Passage: Galatians 6:11-18

The Big Idea

Paul ends his letter with force. He takes the pen in his own hand and writes in large letters, because he’s been all in on this war against legalism with his whole life. Legalists want to make a good showing in the flesh. Paul will boast in nothing but the cross of Jesus Christ. What matters isn’t circumcision or uncircumcision, but a new creation, and Paul’s scarred body bears the marks of his Master. The last word of the letter is the only one we need: grace.

Large Letters (Galatians 6:11)

See what large letters I’m writing to you with my own hand!

This letter ends with force and excitement. Paul seems to take the pen from his scribe’s hand, because dictated words alone can’t communicate the passion of his heart. Like a general commanding his army, he’s been waging war on legalism through this letter. Now he shows he’s been all in. He has fought this war with his whole life, giving every ounce of effort and every piece of his flesh to defend the true gospel of grace that has been preached to you and me.

There are a few ways to understand the “large letters”:

His eyesight may have been poor.
He may have been gently mocking them by writing like a child.
Most likely, he was showing forcefulness and passion, like writing in all caps or underlining today. If you get a text from a friend in all caps that says, “YOU BETTER CALL ME IMMEDIATELY,” it’ll get your attention. Paul wants to grab them by the shoulders and make sure they get the point he’s about to make.

The Motives of Legalism (Galatians 6:12-13)

Those who want to make a good showing in the flesh are the ones trying to force you to be circumcised, just so they won’t be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even those who are circumcised don’t keep the Law themselves, but they want you circumcised so they can boast about your flesh.

A good showing in the flesh

The motive of legalists is a good showing in the flesh. It’s all about outward appearance. All about the show. Kids today would call them posers.
Throughout Galatians, we’ve seen the difference between this imitation of godliness and true spirituality: real godliness, real righteousness, given to people who didn’t earn it.
The legalists in Galatia, and people today who are deceived by the same ideas, want to win the dog show, the beauty pageant. They want people to judge them and say how wonderful they are, how wonderful they’ve made themselves.
That’s the root problem: “the desire to make a good showing in the flesh.”
It’s the idea that my flesh is a little less sinful than yours. It’s comparing. But the gospel says all flesh is sinful. Every human effort is flawed and fails to produce true righteousness.

So are we not supposed to care what people think of us at all? Well, yes and no. Our desire is to glorify Jesus. If we live to glorify Him, we’ll want to tell people about the grace He’s given us. We’ll want to do right because that’s what the Spirit is doing in us each morning as we pray and read. So when people see our good works, they say, “Wow, God has done a lot in you!”

Jesus said to let our light shine before others, so they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

The issue is the desire to look good for the flesh: for people to say, “Wow, you’re amazing! You’ve studied so much! You’re so disciplined, so smart, so strong. I want to be just like you!”

Compelling circumcision

The legalists wanted the Galatians circumcised so they could wear these Gentiles’ submission as a badge of achievement. Just as David once presented the foreskins of the Philistines he had killed (1 Samuel 18:27), these legalists wanted the Gentiles’ allegiance mainly as a trophy.
“Compel” is an important word. There was nothing wrong with a Gentile choosing to be circumcised. Everything was wrong with compelling it, saying they couldn’t be right with God without coming under the Law of Moses.

Avoiding persecution

They did it “only so they won’t be persecuted for the cross of Christ.”

That persecution might come from other legalistic Christians, or from those still in Judaism. Their unwillingness to stand up under pressure led them to stand for false doctrine.
There’s another possibility too. Judaism had official recognition in the Roman Empire. By aligning the new Christian movement with Judaism through circumcision and the Law of Moses, people could avoid Roman persecution. As Leon Morris explained, these preachers may have included the cross in their message, but by adding the necessity of circumcision they avoided the persecution that came with it.

What sin or deception might we be trapped in because we don’t want to suffer for the cross of Christ?

Following Jesus can be dangerous to your health. Have you ever read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs? We’ve chosen a life of service and sacrifice. Of course, we behave this “crazy” way because of the hope of eternal life.

Life has a way of revealing who truly believes. It often becomes very clear what a person believes when it costs them something to stand up for grace and for Jesus. When persecution and trials come, so do glimpses into a person’s real theology and real trust in God.

Do you keep the Law?

“Even those who are circumcised don’t keep the Law.”

That’s all you have to ask any legalist: “Do you keep the Law?”

