Final Warnings

11 You can see what big letters I make when I write with my own hand.

12 Those people who are telling you to get circumcised are only trying to show how important they are. And they don't want to get into trouble for preaching about the cross of Christ. 13 They are circumcised, but they don't obey the Law of Moses. All they want is to brag about having you circumcised. 14 But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his cross, the world is dead as far as I am concerned, and I am dead as far as the world is concerned.

15 It doesn't matter if you are circumcised or not. All that matters is that you are a new person.

16 If you follow this rule, you will belong to God's true people. God will treat you with undeserved kindness and will bless you with peace.

17 On my own body are scars that prove I belong to Christ Jesus. So I don't want anyone to bother me anymore.

18 My friends, I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you!     Amen.

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Verse 17 from the daily scripture reading from last Sunday really caught my attention. "On my own body are scars that prove I belong to Christ Jesus. So I don't want anyone to bother me anymore."

Come on Paul... you're being a little rude, aren't you? Are we to assume that he was having a bad day? Was this really a flippant remark? Or is this just one of those passages that doesn't translate well into English?

To answer these questions, we need to understand that Paul had heard over and over again, that the churches he started and/or visited were distorting the messages that he had left with them. His body was scared from standing up for his belief in and testimony of the living Christ, while others he had taught were still quarreling over the "right" way to worship and be recognized by God. He was simply saying in despair, "Stop already!". He was telling them he didn't want to hear about this same thing again.

Paul warned them that it is easy to get caught up with the externals. He tells them, one more time, to beware of those who emphasize what we should or shouldn't do, with no concern for the inward condition of the heart. Living a good life without an inward change leads to a shallow or empty spiritual walk. What matters to God is that we be completely changed from the inside out (2 Cor 5:17).

No doubt, these early Christians in Galatia wanted to grow in the Christian life, but they were being misled by those who said this could be done only by keeping certain Jewish laws.

How strange it would be to watch a prisoner who had been set free, turn and walk back into his or her cell and refuse to leave!

This is what is happening to a Christian who has been born into a new life... freed from the bondage of sin, only to return to the works, judgment, and legalism Jesus came to free us from.

If you believe in the resurrected Christ, you have been set free from sin, and you know that God is our Judge. Let Jesus shine from within and express himself through you to others.

Share the Gospel.

Live in peace.

Amen.