Calvary Road Baptist Church
“FALLING FROM GRACE”
Galatians 5.1-12
My text is Galatians 5.1-12:
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
How many of you folks in this room would consider yourselves patriots? You strongly identify with Patrick Henry, who said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” You differentiate yourself from the Cold War compromisers of the twentieth century who frequently said, “Better Red than dead.”
How about you teenagers who chafe under the authority of your parents? Indeed, it is possible and frequent that Christian parents, by their very inconsistent lifestyles, provoke their children to wrath.
That said, do you realize how rare you are to live in a house with parents who possess spines, have rules and requirements, and understand the implications of the fifth commandment, “Honour thy father and thy mother,"” Exodus 20.12?
Rare are the fathers and mothers these days who recognize the spiritual depravity of their children and understand that youngsters will never honor their parents unless and until parents demand that their children honor them and exact a penalty against kiddos for not honoring them. Your parents are counting on you surviving to adulthood, at which time you will express gratitude to them for not being whiny pushovers like so many moms and dads.
How many of you, openly in front of your friends or quietly to yourselves, would like to be out of the house and living on your own? Go ahead. Raise your hands. We can guess who you are anyway. The only things keeping you home are, first, you are willing to honor and obey your parents, second, you hate honoring your parents, but you are too lazy to support yourself. Or, third, you have pushover parents who tolerate your disobedience and are too cowardly to demand and command your respect.
Suppose these two situations be true, the quest for political liberty and the quest for adolescent liberty from what we perceive to be bondage. Why is it that the concept of spiritual liberty is ignored? Have you ever wondered about that? I mean, if the concept of religious liberty from political oppression is so essential, if political liberty to live in a free society is so important (as it was to so many boys who fought in the Revolutionary War)[1], and if it is so vital for a teenager to be free to live his life the way he wants to, why doesn’t anyone cry out for spiritual liberty?
Let’s get our priorities right here. When considering the various kinds of liberty one can enjoy, one aspect of it is so vastly more significant than the others that they pale in comparison to it. I mean, all other types of liberty pale in comparison to the importance of this kind of liberty.
But you know what? You don’t hear many Christians of any age in our day fighting against the kind of religious legalism Paul fought so vigorously against. You don’t hear many young people cry out for liberty from the demands of the Law of Moses or liberty from the legalism Paul fought against in his ministry and in his epistles.
Of the various kinds of liberty God’s children can enjoy, one type of liberty is vastly superior to the others. I am a patriot. I enjoy political liberty to worship as I choose without breaking the law. And being a Baptist, I have spent significant time reflecting on my personal decisions to violate the law to exercise my religious liberties over the past two years. Many of you have done the same. I wish more pastors and Churches had done the same.
I also appreciate a teen’s desire to be set free from the hypocrisy of parents who are inconsistent Christians. I want to go on record to state that I am usually opposed to most young people’s usual means of achieving the liberty they demand. I do not advocate rebellion against parents. As a functional and self-sustaining grownup, I advocate adulthood and assuming personal responsibility for your room and board.
But the liberty Paul begins to describe for us is so much more important than the other kinds of liberty I have mentioned. It is your spiritual liberty from the Law and the concept of Law, which is of great concern to God and God’s man.
Four kinds of comments are made by Paul in our text that establish the extreme importance of this kind of liberty:
THE FIRST KIND OF COMMENTS MADE BY PAUL ARE EXHORTATIONS
In verse 1, there are two exhortations:
The first exhortation has to do with steadfastness:
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.”
When Christ saves a lost person, whether that individual is a Jew or a Gentile, He delivers that person to spiritual freedom. But the observable tendency of Christians is to return to that which we are all familiar with. And what new Christians are familiar with is spiritual bondage. To offset that tendency, Paul exhorted the relatively new Christians he was writing to remain steadfast to their newfound liberty in Christ.
Do you want spiritual freedom to serve Christ and glorify God? You are going to have to stand fast against the gale force winds of unsound doctrine and the influences of ignorant and unlearned men that would drag you back into bondage. Then, after you are saved by grace, you must consciously and conscientiously remain steadfast. In Paul’s day, this threat came from those who would lure believers into a form of Judaism. In our day, this threat most obviously comes from legalistic Baptist Fundamentalism, a religious system that is as oriented toward law keeping as Judaism ever was.
Imagine a pastor imposing a rule on the congregation that women are forbidden to step onto the Church property wearing slacks. Ridiculous. Then there were pastors during the Covid lockdown that decided their congregations were not to gather for public worship. Excuse me, but that call is to be made only by individuals and not pastors.
