Four consequences of circumcision. Now look in our text in verse
2 of Galatians chapter 5. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you
that if you be circumcised, here's the first consequence, Christ
shall profit you nothing. Here's the second consequence.
For I testify again to every man that circumcised that he
is a debtor to do the whole law. Here's the third consequence.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are
justified by the law. And here's the fourth consequence.
You are fallen from grace. Dire consequences, indeed, if
you be circumcised. Now, in verse one, Paul gives
us this glorious command. Stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled
again with that yoke of bondage. Every believer has been liberated. Now the illustration that comes
to my mind is being in jail. The door's locked up. You can't
get out. You cannot get out. If you could get out, you wouldn't
be locked up, would you? But then if someone liberates
you, the door's open and you're set free to leave that place. Now, every believer has been
liberated. What have they been liberated
from? Well, first, liberated from the law of Moses. Free from the law, oh, happy
condition. Jesus hath bled and there is
remission. Cursed by the law, slain by the
fall, Christ hath redeemed me once for all. I'm free from the
law of Moses, and I'm free from the curse of Adam. Adam was cursed. I'm not cursed. I'm set free. Every believer is set free from
the curse of Adam. I'm free from spiritual death.
There was a time when I was dead in sins, unable to perform the
functions of life. I've been given life, spiritual
life. I'm free from the fear of physical
death. When I'm looking to Christ, I
am. You see, the only thing that'll make you or me afraid of physical
death is afraid sin's still here. But if you see that sin has been
blotted out, you're not afraid to die. You're free from that. I've been set free from condemnation. Romans 8.33 says, who is he that
condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who
also makes intercession for us. I'm free. I'm free from the power of sin.
Romans 6 14 says, sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're
not under the law, but under grace. Now, what does that mean?
Well, it doesn't mean that I'm free from the presence of sin,
the indwelling of sin, or the commission of sin. If I said
that, I'd be lying. But it does mean this. There
was a time when I could not believe, and I do now. There was a time
when I didn't even know what repentance was, and I now stay
in a state of repentance. There was a time when I did not
love Christ, I do now. I've been freed from the dominion
of sin. And the believer's been set free
from the authority of Satan. Ephesians 2, 1 through 3 says,
And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins,
wherein in times past you walked according to the course of this
world, according to the power of the prince of the air, Satan,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of
our flesh. Now, I've been delivered from Satan being my Lord. And I am liberated to have all
of the heavenly inheritance. All that Christ has coming to
him belongs to the believer. Now that's liberty. You stand
fast in that liberty where with Christ it's made us free. And
don't be entangled again in that yoke of bondage. And what is
that yoke of bondage? The law. And it's represented
by the word circumcision. circumcision. Now let me ask you a question.
What would be easier for you to do? To never tell a lie? Or to submit to this very painful
rite of circumcision? Now it would be a whole lot easier
to submit to circumcision than it would to never tell a lie,
wouldn't it? or to never have a lustful thought,
or to never murder someone in your heart, or to never covet. Actually, circumcision is the
easiest law to keep. Now, it's not easy. I mean, can
you imagine submitting yourself to that as an adult? In my generation,
most young boys were circumcised. I don't remember it. I'm glad
I don't. would say that probably many
of you men in here are circumcised. And he's not talking about physical
circumcision. That's not the reference. We're
going to see that in just a moment. But even that kind of thinking
of submitting to be circumcised betrays an ignorance of what
circumcision is in the first place. It's what God called a
token of the covenant, and it represents the work of Christ
for you. and the work of Christ in you. This physical putting
away of the flesh represents, and I'm gonna show you that in
the scripture, the work of Christ for you and the work of Christ in
you. Turn a few pages over to Colossians chapter two. Verse 11, in whom also you are
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. This is not
a physical circumcision. In putting off the body of the
sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Now, in circumcision,
something's removed. When Christ died in his circumcision,
something was removed. My sin. My sin, my sin became
his and he removed it and put it away. So circumcision first
represents the work of Christ for you in putting away your
sin, the removal of sin. Now look in Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2. Verse 28. For he is not a Jew,
which is one outwardly. Somebody that claims to be a
Jew and lives in Israel, that's not a Jew. Neither is that circumcision,
which is outward in the flesh. Somebody says, I've been circumcised.
Well, that's not circumcision. But he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter. whose praise is
not of men, but of God." Now that's the work of Christ in
the heart. That's the circumcised heart.
