Galatians 6:11-18 is the final section in the letter. Paul has made his case against the false teachers pushing circumcision in the Galatian churches. They said that faith in Jesus was not sufficient for Gentiles to be saved. They must also be circumcised to be right with God and heirs to Abraham’s covenant. Through this letter, Paul has been terse, abrupt, and confrontational, even placing those teaching another gospel under the curse of God. He has demonstrated that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone. He has demonstrated the inability of the law to make sinners righteous. All the law can do is condemn, punish, and point us to the Savior. In Christ we have been freed from the condemnation of the law and we have been declared righteous because Jesus stood in our place, taking the punishment for our sin and imputing to us His righteousness. The gospel is sufficient. The gospel gives us perfect righteousness and nothing can be added by any outward work. But Paul also showed us that the gospel also transforms our hearts by the indwelling Spirit. We are given new hearts in Christ so that we now live out the intent of the law as we serve one another in love. We have been changed by the gospel and now the Spirit Himself produces His fruit in us as we keep in step with what He is doing in us. In this final section, Paul doesn’t introduce anything new but concisely summarizes the important conclusion of his argument. He will contrast the motives of those who boast in the flesh with his boasting in the cross alone. And in the end, he leaves the Galatians with what really matters. "For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation" (Gal. 6:15). The Galatians are being caught up in this idea that outward religious works, service, rituals, or laws can add to their standing before God. Paul says what really matters is not what you put on the outside, but what God has done on the inside - what matters is that you have been made a new creature in Christ by faith in the gospel.
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