The second exhortation has to do with subjection:
“And be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
See the word “again”? This is proof that every single person Paul wrote to had been in spiritual bondage before he was converted. Some had been in bondage to the Law of Moses. Others had been bondage to pagan religions. But all of them had been in bondage to sin in some way. In this exhortation, which is simply the other side of the coin of his first exhortation, Paul urges his readers to stay away from anything that could result in being tied to rules and regulations which would limit their capacity to serve Christ.
Why are Christians not as eager to do this as they are to throw off the “visible” yokes of bondage? One ought to wonder. The answer is that they have been deceived. I’m telling you, folks. This legalistic form of Baptist Fundamentalism, which walks lightly over some sins while harping on women wearing slacks, and mindlessly follows the Bible translation advice of a thrice-married man, while supposedly espousing an aggressive but pathetically shallow approach to soul winning while refusing to address the genuine conversion of the lost, is no real deliverance from bondage to sin. The Galatians were being enticed back to a form of Judaism that had rules and regulations similar to the Law of Moses. Today professing Christians are being enticed to into a worldly Christianity which is just as keyed to rule keeping and a system of laws as the Galatians faced. In either case, it is no good.
THE SECOND KIND OF COMMENTS MADE BY PAUL ARE EXPLANATIONS
In verses 2-6, Paul touches on and explains how liberty relates to three important topics:
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
First, there is fealty to the Law. In verses 2 & 3, Paul used the rite of circumcision to represent the keeping of the Law of Moses. He did this because the false teachers strongly emphasized circumcising folks as an integral part of sanctification, if not justification. But, do you see what Paul writes? If you are circumcised for the acquisition of spiritual benefit, Christ does you no good. Why does he say that? Because those who were circumcised after they professed Christ were demonstrating that they were not really depending on Christ alone to save them. Not really. It is much like a person who says he is trusting Jesus alone for his salvation, but he absolutely refuses to leave the Roman Catholic Church. That is an indication that he hasn’t really given up his dependence upon the Church of Rome to dispense the grace he hopes will save him. Meaning he isn’t truly converted.
So, if you were a Galatian who thought you had to keep part of the Law, since the entire Law is an integral and inseparable unit, not just bits and pieces you can pick and choose, you were obligated to keep the whole thing. “Keep part of it and you’d better keep it all,” Paul is saying. Pretty much shoots down folks who think they should keep the Ten Commandments, but who ignore the parts about sacrificing sheep.
Second, there is falling from grace. How many people misinterpret verse 4. Does the notion of “falling from grace” refer to losing your salvation? Let’s consider the matter. Were the Galatians attempting to justify themselves by the Law? Yes, they were. They were attempting to use the Law of Moses, observance of the Law of Moses, to enhance their standing before God. That’s why Paul wrote this Galatian letter to them in the first place.
Had they lost their salvation? No indication in this letter that they had. He was worried that some of them hadn’t really been saved in the first place, but nothing indicated that their eternal life had suddenly become non-eternal. What is “falling from grace,” then? It’s really rather simple. When a sinner is saved, he is set free to glorify and serve God like he was never free to do before, when he was in bondage to sin. But when a Christian places himself under the Law of Moses, or any system of rules, as a means of enhancing his standing before God, he is no longer living under the reign of God’s grace in Christ in his life.
From God’s standpoint, moving from grace to law is a fall for anyone. Not that the person is suddenly unsaved, just that he is settling for so much less than God has to offer him. That being so, why are Christians so unconcerned about falling from grace back into spiritual bondage in our day? They’ve been fooled. Most have been fooled into thinking they are Christians when they really are not. But even believers can be fooled into forsaking their liberty in Christ. Foolish lost people will observe Christians who have been misled and will laugh at them. They will point the finger of accusation and ridicule such Christians for being gullible. But who is the real fool? Those who will die in their sins and spend eternity in the lake of fire.
Finally, faith in Christ. Those of us who really do have faith in Christ are looking to that day when we shall fully experience the righteousness that we are now declared to have by faith. We know that circumcision and uncircumcision is a moot issue, something far too insignificant to busy ourselves with. What’s important is faith in Christ.
Get circumcised all you want. But if you’ve not placed your faith in Christ you’re going to a devil’s Hell. Keep any rule or regulation as much as you want, but if you’ve not placed your faith in Christ you’re going to a devil’s Hell.
WITH THESE EXPLANATIONS MADE, PAUL MOVES TO THE THIRD KIND OF COMMENTS HE HAS MADE. ACTUALLY, THEY ARE INTERROGATIONS.
His first question is related to their interruption, 5.7-10:
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
Notice the word “hinder.” It’s about someone who takes cuts in line before you. Like someone jumping in front of you at the grocery checkout line and impeding your progress.[2] These Galatians were moving along until the legalizers cut in front of them and interfered with their growth as Christians. So Paul asked, “Who did this to you?” “Who interfered with you obeying the truth?” We know it wasn’t God because Paul says it wasn’t Him that calleth you, in verse 8. And Romans 8.30 indicates that it is God who calls the sinner to salvation.
