“Boasting in the Cross of Christ”
(Galatians 6:11-15)
Series: Set Free To Be Free (Galatians)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
I invite you to take your Bibles and join me in Galatians, chapter 6.
While you are finding that I want to share that I am looking forward to tonight’s worship service. This month we are commemorating 500 years of the Protestant Reformation. It was on October 31st 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his “95 Theses” or 95 statements he was willing to defend, statements regarding serious problems he saw in the church. Most scholars regard this action as the defining moment that began the Protestant Reformation. Tonight we’re going to have a brief overview of the reformation, JD Graham will overview the reformation, followed by my bringing a message entitled “Protestant or Catholic, What’s the Difference?” And we’ll talk about how our faiths differ from one another. That’s tonight.
This morning, we are in the final paragraphs of Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. In these concluding paragraphs, Paul brings a final warning to the churches of Galatia. He takes time in these final statements to summarize the main teachings of the letter with a call to stay true to the Lord Jesus Christ and the one and only Gospel message, that man is saved not on the basis of religious performance, outward works such as Jewish circumcision, but that salvation is an inside job, God’s working in our hearts through faith, birthing us as a new creation in Christ. Listen for that as I read verses 11 through 15.
•Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!
12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
•Pray: “Lord God, we pray that through our study that we may know Christ more fully, see His glory more clearly, and serve Him more faithfully. In His name, amen.”
I just want to get right to the message this morning and address this matter of what of following Christ really means. Paul takes the occasion of the conclusion of his letter to shine a floodlight upon the essentials of the Christian faith, essentials he has addressed before, essentials addressed throughout the letter and essentials to which he returns again.
**What Following Christ Really Means:
First and foremost, something not generally used as an inducement for coming to Christ, as an attractive guarantee to the one placing his faith in Christ, first, following Christ means suffering persecution for Christ.
I. Persecution for Christ (11-13)
In verses 11 and following, Paul reminds the readers of his letter that living for Christ involves persecution on some level or other. We see this truth especially in verse 12, but before we read that, read verse 11 again:
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!
Paul dictated his letters in the New Testament, that was the custom in his day, to use a scribe or secretary, the scholarly word for that is amanuensis. It just means the person who takes dictation and writes manuscripts while the other speaks.
So verse 11 suggests that Paul takes the pen from the hand of his secretary and writes these concluding words himself. This may be something of a “mark of authenticity,” that the letter definitely came from him, that it bears his penmanship, perhaps as a means to guard against forgery. It’s like in the ending of 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians 3:17, The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write.
This was his practice. It is kind of humorous the way verse 11 reads. My translation, the New King James Version, even has an exclamation mark at the end of verse 11. Paul is like, “Can you believe this?! Compared to the small, neat and tidy penmanship of my secretary, see with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!”
There are some who believe this supports the theory that Paul’s eyesight was poor and that he had to write in large letters so he could see what he had written. That may be true, but given the substance of what he is writing, the fact that he goes back to some main themes he wishes to stress again, suggests that he wishes to draw attention to the importance of these truths by writing them in his own hand—and in large letters! Much the way we text or message someone in all caps when we wish to stress something to be read with emphasis. All caps in text suggests one is shouting or otherwise laying great stress to the thing being said.
“Hey, you Christians in the churches of Galatia! See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!” And perhaps the one who was reading the letter aloud to the Christians gathered together to hear the Word, perhaps he paused for a moment and showed everyone the scroll so they could see the “large letters.” I imagine they smiled, nodded in approval, and then waited for the one reading the letter to resume his reading as they listened with keener interest now in what was to be read.
And what Paul writes is, verse 12:
12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
And the hearers remembered that Paul had made this point earlier. And we recall the same. Remember that the main problem Paul addresses in this Galatians letter is the false teaching of the so-called “Judaizers,” the false teachers who came to the churches Paul had started and, after he was long gone, they came in and taught that people are not saved by faith in Christ alone, but by faith in Christ PLUS obedience to Jewish ceremonial law, namely the rite or ritual of Jewish circumcision. They said one had to do this in order to be saved.
Their rallying cry is heard summarily in Acts 15:1, “…Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” So they denied salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
We treated this matter back in chapter 5 where we addressed the “offense of the cross.” Remember the false teachers were trying to claim Paul as one of their supporters. They said that Paul also preached circumcision as a means by which people were accepted by God. This is a false teaching. And it remains false today. No one is saved based upon their works, works of any kind: circumcision, good deeds, rule-keeping, or anything. We are saved by grace, through faith, in Christ alone.
