SERIES: Galatians: Life and Liberty
The Only Thing that Counts
TO HEAR THE SERMON AUDIO ONLY CLICK THE LISTEN BUTTON ABOVE
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
DATE: May 31, 2026
Note: This sermon was preached at First Free, Wichita, Kansas.
Introduction:
I have been struggling with back and leg pain for several months. I’ve never preached sitting down before, but Jesus did it (Matt. 5:1), so I guess it’s OK. Last Sunday I watched the livestream of Josh’s excellent sermon, and I was particularly struck by his profound observations about the Apostle Paul. Here’s a brief excerpt to refresh your memories: Video clip from 59:44-1:04.
Now in fairness to Josh, his next words were, “But that didn’t matter to the believers in Galatia.” And I trust it won’t matter to you today. Seriously, it’s a real privilege for me to bring the Word to you this morning and I thank Josh for the opportunity.
In 1809 Revolutionary War General John Stark was too ill to attend a reunion of his troops, but he wrote them a letter, closing with these words: “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.” In 1945 the State of New Hampshire adopted as their motto, “Live free or die!”
Freedom may be the most powerful and profound word in the English language. Five weeks from yesterday our nation will observe its 250th anniversary. Most Americans will celebrate on the 4th of July out of great appreciation for the unprecedented freedoms achieved through the Declaration of Independence. Furthermore, our better leaders will be urging Americans not to take our freedoms for granted but to fight to preserve them.
The book of Galatians has been focused on another “declaration of independence” and a freedom far more important than political or economic freedom. That is the declaration of independence from the Law of Moses. That Law, which was graciously given by God to His chosen people to help them through their infancy and childhood, was not suitable for spiritual adulthood. So, as the book of Colossians tells us, Jesus “canceled the written code, with its regulations.” He “took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Col. 2:14) I think this refers, not to the basic moral law of God as found in the Ten Commandments, but to the detailed civil, ceremonial, and dietary laws that governed virtually every aspect of Jewish life.
With the death and resurrection of Christ, believers were granted a new freedom that OT saints never experienced. We can eat what we want, drink what we want, wear what we want, and worship when we want. But we, too, must not take our freedom for granted. We must fight to maintain it and against those who are constantly trying to put us back under spiritual slavery.
As we have seen over the past six weeks, Paul has marshaled argument after argument against the heretical legalists who had gained a foothold in the churches of Galatia. I hope you haven’t become bored with the repetitious arguments. I don’t believe the Bible ever repeats itself without reason. If Paul takes more than four chapters to make his point that there’s nothing we can do to earn our salvation, it’s probably because we need that kind of emphasis before the point sinks into our thick skulls.
Please turn with me in your Bibles to Galatians 5, and we will read the first twelve verses from the ESV.
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!”
I believe verse 1 of chapter 5 is the theme verse of the entire book of Galatians, so it is essential that we hear clearly what it has to say: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
I personally love the name of our church—the Free Church. The first time I preached here some 54 years ago I didn’t know what it meant, as this was the first Free Church I had ever been in. But I soon learned that it signified freedom from ecclesiastical hierarchies, such as controlled all the state churches of Europe and many here in our country. A Free church doesn’t answer to a bishop or a Presbytery or a synod but to its own members under Christ. It is free to hire its own pastor, to own its own buildings, to establish its own budget, and to conduct its own business.
To me the “free” in our name also signifies the freedom to think, freedom to ask hard questions, freedom to disagree with our leaders without being shut down, and the freedom to become all God wants us to be. The Free Church, of course, has a Statement of Faith focused on the Gospel, to which all members commit themselves, but outside the parameters of that Statement, we also enjoy freedom of conscience.
But what is the freedom for which Christ has set us free? Well, it, too, is multi-faceted. It is clearly freedom from the Law of Moses, but it also includes:
freedom from the power of sin,
freedom from an accusing conscience.
freedom from the tyranny of Satan and his demons,
freedom from the fear of judgment,
and freedom from the onus of having to earn God’s approval.
And why does Paul stress the importance of maintaining our freedom? Simply because it is so easily surrendered. I found the words of Pastor John Hanneman from Peninsula Bible Church to be particularly insightful:
“We are prone to letting the heavy yoke be placed back on our shoulders…. We can be seduced by any number of different voices. Religious leaders may charge that we are not living up to the “real” Christian standard; the world tells us we are worthless; friends tell us we disappoint them; parents imply they will love us if we do better; spouses point out our faults and withhold their affection. When we hear these voices, we immediately are tempted to engage the work-ethic engine that insists, ‘I can do it; I can do it. I think I can; I think I can.’ We put our necks back in the yoke and try to earn approval through performance, placing ourselves under law once more.”[i]
Paul sees it as a very real danger that we will do this in our relationship with God, so he urges us to stand firm and resist that tendency with all our might. We must remind ourselves daily that Christ has set us free. That freedom is not something that can be put in a vault and kept safe. It is not a privilege conferred, like an academic degree. Each day we must take up the stance of freedom once again. If we fail to protect it, deliberately and consciously, it will be lost.[ii]
Now Paul opens his argument in chapter 5 with this proposition:
Any effort to obtain salvation by legalism (i.e., by law or good works or religious ritual) leads inevitably to three grave consequences. (2-4)
“Christ will be of no value to you at all.” (2) Verse 2 in our text reads: “If you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you,” but I think the NIV expresses the thought even more clearly: “Christ will be of no value to you at all.”
