THREATS TO CHRISTIAN FREEDOM: LEGALISM PART 1 TEXT: GALATIANS 5:2-12. September 11, 2011 INTRODUCTION/REVIEW: A. A DOUBLE THREAT AND A DOUBLE CURE

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1 THREATS TO CHRISTIAN FREEDOM: LEGALISM PART 1 September 11, 2011 TEXT: GALATIANS 5:2-12 INTRODUCTION/REVIEW: A. A DOUBLE THREAT AND A DOUBLE CURE In 5:1, Paul exhorts the Galatians to stand firm in their freedom. Now, beginning in vv. 2ff, Paul warns the Galatians of two dangerous threats to their life of freedom: legalism (vv. 2-12) and license (vv ). As believers, we are always faced with the constant threats of diminishing the law (legalism) or dismissing the law (license). When considering these two threats, we need to keep in mind the context of chapter 5. Chapter 5 is the ethical section of this letter (i.e., the life of Christian freedom; sanctification; recall that the exhortation section of this letter began in 4:12 and continues through to 6:10; see Schreiner, Galatians, p. 281). Thus, we need to understand that Paul is not simply restating theological points concerning justification that he has already covered in chapters 2-4 (e.g., legalism in 2:16 and license in 2:17-21; see Boice, Galatians, p. 487). What Paul is doing now is establishing the truth that only the gospel (which he has expounded in chapters 2-4) can empower the life of Christian freedom obedience to God s law (Gal. 5:13-14). The Gospel is never to be left behind any more in sanctification than it is in justification. Yet, when it comes to the life of Christian freedom (sanctification), people tend to fall into one of the two threats Paul is addressing. There is always the threat of legalism (i.e., diminishing the law and falling back into a performance mentality in which we are trying to please God by what we do or don t do). And, there is always the threat of license (i.e., dismissing the law and falling into a dismissive mentality in which we think because we are under grace we don t have to obey God s law). Paul, however, argues that since the Christian is free, he doesn t obey God s law in order to be justified (2:16). Moreover, the Christian s freedom isn t a license to dismiss God s law because he is justified (2:17-21). Legalism diminishes God s law by lowering it to a standard one can meet whereas license dismisses God s law by thinking there are no standards to meet at least with respect to its authority in directing the lives of believers. Contrary to these two threats, Paul reveals how both are destructive to the gospel and to the believer s freedom and carry with them disastrous consequences for our lives. Throughout the history of the church, preachers and theologians have attempted to properly relate the law and gospel. Legalism (Neonomianism- new law) maintains that following God s law is not only the rule of life but also the way to life (cf. Gal. 3:21). License (Antinomianism- against law) is the view that we do not need to submit to God s law as the rule of life, since we are saved by grace alone. Legalism confuses the law and

2 the gospel and license separates the law and gospel. In contrast, Paul sets forth the proper relationship between the law and gospel. Simply understood, the law drives us to Christ (Gal. 3:24) and Christ frees us to obey the law through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit (5:13, 16). While it is certainly true that we are not under the Mosaic law, this does not mean that we are free from all law as Paul will go on to show in chapters 5-6. The presence and work of the Holy Spirit is crucial to Paul s theology of Christian ethics (sanctification; life of Christian freedom). Douglas Moo in an article entitled, The Law of Moses or the Law of Christ, writes, in the fear of ethical nihilism, one senses a failure to appreciate the power of God s Spirit operative in the believer. When the antinomian implications of Paul s teaching were raised as an objection against that teaching, Paul responded not by introducing a new law but by pointing to the Spirit (Gal. 5:16ff.) and to union with Christ (Rom. 6). To be sure, there needs to be recognition of the fact that Christians often fail to walk in accordance with the Spirit and need law to correct and discipline them (Luther is eloquent on this point). But any approach that substitutes external commands for the Spirit as the basic norm for Christian living runs into serious difficulties with Paul. As we work our way through Galatians 5-6, we will see how central a role the Holy Spirit plays in the life of Christian freedom, particularly vv Freedom in the Spirit (cf. Gal. 3:2, 5, 14). Should we neglect the glorious third person of the Trinity, it will be to our own detriment. In light of this double threat, the gospel brings a double cure the forgiveness of sin and power for holiness. Through faith in Christ, your sins have been forgiven and you have also received a new heart and the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. 