Galatians
6:17 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
This is the conclusion. The Galatians were being troubled by Judaizers that they needed to be circumcised. Paul was a Judaizer, though he wanted the Christians imprisoned and executed. But when that failed they came up with plan B which was "Jesus + something". This is the mark of every cult, you need "Jesus + something" to be truly saved.
14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
But Paul has gotten the revelation that all he needs for salvation is the cross of Christ. Circumcision was a sign that there was a covenant between Abraham and God. He cut off a piece of his flesh as a sign of that covenant. It is similar to the reason people wear a wedding ring. It is a sign that you are not available, you are already spoken for. Marriage is a covenant and the ring is a sign of that covenant. When Jesus died on the cross He made a covenant with us. The sign of that covenant is a new creature. Paul said he bears the marks of Jesus in his body. He was stoned and whipped for preaching the gospel. That is the real sign that Paul belongs to Jesus. There are a whole bunch of people who have been circumcised that don't belong to Jesus, so that is meaningless.
5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Many can claim to bear the cross of Christ, but are you desirous of vain glory? Do you provoke others? Do you envy others? That is the proof that you are not in the new creation.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
This is what it means to bear the cross of Christ.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest
Paul lists the works of the flesh. Circumcision cuts off a piece of your flesh to indicate you now belong to God and are no longer in the flesh. But it is powerless to actually do anything. However, the cross of Christ working on our heart does change us. It does have the power for us to actually crucify the flesh with the passions and lusts.
which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
When Paul says you shall not inherit the kingdom of God that means you shall surely not be raptured prior to the tribulation. Imagine you claim to have taken up your cross and follow the Lord yet when He returns He finds you committing adultery, or fornication, or uncleanness, or lasciviousness. Do you think you will be raptured? What if you are involved in Idolatry or witchcraft? This would be like your fiance coming to your home and finding you with another man. That is why Moses broke the ten commandments. God was saying the marriage is off. Now if the Lord were to return on Christmas Eve or Easter morning that would be a gray area. Sure, there are many genuine believers who are worshipping the Lord at that time and many nominal Christians who are going to church but have not crucified the flesh with the passions and lusts. But if the Lord were to return right before Halloween, there is no gray area. Either you are involved in idolatry and witchcraft, or you aren't.
This is where "Jesus + something" comes in. You might think getting circumcised is a small thing and there are health benefits to it. Fair enough, but that isn't what the Judaizers were saying. They were saying if you don't get circumcised you aren't truly saved. Circumcision is a sign given to believing Abraham that he had a covenant with God. They would show you in the bible how you have to be circumcised. OK, but that is part of the covenant made on Mount Sinai and that is not the covenant you made with Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Once you accept the logic that if the Old Testament says we have to do it then we have to do it, well the Old Testament says you have to do a lot of things. With that same logic you will be brought into bondage. Soon Jesus won't profit you at all, you will be a slave to the OT law. You will have to eat kosher food. That may seem like another small step since Kosher food can be healthy. OK, but how about your parents, how about your relatives? Are they kosher? Because once you are to eat Kosher you cannot even eat from a kitchen that is not kosher. This is what happened with Peter. Imagine the hypocrisy of this, it was Peter who first got the vision that the cross of Christ had cleansed all the people and that the gospel had gone to the gentiles just as it had gone to the Jews.
But let's not worry about Peter, I'm sure Peter will be in heaven. What about us? When you were first saved did you realize how evil and sinful and satanic the world was? I was repulsed by the music I was listening to and burned all my albums. Imagine if after burning an Album by Black Sabbath I were to then be found at a Black Sabbath concert when the Lord returns? Imagine the hypocrisy of that. Imagine a believer who condemns witchcraft and yet their child is dressed up to go out on Halloween with their friends, one of whom is dressed up as Harry Potter and another as a witch? Is that not the same hypocrisy?