Galatians 5:12-14
12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
Paul took the previous few verses before this one to talk about those Judaizers who kept the Galatians from running the race, persuading them with words not from Christ, being unholy leaven, claiming that they will be brought to account, wondering at his own persecution if circumcision fixes the problem, and saying that if that is the case and circumcision fixes the spiritual problem, then the cross’s offense has been removed.
He then shocks us with this next verse, turning a corner on his argumentation and lashing out at those who were preaching circumcision with this unsettling image. And it is understandable. Consider that Paul is a world-changer; his desire is to see people set up in a place of maturity so that there is stability. Yet, people who add to the gospel, complicate it with a list of do’s and don’t’s as prerequisites for salvation, really put us in a place where we are destabilized. If the identity or security of a believer is challenged, then all sorts of imbalance and destabilization results. Paul knows this, which is why he responds by wishing them castrated. In other words, when they circumcised themselves, they didn’t go far enough. This is the response of an Exhorter that results when someone messes with disciples that he planted. Flamboyant, over-the-top language.
Considering that Paul has a lot of maturity at this time, this lash-out arises out of a fierce mentality that is protective of those for whom the apostle feels personally responsible. And with the heart of the gospel, the sufficiency of Christ, at stake, I doubt that anyone else in Paul’s position would feel differently
Walter Hansen writes:
“…False teachers emphasize sensational rituals. Verse 12 sounds terribly harsh and crude, but we must interpret it in its historical and cultural context. It would have indeed been a sensational ceremony if all the male members of the Galatian churches had been circumcised by the false teachers. But then, Paul says, somewhat sarcastically, if [the false teachers] really want to put on a sensational show, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! {Paul] is probably referring here to a barbaric ritual that actually took place in his day in Galatian pagan temples”, where priests of Cybele castrated themselves with pincers and placed their testicles in a box.
Consider the following. Even though Paul was circumcised, and had taken Timothy and circumcised him, he who carried the circumcision knew that it wasn’t of any value at all, as far as salvation goes or standing before G-d.
It is not a ritual that adds to our righteousness. Rather, walking in the principles of Scripture, loving G-d and loving people is what counts, and expressing our faith through acts of love (Galatians 5:6, is the point).
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Again, see Galatians 5:6. Additionally, see Galatians 5:1. Paul repeats the motif of liberation, and then applies it to be used for acts of service that flow out of love. Our freedom is for the purpose of setting others free, and for expressing the affection that Christ has for us by showing that love to others.
Circumcision was the preceding stumbling-block that messed up the Galatian churches. What will follow as we proceed through this chapter is a list of other things that provide more stumbling-blocks.
Because we have been given freedom, and freedom is one of many gifts of G-d, like every other gift that he gives us, this gift serves a purpose.
Circumcision does not free us. Christ’s salvation, which is a free gift, is what frees us. And we are permitted to become saved, go to heaven, and never do a thing to positively impact that kingdom. But even in light of that, there is still a problem. Let me explain.
There are a lot of Christians that think it is their right to sit in a pew and do nothing for anyone once they are saved. And you can do nothing if you want.
The problem is, that does not advance the kingdom. It does not help the Lord when we do nothing. There are other people that need the hope that we now have. And if we do not act, they may never know that hope, and they die in their sin and go to hell, and we could have pulled them to safety.
Gifts aren’t just given in order to be used. Gifts are designed to be used. The bike that you got for Christmas, or that drawing pad and pencils, were meant to be used. Bikes are to be ridden to teach us balance, and pads and pencils are meant to be used to teach us how to catch some of the finer details in life so that we are able to understand and have an eye for the beautiful. If G-d gives you a gift, and you hoard it to yourself, then you may have eternal life, but that is not to say that there will not be discipline or consequences for failing to use the gift you have been give.
Likewise, freedom is a gift. What are you going to use that gift for? What could the Father ask you to use that gift for? He might call you to ministry. He might call you to business, which is just another form of ministry. He might call you to work with land and the ecology for conservation. He might call you to raise a large family.
I have a friend, we’ll call her Ethel. A number of years back, she gave birth a few times and after the youngest of the children she chose to tie off her Fallopian Tubes, which connect the ovaries to the uterus in a woman, without consulting the Lord. Now, Ethel had the freedom to do so, so she did so.
Years later, she was talking to the Lord about some things that involved her children, and the Lord interrupted their conversation with the words “I never told you to get your tubes tied”. She was blown away, repented, and recognized that that was part of her legacy, to have a larger family. Now, G-d never untied the tubes or made it so Ethel could have more children, but she has since learned the importance of talking to the Lord in every situation, and how to better use the freedom given to her by Jesus.
I would counsel you and exhort you, brethren, to not use your freedom to just satisfy whatever your desires are, but to ask G-d and start having conversations with him about the freedom he has given you, and to not just discuss the freedom he has given to you, but also to discuss with him all of the resources he has placed into your hand. For the Father has given us each a large number of unique tools that can each be maximized for the advancement of the kingdom.
Do not leave any money on the table. Drive that car or that motorcycle not until you get bored of it, but until the wheels fall off, because you have been given only one to drive. Use it and utilize it wisely.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The second-most important verse in all of Scripture, deals with the spiritual interactions between humans. This deynamic of love is not just a physical or and emotional response. Love, and specifically the unconditional love of G-d, is housed in our spirits. The agape love of Christ, the love that cause Jesus to die for us on the cross, came not from an emotional choice, for, if you will recall in Luke 22:42-44, Jesus’ emotions were against going to the cross. His soul and body were not relishing the idea of suffering. He, with his emotions, said “’Father if you are willing remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in AGONY he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Those were the state of Jesus’ emotions, being against this whole idea. But his spirit came to the front and dominated, and because of the intense self-sacrificing love that flowed from deep within his inner being, deeper than his soul and emotions, he followed through, and died for us.
This is why we fulfill the law when we love our neighbors. It is because that love flows from our depths to nourish those whom we are loving.
And who is our neighbor?
The hated Samaritan. The Republican. The Democrat. Whomever it is that you most despise. The person that will challenge that deeply-held unspiritual belief that you have in the dark places of your heart. For the black southerner, it might be the white southerner. For the southerner, it might be the northern snowbird that overpopulates your highways and can’t drive properly in December, but pushes your every laid-back southern sentiment of proper driving.
For you Red Sox fans, it might be that gloating Yankee fan. :).
The bottom line is , you never know whom G-d might put in your path in order to force you to walk in love. And yes, he does have a habit of forcing the issue.
