Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything;
Summary: As Paul wraps up his letter to the Galatians, he summarizes his arguments about circumcision rather neatly.
Continue reading “Galatians 6:15a – The Meaning of No Meaning”Galatians 6:13b – Getting Points
… yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.
Summary: Why we do things is as important as what we do. Paul unveils another motivation for those who promote circumcision in the flesh.
Continue reading “Galatians 6:13b – Getting Points”Galatians 6:12b – Circumcision of the Heart
… circumcised.
Summary: Circumcision is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. In the beginning, it was a symbol of a covenant. In the end, circumcision was a point of contention. Instead of a symbol of something good, it had become a legalistic requirement for something bad.
Continue reading “Galatians 6:12b – Circumcision of the Heart”Galatians 6:12a – Compelled by Whom?
Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be … .
Summary: Paul packs a lot into this short sentence. He has been teaching us about the Gospel of Christ, and now he teaches us about the application of that Gospel.
Continue reading “Galatians 6:12a – Compelled by Whom?”Galatians 5:2 – Complications
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
Summary: Paul’s statement about circumcision seems a bit over the top. Fortunately, we have lots of context to help us understand Paul’s meaning.
Continue reading “Galatians 5:2 – Complications”Galatians 4:9b-10 – The Broken Shell
—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!
Summary: In this passage we gain greater insight into the threat to the Galatians’ faith that had Paul so worried.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:9b-10 – The Broken Shell”Galatians 2:16a – Challenge Course
[“We who are Jews by birth] … know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”
Summary: The Jews that Paul refers to are not a homogeneous group. They are, for the most part, people who have stumbled over the “stumbling stone (Romans 9:32).
Continue reading “Galatians 2:16a – Challenge Course”Galatians 2:15 – The Godly Goal
“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles …”
Summary: Paul is striving to explain to the Galatians why it is dangerous to pretend that we can win God’s favor by something as simple as circumcision.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:15 – The Godly Goal”Galatians 2:14c – The Wrong Club
“You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”
Summary: Deciphering what Paul is saying to Peter and his companions requires an understanding of past covenants made by God for man.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:14c – The Wrong Club”Galatians 2:12b – Group Think
… because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
Summary: There is a thing called “group think” that occurs when people stop thinking for themselves and just go along to get along with the group. This isn’t a problem unless the group is thinking wrongly.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:12b – Group Think”