Week 8, Day 2: Severed from Christ
Today’s Reading: Galatians 5:1-6:18
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
It is evident from our readings that Paul is dealing with a problem in the book of Galatians that was prevalent in the first century. There was an issue between the Christians of a Jewish background and Christians converted from paganism concerning the practice of circumcision. Of course, circumcision was the human act that represented man’s side of the covenant made between God and Abraham. However, with the coming of the new covenant, the practice of circumcision meant nothing spiritually. Problems arose when the false doctrine began to circulate teaching the Gentiles that they had to be circumcised to be pleasing to God. Throughout this letter, Paul explains why this was not true, and teaches the Gentile brethren that they did not need to follow the Old Testament covenant. He also is teaching the Jewish brethren that they were not revert back to their practices under the law of Moses.
This point becomes evident in chapters 4 and 5, where Paul clearly condemns the Jewish Christians for returning back to the Old Law that they were supposed to have left behind. They wanted to return themselves to slavery, rather than enjoying the freedoms that came to them through Jesus Christ. In their desire to turn back, they had overlooked some important things. First, they had overlooked the fact that they simply could not keep the Law. They had tried, and they had failed. Consider what Paul says in Galatians 5:3. Those who demanded that circumcision was necessary for salvation did not realize that all of the Law had to be kept! They were not wanting to go back to the sacrificial system, or any of the other tenants of the Old Testament Law. In other words, they wanted to pick and choose what parts they wanted to do, leaving the rest undone. But, Paul shows them that if they were going to keep the Law, they had to keep it all. This verse, by the way, also applies to those today who would try to cite the Old Testament for their authority in various practices. If we are going to call upon the Old Law for our authority, then we must keep all of that law!
Secondly, by turning to the Old Testament Law, they had severed themselves from Christ. Paul tells them in Galatians 5:4 that they had “fallen from grace.” That may seem like harsh consequences for returning to the Law of Moses. However, when we consider that God had specifically instructed that Christ and His word were to be heeded (Matthew 17:5), we can understand why such harshness was necessary. This is also a passage that should be of particular interest to us when talking with those in the denominational world. Remember, many believe the doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” However, Paul is clear in this passage that they had fallen from grace because of the fact that they turned away from the teachings of Christ, and returned to a different doctrine. The language used by Paul (emblematic of the topic under discussion) was that they had been “severed from Christ” because of their actions. Hearing this should make us want to remain faithful to all that we find in the word of God. We do not want to risk being “severed from Christ” because of our actions.
For one final thought, consider what Paul has to say in Galatians 5:10. We recently discussed another passage that had to do with Paul’s confidence in his brethren. Here, Paul is confident that these brethren will heed his teaching, and that they will return to the truth. There were those who would not listen, primarily those who were troubling them with the false doctrine in the first place. But, those who were receiving his letter would have “no other mind.” Sometimes it is hard to have confidence in people, as we look around and see so many deceived by false doctrines. It is certainly refreshing when we see those who are willing to make the changes to their lives that they find necessary from studying the word of God, whether it be correcting sinful actions, or correcting false doctrines that are believed!
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