Sharing the sufferings of Christ in a hostile atheistic culture.

Galatians 6:17-18

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

“From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” Galatians 6:17-18

“From now on let no one trouble me…” refers to the trouble stirred up by the keepers of the laws of Judaism, specifically the law of circumcision. Paul was already in a Roman prison, so there wasn’t much else that could be done to him except ruin his reputation, ministry, and cause his followers to abandon him and Jesus Christ. The Galatians were being deceitfully persuaded by the Jewish influencers that Paul also required circumcision. The Jewish influencers polluted the Gospel of Christ [Paul’s ministry] with the necessity to live by the laws of Judaism.

Paul’s defense was a simple and straight forward one: If he was indeed a proponent of circumcision then why did the Jewish leadership continue to persecute him? “Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?… As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” Galatians 5:11-12 Paul’s “sense of humor” was a dry one, as he said he wished his agitators wouldn’t stop at removing the foreskin but go the whole way by removing their penis as well [emasculation].

The marks of the Lord Jesus that Paul refers to are the sufferings he endured for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which puts a gap as large as the Grand Canyon between him and the laws of Judaism.

As Paul said, “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from waters, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.” 2 Corinthians 11:23-33

As followers of Jesus Christ, let’s always keep in heart the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:1-16.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Matthew 5:11-13

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“….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