https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/TheMarksOfJesus.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Galatians 6:11-18<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Paul battled much of his life with his own Jewish brethren<\/p>\n
A. They insisted on preserving the Law in many ways.<\/p>\n
B. A motivation is to be expected – Galatians 6:12<\/p>\n
C. It appears some tried to justify it by appealing to Paul.<\/p>\n
1. After all he had Timothy circumcised! – Acts 16:3<\/p>\n 2. Paul points out, though, that if they agreed with him then they wouldn’t be\npersecuting him or taking offense at the teaching of the cross – Galatians\n5:11\n D. Acceptance of the cross and acceptance of circumcision was something even these\npeople understood were contrary purposes.\nII. Paul points out they are focused on external details – making a showing in the flesh; that\nis, circumcision, as if a physical cutting would save a person.\n
A. It is a milder charge than the one Jesus made – Matthew 23:15<\/p>\n B. The problem is the focus on physical compliance with no thought to a change in\nheart. \n
C. Not that circumcision was even required by God in the New Law – Galatians 5:2-4<\/p>\n D. But even those demanding this physical sign from the Old Law don’t keep that\nsame Law – Galatians 6:13\n
III. It isn’t the outward marks, but the inward change<\/p>\n
A. Circumcision does nothing. Faith working through love does – Galatians 5:6<\/p>\n
B. It is not some physical mark, but the changed life – Galatians 6:15<\/p>\n
C. It is the keeping of God’s commands – I Corinthians 7:19<\/p>\nIV. But if a physical sign is so important, Paul points out that he wears the marks of Jesus on\nhis body – Galatians 6:17\n
A. The word Paul uses is “stigma.<\/i>” It means a mark or a brand.<\/p>\n
1. Paul has suffered much in the cause of Christ – II Corinthians 11:24-25<\/p>\n 2. They would have left scars as reminders. Reminders Paul was willing to\ncollect – Colossians 1:24\n
B. A stigma<\/i> was the mark a slave owner placed on a slave to indicate ownership<\/p>\n
1. Paul saw himself as the Lord’s slave – Romans 1:1; Titus 1:1<\/p>\n
2. Jesus had pick him to bear His word – Acts 9:15<\/p>\n
3. It was his job – II Timothy 1:11<\/p>\n 4. He preached from necessity, though it was a command that he willingly\nfollowed – I Corinthians 9:16-18\n C. A stigma<\/i> was also the tattoos pagans put on their bodies to indicate what god they\nserved. That is why tattoos were forbidden – Leviticus 19:28\n
1. The practice is referred to in the mark of the beast – Revelation 13:16-18<\/p>\n 2. Now Paul didn’t scribed Jesus’ name literally in his body, but his body did\nshow the fact that he served Jesus.\n
3. But Christians do show the marks of their God – Revelation 14:1<\/p>\n
a. It is an illustration long used – Ezekiel 9:3-7<\/p>\n
V. But Paul doesn’t speak of external marks on his body, but of marks in his body<\/p>\n
A. Sin leaves marks on the practitioner – Jeremiah 2:22<\/p>\n
1. God marks those for correction – Habakkuk 1:12; Jude 4<\/p>\n
2. If God marks iniquities, who can stand? – Psalm 130:3<\/p>\n
3. What misery! – Job 10:14-15<\/p>\n
B. But God changes the marks by the blood of Christ!<\/p>\n
1. We show new signs – Galatians 5:22-25<\/p>\n
2. We put on a changed life – Colossians 3:12-17<\/p>\n
C. So what will you choose to show to the world? <\/p>\n
1. The scars of a sin filled life?<\/p>\n
2. Or, the marks of service to God?<\/p>\n
3. James 2:18<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Galatians 6:11-18 I. Paul battled much of his life with his own Jewish brethren A. They insisted on preserving the Law in many ways. B. A motivation is to be expected – Galatians 6:12 C. It appears some tried to justify it by appealing to Paul. 1. After all he had Timothy circumcised! –…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[480,118,1515,780],"class_list":["post-5197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-circumcision","tag-paul","tag-slavery","tag-tattoos"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63236,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pauls-fears-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5197,"position":0},"title":"Paul’s Fears (Sermon)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: II Corinthians 7:4-7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What causes you to be afraid? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Most of us face fears at different points of our lives. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Most of our fears come from things that we cannot control or things we cannot foresee. More fear is born of our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12277,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-would-like-to-ask-you-about-the-book-of-galatians-and-paul\/","url_meta":{"origin":5197,"position":1},"title":"I would like to ask you about the book of Galatians and Paul","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to ask you about the book of Galatians and Paul. I was reading this book for one of my Bible studies. I had not done so before in-depth, only certain verses. As I was studying and reading, it seemed to me that what Paul was saying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35267,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-made-paul-an-apostle\/","url_meta":{"origin":5197,"position":2},"title":"What Made Paul an Apostle?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Galatians 1:11-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul was different from the other apostles \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He wasn\u2019t with Jesus when he was on earth \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He was not among the original twelve apostles - Luke 6:12-16 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He started out as a zealous persecutor of the church \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How is it that Paul\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91726,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/boasting-of-his-weakness\/","url_meta":{"origin":5197,"position":3},"title":"Boasting of His Weakness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: II Corinthians 12:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0False teachers of the Jewish persuasion had entered the congregation in Corinth \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They wanted to convince the brethren that they had to follow the Law of Moses to be acceptable to God. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The problem was dealing with Paul. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70930,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-the-galatians-repent-of-their-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":5197,"position":4},"title":"Could the Galatians repent of their sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Mr. Hamilton, I have been reading your website for quite some time. I struggle with the unpardonable sin and have read your articles dozens of times. My question is: Could the Galatians repent of their sin of mixing the old and new covenant and return to Christ, or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63017,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/let-us-do-good-to-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":5197,"position":5},"title":"Let Us Do Good to All","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Galatians 6:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What is meant by \u201cdoing good\u201d? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Often we think of giving money to the poor, feeding the hungry, etc. And these are good things. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But when we read Galatians 6:10, is that what Paul was talking about? II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Understanding the context\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5197\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}