Philippians chapter 3, verse 3, Paul said, we're the circumcision,
which worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh. Now when Paul says, if ye be
circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing, he's referring to
what took place in Acts chapter 15. Would you turn with me there? Acts chapter 15, verse 1. And certain men which came down
from Judea, the church at which James was pastor, a Christian
church, taught the brethren and said, except you be circumcised
after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. Now, they weren't
denying the work of Christ. They said Christ lived, died,
was raised from the dead. We can't be saved without that.
But you also have to be circumcised after the manner of Moses. there
was an addition to the work of Christ. Look in verse 5 of the
same chapter, Acts 15, but there rose up certain of the sect of
the Pharisees, which believed, they believed the gospel saying
that it was needful, it was necessary to circumcise them and to command
them to keep the law of Moses. You can't be saved unless you
do that. Now, my dear friends, what that
is, it's a denial that Christ is all. It's saying he is not
enough. It is a denial that salvation
is by grace. It is a denial of Colossians
chapter 2 verse 10 that you are complete in him. That says, no,
you're not complete. You need something else. It is
a denial of John 19, verse 30, when the Lord said, it is finished. It says, no, it wasn't finished. Something has to be added. It's
a denial of Ephesians 2, verse 8, for by grace are you saved. No, it's grace and something
else. It is a denial of John 6, 29. And this is the work of him that
sent me that you believe on him whom he hath sent. It's adding
and keep the law and be circumcised. It's a denial of Acts chapter
16, verse 30. What must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It's a denial of Romans 4, 5,
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifies
the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness.
No, something else needs to be done. It's a denial of Romans
5, 6, when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ
died for the ungodly. No, something needs to be added
to what Christ did. In a word, it's a denial of Peter's
response to this in Acts chapter 15, verse 11, where he says in
verse 10 now, well, therefore, why tempt ye God to put a yoke
upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor
we were able to bear? But we believe that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. Just like
them. Those Gentiles, the only way
they could be saved is by grace. We're going to be saved the same
way they are. Now, in our text, Paul is using
the most simple form of logic, the if-then. If this takes place, then this
will take place. And he says, if you be circumcised,
if you believe that any part of your salvation is dependent
upon you doing anything. You know, Peter fell into this
in Galatians chapter 2 when he was sitting eating with the Gentiles
and men from James came. So he got up and moved tables
without saying a word and ate with the people who were circumcised
saying you can be a little bit more pleasing to God like this.
And Paul publicly reprimanded him and said this is a denial
of the gospel. Or this is like Sarah, when she said, we need
to help God out. His promise is not going to come
to pass unless we do our part. Now there's Hagar, go into her.
That's helping God out. That's another form of circumcision. Now, he's not talking about the
physical act of circumcision. I would say that many men in
this room are circumcised and your physical circumcision does
not negate your salvation. This simply represents law. if any part of your salvation
is dependent upon you. Let's start at the beginning.
Let's say your salvation is dependent upon some act of your free will
or your acceptance of Christ. You accepted it and somebody
else didn't. That's why you're saved. If your salvation is somewhere
in the middle, you become more holy and more pleasing to God
through your works of obedience. Or there at the end, you gain
a higher reward in heaven because of your good life here on earth.
That's circumcision. And if you be circumcised, you
can forget Christ. He will profit you nothing. Now notice, I love the way Paul
says this, behold, I, Paul, say unto you. This is Paul speaking. This is the chief apostle. This
is the man God used more than anybody else to expound the gospel. Now, a lot of men would say a
lot of different things about this. Well, I think it's probably a
good practice to be circumcised. You never can tell. It can't
hurt. And I think that these men were just good men that had
some grave clothes on them. And they were coming up and they
were a little bit confused. And here they are bringing this.
But let's have charity. Let's cut them some slack. But
Ball said, if you go that direction, you can forget Christ. He'll
profit you nothing. The Bible is much more narrow
than we are. You know that? The way Christ
says things, the way things are presented in the Bible, much
more narrow than we are. And what does the inspired apostle
say? If you be circumcised, if you
think any part of your salvation is dependent upon you in any
way to any degree, to any degree, then Christ shall profit you
nothing. Now what do you think about that? What are your thoughts on that?
