Galatians by Gary DeLashmutt (2007)

Shortly after Paul left the Galatians, the Judaizers visited the Galatian churches and attacked Paul's message and his authority. Paul give his thesis for the rest of the letter which is to defend his own authority, which comes only from Christ's calling, as well as the Gospel message itself.

Paul starts off defending the Gospel message against the Judaizers. Their main teaching is that salvation requires both faith and works. Paul insists that this or any other message taught by anyone else (including angels) is false. He isn't a religious bigot, but instead just very insistent on the Galatians knowing the truth about the very important and weighty topic of salvation, even if it makes him disliked by people.

Paul starts his arguments against the Judaizers on the topic of grace. Paul passionately addresses their objections, believing that this is the most important topic to drive home. The two objections are: 1) grace is unjust because it makes my good works meaningless, and 2) grace is dangerous because it promotes moral laxness.

While Paul was arguing that acceptance by God comes through faith alone, the Judaizers were teaching the Galatians that faith was not enough. They claimed that keeping God's law was also necessary to gain God's acceptance. Paul continues his argument to keep the Galatian people from drifting from the true Gospel. His argument includes: personal experience of grace and the Holy Spirit as a mark of secure acceptance.

The Judaizers were so successful in leading the Galatians away from the Gospel because it appeared that the Old Testament agreed with them rather than Paul's message of grace alone. Because of this, Paul explains how people in the Old Testament gained God's acceptance through faith alone, just as in the New Testament. He also explains the purpose of the law - not as a book of rules to follow but a guide to point out sin and the need for grace.

Once we become Christians we are a part of God's family, and can play a role in each others spiritual lives and growth. We do this through sitting under God's Word, sharing it with each other, and choosing to initiate deeper conversations. This involves encouraging each other, but it also involves being willing to admonish each other such as Paul is doing in the letter to the Galatians. Being able to receive admonishment and give it is vitally important for our spiritual lives!

Christians are set free from trying to gain God's approval from our works, and instead given true freedom through God's grace. Instead of using this new freedom to live for ourselves, we should use it to serve other people!