3:2, 5, 14; 5:24). Augustus Toplady s famous hymn, Rock of Ages, captures this truth when it says, Be of sin the double cure; Save from wrath and make me pure. Christ has not only delivered us from sin s guilt but also from sin s power. We are neither condemned criminals nor bound slaves. Yet, Michael Horton has noted that one of the common errors believers make in regard to the gospel and the Christian life is that they only think of salvation as salvation from guilt (see Union With Christ: The Double Cure Modern Reformation Magazine). For example, Horton points out how the licentious person views the gospel at least implicitly as an apparent excuse for their ongoing sins. On the other hand, legalists are quick to emphasize the more practical What would Jesus do approach to the Christian life. Imperatives can direct the Christian life but they cannot sustain it. The problem with both faulty views is that getting saved is attributed to justification but growing in the Christian life is detached from justification. Paul doesn t make this mistake in Galatians. Beginning in 5:2ff, Paul takes on both of these threats to the believer s life of freedom. Paul reminds the Galatians as well as 2

3 us that we are not only brought into a life of freedom by means of justification by grace through faith in Christ alone, but that we also continue in this life of freedom (sanctification) the same way. In other words, the gospel is both the entry into a life of freedom (justification) as well as the pathway of a life of freedom (sanctification). In the Gospel-Centered Life bible study, Bob Thune and Will Walker write, Many Christians lives with a truncated view of the gospel. We see the gospel as the door, the way, the entrance point into God s kingdom. But the gospel is so much more! It is not just the door, but the path we are to walk every day of the Christian life. It is not just the means of our salvation, but the means of our transformation (which is also part of our salvation- J.F.). It is not simply deliverance from sin s penalty, but release from sin s power. The gospel is what makes us right with God (justification) and it is also what frees us to delight in God (sanctification). The gospel changes everything (p. 14)! Both legalism and license result from misunderstanding the gospel and neither will help a man live a holy life. In fact, both threats prevent holiness from those who follow them. Paul refutes both errors and views them as threats to the believer s freedom. The life of Christian freedom freedom in the Spirit is a life free from the bondage of trying to earn God s favor (legalism). At the same time, the life of Christian freedom is not a freedom to indulge the flesh and dismiss God s law (license) but rather to live by the Spirit so as to love and serve one s neighbor (pursue a life of good works; Gal. 5:13-14). Therefore, Paul calls us to stand firm in our freedom neither lapsing into legalism nor falling into license. The gospel of grace which is the ministry of the Spirit, 2 Cor. 3:8 is the power for living a life of Christian freedom. Paul is saying to the Galatians, Do you want to stand firm in freedom? Do you want to experience freedom in the Spirit? Do you wish to live a life of obedience to God? Do you want to love and serve your neighbor? Then be on guard against the threats of legalism and license. Keep looking outside of yourselves to Christ, who is freely given to you in the gospel. Live by faith through the Spirit while waiting for God to complete the righteousness in you. B. A SOLEMN WARNING The way Paul introduces his warning highlights the importance of what he is going to say. Paul begins, Look! (ESV, Ide), Mark my words! (NIV), Listen! (NET), I Paul say to you. Paul is calling our attention to what follows. He brings to bear his full apostolic authority, just like he began his letter (Gal. 1:1). The reason is because the issue threatening their freedom was not a matter of indifference. Rather, Paul will argue that the Galatians eternal destiny was at stake. C. THE LEGAL ISSUE: CIRCUMCISION 3

