Strange Scriptures to Grow Your FaithSample

Grace Makes Our Faith Unique

The world is full of religions. It didn’t take me long to figure that out when I began traveling. The more places I went, the more ways I discovered people trying to connect with the deity.

Upon noticing this, the question became, “What makes Christianity unique?” In the letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul offers a very special Christian distinction.

From the time Paul began ministering to the Galatians, he preached that salvation came by faith in the gospel of grace alone. This was unique then, and it remains unique today. Our salvation is not based on our works or merits. It comes through faith in the work of Christ.

The Galatian Jews didn’t like this. They believed that Christian salvation came through obedience to the law of Moses, particularly circumcision. They were teaching the non-Jewish Galatians that they needed to be circumcised or they couldn’t be saved.

As Christians, it’s fundamental for us to understand that our reconciliation to God is not by our own good works. It doesn’t come from prayer, going to church, feeding the poor, aiding humanitarian projects, or anything we do. In the Galatians’ case, it didn’t come through circumcision. We don’t have to perform to be accepted by God. We receive His free offer of salvation by faith, and He then gives us His Spirit, which leads us to good works. 

To counter his opponents, Paul makes a harsh statement: “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!”  The Greek word for “emasculate” comes from apokoptō. It means “to cut off.” It was used to describe pruning a branch or cutting off slack in a rope. Here, it refers to castration. Paul is telling the Galatian church that his opponents, the Jewish Galatians, should cut off their manhood, based upon their own logic.

Paul is referring to what some religious cults in his day were doing to connect with their deities. There were cultic priests, known as the Galli, who were cutting off their genitalia to please their gods. Paul was saying if Christians receive salvation by circumcision, then there’s no difference between us and the pagans. In fact, the pagans go to greater lengths than circumcision. Why not go as far as they did, if that’s somehow beneficial?

Thankfully, salvation doesn’t come through circumcision or mutilation. Salvation comes by grace through faith. It is the result of the work of Christ. We simply place our trust in what He has done. God did the work for us. Now there’s a unique concept!