Galatians 5:7-12 – Bleeding Jesus

Once again, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷You were running well. Who cut in [on] you to not be obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion [is] not out of the One calling you. ⁹‘A little leaven leavens the whole lump’. ¹⁰I am persuaded concerning you in the Lord that you will think nothing differently but the one troubling you, whoever he is, will bear the judgment. ¹¹But, brethren, if I am yet preaching circumcision, why am I yet being persecuted? Consequently the scandal of the Cross is negated. ¹²O that the ones opposing you would castrate themselves!

In my last two posts I looked at verses 7-9 and observed that Paul is at this point not necessarily writing in a smooth logical manner. He appears rather to be in an emotional froth over the Galatians’ devolvement into legalism. As a result, the sentences seem to be individual outbursts of his frenzied mind. But what I want to observe today is that even though he is in an emotional frenzy, yet every outburst is in itself a pearl of wisdom.

To begin with, in verse 10, he injects something few of us would express or even think at this point: ^“I am persuaded concerning you in the Lord that you will think nothing differently…”   Matthew Henry observes: “Herein he teaches us that we ought to hope the best even of those concerning whom we have cause to fear the worst.”  Once again, Paul is living out what he told us in II Timothy 2:24-26: “The servant of the Lord must not argue; but be gentle with everyone, able to teach, and patient; in humility instructing those who oppose them; that perhaps the Lord may grant them repentance, to the acknowledging of the truth.”  Calvin comments, “It gives us courage to learn that good hopes are entertained about us; for we reckon it shameful to disappoint those whose feelings toward us are kind and friendly.”    

I think we all know personally the truth of what all these guys are saying. Most of the time if someone is “displeased” with us, they let us know in no uncertain terms. Their abrasive, negative, demeaning, threatening demeanor only stirs in us defensiveness. On the other hand, in the (maybe) three or four times in our life that someone honestly offered us loving, gentle, encouraging correction, we are all keenly aware how much easier it was to hear them. It may still have wounded our evil pride to be corrected at all, but at least they communicated it in a way that gave us the hope we could change.

The key is to, like Paul here, turn that around and ask myself, “Can I see others’ faults through the eyes of love?” If I ever do need to “say something,” can I, will I deliberately say it in words that “minister grace to the hearer?” I believe, if we will just walk in the Spirit, the answer is “Yes, we can.” Out of the abundance of my heart, my mouth will speak kindly if that heart is living in Ephesians 4:29-32:

^“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

On the other hand, if I am walking in the flesh, I’ll never pull it off. Interesting, back in our verse 10, Paul injects the “in the Lord.” I’m not sure if he is referring to himself, that as long as his mind is “in the Lord” he entertains these hopes, or if he is referring to them, that his hope for them is not in them but in the Lord who “begun a good work in them.” Perhaps it makes no difference. Either way our hope springs from the Lord and His presence, His power, His involvement in the details of our lives. The key to their success or ours is to be walking “in the Lord,” “in the Spirit.”

And what is the hope that Paul entertains concerning these people? “… that you will think nothing differently.”  Here I would like to inject that the reason Paul can hope this hope is because he is convinced there is truth. He can hope this hope, that they will think like him, because truth is objective. The truth is the truth. The more anyone grasps the truth, the more we’ll all think alike. This is precisely why it is so important to be in the Word, reading it, studying it, attending to its teaching, and trying to live it out. The Word is the truth. It is the great Touchstone of Reality. We are all bombarded constantly with other ideas, thoughts, and paradigms of “truth,” which invariably appeal to us to one degree or another. Only an attentive consideration of God’s words can help us see through the maze of it all and make the many, many mid-course corrections it takes to arrive safely at our destination.

It just comes down to the fact that “truth is truth.” If people are genuinely born again and seriously seek the mind of the Lord, in the long run we will agree on what is the “truth.” The Word is our hope and should be our constant diet. The closer we all get to the Lord, the closer we’ll be to each other.

One last thought: in the last half of verse 10, Paul refers to “the one troubling you.” Some suggest based on this that there was really only one person causing all the trouble. However, I would suggest this is just a collective singular. Nearly all the other references are clearly plural: 1:7; 4:17; 5:12; and 6:12,13.  Regardless, it is interesting how Paul shifts the threat of judgment from the Galatians to those who are promulgating the errors: “…but the one troubling you, whoever he is, will bear the judgment.”  

From this, I would suggest there is another pearl of wisdom lurking in the heart of Paul. Matthew Henry made the comment, “…we should always distinguish between the leaders and the led …” My observation from life is that most people, if left alone, will actually live fairly quiet lives. What most people want is just to be left alone, to go to work, make a living, and come home every night to their family. There are actually very few people in this world who will go around and stir up everyone else. Every time I see a large protest, I always wonder who’s really behind it. Sometime notice how on many of the signs they hold the print is strangely similar. Someone else put it in their hands. The fact is all of those people would be somewhere else minding their own business if someone hadn’t stirred them up. At any rate, my point is that I think we waste way too much time fighting the “led,” when in fact the real problem (as Paul is here intimating) is the leaders. I think the bottom line is, if you want to stop a movement, figure out who the leaders are and somehow stop their influence. The whole thing will then probably die away. Obviously the “led” themselves are still responsible for the choices they are making and, in fact, the whole book of Galatians is being addressed to the “led,” but still, it is the leaders who need to be dealt with most severely. The whole world, it seems to me, would save a lot of time and trouble, if they just observed this simple fact.

