Pauls letter to the GalatiansThe weakness of law verses the power of faith working through love

Whats in Galatians?Doctrinal information about salvation through faith in Christ Jesus Pauls gospel of the Grace of GodWarnings about our human tendency to want a religion based on works of law Judaism!Practical daily life lessons about living by a faith that is motivated by loveGalatians is a mini-Romans

Outline of Galatians1-2 Answer challenges to Pauls authority & the origin of his gospel 3-4 Expose the false teachings of Judaisers who perverted the truth of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus5-6 Explain the impact of faith working through love on the way we live and treat each other (what James calls be doers of the word)

Pauls 1st Journey Acts 13-14

AntiochPaul preached Jesus as Gods son, raised from the dead & salvation by faith!Acts 13:38-3938 "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;39 "and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

IconiumA great multitude of Jews and Greeks believed (14:1)

Paul & Barnabas spoke boldly and worked many miracles (14:1)Unbelieving Jews poisoned the minds of the Gentiles (14:2)City became divided (14:4)Both Jews and Gentiles made a violent attempt to abuse and stone Paul & Barnabas (14:5)Paul fled to Lystra (14:6)

LystraProbably met Timothy herePaul healed a crippled man (14:10)The people wanted to make Paul & Barnabas gods (14:11-12)Jews from Antioch and Iconium convinced the multitude to stone Paul (14:19)Disciples gathered around Paul, he rose up, and went into the city (14:20)The next day he went to Derbe

DerbePreached and made many disciples (14:21)Then returned to Lystra, Iconium and AntiochStrengthened the new disciplesWarned them: we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God (14:22)Appointed elders in every ecclesiaPaul went back to Antioch in SyriaJudaisers set out to overturn Pauls message & make Gentiles get circumcised & keep the Law

Letter to Galatians was written:From Antioch (Syrian) at a critical time when Judaisers were challenging the inclusion of Gentiles by grace. These Gentiles were not circumcised and did not keep the Law.Acts 15:1, 5 1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."

Letter to Galatians was written:Paul & Barnabas dealt with Judaisers in Antioch of Syria, but it was harder to reach the new Galatian convertsPauls authority was under attack tooProbably written between 1st and 2nd journeys, just before Jerusalem conference in Acts 15

Paul defends his AuthorityAn apostle by the will of God, not men (1:1)Judaisers claimed Paul was not one of the original apostles like Peter and JamesJesus gave him the gospel by revelation (1:12)Formerly persecuted Gods ecclesia and wanted to destroy it (1:13)God separated him from womb and called him through grace! (1:15) [cp Jer 1:5]God made Paul a preacher to Gentiles (1:16)Accepted by the other apostles (1:24)Its hard to believe how much these Judaisers discredited Paul an apostle with spirit gifts who was called directly by Christ!

No commendation:no praise, no thanksPaul wouldnt give the Galatians any basis to think it was OK to agree with the JudaisersRather than thanking God or them, in 1:6, Paul marveled they were turning away so soon to another gospelThis was a major error that would destroy all the work God had commissioned Paul to accomplishEven all the apostles, working together, could barely hold back the Judaiser movement to return to the law and circumcision

Principles of JudaismEmphasizes procedures that we must do to be savedLeads to comparing ourselves with others and judge othersMotivated by a work/payment system: I do, therefore I earn Hard to refute because it relies heavily on the Bible, especially the LawClaimed that even Jesus kept the Law, so we should too!Not motivated by love!The NT contains a lot more warnings about Judaism (legalism) than it does about liberalism!

Simple example of Judaism (legalism)A husband and wife do family Bible readings together after dinner.The husband checks off his Bible companion, reads quickly, thinking about what he wants to do when the readings are over.The wife considers each reading, looking for lessons and answers to solve issues shes facing in her family.Both satisfied the requirement to read the word, one as a legal requirement, the other out of love for Gods ways.

Galatians balances JamesFaith working through Love (Gal 5:6)Liberals: Christ did it all, so I dont need to do anything or changeJudaisers: I must work to earn my salvationGod has forgiven us in Christ. We follow Christs example & live for God and his family because of our love for them.James corrects thisGalatians corrects this

Pauls authority (1:1)An apostle not of man but by Jesus Christ & God the FatherThe same God who raised Jesus from the deadGod the Father of us all (v.3,4) a theme Paul will pick up again in Gal 3The Law treated Israelites as slaves, but grace offers us adoption into the family of God as sons and daughters!

Grace and Peace (v.3)Grace (a Gentile term) the undeserved kindness of our loving Father who desired to save usPeace (a Jewish term) the wonderful relationship we now have with our Father because He has adopted us as His childrenJesus Christ gave himself for our sins willinglyAll according to the will of God

Turning away to a different GospelO foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? (3:1)So soon implies Paul wrote this letter soon after his 1st journeyTurning away from God not Paul (v.6)Some who trouble you = JudaisersDifferent gospel based on works of law, not faith in Jesus Christ (2 Cor 11:4 another Jesus)Angel from heaven: some claimed angels taught them in visions (Col 2:18)Let him be accursed (8 & 9) this is a critical issue

Challenges to PaulPaul is just trying to please people the GentilesPaul got his gospel from Peter and other apostles in JerusalemPaul is inconsistent: he circumcised Timothy, not TitusPauls Defense:He tries to please God as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ (v.10)God separated him from birth (v.15)He got his gospel direct from Jesus Christ (12)He spent little time in Jerusalem or with apostles (16-24)God told him to go to Jerusalem by revelation (2:2)Pauls mission was to the uncircumcised (2:7-9)

Origin of Pauls Gospel11-12 Jesus Christ taught Paul direct13-14 Paul didnt get his gospel from his earlier life15-17 Paul didnt get his gospel from other teachers18-24 Only stayed in Jerusalem 15 days during his first visit, and had limited contact with Peter and James

Pauls mission is not personalHe personally persecuted Gods ecclesia & tried to destroy it (v.13)Paul was zealous for the traditions of the fathers (v.14) no man could have changed him!God called Paul through His grace (v.15)God decided to reveal His Son in Paul, so he could preach to Gentiles (v.16)God is responsible for Pauls mission! God wanted Paul to show Gentiles how Jesus Christ lived.

A warning to usbecause we all do make many mistakesIts easy and tempting to attack the motives and authority of our brothers and sisters when we have disagreementsIts easy and tempting to gather ecclesial support for ourselves when we have disagreements with othersResist the temptation aim for unity & peace (on most issues)Pray for understanding of our doctrines and principles so we can present Gods gospel, not our own.

In Galatians 2 we will continue with Pauls defense of the Gospel of Grace