Category Archives: Galatians

The first people to become followers of Christ were Jews. When non-Jewish people wanted to follow Him, the question arose whether they would have to obey the Law of Moses in addition to following Christ. In his letter to the churches in the Roman province of Galatia, the Apostle Paul argues that the gospel is distinct from the Law. Those who follow Christ are not obligated to keep the Law. He also related how the Apostles in Jerusalem agreed and did not force circumcision on converts who were not Jewish.

But this raises another question. Is freedom from keeping the Law only for non-Jews or is it a general principle which applies to everyone? In chapter 2, verses 11 through 14, Paul writes, “But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews joined him in his hypocrisy; so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they didn’t walk uprightly according to the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live as the Gentiles do, and not as the Jews do, why do you compel the Gentiles to live as the Jews do?””

The book of Acts, chapter 10, informs us that it was through the Apostle Peter that the gospel of Christ was first preached to non-Jewish people at the house of Cornelius. God had revealed to Peter that He grants salvation to non-Jewish people as well as to Jews. Later, at the council in Jerusalem where the church met to discuss whether non-Jewish followers of Christ had to keep the Law of Moses, Peter spoke in their favor. By eating with the non-Jewish followers of Christ at Antioch, Peter not only upheld the decision which had been reached at Jerusalem regarding non-Jews, but demonstrated that Jewish followers of Christ did not have to keep the Law of Moses either.

It was only when some visitors came from Jerusalem that Peter stopped eating with the non-Jewish Christians. Paul writes that the reason Peter did this was because of fear. He apparently was afraid that he would lose the respect of the Jewish followers of Christ in Jerusalem if they knew that he was not keeping the Law of Moses. Just as his fear had led him to deny Christ just before the crucifixion, his fear now led him to turn away from his brothers in Christ at Antioch and try to deceive the brothers from Jerusalem.

What made Peter’s actions especially reprehensible was that he was regarded by many to be the most prominent of the Apostles. His influence and example caused others to separate themselves from their non-Jewish brothers. Even Barnabas, who had championed the cause of non-Jewish believers, pulled away from them as a result of Peter’s example. In this way, Peter caused division in the church.

When Paul realized what was happening, he rebuked Peter publicly. Public sin deserves a public rebuke – especially in the case of leaders. Though Peter’s weakness caused the problem, it is a measure of his greatness that he accepted the rebuke. Writing many years later, Peter refers to the Apostle Paul as his “dear brother.” (2 Peter 3:15)

But why was Paul so adamant that the followers of Christ, even Jewish believers, were not obligated to keep the Law? In verses 15 through 21 he writes, “We, being Jews by nature, and not Gentile sinners, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law. But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a law-breaker. For I, through the law, died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me. That life which I now
live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. I don’t make void the grace of God. For if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing!”

In this passage, Paul points out that the Law is incapable of meeting our need. Once a person has sinned, the Law has no means of reconciling him to God. It makes no difference whether a person is is a Jew or not. The only way to become reconciled to God is through Jesus Christ.

But this raises a question. If we remove the necessity of keeping the Law of Moses then what prevents someone from sinning? And, if the code of conduct is removed, does that mean that following Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, Paul writes that to turn one’s back on the grace of Christ and return to trying to justify oneself by keeping the Law of Moses is itself a sin. This is precisely what Peter had done when he refused to eat with the non-Jewish followers of Christ.

To revert to the Law not only is sin, it fails to recognize the very purpose for the Law. As Paul writes in chapter 3 of this letter, “…the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24 NIV) For those who follow Christ, the Law has served its purpose. They have died to the Law and now live for God.

This answers the question about what prevents someone from sinning if he no longer follows the Law. Paul writes that Christ lives in him. In other words, if someone follows Christ, his very nature is transformed. His old self is crucified with Christ, and he obtains a new nature. Just as Christ was sinless so, too, the person who has Christ living in him will avoid sin – not because he follows a code of conduct, but because it is his nature to do what is right.

