Outward appearances mean nothing but what happens within our heart, mind, and soul means everything.

Galatians 6:11-16

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!” Galatians 6:11

Paul’s eyesight would have been poor at his age, having no prescription glasses, cataract surgeries, etc. like we do today. The letters he used to write would have been large so that he could see what he was writing. More than that, Paul wanted the Galatians to know that his letter to them was written personally by him, all six chapters. That would have been a very tedious task as the writing utensils were like the “reed pens” and papyrus paper shown below. The ink itself had to be made from lamp-black and gum dissolved in water or nut-galls. The “reed pens” were dipped in the ink and the ink meticulously soaked/engraved/etched into the paper. Very time consuming. Usually, there were people who were skilled, trained, experienced at writing and were used to write as the author would speak the words to be written.

Paul wanted to impress upon the Galatians how important it was for him to communicate to them that living for God in the Spirit through Jesus Christ was much more important than living by the written laws of Judaism.

“As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.” Galatians 6:12-13

Those desiring to make a good showing in the flesh were those living by the laws of Judaism and who insisted on circumcision as a show of faithfulness to God and the Jewish culture. Those Jewish persuaders were trying to save their own skin by requiring obedience to the laws of the Old Testament to avoid persecution from the Jewish community. Those people wanted to make a big deal out of a physical thing by trying to force the Galatians to be circumcised. Their only aim was to avoid persecution because of the cross of Christ. Paul knew first-hand that even those who were circumcised was only doing it for appearances sake and were not able to keep the many laws of the Old Testament. Those Jewish influencers wanted the Galatians to be circumcised so that they could boast to the Jewish authorities that they were indeed enforcing the laws of Judaism.

Jesus Christ knew the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders and said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Matthew 23:27-28

As followers of Jesus Christ, it is better to be alive inwardly through the Spirit than to appear clean outwardly but actually being dead to the Holy Spirit from within our heart, spirit, and soul.

“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” Galatians 6:14-16

While the Jewish leaders boasted about how many people they could persuade to be circumcised, Paul only boasted in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the Cross is where the laws are deadened to give life to the born-again experience within our heart, mind, and soul. Being made new from within is the only thing that matters, and whether a person is circumcised or not means nothing.

There is much more peace when living in the freedom of the Holy Spirit than trying to live up to tons of laws written in a book somewhere. That is the mercy and grace of God received through Jesus Christ. The Israel of God is not the Jewish nation, the State of Israel, or any part of the Jewish culture, “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.” Romans 2:28-29

---

“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1