My, my. How the mind of a godly man bursts with wisdom. Cut him, it would seem, and he only bleeds Jesus.

Galatians 5:7-12 – Fighting Well -- More Questions Than Answers

 As usual, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷You were running well. Who cut in [on] you to not be obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion [is] not out of the One calling you. ⁹‘A little leaven leavens the whole lump’. ¹⁰I am persuaded concerning you in the Lord that you will think nothing differently but the one troubling you, whoever he is, will bear the judgment. ¹¹But, brethren, if I am yet preaching circumcision, why am I yet being persecuted? Consequently the scandal of the Cross is negated. ¹²O that the ones opposing you would castrate themselves!

In my last two posts, I looked at verses 7 & 8. I also want to record some thoughts from the little proverb in verse 9, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump”. My impression is that this was a fairly common proverb in the ancient world, much like our “What goes up must come down.” Like them, we all “know what it means” and we can use it to apply to many different situations. I would also observe that the proverb itself apparently possessed no connotation negative or positive. Jesus quoted it in Matthew 13:33 as an illustration of the Kingdom of Heaven: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.”  Paul quotes it here and also in I Cor 5:6 in the context of the immoral church member: “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” 

Obviously, it was simply a way of pointing out that seemingly small influences often can grow into pervasive impacts. Jesus was saying the Kingdom of Heaven can be that way; and it is certainly true that one person’s good influence can transform an entire family, a business, a church, even a nation. On the other hand, as Paul uses it in I Cor and here in Galatians, he is applying it to evil influences, which can themselves grow to corrupt entire people groups.

As I have pointed out earlier, it seems to me Paul is no longer writing in any kind of smooth logical flow. He has already built his case logically over five chapters and now, in verses 7 through 12, his passion seems to erupt in a series of exclamations, this proverb being one of them.  I think it is fair to say the consensus would be that he has in mind the teaching of the Judaizers, that in his mind there are only a handful of them, or perhaps he is thinking of their emphasis on the rite of circumcision – as if that were the “only” requirement the Galatians will have to submit to – when, as he has pointed out earlier, once you embrace legalism there will be no end to it.

Regardless, Paul’s point, Jesus’ point, and the point of our proverb is that we should ever be aware, both for better and for worse, that small influences should never be discounted or underestimated. Here in Galatians, the point is obviously, one way or another, the influence of false doctrine, and this is precisely where my blog devolves into more questions than answers.

Here’s my rub: on the one hand, it makes perfect sense to me that we must ever be on our guard against doctrinal error. Truth is truth, and, as I have said before, to be in error will be at least frustrating and may in the long run prove fatal. On the other hand, there is some measure of wisdom in knowing what “truth” is worth fighting for and what “truth” can be delegated to the realm of giving others the space to learn themselves. As a Christian, I have been “learning” for over 30 years. I don’t even agree with me from a month ago, much less from 5 years ago, or 10 or 20. And it should be that way. God help us if we can be around the Bible and Truth and not be constantly learning. But to learn is to realize I’ve been wrong. Was it “okay” that I was wrong? Was it “okay” that I myself had to learn to get where I am today? And then, what about the people around me? When is it okay for them to be wrong? When does the “wrong” call for correction? When is the “wrong” the little leaven that (dangerously) may leaven the whole lump?

What particularly brought this to mind was reading Marin Luther’s comments on this passage. He makes the statement, “This goes to show again how much importance Paul attached to the least points of Christian doctrine, … What right, then, have we to make little of doctrine? No matter how nonessential a point of doctrine may seem, if slighted it may prove the gradual disintegration of the truths of our salvation. Let us do everything to advance the glory and authority of God’s Word. Every tittle of it is greater than heaven and earth. Christian love and unity have nothing to do with the Word of God. We are bold to curse and condemn all men who in the least point corrupt the Word of God, ‘for a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.’”

Again, on the one hand, what Luther is saying makes perfect sense. Truth is truth. What isn’t truth is error and may grow into the very destruction of an entire people group. But where is the balance? “No matter how nonessential a point of doctrine …,” Luther said. Is that true? Hmmmm. While I deeply appreciate Luther and Calvin and their championing of the Scriptures such that there could be a Protestant Reformation, I am utterly unimpressed with the vituperative spirit they all seemed to do it with. If you go back and read their writings and the history of the Reformation, you will find they all hated and cursed each other. Luther tacked up his 95 theses on the Wittenberg Chapel door in 1517, and only 10 years later, in 1527, the first protestant was martyred by protestants. Felix Manz was drowned because he differed with them on the mode of baptism. Drowned? Executed? Really? Go back up to the last paragraph and read again what Luther said. Would he have someone executed because they differed with him on the mode of baptism? Yes.

Once again, I can read what Luther is saying and it can make perfect sense. Yet, somehow, I cannot and will not accept such a condemning spirit. Yes, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump;” but which leaven can be left to the process of sanctification in others’ lives and which leaven is worth going to the mat over?

