Galatians 5:2-3 Do not Seek to be Under Law or else Christ Will not Benefit You

Galatians 5:2-3 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.

If a person receives physical circumcision after “receiving” Christ, is he/she then cut-off from Christ? If this is the case, then Paul, to his own knowledge condemned Timothy, his own child in the faith (Acts 16:1-3). So Paul most certainly is not talking about merely physically receiving circumcision. Rather, Paul is addressing the situation of the heart. The one who seeks to be justified by keeping the outward Law, of which circumcision is the sign, is claiming that Christ is not a sufficient atonement. Christ has no benefit for this person because this person does not trust in Christ but rather in his/her own meritorious efforts. All those who receive circumcision, because they are seeking in whole or in part to be justified the Law (not for the reason of becoming all things to all men to be an effective witness—the reason Timothy was circumcised), are obligated to keep the whole Law perfectly and to establish their own righteousness. If they fail in a single point they will be condemned—because Christ is not their Lord, He does them no good.

Brothers and sisters, do not think that you can attempt to keep a part of the Law; you are completely free from it if you are in Christ. If you seek to keep one part of the Law, seeking to be justified by tithing for instance, you are obligated to keep every point of the Law. If you mess up in one single point, however, you have “become guilty of all” (James 2:10). This is because “He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law” (James 2:11). Do not seek to be judged by your keeping of the Mosaic Law. Rather “speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:12-13). Live as one who is to be judged by the law of liberty; showing mercy to others as you have received mercy. For “blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). For the law of liberty consists of loving God and loving your neighbor, not keeping the Mosaic Law.

As Paul discussed earlier, faith and law cannot coincide; they are in opposition (cf. Galatians 3:2, 6-7, 12). If you live by faith, you are trusting in Christ to be your righteousness before God. Thus Christ is of great benefit to you. He is both the atonement for your sins and you are imputed with His righteousness. If you seek to be justified before God by the Law, and you seek to be righteous before God by the Law, you claim that “Christ died needlessly” and so He is of no benefit to you (Galatians 2:21); you will stand on your own before the judgment throne of God. Friend, stand firm in Christ—trusting Him alone and following Him faithfully. This is the only way to eternal life, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and so you have not kept the whole Law—you will either be guilty of all because you seek to establish your own righteousness or you will be innocent of all because you are in Christ.