Galatians 5:11 Meaning

But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

Galatians 5:11, ESV

In Galatians 5:11 we’ll consider the theme of “eyes set on the cross.”

Did Paul have two gospels?

There apparently were people saying that Paul was preaching two different gospels — that he preached a gospel of circumcision when he was before a Jewish audience. And then when he stood before a Gentile audience he was preaching a free-grace Gospel — of freedom in Christ that’s all of grace apart from the works of the law.

So the Judaizers were saying, “Look! Paul is preaching these two different ways. He’s not someone who ought to be trusted. He’s not a trustworthy figure. You shouldn’t listen to him.”

And so Paul dispels this notion by responding, “Well, why then am I still being persecuted? If I’m preaching this doctrine of circumcision, why are the Jews angry with
me? They wouldn’t be persecuting me if I was preaching the doctrine of circumcision. In fact, they would love me! Wouldn’t they? The Jews — if I preach circumcision — they would be my friends.”

But that wasn’t the case. They hated Paul. And they were trying to destroy his character.

Why? Because he preached against circumcision.

Paul refused to preach circumcision

Now, Paul was fully aware that if he did preach a doctrine of circumcision the offense of the cross would be removed. There would be no more fighting over the gospel. There would be no more persecution of Paul if he just gave in and preached a doctrine of circumcision along with these Judaizers.

Paul could not do that. Paul was compelled against doing that because it was God and God alone who saved Paul — who pulled him up from destruction and darkness and transferred him to His marvelous light on that Damascus Road — opening Paul’s eyes — removing the scales — granting to Paul salvation.

So he’s compelled by God to not turn away from the gospel that he had been given.

He is also compelled by his love for Christ his Savior to whom his heart was now tethered.

Paul is also compelled knowing that he owes all of his allegiance — all of his trust — everything that he is — to the Lord. All obedience is to be rendered to God and God alone.

And so Paul was much more willing to offend others — to offend man — than to ever offend his God — no matter what that meant — even if that meant persecution.

Don’t soften or distort the gospel

Now sadly in our day and age this is something that has fallen by the wayside. It’s sad to see when those who have been called and sent by churches to be heralders of God’s word — they’re the ones who are so guilty of softening the message of the Gospel — or of hiding aspects of the Gospel which sinners so desperately need to hear. And they do so in one way by preaching a gospel that’s only about the love of God.

It’s true that the gospel is about the love of God.

But the cross also is about much more than just love. At the cross you see the love of God most clearly visible.

But also at the cross you clearly see visible the justice of God. You see the wrath of God at the cross as he pours it out upon his Son — that he might bear the penalty for sinners everywhere who would trust and believe in his name. At the cross you see the kiss of God’s love and God’s justice combined there. You see mercy and justice. You see the beauty of God’s love and the beauty of God’s wrath at the cross.

But today we want to make the gospel all about love. And we don’t want to bring up those other aspects like the appeasement of the wrath of God on the cross — or God’s sending his own Son to die for guilty sinners — even though his Son is innocent. People today like to leave those things out of the gospel because they don’t want people to be offended by those things.

Ultimately all that preacher is doing is demonstrating that he himself is offended by the gospel. That’s why he leaves those things out — because he’s offended by God’s word.

And then we wonder why the church is so confused as to what the gospel is — why the church lacks such a strong witness in the world — why believers are so scared to talk to unbelievers even about what the gospel is because we’re afraid that those unbelievers who are offended by it will ask us questions about the gospel — that in fact many Christians likewise are offended by.

And so preachers and people when they speak about the gospel — when they speak about the cross — what do you find them oftentimes doing? They try to turn the gospel and the cross into a whole new shape. They would prefer the cross not be the cross. They would prefer the cross to be more in the shape of maybe something like a heart.

But none that bear the name of Christ — none who have the title of Minister — ought to ever declare a gospel or share a gospel that is only half a gospel. We ought to never share a gospel or declare a gospel that the Devil himself could walk out of the service clapping and amen-ing — because he knows that the gospel you just told somebody was no gospel at all — and that it has no power
to save.