Boasting in the Cross (Galatians 6:14)

But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Living by grace gives you a single focus. Everything is about Jesus: what He did, what He does. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
We boast about Him and everything He does. We thank Him. We trust Him. We live for Him and serve Him. His cross.
How do things get done in a believer’s life? The cross! What about my sin? The cross. What about her sin? The cross. Trials? The cross. Doubts? The cross. Worries, suffering, pain? The cross. Even our joy? The cross.

It’s hard for us to appreciate how strange Paul’s words were. For people who knew what crucifixion was, “cross” and “glory” just didn’t belong together. They were opposites; there was no more humiliating, shameful way to die. It seemed far more logical to boast in a good showing in the flesh. But Paul thinks with a heavenly logic.

F. F. Bruce pointed out that the word crux was unmentionable in polite Roman society. Even when someone was sentenced to crucifixion, an old euphemism was used: “Hang him on the unlucky tree.” Paul not only used this unmentionable word, he gloried in it.

And not just the wood. The act. The work. The love.

Crucified to the world

The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

I’ve died to the world’s idea of how to live. I live a new life by a new set of rules: everything Jesus commands and enables me to do by His grace.

The world thinks this is crazy: serving others, loving others, speaking truth into their lives. It isn’t acceptable. It’s despised.
Does the world hold influence over you? It shouldn’t. How can something that’s dead on a cross influence your decisions? Put the world in its proper place in your heart.
Our goal isn’t to be liked or admired, to make a good show. Our goal is to love the world by hanging on that cross ourselves.

A New Creation (Galatians 6:15)

In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only a new creation.

We don’t make ourselves a new creation; God does it in us. At its root, Christianity is something God does in us, not something we do for God. That simple sentence defines the difference between grace and law.
Nothing you do or don’t do can make you a new creation. It has to be God’s work in your life.
You can’t try harder to be more of a new creation. You can only engage with Jesus more by faith: ask Him and trust Him. And you’ll see righteousness flowing out of your life like a river.
How hard did you try to be created the first time?

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The Israel of God (Galatians 6:16)

Peace and mercy be on all who walk by this rule, and on the Israel of God.

The “rule” is grace: trusting Jesus’ works and not our own.
Those who walk by it are the true Israel of God, Abraham’s descendants by faith (Galatians 3:7, 29).

The Marks of Jesus (Galatians 6:17)

From now on, let no one trouble me, for I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Read 2 Corinthians 11:21-33 to see what Paul endured: beatings, lashes, stoning, shipwrecks, dangers on every side, sleepless nights, hunger, cold, and the daily pressure of caring for the churches.

The “marks of the Lord Jesus” aren’t wounds identical to Jesus’ wounds. They’re marks that identify, or even brand, Paul as a follower of Jesus. In the ancient world, slaves were sometimes branded with their master’s mark.
William Barclay suggested that Paul’s scars from suffering for Christ were the brands showing he was Christ’s servant.
John Calvin compared them to military decorations. Just as generals honor brave soldiers with decorations, Christ our leader has His own marks with which He honors some of His followers. These marks are very different: they bear the nature of the cross, and in the world’s eyes they’re disgraceful. But before God and the angels, they surpass all the honors of the world.

Does your life bear the marks of the Lord Jesus? Have you chosen to suffer for Him? Believe it or not, that can be one of the clearest signs of grace at work in your life: being crucified a little every day, by faith.

I’m not only talking about getting beaten up like Paul was.

Did you step out in faith to love someone and get burned?
Did you give your heart to serve a group or a church that hurt you?
Did you trust, and get hurt?
Have you been mocked for something you can’t control, or for your beliefs?
Have relationships been severed because you wouldn’t go along with sin?

Yet through each of those times, you kept trusting Jesus. You acted as He would act. You loved with agape. You forgave. You endured. And you have a reward that will never pass away.

Grace, the Last Word (Galatians 6:18)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

The last word of the letter is the only one we need to focus on: grace.

That’s how we grow.
That’s how we learn.
That’s how we serve.
That’s how we heal.
That’s how things get done.

Not law. Grace.

God told Zerubbabel it would be done not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit. The great mountain before him would become a level plain, and he would bring out the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” (Zechariah 4:6-7).

Fittingly, Zerubbabel’s name means something like “sown in Babylon.” He was born in exile, far from home, yet God used him to rebuild His house, not by might or power, but by grace.

Grace Takeaway

Legalism wants a good showing in the flesh and runs from the cross. Grace boasts in nothing but the cross, where the world was crucified to us and we to the world. You’re a new creation, made by God, not by effort. Whatever scars you carry for Jesus are marks of honor. And from beginning to end, the last word is grace.

← Sowing Lessons | All Galatians notes

That’ll Leave a Mark