The Yoke of Bondage

True, born-again Christians can become so deluded by false teachers that they can compromise their belief in the gospel of Christ—for a while. But falling into error for a while does not cause them to lose their salvation.

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter of encouragement and challenge to the churches of Galatia when they were struggling with such a delusion. In the fifth chapter of his epistle he urges the Christians to “Stand fast…in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). They were saved—Christ had made them free.

But some Jewish preachers (who are sometimes referred to as Judaisers), had been going around visiting the Christian churches after Paul had moved on in his missionary journeys. They taught that it was vital for the Gentile converts to become circumcised. And, if they went through with this ceremonial operation, they would soon discover that, according to the Jusaisers, this was not all they needed to do to be saved.

The apostle warned: “Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law” (Galatians 5:2-3).

The Judaisers were preaching the necessity for circumcision only at first; but Paul knew that this was merely a tactic and that their agenda was to bring the Galatian Christians under the entire law of Moses—essentially becoming Jewish proselites (see Romans 2:25; 1 Corinthians 7:19). They argued against Christ’s gospel: “Except ye be circumsised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1; you need to read the whole pf Acts 15). This was what Paul meant by the “yoke of bondage” (see Galatians 2:4; 4:21-26).

A False Gospel

The Judaisers’ false doctrine clearly denied the sole sufficiency of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Paul warned the Galatians against this “another gospel, which is not another,” and he solemnly pronounced preachers of “any other gospel” than the true one to be liable to the Divine curse (Galatians 1:6-9).

But did Paul allow that Christians, if they become decieved by a false gospel after believing the true gospel, can thereby lose their salvation? Can true Christians fall from grace?

Understand the arguments of the two positions:

• The Judaisers’ false gospel: unless you are circumcised (and unless you follow all the laws of Moses; we will tell you about all that later), you cannot be justified; you cannot be saved. Believing in Jesus Christ will not save you. You are not saved by believing in Jesus Christ alone.
• The true gospel: the “grace of Christ” (Galatians 1:6) alone justifies and saves. Getting circumcised and becoming a debtor to the law of Moses is not required for justification, for salvation.

If the Judaisers are correct, the atoning sacrifice of Christ, applied to th believer by God the Holy Spirit does not save the believer. The Judaisers taught circumcision was necessary for salvation—not as a medical procedure, but as an entrance into Jewish proselytism, and to justification by works. Justification by works can never be done; so then you need the animal sacrifices of the law, they will say—but the truth is: “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). There is no salvation that way. Salvation is by Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone.

If the Judaisers are correct, and if, after believing in Christ, you (Galatian Christians or any others) submit to Jewish circumcision in order to become a proselyte, you thereby commit yourself to keep the “whole law” for justification before God. It that’s true of you, then Paul says of you: “Christ shall profit you nothing;” “Christ is become of no effect unto you” and “ye are fallen from grace”, i.e. the grace of Christ (Galatians 5:2-4).

No-One Can Be Justified by the Law

But the Judaisers were not correct. Their “another gospel, which is not another” is a lie. Neither themselves nor any other fallen sinner could ever be justified by the law.

Paul’s summary statement of the Judaiser’s proposition, “you [‘bewitched’ Galatian Christians] who are justified by the law,” was not an admission that they had lost their salvation. Nor was it an admission that they were in fact justified by the law, or that they could ever be. Paul knew that they could never be justified by the law—so, we misunderstand Paul if we think he was actually saying that they were justified by the law! Moreover, he knew that they are not fallen from grace but that they were indeed justified by God’s grace (as we will see below.)

The apostle was here arguing from his opponents’ position: “If the Judaisers’ false gospel is true—if you are justified by the law—what then? It means Christ is become of no effect to you; you are fallen from grace, and you have not only circumcision but a whole yoke of bondage upon you. A yoke that you can never carry, and can never save you.”

Paul Still Regarded the Galatians as True Christians

We must understand that Paul argued against the Judaisers’ false gospel without implying that those Christians can lose their salvation by being deluded by it, even though they were deluded and troubled by it at that time. These Galatian Christians were, in their deluded minds, “removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” (1:6-7), but not in reality: they were still true Christians.

