(Galatians 5:1 KJV) "Stand fast (steko {pronounced stay’-ko}, Present Active Imperative, keep on standing fast, stand on a principle, make a permanent stand on something) therefore (in view of what we earlier discussed) in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, (eleutheroo {pronounced el-yoo-ther-o’-o}, Aorist Active Indicative, made us free once for all, set us free permanently) and be not entangled (enecho {pronounced en-ekh’-o}, Present Passive Imperative, do not allow yourself to be entangled in, habitually reject entangling) again with the yoke of bondage."

It is impossible to overemphasize that the Christian is a person distinctly different from any other person in the world. A Christian - not a churchman, mind you, but a Christian - is someone who is born again because they have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. The Christian is a supernaturally born again person. As Dr. David Jeremiah is fond of saying, "Born once, die twice; born twice, die once". That is a wonderfully succinct and accurate statement of true Christianity. Those who have only been born once, born physically, will suffer death twice. They will die a physical death when their evident life reaches an end, and they will also enter the second death of eternal damnation in the lake of fire we commonly call HELL. Those who are born again by faith in Christ Jesus, that is, if you have recognized that you are a sinner and have called on God in the name of Jesus to be saved, have believed that what Jesus did for you on the Cross paid the penalty for your sin, then you are born a second time spiritually... and you shall never see eternal damnation. The Christian, the person who is truly Christian, is a person much different from those around him. As Charles H. Spurgeon wrote:

“I am a stranger with thee.” - Psa_39:12... Yes, O Lord, with thee, but not to thee. All my natural alienation from thee, thy grace has effectually removed; and now, in fellowship with thyself, I walk through this sinful world as a pilgrim in a foreign country. Thou art a stranger in thine own world. Man forgets thee, dishonors thee, sets up new laws and alien customs, and knows thee not. When thy dear Son came unto his own, his own received him not. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Never was foreigner so speckled a bird among the denizens of any land as thy beloved Son among his mother’s brethren. It is no marvel, then, if I who live the life of Jesus, should be unknown and a stranger here below. Lord, I would not be a citizen where Jesus was an alien. His pierced hand has loosened the cords which once bound my soul to earth, and now I find myself a stranger in the land. My speech seems to these Babylonians among whom I dwell an outlandish tongue, my manners are singular, and my actions are strange. A Tartar would be more at home in Cheapside than I could ever be in the haunts of sinners. But here is the sweetness of my lot: I am a stranger with thee. Thou art my fellow-sufferer, my fellow-pilgrim. Oh, what joy to wander in such blessed society! My heart burns within me by the way when thou dost speak to me, and though I be a sojourner, I am far more blest than those who sit on thrones, and far more at home than those who dwell in their ceiled houses.

“To me remains nor place, nor time:
My country is in every clime;
I can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.
While place we seek, or place we shun,
The soul finds happiness in none:
But with a God to guide our way,
‘Tis equal joy to go or stay.”

It is in recognition of what Paul previously taught us in Galatians: our previous estate under the Law; our lostness, our certain damnation, our enslavement, our unholy estate prior to the rich salvation we received unearned from Christ; this recognition demands that the Apostle begin chapter five with STEKO, "Keep on standing still". As Christians we are freed from both the yoke of the Law as well as the yoke of Sin. Having been freed by the supernatural power of the Blood and the Spirit we are to keep on standing in this freedom, a freedom we neither earned nor deserved.

Christians are supernatural creatures. Though the Scripture makes little of marriage between the so called "races" of man, the Scripture has clearly forbidden the new creation of God - the Christian - from marrying the unbeliever. In other words, though we make much of the melanin content or color of a person's skin, our Lord considers color to be superficial in determining whether two people should marry and have children. You will find no place in Scripture where God forbids marriage outside of your own color group. You will, however, find a prohibition against a Christian believer marrying a non-Christian unbeliever.

