Daily Devotional | One Command

In 1866, Charles Spurgeon preached from Galatians 5 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. Spurgeon said: “The very essence of Christianity is trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. But mark, we are told that this is faith of a certain kind; it is ‘faith which works by love’— not a faith that merely talks, much less a faith that goes to sleep, or a faith that bolsters men up in presumption, and makes them live in sin; but a faith which works by love, a practical faith, a faith which has arms and hands; not a crippled faith, but a living thing, which cannot help working; not a frozen river that is like stone in its bed, but rolling on, increasing, and swelling until it comes to the sea. It is a living thing, a working thing. My faith is no faith at all if it does not operate upon my daily life.”

In Galatians 5:11–15, Paul again addresses the false teachers who were wreaking havoc in Galatia. He confronts a lie they had been propagating—they said Paul was promoting the circumcision of Gentile Christians. Paul denies such teaching and offers his ongoing persecution as evidence (v. 11).

Then, Paul contrasts circumcision with the cross (v. 11). Paul said when Christ-followers held onto circumcision as the mark of faith, they were nullifying the effect of the cross. Instead, we find our identity only in the sacrificial, suffering love of Jesus. Verse 12 is one of Paul’s most aggressive statements. We see the full heat of his fury unleashed, as Paul condemns false teaching.

Finally, Paul returns to the subject of freedom (vv. 13–15). He explores what a believer’s freedom should look like in their daily lives. This freedom is not a license for our self-indulgence. Instead, it should motivate Christ-followers to sacrificial love.