The particular legalistic issue Paul focuses on here is circumcision, and Acts 15 explains why. In that passage some legalistic Judaizers traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch, where a sizeable number of Gentiles had recently been converted. Instead of rejoicing that faith in Christ was spreading, the legalists worried that the Church, composed almost entirely of Jewish people up to this point, might lose its character and ethos if outsiders were allowed to join without sufficient submission to the traditions which they had practiced all their lives.
You can perhaps understand their reaction on an emotional level. Some of you are old enough to remember the Jesus Movement back in the 70’s. A lot of hippies with tattoos, long hair, and nose rings professed faith in Christ and began to flood into churches on the west coast. It was disconcerting for some, and their response was not always welcoming. But these Judaizers went further than failing to welcome the newcomers. They told the new Gentile converts, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1) That’s legalism, friends, in its most blatant form–“you have to do X or you can’t be saved.”
Paul responds boldly against this heresy. In fact, he could hardly express his convictions any more forcefully. He underlines his words, puts them in italics, and places three exclamation points behind them. He says, “Look, listen up, mark my words: “I, Paul, an Apostle, am speaking truth. If you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no value to you at all!”
Now to any new parents here today, please understand that Paul is not addressing circumcision as a medical procedure that you may choose (or choose to forego) for your baby boy. There’s a lot of debate today in the medical community about the value of that procedure. In fact, just this week the Secretary of Health and Human Services raised the possibility that circumcision might be related to autism. I think that’s nuts, because I don’t think God would ever have required something of His people that was harmful. But that is not germane to this text. Paul is talking about circumcision as an act of obedience to the Mosaic law. God did indeed require it for OT Jews because it was His way of setting them apart and distinguishing them from pagan society. But the requirement of circumcision ended with the death of Christ.
From that point on, circumcision became an amoral issue without spiritual significance. In fact, right here in verse 5 Paul says plainly, “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision.” Circumcision is just a medical procedure, of no more significance than having one’s wisdom teeth removed, and it is totally unrelated to one’s standing before God.
But why then does Paul argue that if they accept circumcision, Christ will be of no value to them? Well, it’s because when the legalists insisted that Gentile converts be circumcised to be saved, that automatically turned it from a non‑issue into a critical issue. Only instead of contributing to salvation, circumcision became a hindrance to salvation, the reason being that in demanding circumcision for salvation, they were at the same time declaring that faith in Christ was insufficient for salvation.
Now Paul focuses here on circumcision because that was the principal legalistic issue of his day. If he were writing in our day, I believe he would use some other examples. No one I know is teaching salvation by circumcision today, but there are plenty who are teaching salvation by good works, salvation by church membership, salvation by the sacraments, salvation by racial justice, etc. These things, in and of themselves, do not render Christ of no value; in fact, they are all good things which Christ Himself urged his followers to pursue. But if they are viewed as a means of salvation, that changes everything. Good deeds can actually keep you from God; so can baptism; so can anything else that is added to faith as a requirement for salvation because it denies the sufficiency of the Cross.
A second grave consequence of pursuing salvation by legalism is that …
“You are obligated to obey the whole Law.” (3) Verse 3 states, “I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.” Circumcision was just one of hundreds of regulations in the Mosaic Law. There is no logical reason a person seeking salvation by Law should stop with circumcision. To be consistent he must also keep the dietary laws, the ceremonial laws, the tithing laws, and the religious feasts. And there were other laws, like:
“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Exodus 23:19)
“Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed and do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.” (Lev 19:19)
“Do not cut your sideburns or clip off the edges of your beard.” (Lev 19:27)
“You shall not tattoo yourselves.” (Lev 19:28)
Paul’s point is that the Law was a unit and no one, not even religious leaders, has the authority to pick and choose among God’s laws.
Do legalists today pick and choose, as the Judaizers were doing? Let me use as an example those who preach baptismal regeneration, the view that a person is saved by being baptized and cannot be saved without baptism. There are many churches that teach this–Protestant and Catholic, mainline and independent. We here at First Free happen to agree with these churches that baptism is a clear‑cut command of Christ, and frankly, there is no excuse I know of for an adult believer in Christ not to obey this command.