Frankly, I don’t think I know the answer to these questions. I hope I will always be a champion for truth; but somehow I also want to live out the graciousness of a God who’s big enough to give me space to grow and still love me through it all.

For whatever it’s worth, I think the issues I’ve raised are of monumental significance. As I would live my faith, I have to live it in a world that is broken. The best anyone (including me) can be is learning. The best anyone can be is to be about the business of trying to fix the brokenness. So therefore there is no perfect church or church group. There are no perfect Christians to fellowship with. Therefore, and I think this is an enormous “therefore,” I cannot take Luther’s position to “curse and condemn all men who in the least point corrupt the Word of God.”  Somehow grace must be willing to overlook much, much, much in my church, my immediate Christian acquaintances, and even in the broader circle of who I align myself with – not to mention the non-christian world I live and work in.

On the other hand, the devil, like a roaring lion, still wanders about, seeking whom he may devour. A little leaven still leavens the whole lump. Error is still in the short run frustrating and in the long run fatal. To be wrong is still a dangerous thing. As in Paul’s case here in Galatians, sometimes error is serious enough to get a godly man worked up into an emotional froth – to even start proposing castration! Love of people sometimes gives them room to grow but it may also need to call error error and sin sin. How can we, for the love of grace and truth, determine where to draw these lines?

Once again, I don’t think I know the answers to these questions. Guess that is where I’ll have to leave this one. God grant us the wisdom to live, to love, and to fight well.

Galatians 5:7-12 – The Spirit and Real Freedom

As usual, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷You were running well. Who cut in [on] you to not be obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion [is] not out of the One calling you. ⁹‘A little leaven leavens the whole lump’. ¹⁰I am persuaded concerning you in the Lord that you will think nothing differently but the one troubling you, whoever he is, will bear the judgment. ¹¹But, brethren, if I am yet preaching circumcision, why am I yet being persecuted? Consequently the scandal of the Cross is negated. ¹²O that the ones opposing you would castrate themselves!

In my last post, I recorded some thoughts and matters concerning verse 7. Verse 8 has also been interesting to me. ^“This persuasion [is] not out of the one calling you”, or, as in the KJV, “This persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you.” (Pardon the KJV but that is what I was raised on, so oftentimes it is what sticks in my head).

“This persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you.” Interesting. These last few weeks, I have been enjoying trying to learn to distinguish between my own rotten spirit and the Holy Spirit indwelling me. “This persuasion …” – where is it coming from? Many times lately those words have come to my mind as I’m dealing with people and situations. I guess, theologically speaking, for years I have recognized that, as a NT believer, I am indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But this Galatians study has really opened my eyes to how immediately and personally He is present and available to help me live out God’s heart, to actually be aware second by second of my “spirit” and to try to consciously and deliberately make sure it is coming “from Him who called me.”

(I need to insert some explanation here: I am convinced from my Bible study that I am a spirit living in a body. God formed Adam from the dust of the ground (his body) then breathed into him the breath of life (his spirit). When we die, our spirit goes to be with the Lord while our body molders in the grave. When He returns (with us as spirit beings), He will then raise our bodies and we will once again be complete human beings, a spirit living in a body, only now an eternal combination that will never die. I do not subscribe to the body, soul, spirit idea. That is only confusing and has no defensible Biblical support. It also disagrees with my self-awareness. I am very aware that “I” am inside here, that there is a “me” – my spirit – which can exist separately from this body I currently live in. It is this “spirit” inside me that is always thinking, noticing, deliberating, deciding, wanting, and just generally talking to itself (me). Throughout my discussion of “spirit,” this is what I am referring to. Also, I am convinced from my Bible study that the term “the flesh” as used in the NT is actually referring to my Adamic spirit/body combination. It is the natural “me” as I was born.  Unfortunately, since the body is descended of Adam it bears his sinfulness and hence the spirit that accompanies it, though created in the image of God, is essentially an evil spirit. That is some background theology that bears on the rest of what I want to say).

Just to recap what I think I’ve learned from Galatians, there are literally now two spirits inside of me. There is my Adamic spirit, which comes with my humanness, which I was born with, that part of me the Bible calls my “flesh.” On the one hand it was made in the image of God, therefore it is capable of doing much good. Because of that, it even has a sense of good and wants to be good. Unfortunately, its modus operandi is totally driven by selfish desires. Even when it does “good” it is one way or another scheming to “get” something. If it turns out it has to do wrong to get that something, well, “you just gotta do what you gotta do”. It is capable of good but totally unreliable and incorrigibly selfish. I think in the past I failed to recognize it because of that element of the image of God which it still possesses. I think I thought of my flesh as totally bad and always the “evil” voice in my heart. I realize now it may even be leading me to do good things. Unfortunately, its motives are less than noble. Its ugly face gets exposed when that “good” thing doesn’t get me what I wanted and suddenly I become an angry, resentful, hateful person who can’t seem to get on top of my emotions.

Honestly, I would say most of what I have done even as a Christian has been done in this spirit. Oh, I have done a lot of “good” things – in a sense my faith gave me a whole new horizon of good things I “wanted” in my life ... now I even had Bible verses to tell me I was “right” to want those things and “right” to pursue them. But, you see, by wanting “good” things, my flesh was tricking me. It was hiding its face and assuring me that all was well. In fact, that spirit within me is so powerful, so deceptive that, I am absolutely powerless to overcome it. Even with faith it conquers me. I am an utterly hopeless case of obligate selfishness.

