nd enmity of the whole world, is this
not madness? But Paul does not mind the enmity of the world. It made
him all the bolder to confess Christ. The enmity of the world in his
estimation augurs well for the success and growth of the Church, which
fares best in times of persecution. When the offense of the Cross
ceases, when the rage of the enemies of the Cross abates, when
everything is quiet, it is a sign that the devil is the door-keeper of
the Church and that the pure doctrine of God's Word has been lost.

Saint Bernard observed that the Church is in best shape when Satan
assaults it on every side by trickery and violence; and in worst shape
when it is at peace. In support of his statement he quotes the passage
from the song of Hezekiah: "Behold, for peace I had great bitterness."
Paul looks with suspicion upon any doctrine that does not provoke
antagonism.

Persecution always follows on the heels of the Word of God as the
Psalmist experienced. "I believe, therefore have I spoken: I was
greatly afflicted." (Ps. 116:10.) The Christians are accused and
slandered without mercy. Murderers and thieves receive better treatment
than Christians. The world regards true Christians as the worst
offenders, for whom no punishment can be too severe. The world hates
the Christians with amazing brutality, and without compunction commits
them to the most shameful death, congratulating itself that it has
rendered God and the cause of peace a distinct service by ridding the
world of the undesired presence of these Christians. We are not to let
such treatment cause us to falter in our adherence to Christ. As long
as we experience such persecutions we know all is well with the Gospel.

Jesus held out the same comfort to His disciples in the fifth chapter
of St. Matthew. "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you and
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,
for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward
in heaven." The Church must not come short of this joy. I would not
want to be at peace with the pope, the bishops, the princes, and the
sectarians, unless they consent to our doctrine. Unity with them would
be an unmistakable sign that we have lost the true doctrine. Briefly,
as long as the Church proclaims the doctrine she must suffer
persecution, because the Gospel declares the mercy and glory of God.
This in turn stirs up the devil, because the Gospel shows him up for
what he is, the devil, and not God. Therefore as long as the Gospel
holds sway persecution plays the accompaniment, or else there is
something the matter with the devil. When he is hit you will know it by
the havoc he raises everywhere.

So do not be surprised or offended when hell breaks loose. Look upon it
as a happy indication that all is well with the Gospel of the Cross.
God forbid that the offense of the Cross should ever be removed. This
would be the case if we were to preach what the prince of this world
and his followers would be only too glad to hear, the righteousness of
works. You would never know the devil could be so gentle, the world so
sweet, the Pope so gracious, and the princes so charming. But because
we seek the advantage and honor of Christ, they persecute us all
around.

VERSE 12. I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

It hardly seems befitting an apostle, not only to denounce the false
apostles as troublers of the Church, and to consign them to the devil,
but also to wish that they were utterly cut off—what else would you
call it but plain cursing? Paul, I suppose, is alluding to the rite of
circumcision. As if he were saying to the Galatians: "The false
apostles compel you to cut off the foreskin of your flesh. Well, I wish
they themselves were utterly cut off by the roots."

We had better answer at once the question, whether it is right for
Christians to curse. Certainly not always, nor for every little cause.
But when things have come to such a pass that God and His Word are
openly blasphemed, then we must say: "Blessed be God and His Word, and
cursed be everything that is contrary to God and His Word, even though
it should be an apostle, or an angel from heaven."

This goes to show again how much importance Paul attached to the least
points of Christian doctrine, that he dared to curse the false
apostles, evidently men of great popularity and influence. What right,
then, have we to make little of doctrine? No matter how nonessential a
point of doctrine may seem, if slighted it may prove the gradual
disintegration of the truths of our salvation.

Let us do everything to advance the glory and authority of God's Word.
Every tittle of it is greater than heaven and earth. Christian charity
and unity have nothing to do with the Word of God. We are bold to curse
and condemn all men who in the least point corrupt the Word of God,
"for a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."

Paul does right to curse these troublers of the Galatians, wishing that
they were cut off and rooted out of the Church of God and that their
doctrine might perish forever. Such cursing is the gift of the Holy
Ghost. Thus Peter cursed Simon the sorcerer, "Thy money perish with
thee." Many instances of this holy cursing are recorded in the sacred
Scriptures, especially in the Psalms, e.g., "Let death seize upon them,
and let them go down quick into hell." (Ps. 55:15.)

