Day 3
Lisa Scheffler, author
When God made his covenant with Abraham, he decreed that all the males who came through this line must be circumcised. It was an outward sign of the special covenant relationship that God had with Abraham and all his descendants. They were the people of God and the beneficiaries of all his promises.
For centuries, circumcision became a covenant marker for the Jewish people. It showed their obedience and signified their acceptance into God’s family. It also set them apart from all the other nations around them. It became an identity marker.
So if you’ve been wondering, “what’s the big deal with circumcision?” that’s your answer in a nutshell. It marked you as belonging to God’s chosen people and showed you who else belonged in your tribe.
In the earliest days of the church, all the first converts were Jews who accepted Jesus as their Messiah, so the men were already circumcised. But as soon as Gentiles received the gospel and trusted in Jesus, the question of identity markers became a major issue, as we’re seeing here in Galatians.
Read
Galatians 2:3-5
3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
In your own words, what issue is Paul describing in these verses?
Reflect
Commentators will tell you that the Greek in verses 3–5 is difficult. (Perhaps because Paul was so frustrated at the allegations against him?) New Testament scholar Tom Wright explains it this way:
“What seems to have happened is this. The troublemakers in Galatia, doing their best to cast doubt on Paul’s apostleship and the completeness of the gospel he had preached, had told the Galatian Christians that Paul did after all want non-Jewish Christians to get circumcised… After all, they had said, when Paul took Titus to Jerusalem he circumcised him so that Titus could enjoy true fellowship with the Jewish apostles there. This accusation compels Paul to explain what had and hadn’t happened.”[1]
Paul didn’t circumcise Titus, and refuses to budge one inch on the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was too important, and its message must be preserved and passed on. Jesus Christ is the crucified and risen Lord and Savior of all people. Anyone who believes in him and gives their allegiance to him, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, or family tree, must be welcomed and accepted as a brother and sister in God’s eternal family. Full stop.
As believers, our identity is in Christ and our only identity marker is the Holy Spirit. While we can rejoice in our heritage and be proud of where we come from, our identity in Christ takes precedent over any other. It is who we are, and that comes with tremendous freedom. When we break down barriers and put aside identity markers that distinguish “us” from “them” we are free to love and serve one another, and free to work together for God’s Kingdom.
[1] Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 15–16.
Respond
Where do you find your identity? Do you think you are finding your primary sense of identity in Christ? Why or why not? How might finding your identity in Christ over all others help set you free?
Are there “identity markers” that you see people relying on today? Are there “markers” that we use to distinguish “us” from “them” in the church today? How can we break free of those as a church community? What can you do personally to break down barriers? Pray about your answer today.