But if one’s salvation depends upon obedience to Christ’s command to be baptized, why stop there? There are a lot of other imperatives in the NT. Jesus commanded us to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) He also commanded, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matt. 28:19) Hebrews 10:25 says to “forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.” Do these commands imply that we are saved by loving our neighbor, by evangelizing the nations, or by attending church regularly? If the legalist who teaches salvation by baptism is going to be consistent, he would have to answer, “yes.”
You see, the weakest link in any doctrine of salvation by law or works or ritual is that salvation depends upon something we do, and we can never quite be sure we have done enough. I like William Hendriksen’s observation:
“If salvation is by Law, why should one be obliged to keep just one ceremonial commandment, or even two or three, and not the rest? If the pathway to salvation is thought to lie in that direction one should travel it to the very end. He will discover, however, that the base from which he started was located in enemy territory … and that the destination for which he is actually headed is ‘the curse.’”[iii]
A third consequence of trying to obtain salvation by legalism shows just how tragic this entire effort is:
You are spiritually lost. Isn’t that what verse 4 says? “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” You’re toast! Friends, we must choose between a religion based on works and a religion of grace![iv] They are incompatible; we can’t mix them.
Now I suspect some of you may immediately be asking in your mind, “Is Paul saying in verse 4 that a Christian can lose his salvation?” But is that really the question we ought to be asking? Wouldn’t it be better to ask, “In view of the awful, dire consequences of pursuing legalism that Paul has just laid out, how could I even contemplate trying to contribute to my own salvation?”
Having laid these three heavy consequences upon us, the Apostle in verse 5 turns to the answer to legalistic religion. If one can’t achieve a right standing with God through law or works or religious ritual, and if a right standing with God is the greatest need of the human heart, which it is, how is it to be obtained? The Apostle tells us in verses 5 & 6:
The only thing that counts for salvation is a living (or working) faith. (5-6)
Listen again to verses 5 & 6: “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” The NIV makes it even clearer in the last part of verse 6: “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
The righteousness Paul speaks of here in verse 5 is the gift of righteousness that enables us to have a right standing with God and allows us to be rendered “not guilty” at the Final Judgment. In one sense we have that right standing from the moment of conversion, but in another sense, we eagerly await it. He’s simply observing that while salvation is the present possession of the true believer, it won’t be fully realized until the consummation.
Furthermore, this righteousness must be given to us by God because none of us can earn it. And God gives it in response to faith. Twice Paul tells us that such a right standing comes by faith. “By faithwe await the righteousness.” And then, “The only thing that counts is faith….” He also tells us that this right standing comes “through the Spirit.” We’ll hear a lot more about the Holy Spirit’s role in the next passage.
The problem is that many people misunderstand faith, viewing it as mere intellectual agreement. They seem to think that if their convictions, their viewpoints, and their worldview are reasonably in line with Scripture, they’re home free. But Paul is talking about much more than intellectual agreement; he’s talking about a living, working faith. He’s in agreement with James, who said that “faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17) Such a faith is not weak; it’s not anemic; it’s stone dead. In our fight against salvation by works we must never convey the notion that the Christian life involves no effort or that a Christian can do as he pleases so long as he believes the right things. Good works are always the fruit of salvation, but never the root of it.
Frankly, there is a scourge of dead orthodoxy in the Christian church today. Pews are filled with people who believe the right things intellectually, say the right words, and, for the most part, avoid the worst sins. But that doesn’t cut it in God’s eyes. “The only thing that counts is faith working through love.” So, let me ask, “Is our faith a living, working, loving faith?
Does it make a difference in how we respond to our enemies?
Does it make a difference in how we treat our spouse or our children?
Does it make a difference in our attitude toward the poor and needy?
Does it make a difference in how we drive (I’m talking road rage here!)?
Does it make a difference in how we spend our money?
Does it make a difference in our attitude toward death?”
Now in verses 7‑12 the Apostle returns to the legalistic heresy and delivers his strongest warning yet. It is clear that…
Paul will stop at nothing to rescue those who are in danger of falling into legalism. (7-12).
He chides them for veering away from God’s truth. (7-8) Verse 7: “You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.” Paul frequently refers to the Christian life as a race. The Galatians had started well off the blocks. They had shown signs of growth and maturity as they ran. But then something had gone terribly wrong. Someone had cut them off. One can picture a highway scene in which one driver cuts off another and sends his car into the ditch; or a scene on the slopes in which one careless skier cuts off another and sends him into the trees.
Paul asks them who did this; ultimately the one who did it was surely Satan, of course, but he was working through the false teachers. One thing is certain–it wasn’t God. Verse 8, “This persuasion is not from him who calls you.”