At Paul’s time of writing, these Galatian Christians were deluded by the Judaisers. The apostle puts it most strongly: “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” (3:1). No less than the apostle Paul himself had set forth (i.e. preached, expounded) Jesus Christ crucified among them. He had looked them in the eyes while he preached. He had turned and addressed each one of them in person from the pulpit, or whatever he stood or sat at in those days.

Paul still regarded them as true Christians. The apostle remembered their personal history, from which he knew that they were true Christians notwithstanding their present delusion. And delusion it was, hence the term “bewitched”—the New Testament Greek word being translated here has the idea of being misled by fascination or persuasive charm, which the Judaisers excelled at.

Concerning the Galatian Christians, Paul knew that:

• They, in fact, “did run well” at first (5:7);
• They had been made free—liberated by Christ (5:1);
• They belonged to the free “Jerusalem which is above,” the mother of all true Christians (4:26) (i.e. they belonged to the gospel kingdom of Christ and its freedom from law-works);
• Christ had, indeed, redeemed them from the curse of the law (3:13);
• They had received the Holy Spirit, having “begun in the Spirit” (3:2-3,14);
• They were children of the promise, who were born after the Spirit (4:28-31);
• Because they were now adopted children of God, God had sent forth the Spirit of his Son into their hearts, crying, “Abba, Father” (4:6).
• And Paul still included these Galatian gentiles as Christians—his own brothers and sisters in Christ, in that “our” when he opened his epistle with the declaration that Christ “gave himself for our sins” (1:4).

They Had Not Fallen From Grace

Paul could not have affirmed that all these things were true of these Galatians if they really were “fallen from grace”, i.e. if that really had lost their salvation. No, they had not fallen from their state of grace while being deceived by the Judaisers.

Knowing therefore that he was dealing with true Christians, Paul grabs hold of them with his words and he remonstrates with great strength of feeling out of an overflowing heart: “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth…?” Paul considered them “foolish” for having been charmed and influenced by the Judaisers, because evidently, they had not thought the whole matter through and they didn’t understand the utter contradiction between the true gospel and this false gospel. And now they were taking the “yoke of bondage” of circumcision and the whole law upon themselves because they had been deceived into thinking that the grace of Christ had not saved them after all. If Christ alone is not enough, you are not saved. Salvation by grace alone through faith alone does not save. You are not saved, if the Judaisers’ false gospel is true. And you can never be saved by following them.

No, don’t do that! The apostles of Christ, and the Holy Spirit, would not have you under that yoke: “And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment…For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well” (Acts 15:23-24,28-29).

True Christians are distinguished as those people who are brought out of error by exposure to the truth. They have the Holy Spirit as their teacher, and God brings them to a better understanding by sending them faithful witnesses in the form of preachers, friends, pastors, books, tracts, and so on.

Pre-eminently through all these means God uses the Holy Scriptures ministered by the Holy Spirit—which is how he recovered these bewitched Galatians.

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Appendix

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, at Galatians 3:1.

The apostle is here dealing with those who, having embraced the faith of Christ, still continued to seek for justification by the works of the law; that is, who depended upon their own obedience to the moral precepts as their righteousness before God, and, wherein that was defective, had recourse to the legal sacrifices and purifications to make it up. These he first sharply reproves, and then endeavours, by the evidence of truth, to convince them. This is the right method, when we reprove any for a fault or an error, to convince them that it is an error, that it is a fault.

He reproves them, and the reproof is very close and warm: he calls them foolish Galatians, Galatians 3:1. Though as Christians they were Wisdom’s children, yet as corrupt Christians they were foolish children. Yea, he asks, Who hath bewitched you? whereby he represents them as enchanted by the arts and snares of their seducing teachers, and so far deluded as to act very unlike themselves. That wherein their folly and infatuation appeared was that they did not obey the truth; that is, they did not adhere to the gospel way of justification, wherein they had been taught, and which they had professed to embrace. Note, It is not enough to know the truth, and to say we believe it, but we must obey it too; we must heartily submit to it, and stedfastly abide by it. Note, also, Those are spiritually bewitched who, when the truth as it is in Jesus is plainly set before them, will not thus obey it.