Note 2 at Gal. 6:12: First Samuel 16:7 says, ". . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Those who see the way God sees are more concerned with the condition of the heart than they are a person's actions. But those who are carnal are always focused on actions instead of attitudes. The NIV translation confirms this by translating this verse, "Those who want to make a good impression outwardly. . . ."

That's the way these Judaizers were. They hadn't even noticed the wonderful work that God had done in the hearts of these Galatians through the ministry of Paul. All they could see was what they hadn't done. Likewise today, legalists are so focused on outward acts that they often fail to see the deeper, more important work that the Holy Spirit does in a person's heart. If someone hasn't been baptized according to their tradition or doesn't worship after their form, it doesn't matter how much they love the Lord, the legalist pronounces them unclean.

Carnal people are consumed with carnal (external) things. They can't believe that God can accept anyone who isn't holy according to their standards. However, spiritual people are consumed with spiritual (internal) things. They recognize that holiness is a fruit, not a root of salvation (Rom. 6:22).

Note 3 at Gal. 6:12: The Judaizers (see note 2 at Gal. 1:1, p. 1052) were trying to escape persecution from their Jewish brethren who still believed Christians had to keep the law (see note 4 at Acts 23:6, p. 710). They maintained that if they showed the Jews that the way of salvation was still the law they could be accepted by them. So they were trying to force circumcision upon the church (Jews and Gentiles) as a "faith plus works" method of salvation. This would avoid the persecution that would come if they acknowledged that salvation comes only through Jesus and Him crucified.

The Simple English Bible translates this, "Some men are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do these things, so that the Jewish people will accept them, fearing they will be persecuted, if they follow only the cross of Christ."