I greet you in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our texts for today's message are taken from Galatians chapter 6, verses 11 to 13. These were the closing words of the Apostle Paul, except the benediction in verse 18. The entire passage was a final rebuke to the Judaizers. In fact, it was because of their heretical teachings that prompted Paul to write this letter in the first place. They were teaching salvation by works, which was contrary to the gospel of grace. They were teaching a man-made gospel, which Paul said in Galatians 1:6 was “another gospel”, which means another gospel of a different kind that cannot save us.
But it was not just the Judaizers who had this problem. Fundamentally, there are only two forms of religions that man has ever known. Some people would say, “Well, there are so many religions in this world, and every religion claims to be teaching the truth and every religion claims exclusivity. How do we know which one is true?” Well, basically, there are only two religions, two approaches to salvation. It is either salvation by grace or salvation by works. It may come to us in all kinds of shapes and forms, but they are still the same; they come under the umbrella of salvation by works. Christianity stands alone based on salvation by grace.
In the midst of all the religions of this world that teach salvation by works, one theologian gave this illustration: in a supermarket, you see rows of goods stacked up on the shelves. Similarly, on the market shelves of the world's religions, there are hundreds and thousands of attractive packages with a tasteless and worthless sawdust of the works of righteousness. Standing alone, unattractive and repulsive to the natural man, is the true gospel, which alone contains real food. What a way to explain all the religions of this world! God's way to salvation is what Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross. Man's way to salvation is what a man can accomplish and achieve through his own works.
A man who embraces the world's religions would say, “On my own merits, in my own power, I can make myself acceptable to God. I can earn myself a place in heaven.” The Christian who embraces the cross will say, “I cannot accomplish anything in my own power of goodness; I have none. I can only throw myself at the mercy of God, trusting in the sufficient sacrifice of His only begotten Son on my behalf.”
In the preceding chapters, the Apostle Paul had already dealt with the erroneous teachings of the Judaizers. Here in this last section, he will be dealing with their motives. Their motivation was not about the glory of God but it was for the praise of men. This is what we want to learn from today's passage. The title of our message is “Living for the Praise of Men.”
My friends, it is not only important for us to examine our actions and behaviors, but it is equally important for us to examine the motivations and the intentions behind our actions. Why are we doing what we are doing? Whether it be our services in the fellowship groups, our involvement in missions, our participation in the church camp, or our evangelistic efforts in bringing people to church, we may know how to go about doing all these things. We may even be experts in organizing these programs. But do we really know why we are doing all these things?
There is a great difference between knowing how to do things and knowing why we are doing those things. And that is where the motive plays an important role. Even when we emphasize a particular doctrine, we may be so zealous in presenting the argument. We may be so good in debating with those who speak against the truth of God's word. But do we pause and ask ourselves, “What is our motive?” There's absolutely nothing wrong in standing for the truth of God's word; it is the right thing to do. Winning people to Jesus Christ, bringing more and more people to the church is also right. But it is definitely wrong when we do all these things not to the glory of God but to the praise of men, to the glory of our own flesh.
So we must bear in mind that a good work can be corrupted by a bad motive. That is why we must always examine our motivations and intentions. Let us see how the Apostle Paul dealt with the motives of the Judaizers in this passage. Verse 11 says, “Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.” The phrase “how large a letter” cannot be a reference to the Epistle of Galatians being a large letter, a long letter. After all, it had only six chapters in comparison with the books of Romans and First Corinthians, which had about 16 chapters each.
Some people believe that Paul wrote with large letters as in the wordings were large because of his poor eyesight. Maybe you can turn with me to Galatians 4:13. Paul mentioned that he had this infirmity in the flesh. Most likely it was due to his poor eyesight because he went on to say that the Galatians loved him so much that they were willing to give him their own eyes. Look at verse 15: “For I bear record that if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me.” So that could be an indication that he had some problems with his eyesight. If that was the case, then most possibly “the thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12:7, where Paul prayed three times for God to remove, and God said, “My grace is sufficient for thee,” that thorn in the flesh would be a reference to his eye problem.
Some theologians believe in that theory. Others believe that these large letters were a reference to the Greek capital letters, which means this whole book was written in Greek capital letters, perhaps for emphasis. But whatever be the case, I think what is important is that Paul said, “I have written unto you with mine own hand.” Previously, some of the Judaizers had falsely claimed to speak on behalf of the Apostles. They tried to do that in Acts 15. Here, they might also try to misrepresent Paul for their own selfish purposes. Therefore, Paul said, “You Galatians would recognize my handwriting. This is no pseudo letter written by some false apostles. I have written this letter with mine own hand.”