THE DOCTRINE OF GOOD WORKS

Now come all kinds of admonitions and precepts. It was the custom of
the apostles that after they had taught faith and instructed the
conscience they followed it up with admonitions unto good works, that
the believers might manifest the duties of love toward each other. In
order to avoid the appearance as if Christianity militated against good
works or opposed civil government, the Apostle also urges us to give
ourselves unto good works, to lead an honest life, and to keep faith
and love with one another. This will give the lie to the accusations of
the world that we Christians are the enemies of decency and of public
peace. The fact is we Christians know better what constitutes a truly
good work than all the philosophers and legislators of the world
because we link believing with doing.

VERSE 13. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not
liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

In other words: "You have gained liberty through Christ, i.e., You are
above all laws as far as conscience is concerned. You are saved. Christ
is your liberty and life. Therefore law, sin, and death may not hurt
you or drive you to despair. This is the constitution of your priceless
liberty. Now take care that you do not use your wonderful liberty for
an occasion of the flesh."

Satan likes to turn this liberty which Christ has gotten for us into
licentiousness. Already the Apostle Jude complained in his day: "There
are certain men crept in unawares...turning the grace of our God into
lasciviousness." (Jude 4.) The flesh reasons: "If we are without the
law, we may as well indulge ourselves. Why do good, why give alms, why
suffer evil when there is no law to force us to do so?"

This attitude is common enough. People talk about Christian liberty and
then go and cater to the desires of covetousness, pleasure, pride,
envy, and other vices. Nobody wants to fulfill his duties. Nobody wants
to help out a brother in distress. This sort of thing makes me so
impatient at times that I wish the swine who trampled precious pearls
under foot were back once again under the tyranny of the Pope. You
cannot wake up the people of Gomorrah with the gospel of peace.

Even we creatures of the world do not perform our duties as zealously
in the light of the Gospel as we did before in the darkness of
ignorance, because the surer we are of the liberty purchased for us by
Christ, the more we neglect the Word, prayer, well-doing, and
suffering. If Satan were not continually molesting us with trials, with
the persecution of our enemies, and the ingratitude of our brethren, we
would become so careless and indifferent to all good works that in time
we would lose our faith in Christ, resign the ministry of the Word, and
look for an easier life. Many of our ministers are beginning to do that
very thing. They complain about the ministry, they maintain they cannot
live on their salaries, they whimper about the miserable treatment they
receive at the hand of those whom they delivered from the servitude of
the law by the preaching of the Gospel. These ministers desert our poor
and maligned Christ, involve themselves in the affairs of the world,
seek advantages for themselves and not for Christ. With what results
they shall presently find out.

Since the devil lies in ambush for those in particular who hate the
world, and seeks to deprive us of our liberty of the spirit or to
brutalize it into the liberty of the flesh, we plead with our brethren
after the manner of Paul, that they may never use this liberty of the
spirit purchased for us by Christ as an excuse for carnal living, or as
Peter expresses it, I Peter 2:16, "for a cloak of maliciousness."

In order that Christians may not abuse their liberty the Apostle
encumbers them with the rule of mutual love that they should serve each
other in love. Let everybody perform the duties of his station and
vocation diligently and help his neighbor to the limit of his capacity.

Christians are glad to hear and obey this teaching of love. When others
hear about this Christian liberty of ours they at once infer, "If I am
free, I may do what I like. If salvation is not a matter of doing why
should we do anything for the poor?" In this crude manner they turn the
liberty of the spirit into wantonness and licentiousness. We want them
to know, however, that if they use their lives and possessions after
their own pleasure, if they do not help the poor, if they cheat their
fellow-men in business and snatch and scrape by hook and by crook
everything they can lay their hands on, we want to tell them that they
are not free, no matter how much they think they are, but they are the
dirty slaves of the devil, and are seven times worse than they ever
were as the slaves of the Pope.