Paul does not agree with these false teachers and he points to the very fact that he is being persecuted for his faith as evidence that he is not siding with the false teachers.
Galatians 5:11, “And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.”
That was Paul’s way of saying the cross, the gospel, is by nature offensive to sinful people. You see how he returns to that teaching here at the conclusion? Verse 12, “As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh (that is, by Jewish circumcision), these (same teachers) would compel you to be circumcised (and why?), only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.” Paul’s point: Those who were changing the gospel, are doing so in order to remove “the offense of the cross,” so as to avoid, so as to “not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.”
The cross, the gospel, by nature is offensive to sinful people. It is offensive to all categories of people. The cross, or the gospel, is offensive to good people, to bad people, to religious people, to irreligious people. Think of it:
To morally upright people, those who are placing their faith in their “good works,” their morally upright acts, to them the cross says that God isn’t pleased with those good works apart from Christ. Without the gospel all the morally upright acts you do, even the imitation of Jesus as a good teacher, all of your goodness will never be enough to save you and, in fact, apart from faith in Christ, your good deeds are considered by God to be unrighteousness. That’s offensive to the morally upright person. That’s offensive to the religious person who says, “Well, isn’t being a Christian just obeying the 10 Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount, or just living the golden rule? The cross says, “No.” You can’t obey or follow the commands of God as a means of earning His approval, acceptance, or entrance into heaven. You can’t be “good enough” because you are a sinner. The offense of the cross.
In fact, the cross is also offensive to those who are proud of their goodness by telling them that they are in the same boat as those who are bad. It tells them that, as far as God is concerned, both bad and good are equally lost apart from Christ. That’s offensive to a person who thinks he is a “pretty good catch” for God! It tells him, “No, actually you’re not as good as you think, nor as strong as would like to believe. You are weak, sinful, and undone. You need Jesus!” The offense of the cross.
John Stott: “Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves…until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”
The cross is also offensive to the culturally liberal minded person who says that all religions are basically the same. You can believe this or you can believe that, don’t let’s become “intolerant” of one another’s faith. They’re all good. And the gospel says, “No, there is but one mediator between God and all mankind and His name ins Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).” Jesus does not say in John 14:6, “I am but one of a number of different ways people can come to God,” He says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me.” That’s offensive to the broad-minded, latitudinarian, the liberal thinker of our day. The offense of the cross.
Tim Keller notes that we can only appreciate the “sweetness” of the cross when we first “grapple with its offense.” He adds: “If someone understands the cross, it is either the greatest thing in their life, or it is repugnant to them. If it is neither of those two things, they haven’t understood it.”
Those who believe in Christ, those who love Jesus, those who love the cross, are persecuted in the sense that they are considered fools, crazy, religiously intolerant, holier than thou, and so on.
Paul is saying that it is for this reason that the so-called Judaizers were preaching circumcision and ceremonial law keeping, to avoid persecution, to avoid the offense of the cross.
And we are guilty of the same when we are tempted to go along with the false ways of the world to escape persecution and suffering for our faith. So in one sense you and I become “Judaizers” today when we fail to speak for Christ, seeking the approval of others instead of the approval for God. We become “Judaizers” today when we fail to teach that Jesus Christ is the only way. We ourselves are guilty of the same thing when we agree with those who say, “It doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you believe it.”
13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
“Not even those who are circumcised keep the law.” Here is a reminder that no on can keep the law. No one! No one can keep the law as the means of their acceptance with God or approval from God. None of us keeps the law entirely, consistently, and perfectly. If we were to earn our acceptance with God based on law keeping, we would have to keep it entirely, consistently, and perfectly. We cannot do that. Only Jesus could do that. He said in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” We are not saved by what we do, but by who we know and what He did for us.
The Judaizers clearly were interested only in touting their law keeping, their good works, and pointing to others they had won over to their false religion. It was so man-centered! They prided themselves in what they had done! They “patted themselves on the back” for their religious performance. They wanted to “boast” in the converts they had won to their way of thinking—that external, law-keeping is the way to be accepted by God.