2 Corinthians 6:14-15 KJVA (14) Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

These are the two races that must not be mixed; the Christian and the non-Christian; the believer in Christ and the unbeliever of Christ. Many are the people I've counseled because they married outside of the Christian race, thinking they could convert a heathen by joining with them in marriage. How foolish! A believer must act like a believer, and marry only another believer in Jesus. If the child of God marries the child of Beelzebub, the saved is usually sucked down to the same operational level that the unsaved is in. Do not be so foolish, dearest Beloved.

Keep on standing fast in the liberty that Christ our Savior purchased for us with His own blood. If you truly are a Christian you will stand fast in the Faith. You will not compromise with the children of this world for the sake of "unity". What drowning person would willingly cast aside the preserver that is keeping him afloat? What fool, stumbling from the edge of a mountain, would spurn the rope that the Savior cast over the side in the nick of time? What ignorance would be evident in the person trapped in a burning building rejecting the tender care of the rescue worker? The Christian MUST keep on standing fast in the liberty that Christ purchased for him. The Christian MUST continue to operate inside of the new life that he has been given by the precious Spirit of God.

Proverbs 26:10-11 KJVA The great [God] that formed all [things] both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors. (11) As a dog returneth to his vomit, [so] a fool returneth to his folly.

2 Peter 2:20-22 KJVA For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. (21) For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. (22) But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

A Christian, though he or she may sin for a season, will not hesitate to repent of that foolishness and return to the side of the Savior. A Christian will not return to the ways of the world and wallow in those ways, content as the heathen are content. The new Creation of God is as uncomfortable in the ways of this world as a fish would be out of water. The Mosaic Law was given to a disbelieving and a foolish Israel. Jesus Christ Himself freed us from the Mosaic Law - a Law that existed only to convict - to bring us into the higher Law of the Spirit.

(Romans 10:4 KJV) "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

(Galatians 5:18 KJV) "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."

There are two yokes that young and foolish Christians try to crawl back into. Some believers, having been freed from both the Law and Sin, head back into the Law to live their lives. Jesus freed them from the Law, but they, foolishly, feel that they must crawl back into that bondage. Other believers, freed from the Law by faith in Christ, try to crawl back into the yoke of sin. They feel that - since they're freed from sin - that God will no longer hold any sin to their account. How foolish are both extremes. Doesn't the Scripture teach us:

1 Peter 2:24 KJVA Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Ephesians 5:3-4 KJVA But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; (4) Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

Jesus Christ took our sins on His precious person. We who are dead to sin and the Law are now in the place where we should live our lives unto righteousness. When the world looks at the Christian it should see a new race of person. The Christian should stand out in the crowd. The Christian should not be racist, nor a liar, nor a thief, nor act like they are of poor breeding. A Christian is a king and a priest unto God. Because of that we should act differently from the lost. We should be noble, honorable, just, clean, people who are good representatives of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must not be self righteous, for the true Christian is one who understands that he has nothing apart from Christ - we are and will ever be of substance because of what Jesus has invested in us. We should have the deportment of King's children - regal because of the Ruler we represent, yet unassuming because our vesture comes by association with the King. When we sin, and you will, Beloved, we must be quick to repent and confess our error to the Father in the name of the Son.

(Galatians 5:2 KJV) "Behold, I Paul say (lego {pronounced leg’-o}, Present Active Indicative, Linear Aktionsart, keep on saying) unto you, that if ye be circumcised, (peritemno {pronounced per-ee-tem’-no}, Present Passive Subjunctive, if you are being circumcised) Christ shall profit (opheleo {pronounced o-fel-eh’-o}, Future Active Indicative, to aid, benefit, help) you nothing."