But then he went on to describe the Judaizers that they were proud. That is our first point. Look at the first part of verse 12: “As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised.” To constrain means to compel. To compel you to be circumcised means to coerce you, to urge you. Then more and more people would join them by way of circumcision. Their desire was not for the glory of God because the Bible tells us that they wanted to make a fair show, which means to show off, to display. And what was the thing they wanted to show off? The flesh. In other words, they wanted to show off their own human efforts. They were not concerned about pleasing God with their inward righteousness. They were more concerned about impressing the people with their outward legalism, and, to be precise, they were proud of their circumcision. They were so proud that oftentimes they were called “people of the circumcision.”
Isn't it true that there are some people who are proud of their so-called spirituality? Some are proud of their spiritual gifts, like the Corinthians, whether it be the gift of preaching, teaching, serving, playing the piano or organ, showing hospitality, and so forth. Others are proud of certain qualities and characteristics. They love it when people say to them, “You are so kind, gentle, loving, generous, and so humble.” To be proud of one's humility is a bit of an oxymoron because both are total opposites. Yet others are proud to show off their knowledge of the Bible. They read the Bible, they study the Bible, not to be encouraged for themselves and to encourage others, but to be proud of their knowledge, and then they show off.
There are many hours of quiet time and prayers. Throughout the gospel, Jesus gave us repeated warnings against such pride. Jesus said, “When you give alms, when you help the poor, do not blow your trumpets like the hypocrites in the synagogues. When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. When you fast, do not put on a sad and gloomy face telling everyone that you are fasting like the hypocrites.” Jesus even gave a parable about the Pharisee and the publican tax collector. Let me read for you Luke 18:11-14: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’”
But there’s another possibility why the Judaizers wanted to compel more people to be circumcised: to join them. It was because of the numbers. They were proud of their numbers. Some people are proud to be members of mega-churches. They would ask you, “How many people do you have on a normal Sunday worship service?” When you answer, “About 100 people,” they will respond by saying, “Well, that is the number we have for our small fellowship group. On a normal Sunday worship service, we have about 5,000 people.” Some people are proud of numbers.
Some years ago, a group of us were having a meal around the table, and we were talking about the difficulties of organizing a church camp: how we ought to be very focused on looking for a good campsite and then the troubles we face in providing transportation, accommodations, and food. One of the pastors from another church said, “Well, I thank God for my church camp coordinator because he has to organize our church camp, which caters to more than 700 people, and there are few hotels that can accommodate that number of people. We have to book two big hotels and then have almost ten buses to transport the people to and fro.” Although he was stating a fact, somehow you could feel a sense of pride in what he was saying.
My friend, as believers, we must be careful. We must never be proud. There is nothing for us to be proud of in the first place. If we truly believe that everything we have and everything we are cometh from God, and it is all because of Him, then all glory must go to Him, not to ourselves. That is why we must be very careful never to be proud in any way because God knows. He sees into our hearts. He knows our thoughts, our motivations, our intentions.
Our second point is that they will compromise. Look at the second part of verse 12: “Only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.” The phrase “only lest they should suffer persecution” means only simply to avoid suffering persecution.
You see, these Judaizers claimed to be Christians, and they saw that when the Apostle Paul preached the gospel—that salvation was by grace apart from the works of the law—he was being persecuted. So, what did they do? They compromised. They tried to make the Christians think that they were Christians, and they tried to make the followers of the Mosaic law think that they observed and obeyed the law just as they did, in order to avoid being persecuted by the legalistic group.
Why are people willing to compromise? They want to protect themselves; they want to be popular, to be accepted and welcomed by everyone. They are not willing to pay the price of persecution in order to be identified with Jesus Christ. They are willing to be called Christians, they are willing to attend church worship services as long as there's no trouble, no struggles, no persecution. But the moment there's a price to pay for their Christian faith, that is when they will walk away or compromise.
It is important for us to take note of the phrase, "for the Cross of Christ," because the cross cannot be compromised. The cross cannot be neutral. Either you are for the cross or you are against the cross. Either you are ashamed of the cross, or you are not ashamed of the cross. In reality, the Judaizers were ashamed of the cross.
Today, we tend to look at the cross in a sentimental way. Why do we say that? People wear crosses on their necks; some have them as stickers on their cars as sort of a decorative accessory. But for the first-century believers, the cross was not a beautiful piece of jewelry; it was the most cruel, agonizing, and shameful death ever devised by a human mind. Ancient historians would often describe Christians as followers of the cross, which means these were followers of the one who was crucified under Pontius Pilate. In the eyes of the world, the cross was a symbol of shame. But for us Christians, in our eyes, the cross is a symbol of life, because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died on the cross. He shed his precious blood; he is the full and final sacrifice, so that you and I can be saved from sin and death. We love him, we believe him, we are eternally grateful to him, and we want to follow him.
Remember, Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” You want to follow Christ? You must deny yourself, you must take up the cross, and you must follow him. The cross is a symbol of suffering. To take up the cross means to be willing to suffer for Christ. All of us in this room will know that the moment we share the gospel, the moment we stand for the truth or preach against sin and falsehood—whether it be against the theory of evolution, atheism, homosexuality, or against the feminist movement—we may potentially be criticized. We may face rejection, hostility, and even persecution. We may lose our friends. But are we willing to suffer for Christ? Or are we only willing to be associated with the cross?
