How does Galatians 5:3 emphasize the obligation of keeping the whole law? The Verse in View “Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.” — Galatians 5:3 Key Phrase: “Obligated to Obey the Whole Law” • Paul states a binding reality: once a person submits to circumcision as a means of right standing with God, he places himself under the jurisdiction of every command Moses recorded. • The verb “obligated” is legal language, picturing a debtor who must settle every part of the account. • The phrase “the whole law” leaves no exceptions, loopholes, or partial compliance. Why One Part Demands the Whole • Circumcision was the covenant sign given to Abraham (Genesis 17:10-14). Embracing it as a requirement for justification shifts trust from Christ’s completed work to human performance. • The law is an indivisible unit. To accept any ritual as necessary for salvation is to accept the entire covenant of works attached to that ritual. • Failing in a single statute breaks the entire contract: “For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” — James 2:10 Supporting Passages • Galatians 3:10 — “All who rely on works of the law are under a curse...” The curse falls because absolute obedience is required. • Romans 2:25 — “If you practice the law, your circumcision is beneficial; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.” The external sign is void without total obedience. • Deuteronomy 27:26 — “Cursed is he who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Divine judgment is sworn against incomplete obedience. • Galatians 5:4 — “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ...” Dependence on law cancels dependence on grace. Practical Takeaways • Trying to add any human work to Christ’s finished work places a person under an impossible standard. • The law’s perfection exposes sin; it was never given as a ladder to heaven. • Grace invites believers to rest in Christ’s obedience instead of their own. • Freedom in the Spirit replaces bondage under the law (Galatians 5:1, 18). |
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