Christ will profit you nothing. He'll be of no help to you, no
advantage to you, no benefit to you. He'll not do anything
for you. if you be circumcised. You'll
not hear him say, come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world, but you'll hear
him say to you, depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared
for the devil and his angels. Now, you think about that statement,
what profit he's been to millions, millions and millions. He's washed
away their sins. He's justified them. made them
to stand before God without guilt. He sanctified them, made them
to be holy. He's preserved them and kept
them. Even now, He's interceding for them and He's coming back
for them. But He isn't doing anything for
you. Whosoever you are, better circumcised. If you think any
of your salvation is dependent upon anything you do, If you
take the long road, it's a long road that ends in utter futility. If your plea is, Lord, Lord,
have we not preached in your name? Have we not cast out demons
in your name? We believed all the right things. We believed
all the right doctrines. We've done all the right things.
Then shall I say unto them, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you. That's strong language. And it's
not my language, it's Paul's. If you be circumcised, Christ
will profit you nothing. Look in verse three of our text,
Galatians chapter five. For I testify again to every
man that's circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole
law. Now if you want to take the law
route, here's where you're left. You are a debtor to God to perfectly
keep the whole law and you're required to do so in your flesh. You have to observe every ceremony,
every dietary law, every sacrifice. You have to keep the Ten Commandments
perfectly, and the other 600 commandments as well. You have
to have perfect obedience in thought, word, deed, and motive,
on and on. If you want to go the long route,
that's what you're left with, like it or not. That's just the
truth. If you be circumcised, you personally
are a debtor to keep the whole law perfectly, something that
you cannot do, and yet God holds you responsible to do. Now that is the end of circumcision. You go that route, you go the
law route. That's what God expects of you.
Look in verse four, Christ, is become of no effect unto you,
whosoever of you are justified by the law." Now, if you believe
in circumcision, you believe in justification by the law.
That's all there is to it. You think that your salvation,
your standing before God, is in some way dependent upon what
you do. You believe you're justified by the law and Christ has become
of no effect to you. You are completely severed from
Christ. He'll have nothing to do with
you. You see, it's either all Christ's works or it's all yours. But the two can't be blended.
They can't be mingled. Christ has become of no effect
to you, whosoever you are. that are justified by works.
He's not going to accept some patchwork righteousness, some
combination of his and yours. And look what he says, the last
phrase of verse four, you are fallen from grace. Now here's what we do when we
go the circumcision route. We fall from grace. Can a man lose grace? Can he be saved by the grace
of God one day and lost the next because of some sinful action
he commits? No. No. If he could, me and you would
have been lost a long time ago. Amen? Without question. Our Lord said, I give unto my
sheep eternal life. and they shall never perish. Yes, we believe in the eternal
security of God's elect. If God chooses you, if he chose you before time began,
if Christ paid for your sins, if God the Holy Spirit gave you
life, if you're eternally united to Christ, you cannot not be saved. You cannot lose your salvation. If you could lose your salvation
because of some kind of bad work on your part, it'd be salvation
by works, wouldn't it? It'd be a complete denial of salvation
by grace in the first place. But if you give circumcision,
if you go that route, you prove you never were saved to begin
with. and you've left grace. You see, grace and works cannot
be mixed. They exclude one another. They're
incongruent. They cannot be yoked together. If you be circumcised, you've
fallen from grace. Now, I've heard this before.
I've heard it all my life. Somebody has some kind of moral
failure. They stumble in a terrible way and somebody says, they've
fallen from grace. No, they haven't. You have. Grace is the only hope they have.
Somebody that uses that kind of language, no, you have fallen
from grace. Now, oh, God forbid that we fall. Scripture also says a righteous
man falls seven times a day and rises. You know what that means?
It means he falls all the time. Don't you find that in your own
experience? What if the Lord kicked you out for your falling?
There wouldn't be hope for you, would there? but all without exception who
take the circumcision route have fallen from grace. Now let me
tell you three things about the grace of God. Now I want you
to listen very carefully. This is very simple, very simple. This is
always true regarding the grace of God. God's grace is always
sovereign. You know what that means? You don't have any control in
this thing. It's up to Him to give you grace. He can give you
grace if He's pleased to, or He can withhold it. And whatever
He does is right. He said, I'll be gracious to
whom I will be gracious. And I'll show mercy on whom I
will show mercy. God's grace is always sovereign.
If it's not sovereign, it's not grace. You know, we talk about
sovereign grace, and I don't know how good a term that is,
because if it's grace, it's sovereign. When I talk about sovereign grace,
it's almost implying that maybe there's some other kind of grace.
No, there is no other kind of grace. The only grace there is,
is sovereign grace. Not only is God's grace always
sovereign, God's grace is always absolutely free. Free. Being justified freely
by His grace. You know what that means? That
means God doesn't have to have a reason in you to give it to
you. He doesn't have to have a reason in you. What if He had
to look for a reason in you? Do they deserve my grace? No.