But herein is exactly the freedom for which Christ has set me free. He did the one (and only) thing that could possibly save me from this powerful, deceptive spirit which is me. He Himself took up residence in me. The very Holy Spirit, the third person of the divine Trinity, the Spirit of Jesus, very God Himself, moved into “me.” Now there is another voice that calls me, another spirit within me that is seeing what I see, hearing what I hear, knowing what I know. It too wants to do good, wants me to be good, but because it is the Spirit of Christ, its motives are truly good. It is literally the Holy Spirit.

This is so completely awesome and liberating, I don’t know if I can even put it in words, but I will try. Through this study in Galatians, I feel I am now very aware of these two spirits inside me. Now I feel I am beginning to recognize my evil spirit, even when it is wanting “good.” I recognize the feeling of how I am wanting something, yet deep down inside knowing something is “wrong.” Where is this “persuasion” coming from? There is something insidiously evil present and I somehow even faintly know it. Again, for years I was deceived by the fact that supposedly what I wanted was “good.”  Why then, I have wondered, deep down underneath it all did I still have a “dirty” feeling? Why, even while I was doing “good” was I so easily irritated and angered and fed up? Now I know. I was literally doing it “in the flesh” – the spirit inside me that was actually moving me was my own rotten spirit, masquerading as a “minister of righteousness.”

But then there is God. He is so patient with me. He loves me with His undying love. He never stops doing everything in my best interest. He cherishes me. I am the constant and endlessly amazed recipient of His gracious kindness. He is so good. Everything He is and does is right and best and loving. I do want so much to be like Him, to see the world through His eyes, to love people the way He loves them. I used to feel that “spirit” was something “out there,” something I must somehow reach out to, to somehow attain. No. It is NOT outside me. It is INSIDE me. He is present with me, IN me. That very spirit, that spirit of undying love and sincere goodness lives INSIDE me. That very Spirit is itself a voice that is calling me.

And that is the very choice of freedom I now have: which spirit, which voice am I allowing to rule me? A spirit of love and kindness and sincerity and patience, the Spirit of Jesus, is my spirit, or should I say can be. But I must let it be my spirit. I must be aware “whence cometh this persuasion?” Am I at this very second being my old rotten self or am I allowing the Holy Spirit in me to define who I am? Am I “walking in the flesh” or “in the Spirit?” That is my choice. It is my freedom. I not only “don’t have to be who I was,” there is a sense in which I am not “who I was,” or in another way of saying it, don’t have to be. There is an infinitely powerful Spirit present to “make things happen!”

Think about it: It is cosmically encouraging to know that the Holy Spirit in me is the third Person of the Trinity. What I mean is, think of the power that is available there – the very power of God Himself. My rotten spirit seems so powerful. As I said above and it has been my sad realization all these years of “trying” to be a Christian – my rotten spirit is so powerful it conquers me. But it is not “me” that has to conquer it. God already has. The Spirit of Jesus in me already has conquered it. In fact, though it puffs and blows and appears so very powerful to me, yet it surely can only cringe before the infinite power of the Spirit of God. While it may seem “hard” to let His Spirit control me, yet I must believe that if I only will yield and unleash His power, I will find that in any given moment or situation I have in fact (He has) conquered my own evil self.

Hmmmm. I still have a lot to learn here. My understanding is no doubt very elementary and probably flawed somewhere, but “Strong meat belongs to those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.” “By reason of use.” One truly learns to live Scripture as one tries to live Scripture. I’m going to try to allow the question to stay constantly in my mind, “From whence cometh this persuasion?” Then I am so looking forward to studying on through this book. The next section of verses directly address this whole subject of “walking in the Spirit” and not in “the flesh.” Surely the Lord will show me more that I need to know. And when I know the truth, the truth shall set me free!

This is so much fun! What will Heaven be like??

Galatians 5:7-12 – Wrapping It Up

As usual, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷You were running well. Who cut in [on] you to not be obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion [is] not out of the one calling you. ⁹‘A little leaven leavens the whole lump’. ¹⁰I am persuaded concerning you in the Lord that you will think nothing differently but the one troubling you, whoever he is, will bear the judgment. ¹¹But, brethren, if I am yet preaching circumcision, why am I yet being persecuted? Consequently the scandal of the Cross is negated. ¹²O that the ones opposing you would castrate themselves!

Concerning this passage of Scripture, there are a number of observations I’d like to record. As always, if someone reading this wants an actual commentary on the passage, there are hundreds available. My intent is simply to record things that stood out to me.

Paul is beginning to wrap up his arguments in this book. On the whole, it is notable to realize that Paul is in an emotional froth. If you read the passage carefully and thoughtfully, you will quickly realize it is seriously not linearly logical. It is, in a sense, a series of emotional ejaculations all gathered in a heap. What that means is that, when we go to try and understand what Paul is saying, we aren’t necessarily following a flow of logic. In a sense, each sentence is an individual expression. Each one is certainly deeply rooted in what Paul has been saying for five chapters; they just aren’t necessarily in any logical order.