The Law of Moses was given by God. Therefore some might think that to abandon the Law is to turn one’s back on God’s grace. But this is not so. It is God who sent Jesus to grant the righteousness the Law cannot give. If the Law was capable of making us righteous then there was no need for Christ to die.

The real question is whether we will keep on trying to obtain righteousness through something which can never provide it, or whether we will accept the righteousness of Christ.

Suppose that you wish to travel to a certain place. If there is only one path by which you can reach that place, it is obvious that anyone who points you to a different way is leading you astray. If you follow what they say, you will not reach your destination. This is why the Apostle Paul got so upset with people who taught a different message of salvation than he did. Their teaching led to condemnation instead of eternal life.

In the first chapter of his letter to the churches in the Roman province of Galatia, the Apostle Paul explained that, contrary to the accusation that he taught an inferior gospel, he had received the gospel directly by revelation from Christ. To prove this, Paul pointed out the he had not even met the other Apostles from whom he could have learned the gospel until three years after he became a follower of Christ.

Paul’s accusers raised another question: They claimed that what Paul taught was different than the gospel of the other Apostles. In order to refute this, Paul writes in chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, “Then after a period of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. I went up by revelation, and I laid before them the Good News which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were respected, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. This was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage; to whom we gave no place in the way of subjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the Good News might continue with you. But from those who were reputed to be important (whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God doesn’t show partiality to man) – they, I say, who were respected imparted nothing to me, but to the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the Good News for the circumcision (for he who appointed Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision appointed me also to the Gentiles); and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision. They only asked us to remember the poor – which very thing I was also zealous to do.”

The contention of Paul’s accusers was that in order to be saved from sin, it is necessary to keep the Law of Moses as well as follow Christ. According to the Law, unless a male was circumcised, he was excluded from the covenant relationship with God which the Jewish people enjoyed. Paul taught that Jesus Christ had fulfilled the Law. Therefore, when someone became a follower of Christ, he was no longer obligated to keep the Law or be circumcised.

In order to settle this matter, God directed Paul to go to Jerusalem to confer with the other Apostles. Along with Barnabas, he took another follower of Christ, named Titus, with him. Titus was not a Jew and he had not been circumcised. The leaders in Jerusalem fully supported Paul’s teaching and regarded Titus as a true follower of Christ even though he had not been circumcised.

Paul writes that he set the gospel he preached before the leaders of the Jerusalem church out of concern that his ministry might have been in vain. Paul did not need the approval or authorization of Jerusalem for what he taught. No, he had received his gospel directly from Christ. But, a lack of harmony and agreement between Paul and the Jerusalem leaders would have divided the church and been disastrous. Therefore, it must have been a great comfort to Paul to find that the Apostles in Jerusalem agreed with him on all points. They did not try to bind the Mosaic Law on Titus or, therefore, on any other non-Jewish follower of Christ. As for those people who tried to force the Law on converts, Paul calls them false brothers who had infiltrated the church. In other words, though they had the name, in reality, they were not followers of Christ and were trying to destroy the freedom of those who did follow Christ.

In addition to the private meeting which Paul had with the leaders in Jerusalem, the book of Acts, chapter 15, records that the matter of whether non-Jewish followers of Christ were required to keep the Law of Moses was brought before the entire church. Not only the leaders, but the entire church agreed with Paul. They sent a letter to the other churches to confirm the decision that followers of Christ do not have to keep the Law as well.

Since the church in Jerusalem had already issued a ruling on the question, why didn’t Paul simply refer the churches to the letter which Jerusalem had sent? No doubt that would have answered the false teachers and reassured the churches which were falling under their influence. Perhaps the reason Paul did not do this is that he was more concerned about principle than one specific case. In the rest of his letter Paul points out that salvation is not obtained by following law but by faith. To free people from keeping the Law of Moses by using the verdict of the Jerusalem church as a law would merely exchange one form of law for another. Paul wanted people to realize that following Christ frees us from trying to keep a system of law altogether. Salvation does not depend on our efforts, but what Christ has done for us.