He warns them that perpetrators of legalism are like yeast and will be punished. (9-10)Verse 9 states, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Leaven is yeast, and it is almost always a symbol of evil in the Scriptures. Its main characteristic is that it spreads and permeates every inch of the dough. The modern parallel to yeast might be cancer; it starts small, it grows silently, and before long it infects the whole body. Likewise, the spirit of legalism does not suddenly overpower a church; it starts slowly (maybe by elevating some non-essential to an essential), but before long it impacts the whole spiritual Body.
Some of you remember Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts that was very popular back in the 60’s and 70’s, especially here in Wichita. It contained a veneer of biblical authority and there were some valuable truths scattered through it (that’s what made it attractive to many families seeking help). But it was permeated with legalism. Thankfully, its leader was eventually exposed and its influence has diminished dramatically. We must always be vigilant against the leaven of legalism.
In the middle of this strong warning, Paul thankfully inserts a touch of optimism. He says in verse 10, “I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.” They may be flirting with danger, but Paul hasn’t given up on them. Neither has God; He Himself will deal with the false teachers.
He denies as absurd the rumor that he himself still preaches legalism. (11) Apparently some of these false teachers were justifying their heresy by claiming that Paul agreed with them. Paul, of course, did at one time preach legalism, for he was a member of the Sanhedrin in his pre-conversion, pre-Damascus Road days. But since his conversion he never preached circumcision as a way of salvation. And to prove the point he asks, in effect, “If I did, ‘why am I still being persecuted?’” The bulk of Paul’s opposition came from the Jews because they saw him as a threat to their beloved Law. So, he says, in effect, “I could avoid all this pain simply by telling Gentiles to get circumcised as the way to get right with God, and the Jews would quit hassling me. But I won’t do it!” Why not? Because “In that case the offense of the cross has been removed!”
What does he mean by “the offense of the cross?” The cross doesn’t seem very offensive today. Most churches display a cross somewhere. All kinds of celebrities and television personalities are seen wearing a cross around their necks. Baseball players sometimes make the sign of the Cross at the plate. It seems more popular than offensive.
But when the Cross is seen for what the Bible says it is—the only way to God—sinners of all varieties are deeply offended. You see, the message of salvation by good works exalts human effort and is therefore generally popular; but the message of Christ crucified leaves no room at all for human pride and thus invites persecution.
Now our last verse is unique in the Bible as Paul concludes his dire warning.
He offers a stunning wish for the legalistic agitators. (12) “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!” In effect he expresses the desire that these false teachers, who loved to use the knife in circumcision, would let the knife slip so they would castrate themselves and thus be rendered unable to reproduce. Now that is a nasty word picture, for sure, but Paul, friends, is dealing with a very nasty heresy.
I think he would say it differently if he were speaking today, perhaps something like this: “I wish those who are always preaching baptismal regeneration would drown themselves in their beloved baptismal pools!” Or, “I wish those who preach salvation by works might work themselves to death!” To some this sounds coarse, but Paul spoke out of a deep concern for the truth of the Gospel of grace. Better to offend the sensibilities of his audience than to allow them to follow these heretics into a Christless eternity!
Conclusion: I once heard Charles Swindoll say, “Often we don’t get angry enough about the right things.” I agree. Some people blow a gasket when they hear about some turtle eggs being disturbed; yet they yawn when 1½ million babies have their lives snuffed out every year in our country through abortion. Others are scandalized when a redwood tree is cut down but shrug at the 40,000 people killed each year by drunk drivers. We in the church can get all bent out of shape over a Bible teacher who is too Calvinistic, too charismatic, too dispensational, or just too wordy, but we hardly pay attention as to whether or not he’s a legalist, laying burdens upon people God never intended them to bear.
Do we value our freedom in Christ? Are we really enjoying it? Are we willing to fight to not have it stolen from us?
Before we leave this morning, I want to make an appeal to anyone who might be trusting in anythingother than the crucified Christ to save them. If you died tonight and stood before God, and He asked you, “Why should I let you spend eternity with me?”, would you be tempted to appeal to your good character, or your Christian heritage, or your good works, or your baptism, or your church membership? Friends, none of those answers will cut it. Only one answer will be acceptable to the question, “Why should I let you spend eternity with me?”, and it is this: “Because Jesus died for me.” Period. Won’t you humbly bow before the Cross and commit your heart and life to Him this morning?
Father, thank you for loving us enough to send your one and only Son to pay the ultimate penalty, not for any sin of his own, but for mine, for ours. May we never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His name we pray.
[i]. John Hanneman, “Choosing Freedom,” Sermon #981, April 30, 1995, Peninsula Bible Church.
[ii]. These last five lines are substantially from Eugene H. Peterson, The Message, NavPress, 145.
[iii]. William Hendriksen, Galatians, Baker Book House, 196.
[iv]. John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, 133.