Verse 7 is interesting to me, especially having been a runner myself for forty years. Paul says, “You were running well. Who cut in on you?” There is quite a variety of translations trying to express the Greek verb I have translated “cut in.” The word basically means to hinder, to impede, etc., so it certainly and legitimately could be translated many ways. However, in my own runner’s mind, there is no question what is the image in Paul’s mind. To have someone “cut in” is almost too familiar to a runner. You’re going along at a good speed heading for a great finish, then suddenly someone trying to pass you “cuts in” too early, your feet get tangled, and down you go. If you’re lucky, you find yourself “rolling through” it, almost like a somersault, bounding back up and continuing down the course. But most of the time you just end up flat on your face while the rest of the runners fly by. Usually it is the end of the race for you. I’ve watched it happen in the Olympics and it’s happened to me personally too many times. Since the context of the sentence is running, then, as a runner, I don’t think there’s any question that is Paul’s image. The Galatians were running a good race. But someone “cut in” on them and now he sees his beloved friends flat on their faces, struggling to get back up, and now way behind in a race they could have won.

On a purely technical note, I observe that verses 7, 8, and 10 each contain words which appear to be based on the root verb πειθώ. In v7, it occurs as a Present M/P Infinitive almost universally translated “obey.” In v8, it is a nominative feminine singular noun, usually translated “persuasion.” In v10, it is a Perfect Active Indicative usually translated “am persuaded” or “am confident.” What intrigues me is that of all the commentaries I consulted, only John Calvin felt compelled to justify his translation in v7 as “obey.” Actually if the word is “obey,” the root in v7 would be πειθομαι, not πειθώ. If it is πειθώ,  then it technically means “to persuade.” which would be consistent with the “persuasion” of v8 and the “am persuaded” of v10. The fact that Paul used (apparently) the same root three times in four verses would lead you think he had “persuade” in mind in v7, which then would lead him (even unconsciously) to “persuasion” words in the verses immediately following. If in fact v7 is πειθώ, in agreement with vv 8 and 10, then the sentence should probably be translated something like, “Who cut in [on] you to not be being persuaded [of the] the truth?” Then it would linguistically make perfect sense for him to inject, “This persuasion [is] not out of the one calling you,” and “I am persuaded concerning you…” In the end, I don’t think it matters to the sense of the verse. I guess I’m mainly just surprised that no one seemed to notice it. I go ahead and translate it “obey” partly to satisfy the lemming deep inside me, but also because it makes more sense in English. If you are persuaded, you will “obey” the persuasion. So perhaps there is no real difference practically speaking. But then again, that is the business of exegesis, the business of όρθοτομουντα, “cutting straight,” or “rightly dividing” the Word of Truth. I just want to know exactly what God said (and what He didn’t say) before I begin to draw conclusions and try to let His thoughts mold mine.

Interesting too that Paul returns once again to the subject of “truth.” Philosophically speaking, the presuppositional worldview behind everything Paul is saying is his belief that there is objective truth. There is true truth. The Galatians are deviating from true truth. To do so will be at least frustrating and potentially fatal. Of course today we live in a world that tells us there is no truth. Kant and Nietzsche would have us believe our “truth” is simply a collection of perceptions we have gathered based on our own unique history, experience, culture, etc., so that everyone’s truth is just as true as everyone else’s. The problem with this, of course, is if it is true that everyone’s “truth” is just as true as everyone else’s, then in reality nothing is truly true. Life itself is a mirage. Nothing at all can be known. One can only have perceptions but those can’t really be valid because validity itself is only a perception.

Against all of that subjective demoralizing befuddlement, the Bible opens with the statement, “In the beginning, God …” Before there even were humans to “perceive,” there was an objective reality: God. God was there. He was who He was. What was true of Him was purely true, completely independent of anyone else’s perception. He created human beings into a universe of preexisting truth. Truth was there before we were. As Mark Twain said, “The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” The bottom line is that because God is, there is truth. There is true truth and, while we must “perceive” it, it is not the product of our perceptions but rather the subject. If our perception is in error, then we are wrong.

As I mentioned above, to be wrong is at least frustrating and potentially fatal. If I believe by putting my car in reverse it will go forward, I am destined for trouble. Life will only “work” is I accept that, whether I like it or not, if I want to go forward I must put my car in drive. That is true truth and it stands objectively outside of my perceptions. Ultimately, the reason why I must submit to true truth is because there is God. There is objective reality.

While the philosophers philosophize, we scientists just go on seeking to unlock the “secrets” of the universe. As an engineer, and it is true for all real science, the entire foundation of our field is the belief that the universe is run by “laws” which govern reality. F=ma. The point of the scientific method is to propose truth (offer a hypothesis), then to so design and conduct an experiment as to discover what is truly true. If you want to know how big your water pipe should be, all you have to tell me is how much water you want to run through it and how far. I can “size” your pipe for you. Why? Because others before me investigated the truths of hydraulic flow, recognized the laws that govern it, and thus were able to arrive at equations which accurately predict it. When it comes to water flow, there is true truth. And when you need to size water pipes, if you know the truth, the truth shall set you free … to accurately size water pipes.

