Galatians Chapter 6

vs 10

The context of this verse says so much. "Therefore" links back to sowing to please the Spirit and reaping the subsequent results. So in verse 9 we will not reap a harvest of souls on the mission field or anything like that - we will reap the blessings of the Spirit because we are continuing to do good.

This verse, then, shows us that we should be doing all this good stuff to anyone we can, but especially amongst the family of believers. And I cannot stress enough how important this is. Chrsitians must, without fail, look after their own. In this crappy world, I can assure you that no-one else will look after them. The amount of times I have seen, again and again, Christian villages or towns miss out on "international aid" during catastrophes because the aid money is being distributed by local non-Christian governments, or even by non-Christian (typically non-Western) NGOs, it reminds me of the need for Christians to look out for their own.

And it's not "instead of mission"! Don't draw a false dichotomy between mission work/church work. Because when we help each other as Christians, people see that and think "Wow, I wish I were a Christian, because then I'd have a community of people who love me".

vs 11

Paul is either getting old and so can't see very well, or is emotional and so is writing in large letters. But it's his own mark, and that can show emphasis on what is coming.

vs 12

If you know that to do something is wrong, but there's a lot of pressure to do it, then if you do it, you're only doing it to escape persecution for Christ. That is assuming that the reason you are trying to do the right thing is because of Christ of course!

This is why I tell people not to get baptised unless they think they should. A lot of Christian parents put pressure on their kids to get baptised, and then the kids are left thinking "Am I doing this because Christ commands it, or because my parents are telling me to? Is it really the right thing to do if my parents are forcing me to?" It's not like not getting baptised is going to keep you out of heaven (we could stand to let this secret out into the public too).

vs 13

Sounds like these cock-cutters (how endearing - Paul would be proud of me I'm sure) are just after something to boast about in their ministry, to show that people are flocking to it and following it and so they can then make an argument by numbers.

This faith these people have in circumcision is not in the Law, it's simply in some ritual. No wonder it's so worthless! I mean, Paul has already pointed out that the Law can't save you, but certainly having a penis-trim isn't going to get you into heaven either.

vs 14

So Paul makes it his wish that he will only ever boast about the work of Christ, not the work of himself or some guy with a sharp knife.

Christ not only made us dead with regards to the world's rules (so we don't have to follow them) but he also killed the power of the world to lord over us through our sinful nature. With that sort of wholesale death and destruction, you'd think our lives would be more free of sin and shame than they are.

vs 15

To chop or not to chop - I'm sure there are some medical opinions, but as far as your salvation goes, you will find plenty of both in heaven. The rest of the person will be there too. I'm not saying that we'll walk around heaven with some sort of foreskin fetish. In fact, it will be a non-issue.

What really counts is that life-change, that new creation in Christ. It is the Spirit's work in our lives that exists as a guarantee of our sonship - so we should value our new lives in Christ far more than any bits we might have chopped off.

vs 16

I'm assuming the "Israel of God" is the Jewish Christians, but I don't really know. It would seem to fit that Paul is saying that even if you are Jewish but worshipping Christ, you don't need to give your kids the clip (but you can if you want to for history's sake, just not for God's sake). This was probably a bigger issue then than it is now - the church had a much larger Jewish and proselyte percentage back then.

vs 17

Had someone tried to crucify him? It's possible I guess, considering all the other things he survived, but those are more likely what he is referring to - the bruises and other sores from his various persecutions which he had suffered for Christ. Why you shouldn't cause him any trouble for this, I'm not sure. But hey, I wouldn't get in his way after this letter.

vs 18

Amen.