ガラテヤの信徒への手紙5:5-6 Galatians 5:5-6,

わたしたちは、義とされた者の希望が実現することを、“霊”により、信仰に基づいて切に待ち望んでいるのです。（ガラテヤ5:5）

2018年に日本聖書協会から出版された聖書協会共同訳という新しい翻訳は、この箇所を原典のギリシア語に即してより単純に翻訳しています。すなわち、「私たちは、霊により、信仰に基づいて義とされる希望を、心から待ち望んでいます」という翻訳です。この方が原典のギリシア語の意味を忠実に表している翻訳です。この翻訳に「というのは〜だからです」というギリシア語の接続詞ガルの意味を補って、4節の文とつなげてみると次のようになります。「律法によって義とされようとするなら、あなたがたはだれであろうと、キリストとは縁もゆかりもない者とされ、いただいた恵みも失います。というのは、私たちは、霊により、信仰に基づいて義とされる希望を、心から待ち望んでいるからです。」

こうすると、4節と5節における偽のクリスチャンのあり方と真のクリスチャンのあり方の対比がよりはっきりとしてきます。偽のクリスチャンのあり方とは、旧約聖書の律法を守る行いによって神様に正しいと認められようとするあり方です。それに対して、真のクリスチャンのあり方は、「霊により、信仰に基づいて義とされる希望を、心から待ち望んでいる」あり方です。そして、この文のポイントは、第一に、真のクリスチャンは、終わりの日の最後の審判において正しいと認められることを、希望をもって待ち望む者であるということです。そして、第二に、その希望は聖霊による希望であり、かつキリストへの信仰に基づいた希望であるということです。

そこで、この4節と5節で対比されていることを思い切ってわかりやすく言い換えると次のようになります。旧約聖書の律法を守る行いによって神様に正しいと認められようとする人は、キリストとは縁もゆかりもない偽のクリスチャンです。それとは対照的に、キリストへの信仰に基づいて、聖霊に導かれて生きて、終わりの日の最後の審判において正しいと認められる希望をもっている人こそが真のクリスチャンです。みなさまは、礼拝の中でモーセの十戒を朗読するときに、わたくしがいつも次のように申し上げていることを覚えておられるでしょう。「私たちは十戒を完全に守ることはできませんが、神様の聖霊の助けをいただいて、十戒に示された道を歩んでいきたいと思います。」なぜ、同じことを毎週申し上げているかと言えば、これが本当に大切なことだからです。十戒を唱えて「これらの戒めを守れば救われる」と考えるならば、それは「律法によって義とされようとする」ことになってしまいます。しかし、自分が十戒を守ることができないことを認めた上で、聖霊によって導かれて生きることを願うならば、それは「霊により、信仰に基づいて義とされる希望を、心から待ち望んでいる」生き方になるのです。　　（3月24日の説教より）

For people to live together with others in society, they need to believe in and love other people. However, the reality of society is full of betrayal and hatred. People cheat and hurt others in order to gain money, status or to protect their own power. Not only that, even murder is not uncommon. Watching the daily news on television, one cannot help but think that human society is a miserable place. When we consider where the cause of this misery lies, we realise that the fundamental cause is the self-centredness of the human heart. This self-centredness is called sin in Christian teaching.

Human beings are born with sin. We are self-centred from childhood. This innate sinful human existence is called “flesh” in the Bible. To be clear, this is not a teaching that the flesh is evil and the mind is good. The whole of human existence, which is steeped in sin, is referred as “the flesh’.” In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul is frank about how human existence, being born with sin, produces thoughts and deeds.

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

However, Paul not only points out human beings’ bad thoughts and deeds, but also the possibility of good thoughts and deeds that are different from them. In verses 22-23, following verses 19-21, in which he points out man’s evil thoughts and deeds, he writes: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” “The Spirit” in this case is the Spirit of God the Father and the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. It means that although human beings are sinners by nature, these good thoughts and deeds are possible when they live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And it is not only in New Testament times, but people living today are also capable of these good thoughts and deeds.

In this exposition of the letter to the Galatians, I have spoken about how the gospel of Christ sets man free from various stereotypes. When considered in a modern context, people today are bound by various stereotypes without realising it. On the one hand, they believe that science is all-powerful, while on the other hand, they are caught up in irrational beliefs such as ancestral cursing and bad luck. And even the seemingly rational idea that “everything ends when we die, so let’s enjoy it while we are alive” is in fact stereotypes based on normal human experience. The Bible teaches that there are blessings and judgments after death, and that suffering strengthens human beings and gives them hope. The gospel of Christ frees human beings from the stereotypes that everything ends after death and that fun is good. Then, freed from stereotypes, human beings are transformed by the Holy Spirit from a self-centred way of life to a way of life that loves God and neighbour.

And if we consider what stereotypes bind human beings in the context of this letter to the Galatians, the Old Testament ceremonial law was representative of the stereotypes that bound the believers. Namely, the teaching of the Jewish evangelists who came to the churches in the Galatian region after Paul, that one could not attain full salvation without not only believing in Christ but also undergoing the ritual of circumcision as prescribed by the Old Testament law. And that teaching was linked to the idea of basing salvation on one’s own conduct in keeping God’s law. In 5:3 of this letter, Paul says: “I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.” “The whole law” includes, of course, ethical laws such as the Ten Commandments. And as Jesus Christ said, it is not enough to keep the Ten Commandments only superficially, but one must also keep them in one’s heart.

