Galatians 5:2

King James Version (KJV)

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

If ye be circumcised - By circumcision you take on you the whole obligation of the Jewish law, and consequently profess to seek salvation by means of its observances; and therefore Christ can profit you nothing; for, by seeking justification by the works of the law, you renounce justification by faith in Christ.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

Behold, I Paul say unto you - I, who at first preached the gospel to you; I, too, who have been circumcised, and who was formerly a strenuous assertor of the necessity of observing the laws of Moses; and I, too, who am charged (see Galatians 5:11) with still preaching the necessity of circumcision, now solemnly say to you, that if you are circumcised with a view to being justified by that in whole or in part, it amounts to a rejection of the doctrine of justification by Christ, and an entire apostacy from him. He is to be “a whole Saviour.” No one is to share with him in the honor of saving people; and no rite, no custom, no observance of law, is to divide the honor with his death. The design of Paul is to give them the most solemn assurance on this point; and by his own authority and experience to guard them from the danger, and to put the matter to rest.

That if ye be circumcised - This must be understood with reference to the subject under consideration. If you are circumcised with such a view as is maintained by the false teachers that have come among you; that is, with an idea that it is necessary in order to your justification. He evidently did not mean that if any of them had been circumcised before their conversion to Christianity; nor could he mean to say, that circumcision in all cases amounted to a rejection of Christianity, for he had himself procured the circumcision of Timothy, Acts 16:3. If it was done, as it was then, for prudential considerations, and with a wish not necessarily to irritate the Jews, and to give one a more ready access to them, it was not to be regarded as wrong. But if, as the false teachers in Galatia claimed, as a thing essential to salvation, as indispensable to justification and acceptance with God, then the matter assumed a different aspect; and then it became in fact a renouncing of Christ as himself sufficient to save us. So with anything else. Rites and ceremonies in religion may be in themselves well enough, if they are held to be matters not essential; but the moment they are regarded as vital and essential, that moment they begin to infringe on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and that moment they are to be rejected; and it is because of the danger that this will be the case, that they are to be used sparingly in the Christian church. Who does not know the danger of depending upon prayers, and alms, and the sacraments, and extreme unction, and penance, and empty forms for salvation? And who does not know how much in the papal communion the great doctrine of justification has been obscured by numberless such rites and forms?

Christ shall profit you nothing - Will be of no advantage to you. Your dependence on circumcision, in these circumstances, will in fact amount to a rejection of the Saviour, and of the doctrine of justification by him.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Christ will not be the Saviour of any who will not own and rely upon him as their only Saviour. Let us take heed to the warnings and persuasions of the apostle to stedfastness in the doctrine and liberty of the gospel. All true Christians, being taught by the Holy Spirit, wait for eternal life, the reward of righteousness, and the object of their hope, as the gift of God by faith in Christ; and not for the sake of their own works. The Jewish convert might observe the ceremonies or assert his liberty, the Gentile might disregard them or might attend to them, provided he did not depend upon them. No outward privileges or profession will avail to acceptance with God, without sincere faith in our Lord Jesus. True faith is a working grace; it works by love to God, and to our brethren. May we be of the number of those who, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. The danger of old was not in things of no consequence in themselves, as many forms and observances now are. But without faith working by love, all else is worthless, and compared with it other things are of small value.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

2. I Paul. The apostle places himself on record and speaks with full apostolic authority. To remain silent in this crisis would make him a traitor before Christ, who had entrusted the care of the churches to him (cf. 2 Tim. 4:1, 2). He received his authority from Christ (see on Gal. 1:11, 12), and expects to be recognized as God’s representative, speaking in God’s stead (see on 2 Cor. 5:19, 20). When the occasion demanded it, Paul asserted his authority without fear or boasting (cf. 1 Cor. 5:3-5; 2 Cor. 13:1-4).

If ye be circumcised. It is as if Paul was saying, “You know that I was once a strict Jew, a firm believer in the rites and ceremonies of Judaism” (Acts 26:5). The issue is clear, the situation is critical. Paul considers that firmness is needed to keep some who are on the point of Judaizing, from doing so. He does not mean that one who has accepted circumcision is thereby prevented from becoming a Christian. He himself was circumcised. If some of the Galatians have already accepted circumcision, they can, like him, consider their circumcision to be “uncircumcision” (1 Cor. 7:18-20). But if some are contemplating circumcision in the hope of attaining to a higher experience of righteousness by faith, let them take warning See on Rom. 4:9-13.

Profit you nothing. The promises of God belong only to those who accept them by faith, not to those who set out to earn them by their own merits. The righteous works of man are without value in the bank of heaven (see Isa. 64:6). Righteousness by works is utterly incompatible with righteousness by faith. What has been earned cannot be received as if it were a gift (Rom. 4:4, 5; 11:6). How insistent Paul is that this fact be recognized. The “works of the law” (see on Rom. 2:12; Gal. 2:16) are altogether unprofitable as a means to salvation (see on Gal. 3:19). For the application of the principle here stated to Christians today see p. 934.

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Ellen G. White
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6 (EGW), 1110-1

God would have every member of His creation understand the great work of the infinite Son of God in giving His life for the salvation of the world. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.” 6BC 1110.1

When he sees in Christ the embodiment of infinite and disinterested love and benevolence, there is awakened in the heart of the sinner a thankful disposition to follow where Christ is drawing (Manuscript 87, 1900). 6BC 1110.2

Especially the Moral Law—“The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” In this scripture, the Holy Spirit through the apostle is speaking especially of the moral law. The law reveals sin to us, and causes us to feel our need of Christ, and to flee unto Him for pardon and peace by exercising repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.... 6BC 1110.3

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Cross References

I Paul

that