As for us, we are obliged to preach the Gospel which offers to all men
liberty from the Law, sin, death, and God's wrath. We have no right to
conceal or revoke this liberty proclaimed by the Gospel. And so we
cannot do anything with the swine who dive headlong into the filth of
licentiousness. We do what we can, we diligently admonish them to love
and to help their fellow-men. If our admonitions bear no fruit, we
leave them to God, who will in His own good time take care of these
disrespecters of His goodness. In the meanwhile we comfort ourselves
with the thought that our labors are not lost upon the true believers.
They appreciate this spiritual liberty and stand ready to serve others
in love and, though their number is small, the satisfaction they give
us far outweighs the discouragement which we receive at the hands of
the large number of those who misuse this liberty.

Paul cannot possibly be misunderstood for he says: "Brethren, ye have
been called unto liberty." In order that nobody might mistake the
liberty of which he speaks for the liberty of the flesh, the Apostle
adds the explanatory note, "only use not liberty for an occasion to the
flesh, but by love serve one another." Paul now explains at the hand of
the Ten Commandments what it means to serve one another in love.

VERSE 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

It is customary with Paul to lay the doctrinal foundation first and
then to build on it the gold, silver, and gems of good deeds. Now there
is no other foundation than Jesus Christ. Upon this foundation the
Apostle erects the structure of good works which he defines in this one
sentence: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

In adding such precepts of love the Apostle embarrasses the false
apostles very much, as if he were saying to the Galatians: "I have
described to you what spiritual life is. Now I will also teach you what
truly good works are. I am doing this in order that you may understand
that the silly ceremonies of which the false apostles make so much are
far inferior to the works of Christian love." This is the hall-mark of
all false teachers, that they not only pervert the pure doctrine but
also fail in doing good. Their foundation vitiated, they can only build
wood, hay, and stubble. Oddly enough, the false apostles who were such
earnest champions of good works never required the work of charity,
such as Christian love and the practical charity of a helpful tongue,
hand, and heart. Their only requirement was that circumcision, days,
months, years, and times should be observed. They could not think of
any other good works.

The Apostle exhorts all Christians to practice good works after they
have embraced the pure doctrine of faith, because even though they have
been justified they still have the old flesh to refrain them from doing
good. Therefore it becomes necessary that sincere preachers cultivate
the doctrine of good works as diligently as the doctrine of faith, for
Satan is a deadly enemy of both. Nevertheless faith must come first
because without faith it is impossible to know what a God-pleasing deed
is.

Let nobody think that he knows all about this commandment, "Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself." It sounds short and easy, but show me
the man who can teach, learn, and do this commandment perfectly. None
of us heed, or urge, or practice this commandment properly. Though the
conscience hurts when we fail to fulfill this commandment in every
respect we are not overwhelmed by our failure to bear our neighbor
sincere and brotherly love.

The words, "for all the law is fulfilled in one word," entail a
criticism of the Galatians. "You are so taken up by your superstitions
and ceremonies that serve no good purpose, that you neglect the most
important thing, love." St. Jerome says: "We wear our bodies out with
watching, fasting, and labor and neglect charity, the queen of all good
works." Look at the monks, who meticulously fast, watch, etc. To skip
the least requirement of their order would be a crime of the first
magnitude. At the same time they blithely ignored the duties of charity
and hated each other to death. That is no sin, they think.

The Old Testament is replete with examples that indicate how much God
prizes charity. When David and his companions had no food with which to
still their hunger they ate the showbread which lay-people were
forbidden to eat. Christ's disciples broke the Sabbath law when they
plucked the ears of corn. Christ himself broke the Sabbath (as the Jews
claimed) by healing the sick on the Sabbath. These incidents indicate
that love ought to be given consideration above all laws and
ceremonies.

VERSE 14. For all the Law is fulfilled in one word.

We can imagine the Apostle saying to the Galatians: "Why do you get so
worked up over ceremonies, meats, days, places, and such things? Leave
off this foolishness and listen to me. The whole Law is comprehended in
this one sentence, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' God is
not particularly interested in ceremonies, nor has He any use for them.
The one thing He requires of you is that you believe in Christ whom He
hath sent. If in addition to faith, which comes first as the most
acceptable service unto God, you want to add laws, then you want to
know that all laws are comprehended in this short commandment, 'Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.'"

Paul knows how to explain the law of G