4 For the first time in this letter, Paul brings to the forefront the legal issue that is threatening the Galatians freedom, namely whether to submit to the Judaizers demand to receive circumcision. It is important to note that the issue was not circumcision (i.e., the mere physical act, cf. Gal. 5:6; 6:15). For example, Paul voluntarily had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3). The key word is voluntarily. Unlike Titus in Jerusalem, no one forced Timothy to be circumcised for salvation (Gal. 2:3). If having an uncircumcised Jew with him in the synagogues would place unnecessary obstacles to his gospel witness, then he would gladly have Timothy circumcised. Because of his Christian freedom, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:19 that he was glad to make himself a servant to all, that I might win more of them (see vv ). The issue facing the Galatians was wholly different (just like Titus in Jerusalem). The Judaizer s demand for circumcision was the external ritual symbolizing the Galatians acceptance of Judaism (see Betz, Galatians, p. 258). Having been saved from one form of Do this and live religion (paganism, Gal. 4:9), they are now being enticed to come under another yoke of slavery (Judaism). Paul has already raised the issue of circumcision in 2:3 where he stated that the leadership of the Jerusalem church (James, Peter and John) did not force Titus to be circumcised even though he was an uncircumcised Gentile. The implication of this is that Gentiles (as well as Jews) do not have to undergo circumcision in order to be counted as the true people of God (be justified). Paul argued in 3:2-5 that the genuine mark of the believer is not circumcision but rather the reception and experience of the Holy Spirit (3:2-5, 14), which comes by hearing with faith apart from the works of the law (i.e., circumcision; see Martin Hengel, The Stance of the Apostle Paul Toward the Law in the Unknown Years Between Damascus and Antioch, in Justification and Variegated Nomism, pp ). How then are we to understand circumcision? How did the Judaizer s view of circumcision differ from Paul s? 1. THE JUDAIZER S VIEW OF CIRCUMCISION Contrary to Paul, rather than viewing circumcision as a sign and seal of the righteousness one receives through faith alone (Rom. 4:11), the Judaizers viewed circumcision as a necessary means for salvation (Acts 15:1). A favorite proof text of the Judaizers was Genesis 17 where God first institutes circumcision. Concerning their proof texting, James Boice writes, Most significant, however, is the probability that the obligation to become sons of Abraham through circumcision formed the central argument of the legalizers teaching. This argument would have focused on Genesis 12 and 17 and would have advanced the position that no one could be blessed by God who was not part of the company to whom God s promises were made. It would have added that one entered this company solely through circumcision. These arguments Paul 4

5 encounters head on, for he shows that even Abraham was blessed through faith, not circumcision (Galatians, p. 456). Following the example of Abraham, the Judaizers claimed to be the true sons of Abraham because of their circumcision. As far as the Judaizers were concerned the teaching of Scripture was clear: A circumcised Christian is a justified Christian. If the Galatians wanted to become true sons of Abraham they also had to be circumcised or else they could not be counted as true sons of Abraham, receive the full blessing of the people of God and possess the right to call God their Father. 2. PAUL S VIEW OF CIRCUMCISION Over against the Judaizer s view, Paul has labored to show that circumcision was never instituted by God as a condition for inheriting the promises made to Abraham. First, in Galatians 3:6, 8 by appealing to Genesis 12 and 15 Paul demonstrates that faith not circumcision is the means by which believers become the sons of Abraham and receive the blessing of Abraham (the promised Holy Spirit, 3:14, cf. Isa. 44:3). Abraham, himself, was justified while he was an uncircumcised Gentile Chaldean! Second, circumcision pointed to the fact that the uncleanness and disqualification of our sinful nature must be taken away. Geerhardus Vos writes, The need of qualification had to be specially emphasized under the Old Testament. At that time the promises of God had proximate reference to temporal, natural things. Hereby the danger was created that natural descent might be understood as entitling to the grace of God. Circumcision teaches that physical descent from Abraham is not sufficient to make true Israelites. The uncleanness and disqualification of nature must be taken away. Dogmatically speaking, therefore, circumcision stands for justification and regeneration, plus sanctification (Rom. 4:9-12; Col. 2:11-13) (Biblical Theology, p. 90). The physical cutting away served as a constant reminder to all Jews of God s desire to cut away the evil out of their hearts (cf. Deut. 10:14-16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4). In Genesis 15, Abraham