+I. External and bodily privileges are of no use and moment in the
kingdom of Christ.+--1. We are not to esteem men's religion by their
riches and external dignities. 2. We are to moderate our affections
in respect of all outward things, neither sorrowing too much for them
nor joying too much in them.
+II. Faith is of great use and acceptance in the kingdom of
Christ.+--1. We must labour to conceive faith aright in our hearts,
by the use of the right means--the Word, prayer, and sacraments, and
in and by the exercises of spiritual invocation and repentance.
2. Faith in Christ must reign and bear sway in our hearts and have
command over reason, will, affection, lust. 3. It is to be bewailed
that the common faith of our day is but a ceremonial faith.
+III. True faith works by love.+--Faith is the cause of love, and
love is the fruit of faith.--_Perkins._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 7-12.
_Disturber of the Faith--_
+I. Checks the prosperous career of the most ardent Christian.+--"Ye
did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?"
(ver. 7). The Galatians were charmed with the truth as it fell from
the lips of the apostle; it was to them a new revelation; they
eagerly embraced it, it changed their lives, and they strove to
conform their conduct to its high moral teachings. The apostle was
delighted with the result and commended their Christian enthusiasm.
They were running finely. But the intrusion of false teaching changed
all this. Their progress was arrested, their faith was disturbed,
they wavered in their allegiance, and were in danger of losing all
the advantages they had gained. The influence of false doctrine is
always baneful, especially so to new beginners, in whom the
principles of truth have not become firmly rooted. The loss of truth,
like inability to believe, may be traced back to an unhealthy
corruption of the mind. The great danger of unsound doctrine lies in
this, that, like a cancer, it rankles because it finds in the
diseased condition of the religious life ever fresh nourishment.
+II. Is opposed to the Divine method of justification.+--"This
persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you" (ver. 8). The
disturber of the Galatians taught a human method of salvation--a
salvation by the works of the law. This was diametrically opposed to
the Divine calling, which is an invitation to the whole race to seek
salvation by faith. The persuasion to which the Galatians were
yielding was certainly not of God. It was a surrender to the enemy.
All error is a wild fighting against God, an attempt to undermine the
foundations that God has fixed for man's safety and happiness.
+III. Suggests errors that are contagious in their evil
influence.+--"A little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump" (ver. 9). A
proverbial expression the meaning of which is at once obvious. A
small infusion of false doctrine, or the evil influence of one bad
person, corrupts the purity of the Gospel. It is a fact well known in
the history of science and philosophy that men, gifted by nature with
singular intelligence, have broached the grossest errors and even
sought to undermine the grand primitive truths on which human virtue,
dignity, and hope depend. The mind that is always open to search into
error is itself in error, or at least unstable (1 Cor. xv. 33;
Eccles. ix. 18).
+IV. Shall not escape chastisement whatever his rank or
pretensions.+--1. _Either by direct Divine judgment._ "He that
troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be" (ver. 10).
The reference here may be to some one prominent among the seducers,
or to any one who plays the troubler. God will not only defend His
own truth but will certainly punish the man who from wicked motives
seeks to corrupt the truth or to impair the faith of those who have
embraced it. The seducer not only deceives himself but shall suffer
judgment for his self-deception and the injury he has done to others.
2. _Or by excision from the Church._--"I would they were even cut off
which trouble you" (ver. 12). An extravagant expression, as if the
apostle said, "Would that the Judaising troublers would mutilate
themselves," as was the custom with certain heathen priests in some
of their religious rites. The phrase indicates the angry contempt of
the apostle for the legalistic policy, and that the troublers richly
deserved to be excluded from the Church and all its privileges. The
patience of the Gentile champion was exhausted and found relief for
the moment in mocking invective.
+V. Does not destroy the hope and faith of the true teacher.+--1. _He
retains confidence in the fidelity of those who have been temporarily
disturbed._ "I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will
be none otherwise minded" (ver. 10). Notwithstanding the insidious
leaven, the apostle cherishes the assurance that his converts will
after all prove leal and true at heart. He has faithfully chided them
for their defection, but his anger is directed, not towards them, but
towards those who have injured them. He is persuaded the Galatians
will, with God's help, resume the interrupted race they were running
so well.
2. _His sufferings testify that his own teaching is unchanged._--"If
I preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the
offence of the cross ceased" (ver. 11). The rancour and hostility of
the legalists would have been disarmed, if Paul advocated their
doctrine, and the scandalous "offence of the cross"--so intolerable
to the Jewish pride--would have been done away. But the cross was the
grand vital theme of all his teaching, that in which he most ardently
gloried, and for which he was prepared to endure all possible
suffering. The value of truth to a man is what he is willing to
suffer for it.
+Lessons.+--1. _The man who perverts the truth is an enemy to his
kind._ 2. _The false teacher ensures his own condemnation._ 3. _Truth
becomes more precious the more we suffer for it._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._
Vers. 7-10. _How Perfection is attained._--Everything in the universe
comes to its perfection by drill and marching--the seed, the insect,
the animal, the man, the spiritual man. God created man at the lowest
point, and put him in a world where almost nothing would be done for
him, and almost everything should tempt him to do for
himself.--_Beecher._