Back to Paul and our passage, it is precisely because there is true truth that Paul is in such an emotional frenzy over the Galatians. They had embraced the truth and were “running well” in it. But now they are deviating from that truth. To embrace a world of law rather than grace is to embrace error. It will at least be frustrating. It will be frustrating because it will not “work.” The Galatians want to be happy. They want to have happy families, good relationships, be successful in their work, and so on. But to embrace legalism will make them critical, judgmental people. It will create dissension in their church as everyone champions their own version of “the rules.” It will hurt their families as their children see through the hypocrisy and think they’re turning away from God when in reality they’re turning away from someone else’s misperception of who God is. In the long run, of course, legalism will so supplant grace that people will think they’re born again because they “keep the rules” and never realize they’ve not been born again. As has been said before, hell will be full of people who fell off supposedly Bible-believing church pews.

Grace and grace alone is true. To believe anything else is not to obey (or “be persuaded of”) the truth. And, again, in the short run it will be frustrating. In the long run it can be (eternally) fatal.

I find I have a lot of other thoughts that arise from this passage. But this blog is long enough, so I’ll post it and come back again.

Galatians 5:2-6 – It Can’t Be Both

As usual, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²Behold, I, Paul, say to you that Christ will benefit you nothing if you are circumcised; ³and, again, I declare to every man who is being circumcised that you are obligated to do the whole law. ⁴Whoever being justified in law, you are rendered useless from Christ; you are fallen from grace. ⁵For we by [the] Spirit out of faith are eagerly waiting for [the]hope of righteousness; ⁶for, in Christ, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision enables anything but, [rather], faith expressing itself through love.

As always, I’m really glad I got to actually study this passage. I finally feel like I understand what Paul is saying and that understanding, of course, is reflected in my chosen title, “It Can’t Be Both.” After having completed four chapters of pleas, arguments, and illustrations, Paul is wrapping up his “case for grace,” so to speak. Grace and law are mutually exclusive. You cannot mix them. It is for freedom Christ has set us free. To embrace any aspect of legalism is to miss it all, to miss the whole point, the whole point of life, the whole point of a relationship with God.

This absolute bifurcation (and the sad and nearly universal tendency of us humans to miss it) is the reason for Paul’s seemingly abrupt and even harsh language: “Christ will benefit you nothing … obligated to do the whole law … useless from Christ … fallen from grace …” We must understand this vigorously absolute context if we would understand the passage correctly. What I mean is illustrated in the opening statement, “Christ will benefit you nothing if you are circumcised.” Obviously Paul is not saying that all circumcised people go to hell. Rip the sentence out of its context and that is exactly what it does say! “Christ will benefit you nothing if you are circumcised.” Seems pretty clear. But one must read it in its context. Obviously, that is not what Paul means. He was himself a circumcised Jew and even had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3). His obvious point, in context, is to establish the case that, if you embrace a rite of legalism as essential to your relationship with God, then you are thereby saying you do not need grace, hence you do not need Christ.

As he goes on to say, “I declare to every man who is being circumcised that you are obligated to do the whole law”.  That is the problem. If you must keep a certain “rule” in order to have a relationship with God, then you must keep all of the rules. I remember a family that read in the OT that God required His people to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and actually, once a year, build a shelter of sticks in their yard and spend a night in it. So this family determined that they really should do that. I’m sure the kids enjoyed it, but the obvious question would be, “Where does it stop?” If a Christian family should keep the Feat of Tabernacles, why shouldn’t they also keep Passover, and all the rest of the legal minutiae of the OT?

Chrysostom said it well back in about 400 AD: “Legal observances are linked together. For example; Circumcision has sacrifice connected with it, and the observance of days; sacrifice again has the observance both of day and of place; place has the details of endless purifications; purifications involve a perfect swarm of manifold observances. For it is unlawful for the unclean to sacrifice, to enter the holy shrines, to do any other such act. Thus the Law introduces many things even by the one commandment. If then thou art circumcised, but not on the eighth day, or on the eighth day, but no sacrifice is offered, or a sacrifice is offered, but not in the prescribed place, or in the prescribed place, but not the accustomed objects, or if the accustomed objects, but thou be unclean, or if clean yet not purified by proper rules, everything is frustrated”. 

Read his last sentence again and feel the frustration of trying to keep the law! Seriously, as soon as you start, there is no end of it. But that is exactly what a person is buying when they embrace even one tenet of legalism. You hear the same sentiment from Martin Luther who wrote, “The fact that you are circumcised does not mean you are righteous and free from the Law. The truth is that by circumcision you have become debtors and servants of the Law… The truth of this I have experienced in myself and in others. I have seen many work themselves down to the bones in their hungry effort to obtain peace of conscience. But the harder they tried the more they worried. Especially in the presence of death they were so uneasy that I have seen murderers die with better grace and courage ... When I was a monk I tried ever so hard to live up to the strict rules of my order. I used to make a list of my sins, and I was always on the way to confession, and whatever penances were enjoined upon me I performed religiously. In spite of it all, my conscience was always in a fever of doubt. The more I sought to help my poor stricken conscience the worse it got. The more I paid attention to the regulations the more I transgressed them. Hence those that seek to be justified by the Law are much further away from the righteousness of life than the publicans, sinners, and harlots. They know better than to trust in their own works. They know that they cannot ever hope to obtain forgiveness by their sins”. He went on to write, “Some would like to subjugate us to certain parts of the Mosaic Law. But this is not to be permitted under any circumstances. If we permit Moses to rule over us in one thing, we must obey him in all things”.  