believes God and he is immediately reckoned righteous (Gen. 15:6; Gal. 3:6; Rom. 4:9, 21-22). In Genesis 16, Abram and Sarai tried to bring God s child of promise into the world by the power of their flesh works righteousness born out of unbelief (Gen. 16). This, as we know, was a miserable failure. The flesh God helps those who help themselves philosophy is powerless to bring in the promised Savior of the world. Therefore, the flesh had to be cut off (Gen. 17). Only after Abraham s circumcision was Isaac the child of promise born (Gen. 18). God was demonstrating that the uncleanness and disqualification of man s sinful nature must be taken away. And, so the practice of circumcision served as a constant reminder to all Jews of God s desire to cut away the evil out of their hearts. In Deuteronomy 10:16, God commands, Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. In Deuteronomy 30:6, God promises, The LORD your God 5

6 will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Ultimately, the command and promise of circumcision finds its fulfillment in Christ. Concerning the Servant Christ, Isaiah 53:8 says He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people (emphasis mine). The God who promised Abraham that He would walk between the severed halves of the animals in Genesis 15, now fulfills His promise in crucifixion. At the cross is where the bloody ritual of circumcision was fulfilled. In Colossians 2:11, Paul calls the crucifixion, the circumcision of Christ. Through His substitutionary death, Jesus cut away the evil out of our hearts. The self-maledictory oath God swears in Genesis 15 is executed on the Son of Abraham on the cross (Matt. 1:1). The greater Son of Abraham (Gal. 3:16) was cut off (Gen. 17) only to be raised to life (Gen. 22, as foreshadowed in Abraham receiving Isaac back, cf. Heb. 11:19). Consequently through the circumcision of Christ Paul writes in Colossians 2:13-15, that you 13 who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Paul s argument serves as a stinging rebuke and runs counter to the Judaizers enslaving legalistic message. The Judaizers took great pride in and boasted of their physical descent from Abraham. They gloried in their reception of circumcision and observance of the Law (cf. Gal. 6:12-13). These things served as their supreme confidence, boast and ground of justification. But, Paul s boast was only in the circumcision of Christ the cross (Gal. 6:14). Thus, against such a legalistic message, Paul calls on the Galatians (and us!) to stand firm and live by faith in Christ through the Spirit until they receive God s future vindication (5:5). REFLECTION: As we consider the issue of circumcision, we need to keep in mind that the threat of falling into legalism is just as real for us as it was the Galatians. We may not be tempted to adopt an apostate religion. Nevertheless, like the Galatians we must recognize that our tendency is to revert back into a performance mentality in our Christian life. We are constantly threatened to substitute something in the place of Christ for our standing before God. This yoke of slavery (v. 1) can take various forms in our lives. So, the question for us this morning is: How do you know if you have diminished God s law and fallen prey to a circumcision-like faith? Let me suggest 5 ways you can do this. You have diminished God s law and are guilty of a circumcision-like faith if: 1. YOU ARE MORE INCLINED TO GROUND YOUR ACCEPTANCE WITH UPON YOUR DUTY AND PERFORMANCE INSTEAD OF CHRIST S DUTY AND PERFORMANCE FOR YOU. 6

7 Practicing spiritual disciplines are good and necessary (e.g., Bible reading, Bible memorization, prayer, fasting, journaling, listening to sermons and/or worship music on your ipod, etc ). However, when you begin to base your acceptance with God on what you do (i.e., spiritual disciplines) rather than in what Christ has done for you, you are no longer standing firm in your freedom. Do you tend to look more to your own performance rather than Christ s performance as that which makes you qualified or more effective for service? It is only through faith in Christ and His performance that ensures your effectiveness and makes all of your imperfect service acceptable to God. To be sure, we don t reject good works. Rather, we reject the notion that the good works we do obtain the forgiveness of sins and brings us into or keep us in a right standing relationship with God. In his tract, The Freedom of a Christian (1520), Martin Luther shows the proper place of works freed from condemnation and freed to love/serve our neighbor. Having established that we are not justified by works but by the promise of God s grace through faith alone so that the glory may