How dare we point to some ritual, something that we can do, or have done, that no one else can do and proudly declare how good we are? Yet Christians do this everyday, regardless as to Paul's shaming words. If we think that we can rely on our rituals, our circumcisions, our baptisms, our tables to be saved, then what Christ did for us on the Cross is profitless. Certainly there are proper procedures in the Scripture. Baptism in the time of Christ was always by immersion in a river rather than by pouring from a pitcher or sprinkling from an urn. But if we are to be absolutely dogmatic on the subject, I can find absolutely no instance where God authorized baptism in a large bathtub or a baptismal pool. If you proudly proclaim that your ritual is greater than another Christian's, then you must also shamefully proclaim that your ritual does not EXACTLY match that which was accomplished in the early Church. Though the Apostle Paul baptized in water, he was quick to point out to the arrogant yet carnal Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 1:12-17 KJVA (12) Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. (13) Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (14) I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; (15) Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. (16) And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. (17) For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

We often make much of the ritual, yet forget the reason for the ritual. Baptism is not the issue, but faith in Christ is. Whether someone has been immersed in river, pool, or tub, whether poured on by pitcher, or sprinkled from urn - none of these rituals have the power to save. If they had the power to save then Paul would have bemoaned his failure in baptizing as many as possible. Paul would have said, "God hath sent me to baptize", rather than what he did say, "I thank God I baptized none of you". If the ritual brought life, the Apostle, as much as he loved Jesus and wanted all men to be saved, would have hired men to force sheep to the river for immersion. No, Beloved, the ritual has no effect. If circumcision, baptism, or any ritual has saving benefit for the Christian, then Christ is totally profitless to us. His crucifixion was a waste of blood. His suffering was a cruelty that the Father invoked on the Son. Ah, can you not understand?, if Christ suffered so, our rituals cannot add to nor take away from what He has done. All we can do is accept what our Beloved has done for us, in greatest love worshipping Him and praising Him all the day long. How dare we try to add to what He has wrought? To do so is foolish, foolish and blasphemous.

(Galatians 5:3 KJV) "For I testify (marturomai {pronounced mar-too’-rom-ahee}, Present Middle Indicative, I keep on witnessing or repeating my witness) again to every man that is circumcised, that he is (esti {pronounced es-tee’}, Present Linear Aktionsart, keeps on being) a debtor (opheiletes {pronounced of-i-let’-ace}, enslaved to) to do the whole law."

The Galatians, Gentiles from birth, unlike the Jews had not been circumcised as children on the eighth day following birth. The Judaizers who came to Galatia to spread false doctrine were circumcised on the eighth day following birth. They were circumcised as babes, unable to choose for or against the action, but were forced because of their age to submit to the ritual. The Galatians, on the other hand, had the ability to choose for or against this procedure. Paul warns them, though, that if they choose to be circumcised - to start on the pathway of the Law - then they would be obligated to do the whole Law. This is what the Law teaches. It does not give credit for accomplishing part of it. It does not pat you on the back for fulfilling a portion of its precepts. Paul was a flawless Jew prior to his conversion to Christ. Taught in the Law under the Rabbi Gamaliel he knew the truth: the Law was an all or none proposition. You either kept all of it, or broke a portion and were condemned by all of it. The modern Rabbis will tell you that keeping a portion or Torah is acceptable, but don't you believe it! James, also born a Jew, stated:

James 2:10-11 KJVA For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one [point], he is guilty of all. (11) For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

Could that be more plain? If you are to follow the Law, then you become obligated to every part of it. Not just the portions you want, but all. The same is true of the Gentile who would follow the tithe, or the Sabbath, or any other portion of the Law. If you feel that such things are worthy of the Christian then follow them, but be aware that you cannot follow just a portion. If you want to follow a part of the Law for righteousness sake, then you must follow it all. If you preach a tithe to the believer under the Law of the Spirit, then preach circumcision, the feasts, the Sabbaths, the fasts, the sacrifices - the whole of the Law. I have heard preachers say "I know that the believer is not under the Law, and that the New Testament prescribes sacrificial giving for the Christian, but unless I preach a tithe as a minimum then none will give". If this is the case, then let none give! If you must preach the truth from a tent rather than a fancy building, then preach from a tent. If you must be employed in the secular world rather than receive a salary from the sheep, then be as Paul and I and many others who are bi-vocational, and gather a salary through the Grace of God in the secular world. We cannot, as ministers and Christians, allow the god of money to twist the message of truth, the Gospel of God. Preach the Grace of God apart from the rituals. Preach salvation by the finished work of Christ on the Cross. Preach empowerment in salvation by the indwelling Spirit of God, the earnest of our salvation,