But oftentimes isn’t that what we see going on? Today people declare God’s word in such a way that they want to appease sinners. But when you’re seeking to appease sinners you’re not pleasing God. But you’re rather pleasing the Devil. You’re not making God happy when you share half a gospel — but you’re making the Devil happy.

Allow the gospel to be offensive

Are there any here amongst us that do that very thing? We all have family that we love desperately and we want them to be saved. But are there any of you who know that there are certain aspects of the gospel they would be offended by? And so as you talk to them about the gospel, you remove that aspect because you want to get them into the kingdom so very badly.

Are there friends, co-workers, neighbors that when you share the gospel with them you know that certain aspects of the gospel will offend? And so you kind of hide those truths because you don’t want them to be offended by those things?

Don’t be offensive yourself

On the other hand, there are people who know the cross will offend — but oftentimes do just as much damage as the others to the cross itself. Because there are people out there who think: “because the cross offends, so too must I. If the cross is offensive, that means I must be offensive as well.”

And I’m sure we all have seen and heard this in the pulpit or with someone sharing the gospel with another where they attempt to offend. They try to offend someone.

But that’s not what we’re called to do. We’re not called to offend. The gospel is what is to offend — not you — not your demeanor — not your attitude towards that person — not the language or the volume of the voice you use. Those things shouldn’t be what offend somebody.

Those things just stand in the way of the Gospel. That’s you trying to add to the offense of the gospel which we must not do. It’s not for you to do those things.

In fact as we tell people about the gospel it ought to spring forth out of a principle of love. We ought to see that because people are God’s image bearers and we see them headed to eternal destruction — and you remember yourself being once just like them — that you were on a crash course with disaster as well…

It was Charles Spurgeon who said:

Do not let us make any extra ‘offense of the cross’ by our own ill humor, but let us show our love to the cross by loving and trying to bless those who have been offended with it.

The cross is offensive enough. We don’t need to add any extra offense to it. If someone is going to be offended, let them be offended by the cross — and not by you.

How is the gospel offensive?

One reason I think that people try to add extra offense is because they don’t actually understand what it means for the cross to be offensive.

Who is the gospel offensive to? The unbeliever.

The gospel is not offensive to you and me. To you and me it’s the loveliest of messages that we’ve ever heard. It’s the sweetest thing that has ever been done for mankind. That’s what it is to the believer.

So the cross by nature isn’t offensive. The cross in fact is something lovely, wonderful, and beautiful.

Why is the cross offensive to some and not to others? Why is it offensive to the unbeliever but not the believer?

The gospel versus human wisdom and pride

It’s offensive to human wisdom. Unbelievers finds it offensive to their wisdom. They find it offensive to their way of thinking.

Why? Because the gospel declares that we are wretched sinners. The gospel declares that there is nothing good in you and me. The gospel declares that we have offended a holy God and we are deserving of death and condemnation. The gospel declares that by our own efforts we can never enter heaven or become children of God.

These are all things that by nature people don’t want to hear because it strikes at the pride of man. That’s why it offends — because it offends the pride of man. It hurts the pride of man to think that I — being a relatively good person, living a relatively moral life my entire life — can receive the same reward that this vile person that relatively speaking would be looked at as bad in the world — but by believing in Jesus he gets the same reward after I did all this good.

It strikes at the pride of man. They hate that God doesn’t make distinctions between persons based on effort. They hate the message that says we must depart with looking to ourselves and trusting in our own efforts. That’s why the unbeliever finds Christianity and the cross so offensive when in fact the message of the cross should not be offensive at all to anybody.

The gospel is good news for sinners

This is why the angel came and told those shepherds, “I bring you a message of …” — does he say “of offense”? No — “of glad tidings and great joy!”

What does the very word “gospel” mean? It’s good news! The gospel is good news. The gospel is a message of glad tidings and great joy.

What is truly offensive

What we — and what the world — ought to be offended by is what Judaism teaches — is what Mormonism teaches — is what Islam teaches — is what Roman Catholicism teaches. They have the audacity to tell mankind that the way in which you enter into glory with God almighty is through your own efforts and your own works.