Their boasting was tantamount to saying, “Look at what I’ve accomplished! Look at how great I am! I am so influential, so persuasive, so better than others in that I have shown others the error of their ways and brought them into this great religion.” They were clearly seeking man’s approval and even something of worldly fame and notoriety—this “boasting in the flesh” of their converts.
Beware of the same danger! These Judaizers grounded their identity in their religious law keeping. Instead of locating their sense of worth and value in Christ and God’s approval of them rather than man’s approval of them, they erred grievously. Their personal sense of value, self-worth, and importance was drawn from the opinions of others. So they boasted in their good deeds. Paul says, “God forbid I should ever boast in my own performance!” See it in the next verse, verse 14:
“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Here, then, is our second point. Following Christ means persecution for Christ and, secondly:
II. Dedication to Christ (14)
Verse 14 is a riveting testimony to dedication. Hear it again, verse 14:
14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Paul does not locate his sense of identity or purpose in his good works, his external religious deeds. He doesn’t glory in that. He doesn’t boast in that, find life in that, rejoice in that. No! He boasts in the cross! He boasts in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Why? Because it is in the cross of Christ we are accepted perfectly by God! God loves us perfectly in Christ Jesus. When we are positionally “in Him,” we have all the acceptance and approval that matters. We have GOD’S SMILE upon us!! This is not boasting in self-confidence. This is not confidence in our self, but confidence in our Savior!
It’s not that he now hates the world and can’t enjoy the world. God created the world and all that we have is a gift from Him. Paul means that he doesn’t need the things of the world, and namely he does not need the world’s approval. He doesn’t need to feel validated by others. He doesn’t find acceptance or identity in the things that the world seeks to find acceptance or identity in. Paul does not seek to locate his identity in his gender, ethnicity, race, achievements, successes, or failures. His identity is in Christ Jesus! Because of the cross, Paul is free!!!! Do you hear that freedom in verse 14: “I have been crucified to the world and the world to me!” How? “in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The JB Phillips paraphrase reads: “…the world is a dead thing to me and I am a dead man to the world.”
He’s like, “I don’t need the things of the world! I mean, I’m okay with the basics. And I’m okay with a lot. But I don’t need.” It’s similar to what he wrote to the Philippians. Remember Philippians 4?
Philippians 4:11-13:
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (and HOW is all this possible, this being crucified to the world? Here’s how…)
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
That’s how. The world has lost it’s attraction. The more we look at Christ, the less we see the world. That’s a helpful statement: The more we look at Christ, the less we see the world.
It’s the hymn we often sing: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in HIS wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
Paul could sing that! And I hear Paul singing another hymn, don’t you?! I hear him singing, “I’d rather have Jesus than,”—what?—“Silver or gold. I’d rather be His than have riches untold. I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land. I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand. Than to be the king of a vast domain, or be held in sin’s dread sway; I’d rather have Jesus than ANYTHING this world affords today!”
Yes! The world is dead thing to him and he is dead man to the world. Dead to the pull, the tug of the world, the sinful attractions of the world to his flesh, the temptation to be popular, to go with the flow, to find self-worth in the acceptance of others. No!
He’ll not give in to the pull of the world, because it no longer pulls as hard as it once did. Why? Because he’s allowing the Spirit to find room in His heart. His heart is happy in Jesus. He is walking in the Spirit so he will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
How is all this possible? This is our third point. Following Christ means persecution for Christ, dedication to Christ, made possible by number three:
III. New Creation in Christ (15)
Read verse 15:
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
This is a paraphrase of Galatians 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”
Verse 15 is another way of saying that. It’s not our works we do for God, works like the ceremonial rite or ritual of circumcision, or any other external work. It’s not our works for God, it is God’s work in us. God works in us through our faith to bring about a new creation. Hope you’ve memorized 2 Corinthians 5:17 because it is so encouraging!
2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
You were created to treasure Christ. You were created to treasure Him more than anything or anyone. Do you love and treasure Christ?! You can’t until you are a new creation. Have you been changed, created anew? How? By trusting Him alone as Your Savior. By repenting—turning away from your sin, making a decisive break with the old way—and by turning to Jesus.
By saying, “Lord Jesus Christ, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but, through you, I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you for paying my debt, bearing my punishment and offering forgiveness. I turn from my sin and receive you as Savior.”
Do love Jesus more than anyone or anything? Can you say—truthfully—I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords to me? Can you say that? Repent. Turn to Christ. Look to the cross, boast in the cross, today!
Let’s pray.
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