“'what's your identy?' or 'do you want to be really righteous?'"
Satellite Message
Nov 5

It’s been a tough week for me to prepare this message. Two times I’ve scrapped what I had because I felt as if I wasn’t saying anything of value. I didn’t feel as if I was catching anything new when I read these verses over and over again. These verses all make sense to me. This morning around 10:30 was when I started working on this again. I don’t say that as any sort of excuse, but to relate with those of you who try to study the Bible and just cant seemed to pull anything out of it. When I come to the place when I feel like I’ve been trying to study, but cant find anything new, when I get frustrated that I don’t “hear” GOD’s revelation through Scripture I usually find a place to still my heart…and rest my soul in silence. Silence is when I hear GOD’s voice the most. I spent about an hour in silence this morning. It’s a painful thing sometimes. I was meditating on the first verse of the chapter. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” I let those words ring in my head. It is for freedom that Christ has set me free. Let’s just take a moment to let those words settle in your heads. “It is for freedom that Christ has set me free."



Galatians 5:7-12
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. I am confident in the LORD that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

I think one of the things that has made studying this passage so hard was that I feel as if Paul is saying the same thing over and over. I think to myself, “OK Paul, I think they get it now.” It wasn’t until after reading this passage over and over that I realized that Paul’s tone had changed a little. He is still speaking about the same thing. His focused has changed from the false teaching to the Galatians, themselves. He speaks specifically to those who have bought the lies. He tells them that they “were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.” Paul is talking about who they are; he’s talking about their identity. I think that this is such an important part of Paul’s letter. He’s reminding this church of who they are and who they aren’t.

Are you familiar with the phrase “’throw-away’ kids?” I became familiar with that term when I was talking with a friend who spent some time in Brazil. She was telling me about the different social structures there. She was talking about orphans and these “throw-away kids”. When I asked her what the difference was she told me that the orphans were kids who were left in the care of an orphanage, but the “throw-away kids” were just abandoned in the middle of the city and left to survive on their own. They live in groups; knowing that their survival relies heavily on being with other people. They pick pockets, steal from stores and restaurants. They are known by the city as “throw-away kids.” Their identity is wrapped up in that phrase. What if I went down to Brazil and adopted one of these throw-away kids? I brought him up to the US and made him my son. Do you think that by telling him that he was my son would make him stop stealing? Do you think that he would still act like a kid that was forgotten? I think he would. It would probably be a hard transition for this kid to realize that he didn’t have to steal to survive any more. And until he really understood and believed that his identity had changed from a throwaway kid to my son, he probably wouldn’t change the way he saw himself.



Paul reminds the Galatian church about their identity in GOD when he write, “from the one who calls you.” These people are GOD’s people. They needed to be reminded of the GOD who calls them. Most of the people in the Galatian church were not Jews. The Jews were known as GOD chosen people. I think that the Judiaziers had gotten things backwards. They weren’t earning GOD’s chosen-ness by following the law or by being circumcised. They were GOD’s chosen people because GOD had chosen them.

1 Peter 2:9-10
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy."


Ephesians 2:19
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."

I think that this is such an important part of Paul’s letter, because in the midst of this false teaching I’m sure they forgot who they were. These Galatians were GOD’s chosen people. They didn’t need circumcision to make them that. This happens to me too. I get beat up spiritually and forget who I am. Sundays are especially hard for me. I get so beat up by Satan; he speaks lies to me about who I am. I need constant reminders that GOD has called me.


Q: So, what’s your identity in GOD? Who has GOD called you to be? How do you separate things about you with your identity?



My favorite part of this passage is the last verse. When I read it I get the feeling that Paul could be at the height of frustration with these people. Paul write, “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” These are some harsh words. I like them. This seems like the kind of response that I would give. When I was reading this in a few commentaries it has this verse translated something like “I wish they would cut themselves off completely. If this is the way it’s translated I think that it’s easy to think that Paul is just wishing that these people would cut themselves off from contact with the church. While I’m sure that Paul would wish this too, I don’t think that it’s his primary purpose. Here’s what I think, Paul is so frustrated with people thinking that circumcision will lead them to a righteous life that he takes that thought one step further. If you think that cutting the foreskin off equates righteousness how righteous could you become if you cut off the whole penis? So Paul responds to these people by asking if they want to be really righteous. Go ahead and seek righteousness this way, cut the whole thing off.

Here’s the catch. Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, knows the law like nobodies business, starts leading them with this statement that makes enough of a reference to Deuteronomy 23:1. Does anyone know what that verse says? I didn’t either. Here’s what it says. “No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD." If you start with circumcision, then go the whole way and emasculate yourself! In doing so, you force yourself into the position of not being able to enter assembly of the LORD. Paul is once again reminding the Galatians that if they want to return to law as a method of justification, they should actually take the time to read what the Law says!

When I read this it sounds as if Paul is saying: “your attempts at righteousness will in the end send you farther from GOD. Here’s where I bring these two thoughts together. It’s not a complete thought, so you’ll have to help me. Paul wants the Galatians to remember that they are GOD’s chosen people. GOD has called them. GOD desires them. And by seeking righteousness outside of GOD they are forcing themselves away from the GOD who called them.

And for us:
I want you to remember that you are GOD’s chosen people. GOD is calling you. GOD desires you. And by seeking righteousness outside of GOD you are forcing yourselves away from the GOD who calls you.