English Standard Version
When I'm channel surfing, there are certain types of shows that make me click through without even thinking twice. There's something distinctive about Hallmark movies that you know one as soon as it appears on the screen. When I see it, my thumb clicks to the next channel before the thought has even registered what I'm watching. The same with the shows where people talk about sports. I love sports and can watch almost anything, but I can't get into watching other people debate sports. You probably have the shows that do the same for you -- be it news or soap operas or football games, there are things that automatically trigger you to move on.
I think circumcision is one of those triggers in the Bible. When I come across the word or idea, I just jump forward to the next section. It's an old debate, and I assume that it doesn't have much to say to me today.
But what Paul is saying here is very, very important. The second we add any condition to faith, we've turned away from a grace-based faith and made faith depend on something that we do. At that point, the grace of Christ isn't sufficient for salvation -- it hinges upon us. So even if it's something minor or esoteric, whatever it is becomes the hinge point of faith, because Christ is always holding up Christ's end up the bargain. So Paul is warning the Galatians -- to add anything is to add everything, because then we're back to salvation depending on human works, which is not the direction we want to go.
Only faith. But note what Paul says -- only faith working through love. This doesn't mean that we need to love properly to achieve salvation. I think what Paul means is that the faith we have is demonstrated in our lives in the love we have to for one another. Love matters, for in every act of love, we're demonstrating to the world an action mirrored on the love that paid the ultimate price to give us the ultimate gift.
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