I often read different authors trying to decide which parts of the OT Law Jesus actually abrogated. I myself once reasoned that we were freed from the ceremonial law but that the moral law was still binding. What I and they totally didn’t understand is that such a discussion only exposes our ignorance. If we’re still deciding “which rules we have to keep,” then the real truth is we do not yet understand grace. That, again, is Paul’s point. It can’t be both. Either grace or law. Not some convenient mingling. Not. Period. How much clearer can he make it? The question I have to ask is, “Do I really understand this absolute bifurcation? Am I willing to give up my favorite “rules” and admit they gain me no standing before God? That every minute of every day my acceptance with God is grace business, not law?

I think if we are all honest, we will find this a very uncomfortable point of inquiry. I remember when I first began to realize the truth of this. Giving up all my favorite “rules” left me feeling naked spiritually. If my “faith” isn’t about all my rules, then what is it? How do I measure my success? It was so easy as a legalist. If I buy a coat and tie, get my hair cut, carry my Bible, go to church every service, volunteer for this and that … then obviously I’m spiritual and not only I but all my friends can see it too. Very convenient and comfortable. But what if none of that really matters? Then what does?

Back to the passage itself, once again, it is important to remember this absolute bifurcation is the context of this passage. Realizing this explains Paul’s statement, “You are fallen from grace.” The statement, in and of itself, if ripped from its context is scary. Just like, “If you are circumcised, Christ will benefit you nothing.” As discussed above, that statement must be understood in its context. This one is no different. “Fallen from grace!” Ye gads, if it’s even possible then I’m altogether lost! Paul has made the statement, “If you are justified by law, then you are fallen from grace.” First of all, you cannot be justified by law. To even suggest it is hypothetical. But then hypothetically speaking, if you can be justified by law then you are fallen from grace. But, in fact, neither is possible. You can’t be justified by law, so you can’t fall from grace. If you could, you would, but you can’t, so you shan’t. The point is why try.

It can’t be both. Rather, as Paul says, “We by Spirit out of faith are eagerly waiting for the hope of righteousness.” Ours is not a life of “keeping the rules” but instead of “walking in the Spirit.” It is by faith (literally “out of” faith) that righteousness becomes reality for us. It is by faith alone in Christ’s righteousness that I become righteous before God and will be presented righteous to Him in Heaven. And I can only experience real righteousness here on earth if I am walking in the Spirit, allowing faith to inform my thoughts and words and actions, to change my heart, to actually allow me live out the image of God in me. It’s not about the rules. Our “hope of righteousness” is not and cannot be based on our ability to somehow “live out the rules.” It’s either Grace or Law. It cannot be both.

As Paul concludes, “In Christ, neither circumcision not uncircumcision enables anything but rather faith expressing itself through love.” Oh. “Faith expressing itself through love.” Strip away all the rules and what is left of my relationship with God? Only this simple question, “Do you love?” Yes or no? Has your professed faith actually changed your fundamental attitude toward God and the people around you? Yes or no? The Pharisees had all the rules figured out. But there wasn’t an ounce of love in their hearts. I like what Albert Barnes said: “It is not a mere intellectual belief; but it is that which reaches the heart … It is not mere belief of the truth, or mere orthodoxy … true faith is that which is seen in benevolence, in love to God … in a readiness to do good to all mankind. This shows that the heart is affected by the faith that is held … A mere intellectual assent to the truth may leave the heart cold and unaffected; mere orthodoxy, however bold, and self-confident and ‘sound’ may not be inconsistent with contentions, and strifes, and divisions.”

I like too what Matthew Henry said: “[What matters is] a faith in Christ which reveals itself by a sincere love to God and our neighbor … Faith, where it is true, is a working grace; it works by love, love to God and love to our brethren, and faith, thus working by love, is all in all in our Christianity.”

Real faith doesn’t make me love the rules. It makes me love God and love people.

It is the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees kept all the rules but earned Jesus’ censure for their “hardness of heart.” Jesus offended them because He didn’t keep “the rules” but His love drew to God the hearts of tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners. Jesus was “full of grace and truth.”

Grace or law? It cannot be both. Absolute bifurcation. Jesus or Pharisee?

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

Galatians 4:21-5:1 – Slavery and Freedom

As usual, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²¹Tell me, ones desiring to be under law, do you not hear the law? ²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. ²³But, on the one hand, the one out of the slave woman was born according to flesh, [while] on the other hand, the one out of the free woman [was born] through promise.

²⁴These are an allegory, for they are two covenants. On the one hand, one [is] from Mt. Sinai giving birth into slavery, which is Hagar, ²⁵and this Hagar is Mt. Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶On the other hand, the above Jerusalem, which  is [the] mother of us, is free, ²⁷for it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one, the one not having children, the one not giving birth, break forth and exclaim, because many are the children of the desolate one rather than the one having the husband.”

 ²⁸And we, brethren, are children of promise, according to Isaac, ²⁹but just as the one born according to flesh was then persecuting the one [born] according to spirit, thus also now. ³⁰But what does the Scripture say?

