Note 7 at Gal. 6:15: This was a radical statement to the Jews of Paul's day (see note 4 at Rom. 3:19, p. 757). They believed salvation could not be obtained without adhering to the commands of the Old Testament law, of which circumcision (see ref. c at v. 12, p. 1089) was considered to be the foundation. This would be the equivalent of saying to some religious people today, "Church membership, water baptism, holiness, and so forth doesn't matter. The only thing that counts is being born again" (see note 2 at Jn. 3:3, p. 92). Religious rites mean nothing. The only thing that counts is becoming a new creation (see notes 8-9 at 2 Cor. 5:17, p. 1005).