2 Corinthians 1:22 KJVA (22) Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

But never allow the flock to believe that empowerment comes by keeping of a ritual, be it baptism, circumcision, tithe, feast, or fast. Empowerment for the believer comes by surrendering all to Christ, to the Word, to the Spirit, to the resources that God has given us in Grace. Imagine, if you will, if you were the Son of God Who suffered horribly on the Cross. Would it not gag you to have someone come up and say that they had to add to what you have already done, that what you did was not enough to save? Stop gagging Christ with your rituals! He has paid the penalty for your sins. Once you accept Him, believe that the Cross was enough, believe that you are indwelt by the Spirit, and believe that you are the possessor of at least one Spiritual Gift. Begin to study the Word of God while seeking out your gift, looking for your place in the Body of Christ. "Believe" that Jesus is coming again, and that, like a good steward, He expects you to be "about His Father's business", doing that He has commissioned you to do.

(Galatians 5:4 KJV) "Christ is become of no effect (apo + katargeo {pronounced kat-arg-eh’-o}, Aorist Passive Indicative, has become a source of uselessness or ineffectiveness) unto you, whosoever of you are justified (dikaioo {pronounced dik-ah-yo’-o }, Present Passive Indicative, who are in the process of being justified. Justification by the Law is a process, an ineffective and endless process) by the law; ye are fallen from (ekpipto {pronounced ek-pip’-to}, Aorist Active Indicative, are fallen out of or away from) grace."

What a terrible testimony! What a tragic statement of all that is holy! Christ becomes a source of ineffectiveness or uselessness for the person who seeks the pathway of "process justification". That's the biggest difference between salvation by Grace and seeking salvation by the Law. Salvation by Grace is instantaneous because it relies on what Another has done. Seeking salvation by the Law is gradual, an unending process, because it relies on human ability and human drive. Salvation by Grace is bestowed on all who believe and accept that Christ has paid the penalty. Seeking salvation by the Law is bestowed only on those who are "good enough" to walk in the precepts of the Law without fail. As our Lord Jesus said:

Mark 2:17 KJVA When Jesus heard [it], he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus is ineffective for those who believe they are righteous in and of themselves. If you believe that your works are good enough to get you to Heaven, if you believe that you are a good person, if you do not believe that you are a sinner, if you think that your ritual or your Church makes you better than someone else - then Christ cannot work in your life. Christ came for those who were sinners, sinners like me. Jesus often asked those whom He was about to heal "do you believe?", or "do you want to be made well?". These are two very telling statements. If I believe myself to be righteous, then I have no use for Christ. Why would I? If I do not believe that I am a sinner, lost and undone, unable to reach God, in need of a Savior, then why would I believe Christ? If I do not believe that I am sick, then why would I call on Him. He's ineffective for me while I think myself to be whole and without illness. My eyes must be opened, I must see myself as God sees me - a sinner, full of filth and without merit. Even the lunatic, if drowning, must believe that he is drowning or he will never call out for help nor accept help when it is proffered. Jesus went into areas that were overwhelmingly unbelieving, so unbelieving and so full of righteous people that He could do little good there:

Mark 6:4-6 KJVA But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. (5) And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed [them]. (6) And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

The power in Christianity does not come from our rituals, but it comes from our recognized helplessness. It is the reason Paul said:

Philippians 4:13 KJVA I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

The Apostle could do all things through Christ, for he did all things through Christ and not through his own power. Like David of old he went out to conquer Goliath with five smooth stones and a sling. He used the resources God gave him through Christ and conquered the giant with one stone. Never once did he worship the stones, the tools he was given to do God's work. As the stones left the sling his sure reliance on Christ and Christ's power enabled the stones to reach their mark, tearing down strongholds of power in the devil's Philistia.