remain God s alone, Luther writes, From this it is easy to know how far good works are to be rejected or not, and by what standard all the teachings of men concerning works are to be interpreted. If works are sought after as a means to righteousness, are burdened with this perverse leviathan, and are done under the false impression that through them one is justified, they are made necessary and freedom and faith are destroyed; and this addition to them makes them no longer good but truly damnable works. They are not free, and they blaspheme the grace of God since to justify and to save by faith belongs to the grace of God alone. What the works have no power to do they nevertheless-by a godless presumption through this folly of our- pretend to do and thus violently force themselves into the office and glory of grace. We do not, therefore, reject good works; on the contrary, we cherish and teach them as much as possible. We do not condemn them for their own sake but on account of this godless addition to them and the perverse idea that righteousness is to be sought through them (p. 26). Whenever you derive more comfort from your own performance rather than by the reign of free grace in your life and God s faithfulness toward you, you have stopped standing firm surrendered your freedom. Second, you have diminished God s law and are guilty of a circumcision-like faith when: 2. YOU ARE MORE DISTURBED BY THE SINS OF THE WORLD THAN BY YOUR OWN RESPECTABLE SINS. You are never to wallow hopelessly in our sins (see Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, p. 9). In other words, you are not to live with a worm-based theology (constantly curved in on yourself in morbid introspection. Rather, you are to constantly look outside of yourself to Christ alone). Still it is true that because the gospel introduces a radical 7

8 change in your life, you are called to war against your sins and take them seriously (in fact the gospel creates this war!, cf. Gal. 5:16-17). When it comes to tolerating the respectable sins in our lives, we must remember Paul s instruction to the believers in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, Paul reminds us that we are not to judge outsiders (v. 12). Rather, we are to judge those who are within the church. In 5:13, Paul writes, those who are outside, God judges. But as for you- J.F. Paul commands the Corinthians, remove the wicked man from among yourselves. God will take care of the world! In the mean time, you must not forget that you are equally guilty of tolerating all sorts of respectable sins such as: anxiety, worry, anger and frustration, impatience, discontentment, unthankfulness, pride, selfishness, gossip, slander, lack of self-control, irritability, judgmentalism, envy, jealously, indifference, critical spirit, lack of kindness, greed, lack of financial support for the church, covetousness, etc ). In the words of Jerry Bridges, we have become so preoccupied with some of the major sins of society around us that we have lost sight of the need to deal with our own more refined or subtle sins (Respectable Sins, p. 9). Third, you have diminished God s law and are guilty of a circumcision-like faith when: 3. YOUR FOCUS IS MORE UPON EVIDENCES OF GRACE IN YOUR LIFE, THAN UPON THE IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. It has been stated that the average human thinks 3000 thoughts per day give or take a few for some! Of those 3000 thoughts, do you find more comfort in the fact that when you were tempted to think and indulge in a sinful thought you resisted (failing to realize that you still had 2999 potential thoughts where you may have failed!). Or, do you find more comfort in the fact that Jesus was never guilty of a single sinful thought for you? Wives, do you find more comfort in the fact that when you got into an argument with your husband you kept your cool and didn t retaliate in anger? Or, do you find more comfort in the fact that Christ was never once guilty of unrighteous anger on your behalf? Guys, do you feel like you are more holy and acceptable to God-progressing in your sanctification because you refrained from looking at the pretty girl jogging down the road rather than the fact that Christ lived a sinless life of moral purity for you? Do you feel like you are more loved by God on your good days than on your bad days? Do you think you will come into greater favor with God because your offering is based on your gross rather than net income? Do you live with a sense of entitlement (i.e., that God should bless you) because you are seeking to live rightly? 8

