Galatians 5:2–3

With great plainness of speech the Apostle warns these Gentile believers. He was the Apostle chosen to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and God had used him to bring them blessing. For these reasons his word should have had greater weight with them than that of others. He seems to remind them of this by saying, "I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you." To be circumcised meant that they put themselves under law. And being under law meant they had to keep it to get the blessing.

Paul does not say that the Galatians had received circumcision, but he knew well that the Jewish teachers were trying to compel them to receive it. In Acts 15:1 we read: "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." These teachers were now saying these same words to the Galatians. Paul replies by the Holy Spirit, "If you should be circumcised, Christ will do you no good whatever." We must be clear that "circumcision" was the mark which separated those who trusted in the law from everyone else. It was the outward sign that a man was trusting to law… No man can trust to Christ and to circumcision, or the law, at the same time.

If you should be circumcised after this, Christ will be of no advantage to you. It was not a question of those who had already been circumcised, but of Christians who now sought it. He does not mean that someone who had made the gross mistake of being circumcised could not be forgiven. He means that if they now went through that rite as necessary to their complete justification, His power was made void for them. So Christ is not only a complete Saviour; He is an exclusive one.

The effort of the adversary, at the beginning of the Church, was not to substitute the law and circumcision in the flesh in place of Christ, but to add them. But the apostle saw clearly, by the Spirit, that if they allowed this, all was lost. Make anything else essential, and Christ will be of no advantage to you. The Christian is one with the Head — one with Christ; let the least thing come in between them, and the body is a corpse. If anything must be added, then the work of Christ is not enough.

Christ will not take the place of a helper, to the detriment of His place as a Saviour. Any dependence on legal righteousness, moral or ceremonial, renders Christ "profitless" to us. Nothing but salvation meets our need. How often do we hear the phrase, "I know I can do nothing by myself." But this only puts Christ in the place of a helper. And He is indeed a helper to thousands who are never saved… If you look partly to yourself and partly to Christ, "Christ will be of no advantage to you."

So Paul did not say that they would lose their salvation. But in practice, being circumcised would have had very serious consequences… Suppose people say, "I am saved, and now I keep the law of Moses to please God." What are they doing? They are placing themselves under a curse… It is not that Christ does not want to help them. But because of the decision they have made, He cannot help them.

Be clear then, dear reader: the Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, plainly teaches that there is no salvation for anyone who insists on receiving circumcision. Such a man shows plainly that he is trusting to the law to be justified.