It's this simple, Beloved of God. You can approach God as did the wise sinner in need of the Savior, saying:

Mark 9:24 KJVA And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

And be rewarded by believing that God is, and that He is able to do what He has said. The Apostle Paul clung desperately to the Grace of God in Christ Jesus our Savior ... as should all believers who are truly believers. The Christian is not willing to rely on his own works to get him to Heaven. The Christian counts all things as dung, and rejects any work of the Law as insufficient to save - only Christ can save, only Christ. As the Apostle has said:

Philippians 3:8-10 KJVA (8) Yea doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them [but] dung, that I may win Christ, (9) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (10) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

No true believing Christian would want to stand before God on judgment day and point to his own puny works, wanting admission into Heaven. Why would God look at dung and say, "That's fine for admission, son, come into my Heaven"? I do not want my own righteousness, I want the righteousness that is only available by the Grace of God in Christ. I want Christ's righteousness, what He purchased for me on the old rugged Cross. I want that righteousness. I want my works, if I work, and I will, to be infused with Christ and with His power. I want that which I do for God to be truly reflective of Christ - not of human effort, but of Christ's empowerment, for anything else is sure to fall short of Grace and short of acceptability with God. Fall away from Grace? Me? No, I'm not that stupid. Are you?

(Galatians 5:5 KJV) "For we through the Spirit wait (The Greek order is "hmein gar pneumati ek pisteon elpida dikaiosunhn apekdecomeya" should be rendered “by faith keep on eagerly waiting for [apekdechomai {pronounced ap-ek-dekh’-om-ahee}, Present Middle Indicative + ek + pistis]. The “by faith” [ek pisteon] at the end of the KJV sentence should precede the word “wait”, as it does in the Greek text. Waiting is the expression of faith, rather than jumping in and doing something) for the hope of righteousness by faith."

The Christian is not one who, after salvation by faith in Christ, begins working toward his own salvation by keeping the Law. No Beloved, that is schizophrenic, insane, foolish! After salvation by faith in Christ the believer begins to use the resources that God has granted him: prayer, the Scripture, the indwelling Spirit of God, fasting. These tools help the believer to grow stronger as a Christian, but have absolutely nothing to do with his salvation. We who are Christians - not churchmen, nor religious, nor denominationally minded, but Christians - wait on God our Savior. We know that He who suffered such great things at the hands of sinful man for us will not fail us.

(Isaiah 40:31 KJV) "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

(Exodus 14:13 KJV) "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."

We live in an age when every person, even, it seems, every Christian, wants what they want as soon as they want it. The average American family is swamped with credit card bills. Why? Because little Johnny couldn't wait until dad made enough money for that new computer, so he cried until dad got a credit card and bought him one. We have had this attitude in America for years now, even among Christian families. We want what we want when we want it. But, Beloved of God, if you expect to enjoy the riches of the salvation of God, you need to wait on the Lord. I know that the very idea of waiting rubs at your soul, but you must wait on Him.

I want you to consider that unbelieving nation Israel as God, in overwhelming Grace led them out of Egypt. This was truly a nation of unbelievers, though they were very religious. In fact, Israel in Exodus is a good example of America today - religious but estranged from God. When Israel was first planted in Egypt by their forefather Joseph, Joseph's family knew God. But as time passed - over 400 years - most of Israel turned away from God and began to follow the false gods that were being worshipped around them. When God sent Moses to demand Israel's release, this nation was not a Christian nation. Israel at that time was not even a Judaistic nation. It was a nation that followed the rituals that God had given to father Abraham, rituals like circumcision, but a nation that was totally divorced from the reality that is God our Savior. This explains why Israel, as it followed God in exodus from Egypt, could follow the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud that represented God and yet still fear the Egyptians that were following them.

