Galatians - Overview

Introduction

• In the next several weeks, we are going to deep dive into the book of Galatians.  The message on WISDOM last week was a good transition to this book that was written to the churches in Galatia.

• Overview of Galatians: we’re not going to dive into specific chapters or verses as Jerry will cover many in the coming weeks but I am going to set the stage for you all; a “preview before the main attraction.”

  • A quick background on the Apostle Paul (author of Galatians) and WHY he wrote When Galatians was written and what was happening in the area at the time

  • Galatians

  • How the letter is structured….key themes and messages

  • Summarize what we can gain from the knowledge shared by Paul in this letter. 

• One of the verses Jerry spoke about last week is Proverbs 2:6 – For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.  We will see in Galatians how Paul re-directs the people of Galatia to the words of God, and not the words of man.  True WISDOM!

The backdrop of Galatians

• Chronologically, Galatians is likely the first book of the New Testament.

  • Written sometime between 47-50 AD (Theologians generally agree in this timeframe)

  • Galatians derives the title from the region that Paul was writing to; located in the region Asia Minor which is essentially modern-day Turkey.

  • Galatians is one of 13 inspired letters (or epistles) that he addressed to Gentile congregations and fellow Christians.

  • Quick background on Apostle Paul:

    • Born in Tarsus, near Galatia…named Saul

    • Raised as a member in an ultra-orthodox sect of Pharisees and a “rising star.” He was a Jew but also a Roman citizen.

    • Confronted by Jesus as he was on his way to Damascus from Jerusalem to persecute Christians around 35 AD.  Note: This wasn’t a “physical” interaction, Jesus spoke directly to Paul (Saul) from Heaven.  That interaction turned Paul from Christianity’s chief persecutor to its greatest missionary.

    • Throughout the New Testament we read about Paul’s missionary journeys and how he spread the word of Christianity that started with a small group of Jewish believers and grew into an empire-wide phenomenon.

      
      

• Paul founded the churches in Galatia on earlier missionary journeys, preaching and standing on the firm foundation that they were free in Christ, and that they did not have to rely on Jewish law to redeem them once they became Christians.  He preached that Jesus required nothing else from us.  Not works, not good behavior.

• Christianity had begun as a Jewish messianic movement in Jerusalem, its message was for all humanity, so it quickly spread beyond Israel.  By the time Paul became a missionary, there were likely as many non-Jews as there were Jewish people in the Jesus movement.

• This conflict of cultures began to spark major debate and came to a head in the events recounted in Acts 15.

  
  

•  So what was the debate?

  •  Covenant people of God were from one nation (Israel) and they were “set apart” by practices commanded in the Law (Torah).  According to them, it simply wasn’t possible to be God’s people without observing Jewish laws.  Like eating kosher, observing the Sabbath and yes, circumcision of males were still requirements to be a Christian.

  • This conflicted with the promises that Paul preached about.  That was a flawed understanding.  The New Covenant is one only needed to accept the gift of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, know that He died on the cross for our sins and through that sacrifice, we are saved and can experience eternal life with Him.

    
    

Why is Paul writing this letter?

• This conflict leads us to the reason that Paul is writing this letter to the Galatians.

  • The Galatian churches in a very short time, fell into a theological crisis.  They had been infiltrated by false teachers who for selfish reasons began to teach things other than the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel that Paul had given to them, and the foundation for which the churches were founded.

  • These false teachers were instructing the people of Galatia that for non-Jews to be saved, they needed to obey the laws of the Torah as well; being saved by grace was not enough.  Essentially, they needed to adopt and adhere to all Judaism customs and law to truly then be eligible to be a God’s people.  Specifically called out by these teachers is that males must be circumcised.

  • One might call this “Grace + Works” salvation.  We know well that this is false gospel.

• These false teachers were directly and intentionally undermining Paul’s teachings and the central New Testament doctrine of Justification by Faith alone.

  • Paul was shocked, heartbroken and angry.  Ultimately, Paul wrote this letter to defend Jesus’ teachings and to warn the churches of the dire consequences of abandoning Jesus’ doctrine.

  • It’s a letter of warning against false teachers and false gospels.

• In every other epistle from Paul, he writes an intro of thanksgiving or praise, but not in Galatians.

  • We can interpret that to mean his letter was written with extreme urgency, he wasn’t wasting time with pleasantries, he gets straight to the point – Jesus came to unite all people through Him and Him alone.

  • The false teaching was creating a new sect of followers and dividing believers. He had to address it NOW.

• Summary of why Paul wrote the letter:

  • To warn against false teachings

  • To emphasize that we are justified and saved by grace through faith in Jesus alone.

  • We are not under bondage to the Old Testament Law for salvation.

  • We have spiritual “freedom” through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Why does this matter to us today?

• Understanding the background of the culture and events that surround that area and time, helps give us a more complete context of the message.

  • Teachings of Jesus were spreading like crazy, in all nations, not just Israel

  • People from different nations were uniting through His Gospel teaching.

  • There were many religious leaders – both Jewish and other – that were threatened by Jesus’ teaching and very much opposed to this gospel.  “What about the Law, one can’t ignore the Law?”

  • Christians were being persecuted and often killed for their “new” beliefs.  This might have led to some teachers to drift away from the one Truth and take a safer route.

  • Paul is saying in his letter that this “safer” route of teaching the gospel is simply not OK, its heresy.

  
  

  As time passes and as the world and cultures change, it can be easy to put a modern (or “safer”) interpretation of the written Words.  It can also be easy to dismiss anything that just doesn’t seem relevant anymore.  Paul’s letter to the Galatians is very relevant today as believers are challenged regularly for our faith. 

  
  

  In the coming weeks as we go through the entire book, we can use this background to help us better understand the original and TRUE message God gave us through Paul’s letter.