Whether you try to keep the Law (circumcision) or don’t try to keep the Law (uncircumcision) will not ultimately determine whether or not you are saved. What matters is whether or not you are a new creation in Christ.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:4-9.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
We are finishing the Book of Galatians. In order to better understand why “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” (Verse 15), let us review the Book of Galatians by remembering the following ten posts among the most recent posts. The title is followed by a summary quote. God willing, tomorrow, we will finish the review.
1. “The Deeds of the Flesh, the Fruit of the Spirit, and the Preservation of the Saints” – “Our faith is not in our own will-power to try harder to resist sin, although as stated above we should try harder. Our faith is not even in our ability to walk by the Spirit, although as stated above we should walk by the Spirit. Ultimately, our faith is not in ourselves; our faith is in God preserving us.”
2. “The Supernatural: We are “released from the Law” and “led by the Spirit of God“.
3. “Our Need for the Supernatural” – “One of the first steps toward loving and serving one another is to reduce the pride in us. We are not going to love and serve another through the flesh. We absolutely need “Some One” supernatural to possess us to make us love and serve another as we should.”
4. “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law” – “We can’t have one foot standing on grace with the other foot standing on the Law, thereby depending on the Law to hold us up if grace does not hold us up. We can’t buy a little “fire insurance” from the Law.”
5. “Children of Promise” – “Paul continues the hammering. Do you want to be under the Law or do you want to be under the promise? The bondwoman Hagar, her son Ishmael, the desert (Mount Sinai), the Ten Commandments, and slavery represent the Law. Abraham’s wife Sarah, their son Isaac, the richness of heaven (Jerusalem above), walking by the Spirit, and freedom represent the promise. On which side do you want to be?”
6. “Enslaved All Over Again to the Law?” – “The temptation to go back to the Law to prove our own self-righteousness is with us today as it was with the Galatians.”
7. “Students, Slaves, and Sons” – “Paul continues to build his case that we should not seek to be under the Law, but rather, that we should seek to be “in Christ”. At the end of the preceding chapter, Paul used the analogy of students and a tutor: ”Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:24-26. In today’s Scripture, Paul uses the analogy of slaves in bondage. Christ redeemed His elect under the Law, so that they might receive the adoption as sons and be no longer slaves.”
8. “We Belong to Christ” – “Our comfort is not in the Law. We are not going to prove our righteousness under the Law. We are not going to receive a blessing under the Law. Rather, under the Law, we will only prove how great of sinners that we are with the result of spiritual death. Romans 7:7-11.”
9. “The Teacher, the Train, the Father, and the Law” – “The teacher graduates her students, and the students leave the teacher and classroom and enter the next grade or work or otherwise get on with their lives. Likewise, “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” Verses 23 and 24. The train delivers its passengers to the end, the station, and the passengers get off the train and enter the station and proceed to their destination. Likewise, the Law delivers us to Christ. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4. The father hands his daughter to the groom, and the daughter leaves the father and joins her husband.” Likewise, “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” Romans 7:4.“
