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.
Paul first starts this passage by talking about freedom. But this isn’t just the freedom of doing what we’d like to do. He talks in terms of what Christ has done for us. He has freed us, but from what? Paul is talking about being free from the bondage of legalism. If we are in a legalistic relationship with God (as Paul once was, as the Pharisees of his time also were), then we’re not living in the freedom of grace. If we can walk in faith, then there is a freedom from regulation, from the legalistic ideals of any religion. Standing firm means just what Paul intends it to: that it takes a concerted effort to remain faithful. What happens when we fall away? we tend to fall back into the legalistic maneuverings of what once seemed familiar and right, instead of stepping into a wilderness that isn’t built inside walls. This is the slavery that we are in danger of falling back into.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
Paul warns that if we decide to follow the law, then we are responsible for the entire law. This means that we can’t have it both ways. We can’t be in both camps. Either we follow the law (circumcision) or we follow Jesus. Circumcision was the ritual that showed a Gentle was coming under the law, a law that put his faith in himself (earning) instead of in Jesus. Jesus is no longer our savior if we decide to earn salvation on our own. Grace is no longer an option.
5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Those who walk in the spirit are not trying to earn their salvation; they are living their lives under grace. It is the very antithesis of legalism. When he says we “eagerly wait”, Paul is saying that those who walk by the spirit are those who wait for God’s hand in their life through the Holy Spirit. Next, Paul says that being circumcised or not has no bearing on a person’s salvation, meaning that the man-made rules of a religion, so to speak, may be good in keeping us on a path, but if there is no love, only duty, then we have lost a great element of what God wants to do in us. Our faith must be an active encounter of love for God and others. Nothing made by man is worth anything. Only faith, working through love, has a bearing, a course, a path we must follow.
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
First, in verse 7, Paul acknowledges that many followers have a good start. This could be a concerted effort over months or years to live in faith through love. But what he also mentions is that some fall back into this slavery of legalism. Who hindered you? Paul eludes to this being a person, a false teacher, who took you away from he truth. But he also makes certain we know it didn’t come from Jesus. Finally, he likens this to leaven. You’ll notice, throughout scripture, that leaven (yeast) is always a metaphor for evil. Way back in Exodus, the Israelites were commanded to leave Egypt with bread made not of yeast. The reason Paul brings this is up is to remind us of the corrosive value of sin, and in this case, how a little false teaching can ruin the work of followers. There are many religions, current ones included, that teach you can have Jesus and be yoked with rules and regulations. This is not biblical teaching. It comes from elsewhere. Paul then states that he has confidence that we will turn, through Christ, back to proper teaching. He is equally confident that those who cloud the picture of Jesus’ love and our proper faith will pay a penalty (Matt 18:6-7). Next, Paul reminds us of his persecution and of the evidence that he is being persecuted because he is preaching against legalism. The opposers are offended by the cross, which will always offend those not of God. Paul says he wishes they would go the entire way and, instead of just circumcision, just go ahead and cut off their genitals! His idea is for them to be like the pagan priests in Galatia who regularly castrated themselves.