That’s what you ought to be offended by — that they would deceive you into thinking that your own imperfect works could gain you access to a perfect, holy, and just God. That’s what the world ought to be offended by — not Christianity. But instead the world chooses to find offense with a message that says “Christ has come to set the captive free!”

How absurd.

The world is offended by a message that says “no longer seek heaven by your own works but simply believe in Christ — that he has accomplished all for you!” That’s what this world is offended by — the message that God from all of eternity loved a people — sent his own Son to die for you that you may live with him forever in glory — forever!

That’s what the world is offended by — that message. Who would be offended by that?

Don’t take offense at the gospel because of persecution and suffering

Paul certainly wasn’t offended by that. Paul wasn’t ashamed of that message because Paul knew that that’s the only message through which God works salvation to his people. That’s the only message by which God unites sinners to his Son.

And so Paul’s message is — for those who believe in the gospel — who do not compromise though there will be persecution and suffering — and Paul is a prime example of that — he is being persecuted for preaching the gospel. And those attacks can and do hurt.

Persecution from family

I think about parents who have children who are grown up and the parents are believers the children aren’t believers. That hurts especially when your children persecute you in the sense that maybe they mock you — they make fun of you — they laugh at your faith.

It happens the other way around, too. For many there are children who are believers and who are grown up and you have parents who are unbelievers and it hurts that they don’t believe and that they mock you and laugh at you. And they speak evil about you behind your back to other family members or friends.

It hurts to have two siblings where one’s a believer and one’s not. They grow up and they never speak to each other again being separated and divided by that gospel.

These things are sad. And sometimes we’re tempted to compromise our faith in order that we might have those relationships that we so desperately want.

But Paul’s telling us to keep our eyes on the cross. Paul so desperately wanted a relationship with his kinsmen the Jews. But he wasn’t willing to turn away from the gospel — to turn away from the cross — in order to have it.

The gospel will see us through hard times and into glory

It’s the cross that gets people through difficult times. It’s the cross that got Paul through those difficult times while he was imprisoned. It’s the cross that got those seven churches in Asia Minor in the book of Revelation through those difficult times. And it’s the cross today that will get you and me through those difficult and trying times in our own lives.

Jesus himself knew what believing in the gospel meant. And so he told his disciples in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:10-12:

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This is what every single believer needs to constantly fill their minds with and be reminded of. Because the race that we run is a long race — it’s a hard race — it’s a bone-aching race — it’s a tiring race — it’s a painful race. And sometimes we want to choose what is easy as opposed to what is hard.

There are sometimes when we see that cross and we don’t want to pick it up. We’d rather navigate around it.

But what keeps you running that race — and running it well — and running it towards the end — is not dwelling upon those crosses — or dwelling upon your suffering — or dwelling upon your circumstances. What gets you through it is dwelling on the cross — dwelling upon Christ — dwelling upon what Christ has done for you — dwelling upon what he endured on your behalf — dwelling upon why he did it — to bring you one day to where he is — that we might spend eternity in that close intimate fellowship with our Lord.

Keep your eyes set on the cross

This is a message even for young people. People are going to try to direct your eyes and your gaze away from the cross all the time. They’re going to try to throw all these different earthly things in your way that are going to threaten to distract you from the cross.

Some of those things will be false doctrine that is earthly and carnal — as the Judaizers are trying to do with these Galatian converts that we see in our text today.

But others will try to promise you a better life if you take your eyes off the cross — no persecution — no trouble — more opportunities — better relationships with family members and friends and co-workers — people that you really would like to have a close relationship with.

But anyone who would ever suggest those things to you — anyone who would ever suggest you take your eyes off the cross for any reason — is a devil in disguise.

Because taking your eyes off of Christ and eventually keeping your eyes off of Christ will lead you to eternal death. It will lead you to being severed from the grace of God found in Christ.

And if you are severed from the grace of God in Christ you are the most miserable of all of creation