In verse 6, Paul writes that the leaders in Jerusalem did not add anything to his message. They were already in total agreement. When the Jerusalem leaders recognized this, they welcomed Paul and Barnabas as full equals. The only difference was that Christ had given them different tasks. Paul was to preach to non-Jewish people while their role was to preach to the Jews. They did not ask Paul and Barnabas to change their message in any way. They only requested them to remember the poor. This was not so much a plea for financial aid as it was a plea for unity between the Jewish and non-Jewish parts of the church. This was what Paul already desired.

Some decisions are not that important. For example, it probably won’t make much difference what color of shirt you decide to wear today. On the other hand, what we decide in regard to salvation is of extreme importance. How tragic it would be to stand before God at the judgment only to find out that we have not done what He wanted us to do. A wrong choice in this life will result in being separated from God forever. This is why the Apostle Paul became so upset at those who taught a different message than the one he preached.

Some men came to the churches which Paul had established in the Roman province of Galatia and taught that following Christ is not sufficient to obtain salvation. They said that it was also necessary to obey the Law of Moses. In a letter to these churches, Paul stressed that to accept a different gospel, that is a different message about salvation, than the one he had taught would bring God’s condemnation.

But how can we know that the gospel which Paul preached is the correct one? How do we know that he did not teach some doctrine of salvation invented by man? In answer to these questions Paul writes in chapter 1, verses 11 through 24 of his letter: “But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God, and ravaged it. I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up
to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days. But of the other apostles I saw no one, except James, the Lord’s brother. Now about the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I’m not lying. Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ, but they only heard: “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God in me.”

In this passage Paul gives three reasons why we can trust the gospel message which he preached. The first is that it is not of human origin. In other words, it is not based on man’s thought or philosophy.

Another reason we can trust what Paul taught is that he did not receive the gospel from another man. In other words, there was no opportunity for the message to be changed or distorted by someone before Paul heard it.

A third reason to trust the gospel which Paul preached is that he was not taught it. On the contrary, Paul received the gospel directly from Jesus Christ. In verse 1 of this letter Paul wrote that he was sent as an Apostle by Christ. It is fitting that one sent by Christ should receive his message directly from Christ as well.

The false teachers were saying that Paul, and the message he preached were inferior to the other Apostles and the gospel they preached because he was not one of those who had been with Christ during His earthly ministry. But Paul not only received the gospel from Christ, he received it by means of revelation just as the other Apostles had.

To assure the churches of the truth that he had received the gospel directly from Christ, and not from one of the other Apostles, Paul tells them something of his personal history. Paul was not always a follower of Christ. On the contrary, he was an enemy of all who were. In another place he said, “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.” (Acts 26:9-11 NIV)

Not only was Paul an enemy of the followers of Christ, he was extremely zealous about following the Law of Moses and the traditions of the Jewish people. If anyone would have advocated that someone should follow the Law, it was Paul. The reason he persecuted the followers of Christ was that he felt that they were turning away from the Law to falsehood. It was only upon meeting the risen Christ that Paul realized that it was he, and not the followers of Christ, who was wrong. Upon realizing his mistake and himself becoming a follower of Christ, Paul began to preach the faith that he had tried to destroy. But instead of going to Jerusalem to see the Apostles, Paul preached in Damascus where he had been converted and also went to Arabia. At this point in history, Arabia controlled regions near Damascus and, presumably, this is the part of Arabia Paul visited.

It is significant that Paul had no contact with any of the other Apostles until three years after his conversion. The fact that he did not consult with, nor received training from the other Apostles, proves that he received the gospel from Christ, Himself. When Paul did go to Jerusalem, it was not for training, but to become acquainted with Peter. After only 15 days he left for Cilicia and Syria. Obviously, 15 days was not enough time to obtain the extensive knowledge of the gospel which Paul had. This again proves that Paul did not receive the gospel from a man.