That's a denial of what grace is in the first place. God's
grace is always free. It's always sovereign. It's always
free. And thank God it's always saving. By grace are you saved. Salvation isn't an offer. Salvation
is an accomplishment. By grace, you are saved. Now, after Paul had set forth
the grace of God so clearly in Romans 3, 23 through 26, turn
with me there, Romans chapter 3. Verse 23, for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. You know, this verse tells
me how little we know about sin. You know, because we don't think
that is such a crime, coming short of the glory of God. And
yet it's such a crime, all who come short of his glory should
be sent to hell. All have sinned. and come short
of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare
His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God, to declare, I'd say at this time, His righteousness,
that He might be just and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. Now, Paul asks a question. Where is boasting then? Where is boasting? Now, circumcision's
last name is boasting. They're actually identical twins. They're actually Siamese twins.
They're always together. Circumcision and boasting. If you be circumcised, you have
something to boast in. I did something to make a difference. Paul says, where is boasting
then? Notice he doesn't say it has
to take a place in the back or it has to sit down on the floor.
He says it's kicked out. It's excluded. It's completely
and totally excluded. Now, where can boasting find
a place in our eternal union with Jesus Christ? Why, if you said you were united
to him because of some kind of work in you, you destroy the
meaning of what union is in the first place. Union means all
God ever sees is me in Christ, not be doing something to get
in him. Where can boasting lift up its
ugly head in election? Well, God foresaw who would be
saved, and then He chose them. No! No! For the children being
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of
works, but of Him that calleth. No, boasting has no place before
God's divine election. Well, what about redemption?
Boasting says, what about redemption? I mean, the Bible says God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now
that scripture says the difference is our faith. Well, for one thing,
the scripture doesn't say that. It doesn't say that. And for
another thing, if you have faith, where'd it come from? It's the
gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Well, one
believer accepted the gospel and the other didn't. Kick him
out. He's making his acceptance the
Savior and not the Savior himself. Where is boasting then is excluded. Well, what about justification?
It's only given to those who believe. Surely faith is the
ultimate cause of justification. Kick him out. Faith is not the
cause of justification. Faith is the result of justification.
It's God who justifies, not your faith. Kick him out. He's excluded. Well, what about sanctification?
Surely my works of obedience make me more sanctified. Well,
that's a denial of Hebrews 10, 14. By one offering, he hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified. Christ is my sanctification. Well, what about perseverance? It says if we continue in the
faith. It does say that. Yes, it does say that. But why
do you continue in the faith if you do? Now unto him that's
able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless
before his presence with exceeding joy to him be glory. Well, I
got one last plea. And you got to admit that there
are some believers who certainly seem to be more committed than
other believers. There are some believers who
seem to be more faithful than other believers. There are some
believers who seem to be more Christ-like than other believers. You've got to admit that so.
I will admit that so. Well, shouldn't they get a higher
reward in heaven? No, they're more indebted to grace, aren't
they? They're more indebted to grace. You see, grace gets all
the glory. None goes to man, none at all. Where is boasting then? He's
kicked out. He's excluded by what? Law of
works, nay, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Now, if you're circumcised, If
you believe right now that any of your salvation in any way
to any degree is dependent upon something you've done, that's
what circumcision means. Christ, he won't profit you at
all. You're a debtor to the whole
law. Christ has become of no effect to you, and you've fallen
from grace. But let's turn this thing around
in closing. You know that if salvation is
dependent upon anything you do, it's over for you. You have absolutely no hope. If God's got to look for a thing
out of you, you know yourself enough to know that you will
not be saved. Now, if you're not circumcised,
listen to this, you have all the benefits of Christ. Every last one of them. You've
been blessed with every spiritual blessing, all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And you don't have to
worry about keeping the law because you've already kept it. Christ
kept it for you. And you're dead to the law. Like
that woman who's dead to that husband who mistreated her. And
now you've got a new husband to bring fruit into God, even
Christ Jesus. Christ has not become of no effect
to you. He's become of all effect to you. You're found in him. And bless God, you're not fallen
from grace. You're under grace. You're saved
by grace. All you know is the free grace
of God. Now, thank God for that. But don't forget, if you are
circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. you're a debtor
due to the whole law, Christ has become of no effect to you,
and you've fallen from grace. I don't want to be in that group,
do you? May God give us grace to be in the other group. Let's
pray together.