sure, you needed Christ and my grace wholly then, but now you can do more, and so I will continue to see you as righteous only as you start doing things right.” No. Rather, he says, “Christ is wholly sufficient now as he was wholly sufficient then. Just as my grace came to you then, so my grace is with you now and will be with you.”
God knows we cannot live perfectly righteous, and so he sent one to live perfectly righteous for us. That one, Jesus, not only lived perfectly righteous under the law but he then died to pay the penalty for our disobedience to God’s commands. He took God’s wrath in our place. Then, he rose from the dead three days later as God displayed to all that this was his perfectly righteous Son. And if you believe in him, not trusting in anything you can do, then God will justify you before him, declaring your end-times judgment right now, as he declares you perfectly righteous, crediting Christ’s righteousness to you. That is the good news of the gospel. It is the message we needed when we were first saved, it is the message we need to remember and believe in today, and it is the message we need to remember and believe in tomorrow. For the Christ, “All I have is Christ,” is not a pitiful admission of failure but a cry of victory. Indeed, as we come to the table, let us proclaim our victory over death and condemnation through Christ, for are free from the law, free from condemnation, and free to enjoy and obey our God as we proclaim Christ as our only hope. Amen.