From where does the impulse to seek salvation come? Is it from within ourselves, or does God call us? How can we obtain salvation? Through our own efforts, or by the grace of God? In his letter to the followers of Christ in the Roman province of Galatia, the Apostle Paul emphatically insists that it is God who calls us and we are saved, not by our own efforts to keep a law, but by the grace of God. No doubt we have a responsibility to respond to God’s call; no doubt we must live holy lives, but we can never earn salvation. Because we are saved by God’s work, and not our own, it is extremely important that we not change the message of salvation, that is the gospel, in any way. To change the message is to turn away from the offer of salvation which God grants us.

Some people came to the churches in Galatia and began to teach a different message than the one Paul had given. They said that Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf was not sufficient. In order to obtain salvation it is also necessary to obey the Law of Moses. This teaching threw the churches into confusion and caused many to question what they had been taught. Paul responded very forcefully to this situation. In Galatians chapter 1, verses 6 through 10 he writes, “I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”; and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and want to pervert the Good News of Christ. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.”

To turn away from the gospel, that is the good news, which Paul preached is, in reality, to turn away from the Person who calls us to salvation through that gospel. The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the truth that it is God who calls us. For example, in 1 Corinthians 1:9 it says, “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” (NIV) What Paul is saying is that to reject the gospel which he preached, is to reject God.

In view of this, Paul was astonished that the Galatians not only were at the point of turning away from the gospel, but that they were doing so, so quickly after the gospel had been preached to them. How could they turn from the gospel of salvation to some other gospel? In reality, as Paul points out, this other message is not ‘good news’ at all because it is not premised on the grace of Christ.

Since this other message is not based on God’s call to the grace of Christ, why were people beginning to listen to it? The basic reason is that they were being deceived. Paul writes that false teachers, who themselves were not part of the churches in Galatia but had come to them from the outside, were troubling or confusing the followers of Christ. These teachers called their message the gospel even though it was not a gospel at all. This was not an honest mistake. Paul writes that these false teachers wanted to pervert the gospel, that is change the gospel into something else. It is worth noting that these teachers had not yet succeeded in their schemes. However, the situation in the churches was critical.

It is probable that these teachers were Jews from Judea or Jerusalem. Since the church came into being in Jerusalem, these people probably claimed that, in contrast to Paul, they knew the true gospel and represented the true church. This is very similar to the situation recorded in Acts, chapter 15, verse 1, “Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”” (NIV) When the church in Jerusalem found out what these men were doing, it repudiated them. It wrote to the church in Antioch, “We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.” (Acts 15:24 NIV)

But even if a teacher’s claims about his qualifications and authority are true, Paul points out that is not the messenger, but the message which is important. He writes that even an angel from heaven is not authorized or justified in promoting a false gospel. Should anyone do so, even if he is an angel from heaven, that person is condemned.

It does not matter what family or heritage a teacher has. It does not matter what seminary he went to or how many degrees he has. It does not matter whether he holds a prestigious position or title. If his message does not agree with the gospel of Christ, then he is a false teacher and is under God’s condemnation. We all need to ask ourselves, “Are the teachers and the message I listen to in harmony with the gospel of Christ?”

It appears that one of the accusations which was being made against Paul was that he had simplified and softened the gospel in order to make it more appealing to people. Paul points out that if he were trying to win the approval of people, he would not write as he has. Instead of strong condemnation, he would have used conciliatory language. But winning the approval of people was not Paul’s purpose. Instead he wanted the approval of God. It should be obvious that one does not win the approval of God by changing or distorting His message.

In verse 10, Paul repeats what he said in verse 1, that he is a servant of Christ. If Christ is our Master, then it follows that we will do what He wants even at the cost of displeasing men. On the other hand, as Paul says, if our goal is to please men we cannot serve Christ. Who is our Master? Is it Christ? Are we faithful to Him and His message, or are we controlled by the desire to do what will make people happy with us? Is it our desire to be faithful to Christ, or to be popular?

Perhaps the most important question we can ask is how to be at peace with God. We might ask the same question in other ways, such as, “How can I go to heaven?” or, “How can my sins be forgiven?” No matter how we ask it, the basic concern is what will happen to us after this life is over. Will God accept us or will He consign us to eternal punishment?

