Galatians 5:11-15 (WEL) And I, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? For then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12 I wish those who trouble you would cut it all off. 13 Brothers, you have been called to liberty, but liberty not for an opportunity for the flesh but to serve one another through love. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one saying, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” [Leviticus 19:18] 15 But if you bite and devour each other, take heed that you don’t be destroyed by one another.
V11 And I, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? For then the offense of the cross has ceased.
The false teachers were insisting on circumcision; they taught faith in Jesus plus circumcision. Beware of anyone who adds anything to faith. Usually, it is something we must do as sacraments, rituals, following man-made rules, obeying a teacher, desiring an experience (dreams, tongues, miracles that happen to an individual), etc.
The plain, simple gospel is to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. God requires our personal faith in believing it. Compare Abraham in Genesis 15:6.
V12 I wish those who trouble you would cut it all off.
Paul becomes startlingly blunt that these troubling false teachers would cut all of the manhood off.
I think Paul is angry. This is a righteous anger because a false gospel will never be accepted by God. People go to hell because of a false gospel. Compare Acts 15:24.
(New Living Translation (NLT) Study Bible Notes) “Paul uses biting sarcasm and wordplay with multiple levels of meaning: (1) Paul might be alluding to pagan priests in the province of Galatia who castrated themselves in devotion to pagan gods. An insistence on circumcision for Christians is essentially no different. It involves cutting the flesh to become acceptable to God by physical deeds rather than by faith in Christ. (2) Depending on circumcision, mutilated the false teachers’ standing before God, so they might as well mutilate themselves physically. (3) In the old covenant, emasculated men were not allowed to enter the congregation (Deuteronomy 23:1); similarly, those who rely on circumcision have no place in the new covenant community. Paul probably wished that the Judaizers would cut themselves off by removing themselves from the community.”
V13 Brothers, you have been called to liberty, but liberty not for an opportunity for the flesh but to serve one another through love.
There is a difference between liberty and freedom.
Freedom means not subject to restraints. Liberty means having rights to live and express them in society. A person can enjoy their beliefs without the limitations placed on people to control them. Compare the Bill of Rights.
Freedom without restraints. Liberty free but still under limitation.
The Greek word for liberty is G1657 ἐλευθερία eleutheria, which means freedom or liberty depending on context. Believers have freedom, unrestrained, from Mosaic Law, yet have liberty, restrained by the Law of Christ.
Love is the motive. True love is obedience to Jesus Christ alone with His worldview, lifestyle, rules, and actions. See John 14:23 and 1 John 2:5.
V14 For all the law is fulfilled in one saying, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” [Leviticus 19:18]
If I love my neighbor (anyone I meet), then I will not want to steal from them, lie about them, commit sexual sins against them, or even covet what is theirs.
V15 But if you bite and devour each other, take heed that you don’t be destroyed by one another.
This is an example of selfishness, loving ourselves first. If we place ourselves, our desires, our opinions, our comforts, our authority, etc., above our neighbor’s or above God’s law, we will destroy one another. God’s will must be our priority, not our will.
We learn:
- About God’s hatred for a false gospel.
- About the evil of adhering to a teacher’s opinions and words more than we adhere to God’s word.
Questions:
- What is the Gospel you share with others?
- What is your priority?