S135P2 – The promise of hope: righteousness
Gal 5:1-6
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Paul is addressing the notion that adherence to Mosaic custom is necessary for salvation. [Acts 6:1; 15:1] His response is lengthy, and the crux of that response is the comparison between the efficacy of an old covenant compared to the newly established covenant. The old Abrahamic covenant’s circumcision [Gen 17], which also was part of Mosaic Law [Lev. 12], is a covenant of the flesh by circumcision of the flesh. That covenant in the flesh is no longer, but Christ established a new covenant of the Spirit. The circumcision of this covenant is not external but internal, a circumcision of the heart. [Rom. 2:25-29] The choice here is to hope in physical circumcision and adherence to the applicable law for justification, or to put that hope in the new covenant’s spiritual circumcision and justification by faith.
Paul is clear that for these Gentile believers to pursue circumcision is to pursue justification through the Law, which would separate them from Christ. Not only is justification not possible through the Law, but it places a person in bondage. The hope of salvation through the Law results in death, a fall from grace. Did not Christ come to free us from that bondage? [Rom. 8:3-4] The Law has no power to save, but the new covenant of faith through Christ does just that. Our hope in him will bring our righteousness. For now, we have been imputed the righteousness of Christ. Once He returns, we will no longer wear that righteousness, but we will be declared righteous on the day of judgment. [2 Tim. 4:8]
What a glorious thing it will be to go from being a sinful soul covered in righteousness to being a righteous soul! What a glorious thing it will be to battle with the sinful flesh no longer! What a glorious thing it will be never to desire to disobey our God but to desire only to please him and love him! Our sanctification is not eternal. We will arrive one day as perfected, and this is our hope of righteousness by faith. Now it is imputed to us, then it will be ours. The righteousness we are to pursue today [2 Tim. 2:22] is but a foretaste of what we will have and be in the future. Father, renew our hope in righteousness by faith, and continue to give us the ability to walk in righteousness today.