God redeemed Israel from bondage in Egypt, and started redeeming that nation by showing them that the Egyptian gods were powerless against His majesty. Before Israel, that now unbelieving nation, came out of Egypt by exodus, God systematically exposed and shamed every Egyptian god by using a plague as a sign of His power. Listen Beloved. The plagues were more than just a demonstration of God's power. Each of the ten plagues was a judgment upon the idol worship that both Israel and Egypt were involved in. Listen Beloved! The signs that God employed in releasing Israel from Egypt were not signs manifested to believers, but to unbelievers. Just as the New Testament gift of Tongues was a sign for the UNBELIEVER, not the believer:

1 Corinthians 14:22 KJVA (22) Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying [serveth] not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

The plagues that God wrought on Egypt through Moses were signs for UNBELIEVERS. They were signs designed to show that God is greater than all the false gods of that ancient land. The plague of blood (dahm) - found in Exodus 7.14-24 - was an attack on Hapi, worshipped by unbelievers as the father of the gods, the god of the Nile. Hapi was supposedly responsible for providing water and for fertility, along with the goddess Osiris. When God turned the Nile into a river of blood, poisoning the water source, He proved that He was the only source for true Living Water. As Jesus said:

John 7:37-38 KJVA In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Only God - Jehovah Yeshua - Jesus Christ can sustain the believer. To rely on the waters of this life, or the waters that false gods and false means can offer us in this life, is truly foolish. Only Jesus satisfies - if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, not just a churchman but a believer, then you know this to be true.

The second sign that God gave both unbelieving Israel and unbelieving Egypt was the plague of frogs (Exodus 8.1-15). Both nations had come to worship Heka (Heqt) the toad goddess, wife of Knepfh (Khnum) who was “goddess” of the land. This goddess was particularly revered as she represented the twin powers of procreation and resurrection. In Egyptian society if someone killed a frog - even if such an act was accidental - that person was executed. By overwhelmingly multiplying the frogs, allowing them to overrun the households of those who worshipped them, God made the point that He and He alone is the author of both physical and eternal life. Jesus Christ said:

John 11:25-26 KJVA Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

There is no reincarnation, no second chance at life, no continuing life beyond the grave apart from Jesus Christ our Lord. This was the point that God our Savior made over and over again with Israel, the Exodus Generation. He alone is God. He alone is to be worshipped and adored. He alone is to be obeyed. Jesus Christ is all in all, and it is He whom we must serve.

(Galatians 5:6 KJV) "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh (energeo {pronounced en-erg-eh’-o}, Present Middle Participle, keeps on being caused to operate) by love."

Circumcision as a ritual, just as it is with any ritual, is totally useless in Christianity. In Judaism circumcision served a purpose: it showed submissive faith on the part of the parent of the child being circumcised. The parent(s), by taking their child to the Temple to be circumcised on the eighth day, recognized that God was the owner of all Israel. They also recognized that, unless they attended to this rite, the child would NOT be an inheritor of the Abrahamic Covenant. The child, however, was merely a pawn in circumcision. He had no choice in the matter. The child neither chose nor rejected circumcision - it was forced on him. Circumcision has as much to do with the salvation of that child as our modern day ritual of water baptism has - NONE at ALL. A ritual may be a valid teaching tool for the parent, but unless the child is of the age of accountability it fails to have any value whatsoever for the child. Circumcision, as with all rituals, is useless in Christianity. This is because Christianity is about a relationship with God through faith in Christ Jesus. Circumcision effective? Absolutely not! What is effective? Faith in Christ that - listen to this - KEEPS ON WORKING BY LOVE. If you're a Christian in word only, that is, if you say you're a Christian but do nothing as a Christian, then you better examine your faith. If your Christianity is not operational, then you'd better check the validity of your faith. What did Jesus say?

Matthew 25:33-46 KJVA And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. (34) Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (35) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: (36) Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. (37) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? (38) When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? (39) Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me. (41) Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (42) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: (43) I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. (44) Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? (45) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of the least of these, ye did [it] not to me. (46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

If, as a Christian, you read of a brother or sister in distress and do nothing to relieve them ... if you tolerate injustice and racism in your midst ... if you walk as the heathen walk, selectively friendly to your friends but ignoringly toward all others ... if you do not output true love in your life toward others ... then you may NOT be a Christian. Saying you're a Christian is nothing. BEING a Christian is everything. The output of a Christian is love - love toward your neighbors, love toward the unlovely, love toward your enemies, love!