We come to church, we worship, we sing hymns, we give up our tithes and offerings—we are willing to do all these things so long as we do not need to suffer. Then, we will be just like the Judaizers, whom Paul said, "only lest they should suffer persecution for the Cross of Christ." God forbids. Jesus died on the cross; he shed his precious blood to save us from eternal hell. Forever and ever, we will be with him. Is there anything that we are not willing to do for him, including suffering? The answer should be no.
So they were proud, and they were compromisers, and they were also hypocrites. That is our third and final point. Verse 13: "For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh." The Judaizers, who were circumcised, would emphasize to the Galatians that they must be circumcised in order to keep the Mosaic law, yet they themselves did not keep the law, as in the rest of the law. They did not live by the standards of the law. Paul was not suggesting that they could earn their salvation by keeping the law; he was just rebuking them for their dishonesty. In a sense, Paul was implying that they were not even honest Jews. How could they be genuine Christians?
They emphasized one thing but not the rest. They focused on one thing but threw away the rest, like some people would do: pick a few laws, a few teachings, a few commandments, and stress them to others. “Did you do this? Did you do that? Did you obey this? Did you obey that?” But they only focused on those things they did, and they didn't talk about those things they did not do. Their religion was purely hypocrisy.
This reminds us of our Lord Jesus, who said in Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Some people will stop here and say, “Look, Jesus said do not judge, so we should not judge.” No, my friends, we should judge, and we should judge all things. If we do not judge, how are we going to differentiate between truth and error? How are we going to discern between righteousness and sin, between good and evil? We have to judge all things. Jesus did not say, “Judge not,” and stop there. He was saying do not judge like the way you judge. That is why he went on to say, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.”
In other words, Jesus was saying, “You must judge, but you must judge righteously.” If spiritually you cannot see, how are you able to judge? How are you able to help another brother, to confront him or her of his or her sins? First, take out the beam that is stopping you from spiritually seeing, then you are able to see that little speck that is in your brother's eye.
When we apply this principle into our text, it does not mean that we do not obey the law. We obey the law; we have to. But we must not be like the hypocrites: obey one, focus on one, talk about those things that we love to do and we are comfortable to do, and then throw away the rest. Their religion was pure pretense and hypocrisy. In fact, their motive was not even to help the Galatians to obey the law of circumcision. Their main reason was that they could boast about their flesh. In other words, they would say, “See, we have compelled the Galatians; they have obeyed us; they were circumcised.” They want to show off their human efforts.
Who is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be godly and spiritual, but the truth is that he is neither godly nor spiritual; he is void of all these virtues. He may preach the truth, he may teach the truth, he may emphasize the truth, but he does not live out the truths. A story was told of a minister who was trying to impress upon the people the importance of living the Christian life, and to emphasize his point, in front of everyone, he turned to his wife and asked, “Why do people call me a Christian?” Expecting his wife to say, “Because of the way you live your life,” but instead his wife replied, “Maybe it is because they don't know you.”
My friends, who knows us better than our spouses, right? Our husbands, our wives, our children? Can you imagine the closest people saying that to us? “Maybe it is because they don't know you.” But even if we can deceive the whole world, we cannot deceive the Almighty God, who sees into the innermost of our hearts. A person may be able to hide his motive—he may be proud, he may be a compromiser, he may be a hypocrite. He knows that is who he is, but he's able to hide all that from everyone else and yet present himself to be a godly, spiritual, and righteous man.
We have seen many people like that, but there is someone whom he cannot deceive: Jesus Christ, the one who said to the Pharisees, “You hypocrites, you are like whitewashed tombs; on the outside you are white, but inside you are full of dead men's bones.” Think about this: what if this is said about us? “You hypocrites, you are like a whitewashed tomb.” This morning, if our Lord Jesus were to look into our hearts, what will he say to us? Ask yourself this question: will he say to us, “You are living for the praise of men only. You are proud, you are a compromiser, you are a hypocrite.” Or will he say to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You are living for the glory of God.” I pray that all of us will hear this from our Lord Jesus: “You are living for the glory of God, not for the praise of men, not for the glory of the flesh.” When we return next week, we will finish the last section, whereby Paul will talk about what it means to live for the glory of God. Let us pray.
- NOTE FOR PROOFREADER: “whitewashed” is one word.
Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for this passage that Thou hast enabled us to consider. Help us to remember what we have learned. Help us to learn even from the Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us His best example, His ultimate example, and how Thou would also use Thy servant, the Apostle Paul, to teach us this blessed morning how we ought not to live to the praise of men, because sometimes in the flesh we will do that. But help us to live to the glory of God. Help us not to be proud, help us not to be compromisers, and help us not to be hypocrites. But help us always to live our lives with our hearts in tune with Thee and our steps in walk with Thee, all to the glory of Thy precious name. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.