Galatians 6:12

As many. Paul specifies the false teachers with whose teachings he has been concerned throughout the epistle.

A fair shew. They wanted tangible, physical evidence of the success of their efforts. This could be accomplished by turning the Christians back to certain observances of the law, particularly circumcision, which had met their fulfillment in the gospel.

Lest they should suffer. This pretended zeal of the false teachers does not arise so much from genuine love for the cause they represent as from a desire to avoid persecution from their brethren, the Jews. If they express loyalty to Jewish ceremonies such as circumcision, they will not be essentially different from other Jews, and can thus avoid the persecution visited upon Paul and other Christian leaders. By this type of compromise, they were, perhaps, attempting to blend Christianity and Judaism. The remarkable success of this scheme in the churches of Galatia provides an interesting comment on the effect of religious compromise in the 1st century. Similar compromises between truth and error have been attempted since then, with more permanent results. The fear of ridicule and persecution is still responsible for compromise in teaching and in practice. The pure gospel is never popular with the majority, which is satisfied with the mere form of godliness without its power (see 2 Tim. 3:5).