Boasting
in the Cross
By
Stephen Terry
Sabbath
School Lesson Commentary for December 24 – 30, 2011
“For
in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only
thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6, NIV
According to Jewish practice, the “Bris” or circumcision
ceremony is performed on the eighth day after birth for each male child.
Failure to perform this rite is seen as rebellion against God and a rejection
of the covenant relationship between Him and His chosen people. For over two
thousand years prior to Jesus’ day this ritual marked the beginning of life for
a male Jew. After such a lengthy period of practice, circumcision had become
part and parcel with the Jewish identity. If you were a Jew, one of the chosen
people, you were circumcised. Even Jesus
was circumcised. (See Luke 2:21)
One can see then the strength of the argument of those
who would promote circumcision for the new Gentile converts to Christianity.
The reasoning might go something like this. God through Moses commanded that if
any foreigner wanted to participate in Passover, every male in his household
needed to be circumcised. (See Exodus 12:48) When we break bread together in commemoration
of the Last Supper, since that meal was a Passover meal, those who participate
should be circumcised. Besides, Jesus Himself set the example with His own
circumcision. Don’t we want to be like Jesus? The outward sign of circumcision
is the evidence of surrender to the will of God. Therefore we must demonstrate
the outward fruit of circumcision to testify to that inner surrender of the
heart.
Arguments like this are advanced to promote many
legalistic practices today. You hear this line of reasoning about things
ranging from music, to worship styles, and even the celebration of holidays. There
is no basis in the Gospels for any of these subjects to be addressed in this
way, yet the arguments continue. However, Jesus was circumcised so if this kind
of reasoning is to have any validity, certainly circumcision would be the prima facie example. But it isn’t. If
one thing is clear from Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, it is that
circumcision no longer applies. How can that be if even Jesus was circumcised?
Simply this, Jesus fulfilled all aspects of the legal requirements placed upon
God’s followers in their stead.
The law created a debt of obedience, a debt that men could
not pay. (See Jeremiah 13:23) God paid that debt for us through Jesus Christ. Sadly,
even though the debt has been paid, some still want to pay it themselves. This
is what those who promoted circumcision were seeking to do, and this is what those
who promote outward obedience today seek to do. If we owe a debt for our
automobile or our home mortgage and someone pays it off for us, wouldn’t it be
foolish for us to go to the bank that we owed the money to and insist on paying
the debt anyway? This is what we are seeking to do when we offer up our
obedience for our salvation instead of simply accepting the obedience of Jesus
Christ on our behalf.
Salvation is not dependent on our obedience. “But God
demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.” Romans 5:8, NIV Salvation was freely offered through Jesus Christ
“while we were yet sinners.” Obedience could not be a condition of such a gift.
Only surrender can be.
Without Christ, we all try to make our way through life
as best we can. Guided by our own lights as to what is right and wrong, we
struggle to achieve understanding and bring balance to the chaotic world around
us. Our inability to see into one another’s hearts and minds dooms our efforts
which will ever fall short because of this incomplete knowledge. We cannot even
see around the corner into our own futures to perfectly prepare for whatever
may come, good or bad. How then can we ever believe that our efforts will
accomplish a righteous life, let alone salvation?
Thousands of years ago, God gave Abraham a promise. Was
Abraham better than anyone else at the time? He was the son of idol
worshippers, and lived among those who did not know the true God. (See Joshua
24:2) The promise could not have been based upon obedience. Instead, it was God
who promised and then Abraham believed. But even Abraham had his side journey
into the works of legalism as opposed to faith. Instead of trusting God to fulfill
the promise, Abraham decided he must do something to make it happen. Like Josh
Turner singing the song “Me and God,” he was tempted to see himself as an equal
partner with God in a contractual relationship with God. Since God had said
what He expected in blessing Abraham through a son, then naturally Abraham’s
part was to father a son.
With Sarah’s willingness to accept this kind of an
understanding of God, Abraham had a child by her handmaid, Hagar. One can
almost picture Abraham proudly standing before God after Ishmael’s birth and
saying, “Look! I have the son you wanted. Now You can bless me as You said!”
(See Genesis 17:18) But instead God told him, “…as for Ishmael, I have heard
you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly
increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make
him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom
Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” Genesis 17:20-21, NIV
Of interest is that after God said this to Abraham,
circumcision began to be a part of the relationship between Abraham’s
descendants and God. Circumcision did not begin with Abraham or with Isaac. It
began with Ishmael. Though Abraham was circumcised the same day, for the
ninety-nine years prior God had never required circumcision of him. Far from
being a sign of faith in God, circumcision was a reminder of Abraham’s failure
to trust God. He had instead relied on his own flesh in accomplishing God’s
purpose. However, even though the sign was probably meant to produce humble
faith in God, it instead became a source of spiritual pride. The Jews pointed
to their circumcision as evidence of their “chosenness.”
Paul rightly pointed out their error when he disclosed
that circumcision was not the basis for a proper relationship with God. As is
often the case with other points of contention among the body of
believers, the issue of circumcision was not about providing benefit to the
believers but to allow those who were pushing this theological point to have
control over the hearts and minds of those who accepted their leadership regarding
this issue. As Paul wrote, “…they want you to be circumcised that they may
boast about your circumcision in the flesh.” Galatians 6:13, NIV Paul’s desire
was to add to the body of Christ. Their desire was to add to their own
following.
Paul clearly identified the failure of Abraham through
Hagar with the tendency to place our trust in our own understanding. He
identified this with living according to the flesh or under the law. (See
Galatians 4:21-31) He equates Hagar with Mount Sinai, where the Ten
Commandments were given to Moses. But Isaac, he calls the child of the promise,
and he also says that we who are Christ’s are also children of the promise.
A promise is not a contract. It does not rely on the
participation of two parties to be complete. A promise is the pledge of one
party to perform a service for another without a necessity for the second party
to provide anything. If I promise to buy you an ice cream, then the only
obligation is mine to do what I said I would do. If I tell you I will buy you
an ice cream if you are well-behaved, then that is a contract and not a
promise. You fulfill your obligation to be well-behaved, and I fulfill my obligation
to buy you an ice cream. A promise is unconditional, but a contract has
conditions.
God’s love is a love of promise, an unconditional love.
That is why Christ could die for us “while we were yet sinners.” God does not
bargain with us concerning our salvation. He offers it freely and universally
to all mankind. His love compels Him in this. So with such magnanimity, why
does God simply not just take everyone into heaven? God has chosen not to violate
our free will. He wants us to love him of our own desire and without compulsion.
In order to have the freedom to love him, we must also have the freedom to
choose not to. Although the gift of salvation if freely offered to all, some
choose to decline the offer.
Satan works hard to convince as many as possible to do
just that. His desire is to make salvation look so onerous that no one in their
right mind would choose to accept it. A favorite method he employs is to so
burden the Christian life with legalistic requirements that those who have
accepted the proffered salvation turn back, and others who have not yet
surrendered are driven off by the sight of so many unhappy saints burdened with
the multitudinous minutiae required by legalistic obedience.
But this is not the Christian life. Some would have us believe
that to be a Christian is to fasten on the chains of slavery to fulfill the
whole law and thereby ensure salvation. But Christ fulfilled the law for us. He
has set us “free from the law of sin and death.” (See Romans 8:2) As Paul went
on to write to the Roman church: “For
those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you
received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the
Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:14-16,
NIV
This Commentary is a Service of Still
Waters Ministry
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