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“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.” (Galatians 5:6-12 NASB1995)
Under the Old Covenant that God had with his people Israel (the Jews) he had a very long list of laws which they had to follow and obey, which included many liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary and Sabbath laws, as well as God’s moral laws. But when Jesus Christ died on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin, he did away with the Old Covenant law and he introduced the law of grace, instead. But this can be a very confusing subject if not read in full Scriptural context.
For…
The grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)
And…
By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience is what we obey, it results in sanctification and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).
And…
Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
Therefore, under the New Covenant, God did not do away with all of his commandments so that we are now “commandment free.” And he did not free us from having to keep (obey) his commandments, either. And if you read these Scriptures talking about the Old Covenant vs the New Covenant, it will become very obvious that what is gone are all the Old Covenant liturgical, et al, laws, but not God’s moral laws. God does not require of us circumcision, dietary restrictions, and the keeping of the Jewish Sabbath.
Those are the three that are mostly mentioned in the book of Galatians and in other books of the New Testament. But circumcision seems to be the one he mainly focuses on as being wrong to do as an add on to God’s grace, and that if they feel they must be circumcised (in a religious sense), that Christ will be of no benefit to them, for they have been severed from Christ, for they are seeking to be justified by law, and so they have fallen from grace. And many people are trying to say, then, that God no longer requires obedience to his commands, but he does. Yes, this can be very confusing!
So, to what can we compare this? What was Jesus’ complaint against the Pharisees? It was that, although outwardly they were very religious, for they honored many of the Old Covenant liturgical laws, inside they were full of wickedness. They went through the motions of religious practice, but much of it was to be seen by others as being religious. But they didn’t obey our Lord’s moral laws, and they neglected justice and mercy and faithfulness. Outwardly they appeared religious but inwardly were full of self-indulgence.
So, you can go through the motions of religious practice to appear religious on the outside, but if on the inside you are given over to the lusts of the flesh and to sinful desires and to immorality and idolatry and all sorts of wickedness, all your outward performance means nothing. It is for show only. For we are not saved from our sins and on our way to heaven based upon outward performance, but on whether or not our lives are surrendered to the Lord to obeying his moral laws and to living righteously, in his power.
So, what is “faith working through love”? Well, both the faith to believe in Jesus and the love (agape) come from God, are gifted to us by God, and are persuaded of God, and are not of our own doing, not of human flesh. And both faith and love must result in us dying with Christ to sin and us obeying his New Covenant commandments, or it is not biblical faith and biblical love. For this love and faith prefer all that is of God, that is holy, righteous, and morally pure and obedient to our Lord, and not what is of the sinful flesh.
So, to sum it all up. God’s grace is not a free ride to heaven based on lip service only, and it is not permission to now live in sin in walks of disobedience to our Lord and to his commands. We do not have to obey a long list of ritualistic laws which have no impact on our human hearts, but we must obey God’s moral laws – no hating, lying, cheating, stealing, committing adultery, being sexually immoral, and the like. We must now live holy lives, pleasing to God, in walks of obedience to his moral commands.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
Broken and Contrite
An Original Work / May 13, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.
Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my heart’s desire,
Won’t You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.
Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.
Faith Working Through Love
An Original Work / May 23, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
