Galatians

 Paul’s call against legalism-Meaning, Christians are free from restrictive Jewish laws[1]

Summary:
Paul writes this letter to several churches in Galatia as a strong rebuke against the “judiazers” (those Christian believers of Jewish background who insist that true believers must uphold Jewish laws, primarily circumcision; Gen. 17:10.  Remember that originally to be part of God’s covenant community one needed to be circumcised).  Paul is astonished that these believers are “deserting the one who called (them) by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all” (Gal. 1:6-7).  Galatians is some times referred to as “Luther’s book,”[2] because this is where Martin Luther turned and the book of scripture that he relied on to defend his view of God’s grace alone that brings one salvation, during the time of the Reformation and the upheaval with the Catholic church. 

Some important points to understand about the book of Galatians:

• “Know that a man (or woman!) is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.  So we, too, have put our faith in Jesus Christ that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified” Gal. 2:16. 
• Key Verse: 2:19-21 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” 
• With Christ living in us, we are able to live a godly life, not by our own power in following particular laws, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• You may wonder if the law is “bad.”  One of the purposes of God in giving the law was to make us aware of our sinful nature and the impossibility of any person to uphold the law completely.  As Gal 3:24-25 states, “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.  Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” 
• Some people take Paul’s message of freedom too far and use it as a “license or justification to sin.”   This was not Paul’s intent at all.  Consider that we are to live by the whole counsel of God which includes all of the Bible.  Many believe that the book of James balances the message in Galatians.  Mainly that a true believer in Christ will not be justified by “works” but will live a life that reflects their faith in Christ.  For “faith without works is dead.” James 2:26.

[2] The NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 1779.