(Galatians 5:7 KJV) "Ye did run (trecho:G5143, Imperfect Linear Aktionsart, were running well) well; (kalos:G2573, commendably) who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?"

The Galatians were running the race of Christianity well. They had their eyes on the goal, had reached their stride, were focused on their mission, and were headed surely and strongly toward the prize that obedience in Christ promises. Yet, as they were running on this track, just as a marathon or distance runner runs, another runner came alongside and bumped into them. Just as you watch sports on television and see the runners moving along the track, every so often a runner will get out of his assigned track and "bump" into another, causing him to lose his stride. Paul asks the Galatians, "Who came running alongside of you and bumped into you? Who caused you to lose your stride?" The Christian has lost his stride when he begins to entertain other systems of thought outside of those which the Scripture teaches. We cannot blend Christianity with other religions and still come out with Christianity. We cannot mix that which Christ purchased for us with His own blood ... with Islam, or Judaism, or Hinduism, or any other "ism".

(Galatians 5:8 KJV) "This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you."

God did not call us into salvation by faith in Christ alone, then "tack on" other rituals that we had to perform. The One that called us to salvation did not, once we reached our stride in Christianity, come along and bump us, causing us to lose our step. No Beloved. Those things which have crept into Christianity - circumcision, ritualism, blendings all - they have not come from Christ, but from the world.

(Galatians 5:9 KJV) "A little leaven leaveneth (zumoo {pronounced dzoo-mo’-o}, Present Indicative Active, keeps on leavening) the whole lump."

Just as a little leaven - yeast - will infect the entire batch of dough, causing it to raise up, so does compromise with sin, ritualism, and the world contaminate the whole Church. It only takes a small amount of leaven - sin - before the whole congregation is contaminated.

I know a pastor who was well loved by his congregation, a faithful man who loved the people whom God gave him more than life itself. A little leaven entered that congregation - racism - and slowly this evil percolated from member to member until the whole congregation was poisoned. Those whom he loved turned against him. The young man he sought to father in the ministry became an agent of leaven, and he and his family became instrumental in the downfall of that pastor. A little leaven poisons the whole lump.

Human sin is leaven in the Church. Racism is leaven in the Church. Legalism and ritualism is leaven within the Church. God has emphasized from the very beginning that leaven - yeast - is symbolic of sin. Leaven was to be removed from the house of Israel during the feast of unleavened bread:

(Exodus 12:15-19 KJV) "Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. {16} And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. {17} And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. {18} In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. {19} Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land."

(Exodus 13:7 KJV) "Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters."

(Exodus 34:25 KJV) "Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left unto the morning."

Jesus Christ our Lord warned us against the leaven of the Pharisees and the Saducees, ritualism without love, ritualism without faith in God.

(Mark 8:15 KJV) "And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod."

(Matthew 16:6 KJV) "Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."

(Luke 12:1 KJV) "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."

It is time for the Church of Jesus Christ to walk away from the various rituals that we have fallen into, and time that we turned back to the sincere milk of the Word of God. We have a choice, Believers, and the choice we make will effect our children tomorrow. You can choose to follow the same shallow path of ritualism that has been followed by many before us, and condemn your children to walk that same path. We can choose to teach our children racism, hatred, whorishness, ritualism, legalism, liberalism, denominationalism, sexism, arrogance, separatism, and every other evil thing which this world teaches and reveres. If we do this our children will grow up to have as shallow a relationship with God as many of us already have. Or we can repent of our rituals, our taboos, our foolishness and focus on the God of Scripture, His wants and desires. We can seek to please our Creator in all that we say and do. We can allow our Christian walk to output the love that it should output, walking in Grace and gracefulness toward our fellow man, and in so doing become a living testament to the power of Christ Jesus. We can, as the Apostle preached:

(1 Corinthians 5:6-8 KJV) "Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? {7} Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: {8} Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

The choice is ours. Choose the path of Christ our Savior. Do as Jesus did, walk as Jesus walked, love as Jesus loved, serve as Jesus served. Only then will we as believers reach the potential that God sees in us.