In answer to this question, almost all religions tell us to do good deeds. For example, the basic principle of the Law of Moses is, “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.” (Galatians 3:10, Deuteronomy 27:26) and, “The man who does them will live by them.” (Galatians 3:12, Leviticus 18:5)

The problem with this approach is that no one is capable of keeping a system of law perfectly. We all do what is wrong. We neglect to do what is right. We all sin. Some say that God will still accept us if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds. Even if this were true, how could we ever know if we have done enough to please God? How much evil will He excuse? But a deeper problem with this approach is that it has no means to remove the guilt we have incurred by doing wrong. God is perfectly just and holy. He cannot excuse any wrongdoing no matter how small it is. No, if we do something good, it is only what God expects of us. We can never do more good than we should. We are incapable of doing extra good deeds, in addition to the good we ought to already be doing, to compensate for the wrong we have done.

The basis of salvation in Christianity is entirely different. We are not saved because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done on our behalf. The sinless and perfect Jesus sacrificed Himself for us, the sinful and imperfect. That Christ has paid our debt is truly good news, for we are incapable of ever paying it on our own.

The book of Acts in the New Testament tells of how the Apostle Paul traveled from place to place telling people about this good news. Many accepted his teaching gladly and many churches came into existence because of this. One area where Paul preached the good news was the Roman province of Galatia which was located in the central part of the country we know today as Turkey. Unfortunately, not long after Paul left Galatia, others came and began to teach that in order to be a Christian, it is also necessary to obey the Law of Moses. In other words, the righteousness of Christ is not sufficient to save, our salvation also depends upon us obeying a list of rules.

Not only did these men teach a different doctrine of salvation, they tried to discredit Paul. They said that Paul was not an apostle of God. In other words, they claimed that Paul’s message was not from God, and he did not have authority to teach what he did.

To counteract these accusations and, more importantly, to reaffirm the gospel message which he had taught, Paul wrote a letter to the churches in Galatia. In his greeting Paul counters the accusations head-on:

“Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead), and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father – to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

The meaning of the word ‘apostle’ is ‘one who is sent.’ To those who claimed that Paul was speaking on his own, he reaffirmed that he was indeed sent. The message he preached was not his own. Paul further declared that he was not sent by any man. By saying this, Paul distanced himself from false apostles – those who are not appointed by God.

In contrast to false apostles, Paul writes that he was appointed directly by Jesus and by God. By linking Jesus and God, Paul demonstrates the oneness between them. To be chosen and commissioned by Christ is the same as being chosen and commissioned by God. Moreover, by referring to Christ’s resurrection, Paul is grounding his appointment as an apostle in history. No doubt he is referring to the incident recorded in the book of Acts, chapters 9, 22 and 26 where Paul encountered the risen Christ and was given his task. Jesus told him “…I am sending you to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:16-18 NIV)

In his greeting to the Galatians, Paul mentions “ all the brothers who are with me.” This seems somewhat strange because Paul writes the letter in the first person and does not include others in the final greeting. If others contributed to the writing of the letter then why doesn’t Paul mention their names as he does in other letters? Though we cannot know for certain, here is one possibility: Though he was a long ways away from the area Paul was fully informed about the situation in the churches in Galatia. It is possible that the churches sent a delegation to Paul to tell him about the teachers who had come in, and to ask his advice. If this is the case, then it is probable that what Paul is saying is that his letter has the full endorsement of the delegation which had been sent to him. It is also probable that the letter was sent back to the churches by means of this delegation.

Paul prays that the churches experience grace and peace. One of the major themes of this letter is that peace and reconciliation with God comes through grace and not through keeping a law. It comes through Christ, not by righteous works which we perform.

In the next phrase of his greeting, Paul emphasizes that Jesus “ gave himself for our sins.” This is the heart of the gospel message which Paul preached. He further writes that, contrary to what the false teachers were saying, this means of rescuing us is according to God’s will.