Galatians (Part 19)

The Cross Is Offensive — Until You’re Offended by It

Galatians 6:11–18 | Paul’s Final Warning & Benediction

Eighteen weeks in Galatians, and we finally reach the finish line. Paul began this letter fiercely defending the gospel of grace — and now, he ends with the same intensity. His tone changes in this final section: he grabs the pen himself and writes in large letters, like typing in all caps — not out of anger, but urgency.
He’s saying, “Church, don’t miss this.”

A Final Warning to the Church

Paul ends where he began — with a warning.
He warns the Galatians, and us today, not to fall for a false gospel that says, “Do more. Be better. Earn it.”
He’s confronting the idea that God’s approval can be achieved by performance instead of received through grace.

To the Jews, the cross meant abandoning law-based righteousness.
To the Gentiles, it seemed foolish — worshiping a man executed like a criminal.
And to us, it’s offensive because it kills our pride. The cross says:

“You can’t fix yourself. You can’t earn God’s favor. You can’t save yourself.”

That’s why Paul takes the pen from his scribe — because this truth is too important to delegate.

Image Over Intimacy

Paul exposes the danger of “making a good showing in the flesh.”
It’s that temptation to look spiritual rather than be surrendered.
We want appearance over authenticity — image over intimacy.
We want comfort without cost, salvation without surrender.

But Paul reminds us that following Jesus means death before resurrection.
You can’t have new life unless the old one dies.
That’s why the cross offends us — it exposes our need to die to self daily.

Comfort Without the Cross

The Galatians didn’t want persecution.
They wanted Jesus without the suffering that comes with following Him.
But Paul insists: “If you do what Jesus did and say what Jesus said, you’ll get what Jesus got.”
And what Jesus got was betrayal, rejection, and pain — but also resurrection.

Boasting in the Cross

Paul shifts from warning to worship.
He says,

“Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

He’s not boasting in himself, his past, or his ministry.
He’s boasting in what Jesus has done — the only thing worth celebrating.

You can boast in Christ without saying a word.
When you love your spouse well, when you forgive instead of retaliate, when you have peace in the middle of chaos — that’s boasting in Christ.
Your life becomes a quiet sermon of grace.

The Cross Changes Everything

The cross is the place where justice, mercy, and forgiveness meet.
It’s where sin was judged and grace was revealed.
It’s where our old self is crucified, and our new life begins.
Paul says in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

That means each morning we lay our lives down again — our plans, control, and desires — and ask the Holy Spirit to raise us into new life.
Every resurrection starts with a death.

A New Creation

Paul declares:

“For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

He’s saying your denomination, background, or performance doesn’t make you right with God — only Jesus does.
Not your theology, not your rituals, not your “rightness.”
The gospel is about transformation, not tradition.

Grace Upon Grace

Paul closes the same way he started — with grace.
Grace in the beginning, grace in the middle, grace in the end.
Christ + Nothing = Everything.

He reminds us:

• You can’t live a new life until the old one dies.

• You’ll never see resurrection without surrender.

• The church is not built on our doing, but on His dying.

The Call to Die Daily

The real question isn’t, “What have I learned from Galatians?”
It’s, “Where do I need to die?”
Die to pride.
Die to control.
Die to self-righteousness, fear, comfort, and the need to be right.

Because where death happens, resurrection follows.
Paul ends with one last benediction:

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.”

Reflection

This letter ends where it began — at the foot of the cross.
Every Christian life starts there, stays there, and ends there.
Die daily.
Rest in grace.
And let your life boast quietly and powerfully in the name of Jesus.