What’s Inside Counts
“For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.” Galatians 6:15 csb
Down the street and around the corner from my home, there’s a house where a hoarder lives. The home is filled from floor to ceiling with things that are never thrown away pizza boxes, Amazon packaging, waste, and containers. But from the outside, you’d never know it. The front yard is always well kept. The trees are trimmed, the lawn is mowed, and the grass is green and watered. It all looks nice on the outside, but it doesn’t reflect what’s really happening inside. Eventually, the county had to get involved because of complaints from the neighbors, and they’ve started clearing out the interior.
This picture reminds me of what the Apostle Paul was addressing when he wrote to the Galatians. Jewish religious leaders had been influencing Jewish Christian men and women, convincing them that they needed to add something to the grace they had already received through the mighty Gospel. These leaders were putting external pressure on the very churches Paul had planted. So Paul writes to exhort, correct, and remind them that it is by grace through faith alone that we are justified that is, made right with God. The external observance of the Law could no longer make someone righteous.
In Paul’s closing statements in Galatians 6, he wraps up the entire letter. And in the verse we’re looking at, Paul like the skilled lawyer he was delivers his closing argument: “Outward works mean nothing (like a man being circumcised) if his heart isn’t changed.” God originally gave circumcision as a sign to Abraham to set him and his descendants apart from the rest of the world. It was a mark of holiness—a declaration that they were set apart. But later, the prophet Jeremiah would reveal the true heart of the matter:
“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. Otherwise, my wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of your evil deeds.” — Jeremiah 4:4 (CSB)
The people were focused on keeping the law, making sure their sons were circumcised—but it did nothing for their hearts. God's desire was for hearts that were clean, new, and holy. Just like the hoarder’s house where the yard is clean, but the inside is filthy religion can make a person look good on the outside, but do nothing for the inside. That’s the problem Paul is addressing in Galatians. No matter how many good works you do, no matter how strictly you follow the law, it can never make you a new creation. It can never give you a clean heart. Only grace through faith can justify us in God’s eyes. Only through Jesus Christ can any man or woman be made righteous enough to meet God’s perfect standard.
That’s liberating news! I don’t have to strive to become righteous Christ makes me righteous. I don’t have to perform external works to be justified for heaven Christ did the work on the cross of Calvary. So many people live in condemnation, believing they’re not good enough, thinking they have to do more to be holy. But that’s a lie. That’s bondage. True freedom is found in Christ alone. It’s only through Jesus that we are made holy. It’s only through Jesus that we are made right. When you believe that when you live in that understanding you’ll experience what verse 16 says: “May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy…” If you want to know true peace, know Christ. If you need mercy, it’s found at the cross.
Agape, Frank