“Cast out the slave woman and the son of hers, for the son of the slave woman will never inherit with the son of the free woman”.

 ³¹Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of slavery but of the free woman. ^5:1Christ freed us to the freedom, therefore be standing firm and do not be being bound again to a yoke of slavery.

I’m really glad I finally got a chance to actually study this passage. I have of course read it over and over through the years, but I would have to say I’ve always found it a little intimidating. Paul clearly and specifically identifies the Sarah/Hagar account as an allegory and, if I may add, a rather detailed one at that. It leaves one wondering, “Where are all the other ‘allegories’ in the Bible?” Does this mean we should go back through the OT and look for an allegory in every story that’s told? Who did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego really represent and what was the significance that David selected five smooth stones and on and on, ad nauseum. I think that unanswered question is what always left me feeling a little intimidated by the passage.

What to make of this? Of course the blanket explanation of it all is that Paul is writing under inspiration. If the Holy Spirit intended Sarah and Hagar’s experience as an allegory, He is certainly free to explain it to us through Paul. Since I don’t write under inspiration, I must limit my understanding of the Bible to what is clearly presented. In this case, we are told that it was an allegory. When it comes to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I may find interesting parallels, but I could never say with authority, “This is an allegory, and Shadrach stands for this, etc.”

I would suggest it to be spiritually presumptuous to take this one passage and, based on it, to run through the Bible declaring allegories wherever my supposedly sanctified imagination found them. Apparently that has been a problem down through the centuries. Luther said, “[Allegories] are dangerous things. Unless a person has a thorough knowledge of Christian doctrine he had better leave allegories alone.”

Then I like what Luther went on to say, “Allegories are not very convincing, but like pictures they visualize a matter … Having first fortified his case with invincible arguments, [Paul] can afford to inject the allegory to add impressiveness and beauty to his presentation.”

“Allegories are not very convincing.” I think Luther is right and herein would be some wisdom, I think. It would be far better for us to study the Bible to mine the clear truth it presents, than to spend our time looking for allegories. As Luther says, “They are not very convincing anyway.” I certainly would never change my life for some “truth” I imagined I found in an allegory. The allegory can only, as in Paul’s case, illustrate truth already presented “with invincible arguments.” Only rightly divided truth bears on my heart and makes me different.

For whatever it’s worth, before I leave the matter, I want to assert that looking for practical applications is an entirely different business from looking for allegories. The Bible is a book of discipleship and I believe we should read every line with a heart longing to see the world through God’s eyes, to learn from other people’s lives as we observe the choices they make and God’s evaluations thereof. As it says in I Corinthians 10:6-11, “⁶Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. ⁷Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”  ⁸ We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. ⁹We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. ¹⁰ And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. ¹¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

I think this is something entirely different than looking for allegories, trying to find “secret” truths, which will only prove to the rest of the world how smart I am …and do nothing to make me a sweeter, more humble, Christ-like person.

So if the Holy Spirit, in Scripture, declares something to be an allegory, wonderful. So it is. Beyond that, I should spend my time mining for the clearly presented truth. Then when I see the lives of the people of the Bible illustrating that truth, I should take heed to their example. But beyond that, I officially accept that it is the truth that matters and not my imaginations.

The other thing that I find interesting is Paul’s observation, “… just as the one born according to flesh was then persecuting the one [born] according to spirit, thus also now.” I suppose it is a maxim of note that the Law will always persecute the Spirit. I actually don’t mean that exactly but you get my drift – those who are of the law, legalists, will always persecute those who enjoy the freedom of real Holy Spirit-filled life. Even in the secular world, the people who guard “the rules,” cannot bear people who actually live for the goals. People are forever making up rules to “help” the rest of us accomplish our goals. But having done so, they immediately lose all ability to see the goals and care only for their rules. I realized some time ago that even at work goals are far more important than rules and that sometimes you actually have to break the rules to accomplish the goals. But what I also realized is that doing so exposes you to the wrath of the rule-keepers who usually have the authority to punish you in one way or another when you do break their rules. Never mind that what you did actually accomplished the goal. As my old boss often said, “No good turn goes unpunished.” Jesus’ most bitter enemies were not the Romans but rather the “religious” Jews. Through the book of Acts there are only a couple of instances where the Apostles got in trouble with the secular people. It was almost always the “religious” Jews who opposed them or stirred up the secular people to oppose them. The whole matter is somewhat of a paradox to me right now but it is interesting to note Paul’s “even so now.”

Finally, I love the opening verse of chapter 5: “It is for freedom Christ has set us free.” Reminds me of “And when you know the truth, the truth shall set you free,” and “And if the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed!” Interestingly, this morning I laid down this study, headed to church and our pastor’s message was “beware of false freedom.” His point was solidly out of Gen 3 and supported by the passage from II Peter 2:19, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption.” I suppose it would be worth an entire post just to distinguish between the freedom Christ gives and the false “freedom” that sin allures people with. Don’t know if I’ll wade into that but I certainly enjoy the real freedom I have in Christ. It is a freedom even to study a passage like Galatians 4:21-5:1 knowing when I’m done I’ll be glad I did … and I am!