No Middle Ground!

Galatians 5:2–4 (NIV),

² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Here Paul is stirred with great passion.  He speaks clearly, boldly and without fear of man.  To put your trust in circumcision for salvation is to make Christ useless. As Luther has stated so well:

Whosoever teach that there is anything necessary to salvation . . . besides faith in Christ, or shall devise any work or religion, or observe any rule, tradition, or ceremony whatsoever, with this opinion that by such things they shall obtain forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and everlasting life; they hear in this place the sentence of the Holy Ghost pronounced against them by the Apostle, that Christ profiteth them nothing at all." [1] 

I mean, think about it, if you can battle sin, gain forgiveness through your own work, then why was Christ brought into this world?  What was the purpose of His shed blood, death and resurrection, if you can add to your salvation? "This is therefore a most certain and clear sentence, that Christ is unprofitable, that is to say, he is born, crucified and risen again in vain to him that is circumcised, that is, which putteth his trust in circumcision." [1] 

But Paul does not stop there.  Not only will adding to Christ, devalue Christ, but note this: ". . . they which are circumcised, are debtors to keep the whole law . . . He that is circumcised, if also a debtor to do the whole law. For he that receiveth Moses in one point, must of necessity receive him in all. He that of necessity observeth one part of the law, hath a duty to observe all other parts thereof." [2] You can't pick and choose your favorite laws.  You obey Moses or put your faith in Christ.  There is no middle ground.

To those who profess Christ and then seek to add merits to their salvation, they are, by definition "fallen from grace."  They have left grace.  "Paul is not discussing here the question of whether a genuine believer can lose his or her salvation. He is only saying that people who may once have made a profession of faith, if they now are truly seeking to be justified by the law, must not really have a relationship with Christ and have fallen away from the grace that was offered and available to them." [3]

Luther's summation is compelling: "Whoso teacheth then that the law is necessary to righteousness, teacheth a plain denial of Christ and of all his benefits, he maketh God a liar, yea he maketh the law also a liar: for the law itself beareth witness of Christ and of the promises made as concerning Christ, and hath foretold that he should be a king of grace, and not of the law."[4]

Father, You have sent Your Son to be born under the Law, to completely and perfectly obey the Law, to die for the sins of Your people who disobey the Law and to bring new Christ-pleasing life in us who are born of the Spirit.  You leave no room for ritualistic, religion to augment or shore-up what Christ alone has done.  There is no middle ground.  We either believe You or call You a liar.  We either trust Christ or obey to perfection the works of the Law.  You leave no doubt, no ambiguity, no wiggle-room.  It is Christ and Christ alone.  Father, kill all forms of performance-ism, performance anxiety and performance pride in me today.  It is Christ alone who has performed for me.  He alone is my hope and assurance.  Grant to be a delight in grace. Grant that I would be strengthened by grace, not by self-effort.  For the truth and the glory of Christ, I pray.  

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1. Luther, M. (1997). Commentary on Galatians (Ga 5:2). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

2. Luther, M. (1997). Commentary on Galatians (Ga 5:3). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

3. Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (2253). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

4. Luther, M. (1997). Commentary on Galatians (Ga 5:3). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.