It is impossible for a sinful person to always keep the Ten Commandments even in one’s heart. Nevertheless, the idea that a person can be saved by keeping the law and commandments is so easy to understand that it has become ingrained in our minds as a stereotype. And many people try to understand Christian teaching within the framework of such a stereotype. In other words, they think that they can be saved by fulfilling their obligation “to do something.” What the New Testament teaches, however, is that human beings are saved by faith in Christ. And this teaching is accompanied by not only the promise of salvation but also the promise of cleansing by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the promise that the Holy Spirit will be with those who believe in Christ to cleanse and guide them. Salvation of Christ and cleansing of the Holy Spirit enable us to live a life that is free and yet pleasing to God, not a life of self-centredness.

In 5:4, which precedes today’s passage, Paul says: “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” This means that anyone who tries to be justified by deeds of obedience to the Old Testament law becomes a person who has no connection with Christ, who died on the cross to atone for the sins of human beings. And that they also lose the grace of forgiveness of sins and blessings given by believing in Christ.

Then, in verse 5 of today’s passage, Paul says: “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.” This statement is accompanied by the Greek conjunction gal (γὰρ), which expresses reason. In other words, in verse 5 Paul gives the reason for what he said in verse 4. This is not expressed in the Japanese Bible, but most English Bibles include the conjunction “For” at the beginning of verse 5, meaning “because” (REB, NRSV, NIV 2011, ESV).

If we read verses 4 and 5 together, we can see what Paul is trying to contrast. On the one hand, there are those “who would be justified by the law.” These are people who seek to be counted as righteous by God through their works in keeping the Old Testament law. Such people “are severed from Christ.” In other words, it is not too much to say that they are false Christians. On the other hand, there is “we,” true Christians. This “we” refers to Paul and the believers who adhere to Paul’s teaching. And these “we” are those who “eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness” “through the Spirit, by faith.” Such people are true Christians.

The Japanese translation which we use is a poor translation, as the original Greek text has been made more difficult to understand by adding words to try to make it easier to understand. In other words, the Japanese translation is rather convoluted, meaning that Christians who have been counted as righteous by God through faith in Christ are waiting in faith through the Holy Spirit to be counted as righteous at the Last Judgement on the Last Day. However, a new translation, published by the Japan Bible Society in 2018, translates this passage more simply in line with the original Greek.

In English translation (ESV), verses 4 and 5 are as follows.

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

In English translation, the contrast between the state of the false Christian (verse 4) and the true Christian (verse 5) is clear. The false Christian way, as I mentioned earlier, is the way of trying to be counted as righteous by God by keeping the Old Testament law. In contrast, the true Christian way is the way of eagerly waiting for the hope of righteousness through the Spirit by faith. And the point of this statement is, firstly, that the true Christian is one who eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness at the Last Judgment in the Last Day. And secondly, that hope is a hope through the Holy Spirit and a hope based on faith in Christ.

So, if we venture to paraphrase what is being contrasted in verses 4 and 5 in a simple way, it can be put as follows. Those who seek to be justified by works that keep the Old Testament law are false Christians who are severed from Christ. In contrast, those who live by faith in Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, with the hope of being counted as righteous at the Last Judgement in the Last Day, are true Christians. You will remember that when we recite the Ten Commandments in worship, I always say, “We cannot keep these Commandments perfectly, however, by the help of the Holy Spirit, shall we live according to these Commandments.” The reason why I say the same thing every week is because this is really important. If you recite the Ten Commandments and think that you will be saved because you keep these Commandments, then you are those who “would be justified by the law.” But if you admit that you cannot keep these Commandments and then hope to live guided by the Holy Spirit, then this is a way of life of those who “eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness” “through the Spirit, by faith.”

In next verse 6, Paul returns to the issue of the Galatian churches, saying, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” The reason for this is that, as we have repeatedly said, the evangelists who came after Paul taught that one must not only believe in Christ but also undergo the ritual of circumcision as required by the Old Testament law in order to attain full salvation. Paul reiterates here that the presence or absence of circumcision does not matter, lest the Galatian believers be misled by that teaching. He emphasises that what is important is “faith working through love.”

The phrase “faith working through love” is very nuanced. One biblical scholar translates it as “faith that continue to invest itself in loving action.” This is a very interesting translation that expresses a subtle nuance. True faith is not resting on the fact that one is saved by faith, but investing oneself, saved by faith, in loving action, putting it into loving action.

Five hundred years ago, in the 16th century, the Catholic Church taught that souls in purgatory could be saved by buying indulgences issued by the Church. In contrast, the religious Reformers Luther and Calvin insisted on the truth that a person is justified and saved by faith alone. That is very important. And they thought that this faith was “faith working through love.” This idea indicates both that man’s salvation is attained by faith in Christ alone, not by works of keeping the law, and that those who are saved by faith are grateful and do works of love. The Reformers taught both: salvation by faith and works as the fruit of faith.

However, we know that it is surprisingly difficult to strike a balance between faith and works in real Christian life. On the one hand, there is a danger of overemphasising faith, leading to a formal life of faith without works of love. On the other hand, there is a danger of overemphasising the works of love and forgetting the faith itself, which should be the foundation. This is what happens when the old human ego tries to believe and do works. However, if we try to believe and do by the work of the Holy Spirit, then faith and action can be combined and balanced. This is because, as I mentioned earlier, those who have been given true faith by the work of the Holy Spirit and saved, also invest themselves, in works of love by the work of the Holy Spirit. And those who invest do so with hope. That hope is the hope of being counted as righteous at the Last Judgement in the Last Day. Let us pray daily for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and walk in faith and love through the Holy Spirit. And let us live with the hope of being counted as righteous in the Last Day.