9 If the answer is yes to any or all of the above examples, you have stopped standing firm in your freedom; you have diminished God s law and you are guilty of circumcision-like faith. Fourth, You have diminished God s law and are guilty of a circumcision-like faith when: 4. YOUR OBEDIENCE IS MORE INFLUENCED BY THE TERRORS AND CURSE OF THE LAW THAN BY THE ALLUREMENT OF GRACE. Slavish guilt and fear are poor motivators for the Christian life. Genuine, evangelical obedience does not come from the thundering of the law (Do or die!). Legalism operates on the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world I do therefore I am accepted by God. The gospel, however, operates on the powerful and effective truth You are accepted by God on account of Christ alone therefore go and do. True obedience flows from faith in the gospel (Rom. 1:5, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations, (emphasis mine, cf. Rom. 16:26). We must learn to distinguish between two types of effort believing and unbelieving (see Neil Williams, The Theology of Sonship, p. 12). Slavish, duty-driven obedience/effort flows from fear and guilt. True, evangelical obedience flows from faith ( By faith Abraham obeyed, Heb. 11:8-10, 17-19). Walter Marshall writes, God does not drive you along with whips and terrors, or by the rod of the schoolmaster, the law. Rather, he leads you and draws you to walk in his ways by pleasant attractions (Hosea 11:3-4). The love of Christ is the greatest and most pleasant attraction to encourage you to godly living (2 Cor. 5:15; Rom. 12:1) (The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, p. 236). What compels your heart to obey God? Are you driven to obey God more out of fear of punishment rather than His favor? Is your heart drawn to obey out of a clear recognition of God s love and favor upon your life? Obedience compelled out of slavish fear is selfcentered. Obedience that flows out of faith s recognition and reception of the love of God is Christ-centered. Fifth, you have diminished God s law and are guilty of a circumcision-like faith when: 5. YOU LOOK TO WHAT IS PROMISED ONLY IN A CONDITIONAL WAY. As w often point out, the law says, Do and live. But, the gospel says, Live and do. God s favor is not based on whether or not you have lived up to some prescribed level of behavior. Rather, God s favor is on you because Christ met all the conditions of the law for you (Matt. 3:15; 5:17; Gal. 4:4)! 9

10 Just like the Judaizers, many believers forget or fail to understand that Christ fulfilled the law for us (Gal. 4:4) thus rendering obedience to the law for justification unnecessary. The gospel is a free promise not a conditional promise. Yet, so many believers live in bondage and slavery to legalism because they don t expect God to fulfill His promises to them unless they have done their part. 1 John 1:9 where John deals with confession of sin serves as a classic example of this misconception. This may come as a surprise to some of you, but the truth is we do not confess our sins in order to be forgiven. Rather, we freely confess our sins because we are forgiven by grace through faith in Christ alone! Only believers confess sin. Those who fail to confess sin are deceived and the truth of the gospel is not in them (1 John 1:8). However, we do not do our part confess sin so that God will fulfill His promise forgive and cleanse, i.e., do His part. Rather, we confess our sins so that we might have the truth of the gospel applied afresh to our hearts and consciences, thus restoring our assurance and the sweetness of our fellowship with God (cf. Psalm 51). In the five foregoing examples, this is what we are saying: True saving faith leads a sinner to look totally away from himself and to rest in Christ alone as the sole ground of his acceptance before God. You as well as your good works are acceptable to God only because of Christ s saving works alone. Paul proclaimed the Good News of Jesus, the Son of God, crucified and risen again for sinners as the only basis for a right standing before God. The simple, liberating, Good News of the gospel is this: We come into favor and remain in favor with God by grace through faith alone, apart from the works of the law. True saving faith in its proper function lays hold of Christ alone and renounces everything else for acceptance and favor before God (cf. Philip. 3:7-11). This is the way in which we stand firm against the threats to our freedom and live and experience freedom in the Spirit. John Fonville Permissions: Permission is happily granted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not revise the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on Paramount's website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by John Fonville. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Fonville. 10