Is this question about people bothering your progress as a Christian important? You bet it is. Verse 9 indicates that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” Christians better quit messing around with sin. It always starts small and then gets really big in a hurry. How many people think they can dabble in sin and find that sin gobbles them up after a while? But Paul is encouraged. He has confidence that in the end, the Christians will straighten out. But woe unto the fellow that tries to place Christians under the Law, or any non-Scriptural obligation to man-made rules and regulations.
Do you realize how many pastors will be so affected by their legalistic tendencies? Do you realize how many Christians will answer to Christ for imposing their rules for personal sanctification and standing before God on other people? Standards are one thing. Standards are good for discipline and to preserve decorum in worship. Also, an appropriate leadership function is insisting on like mindedness to present a unified ministry front to the unsaved and the immature. But we must be extremely careful not to use the cloak of standards as a cover for imposing on others the rule of law for attaining spirituality or as a means of enhancing one’s standing before God.
Paul’s second question is related to his persecution. In verse 11, he provokes his readers to thought:
“And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offense of the cross ceased.”
Do you think Paul is using a double standard? Do you imagine he preaches liberty in Galatia and Law in Jerusalem? Do you think he played the hypocrite as Peter did on one occasion? If that were the case, why was Paul persecuted? Paul was persecuted for preaching liberty in Christ. Oh no. You see, the legalist is not content to place only himself under Law. He insists on placing everyone else under Law, as well. The attacks against Paul rarely came from the theological left. His attacks rarely came from the neo-evangelical type of crowd. No. He caught flak from the capital F Fundamentalists, the strong conservatives. And the same is true today.
If you, like me, are from a conservative background, you might feel quite comfortable with the rules and regulations that govern your life. There’s only one thing wrong with those very comfortable and familiar rules. God is opposed to them. He’s not opposed to standards and separation. He’s opposed to rules that men devise and impose on themselves and others to attain a supposed level of spirituality as an alternative to growth in grace.
IN VERSE 12, WE HAVE PAUL’S COMMENT WHICH IS A RECOMMENDATION
“I would they were even cut off which trouble you.”
Remember the scene Paul pictures in his mind’s eye. Legalizers were preying upon his beloved Galatians, instructing them to obey the outdated Law of Moses and insisting that they be circumcised.
In strict adherence to the Law of Moses, Paul can imagine with good accuracy all of the Galatian men lined up. And, one by one, the legalizers, with much pomp and ceremony, go from man to man, circumcising each Gentile Christian.
With this picture in his mind and understanding of how worth fighting for our Christian liberties and how dangerous even a little of the leaven of unscriptural teaching and practices, Paul writes verse 12:
“I would they were even cut off which trouble you.”
Allow me to explain Paul’s recommendation. This verse states what Paul would just as soon happen to the knife-happy legalizers who are circumcising every Gentile Christian in sight.
Do you see the phrase “cut off”? It translates a single Greek word, ἀpokόptoo. And in his usual bold and straightforward manner, Paul literally wishes out loud that that portion of the anatomy that the legalizers were trimming flesh from with their knife would be completely removed from their own body.[3] That is the word's literal meaning that means something far more radical than just making someone a eunuch.
Why would Paul use such harsh and extreme language? Perhaps because he, so much more than we, realized the extent of the damage done to Christians who were influenced by false teachers.
My friend, what you believe and the way you behave is critical! This is no game we are involved in. This is serious business! We need to examine ourselves. We need to make sure that what we believe and the things we do are not violating God’s will for our lives.
Do you wonder why you have so much trouble living for Christ? Do you wonder why your testimony is shot with your in-laws and why your kids back sass you? Do you wonder why you can’t or won’t end the crippling habits that plague your life? You wonder why what God gives you lets slip through your hands? Do you wonder why you are so all-fired concerned about political, religious, and parental liberty and so completely unconcerned about spiritual liberty in Christ?
I’ll tell you why all these things are true in the lives of some of you. If you are saved, it is because you’ve, since your conversion, fallen from grace. It’s because your allegiance is to something or someone other than Christ.
You have been given liberty in Christ, so stand fast in that liberty. Of course, most professing Christians these days are lost. If that’s the case with you, then you need to come to Christ, and He will set you free from bondage to sin and death.
The spiritual leader who imposes rules on you, laws if you will, is a person who has fallen from grace. If you follow such unscriptural leadership, you have fallen from grace.
__________
[1] https://www.thegazette.com/kids-articles/how-kids-helped-during-the-revolutionary-war/ and https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/04/young-people-at-war/
[2] Rogers, Jr., Cleon L. and Rogers III, Cleon L., The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key To The Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1998), page 430.
[3] Ibid.
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