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Introduction:
“Paul’s letter to
the church at Galatia defending his
interpretation of the gospel of Christ.
Paul’s heated defense of justification by
faith and freedom in the Spirit has endeared
this epistle to all who hold such to be the
living core of the Christian faith. From the
time of Jesus the sufficiency of faith alone
for salvation has been a major issue among
Christians. The issue initially came to the
forefront in Paul’s day when Gentiles
believed in Jesus Christ. Must the Gentiles
become a part of the Jewish faith to be
fully Christian? Certain Jewish Christians,
called Judaizers, said that the Gentiles
must also obey the law of Moses and be
circumcised to be saved. Paul declared that
the Gentiles’ faith in Jesus, apart from the
Jewish faith, was sufficient for salvation”
[The Holman Bible Dictionary].
The Authority of the Apostle Paul and the Glory
of the Gospel:
Paul’s
warning to those who believe in a false
gospel.
Galatians 1:6-9, “I am
amazed how quickly you are deserting the One
who called you by the grace of Christ and
are turning to a different gospel— which is
not even a gospel. Evidently some people are
troubling you and trying to distort the
gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel
from heaven should preach a gospel contrary
to the one we preached to you, let him be
under a curse! As we have said before, so
now I say again: If anyone is preaching to
you a gospel contrary to the one you
received, let him be under a curse!”
Paul’s message of the
gospel came straight from Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:11-12, “For I certify to you,
brothers, that the gospel I preached was not
devised by man. I did not receive it from
any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I
received it by revelation from Jesus
Christ.”
Paul went to the other apostles in Jerusalem to confirm
the gospel he was preaching.
Galatians 2:1-2, “Fourteen years later I
went up again to Jerusalem, accompanied by
Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in
response to a revelation and set before them
the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.
But I spoke privately to those recognized as
leaders, for fear that I was running or had
already run in vain.”
The apostles agreed that no one
needs to keep the Old Covenant Law to become
a Christian.
Galatians 2:3-5, “Yet not even Titus, who
was with me, was compelled to be
circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
This issue arose because some false brothers
had come in under false pretenses to spy on
our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to
enslave us. We did not give in to them for a
moment, so that the truth of the gospel
would remain with you.” (cf. Acts 11:29-30; 15:1-28)
James, Peter, and John, accepted Paul and Barnabas as fellow
apostles with the mission of reaching the
Gentiles.
Galatians 2:6-10,
“But as for the highly esteemed—whatever
they were makes no difference to me; God
does not show favoritism—those leaders added
nothing to me. On the contrary, they saw
that I had been entrusted to preach the
gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter
had been to the circumcised. For the One who
was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the
circumcised was also at work in my
apostleship to the Gentiles. And recognizing
the grace that I had been given, James,
Cephas, and John—those reputed to be
pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand
of fellowship, so that we should go to the
Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. They
only asked us to remember the poor, the very
thing I was eager to do.”
Paul’s rebuke of Peter (Cephas)
was to preserve the truth of the gospel.
Galatians 2:11-14,
“When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I
opposed him to his face, because he stood to
be condemned. For before certain men came
from James, he used to eat with the
Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to
draw back and separate himself, for fear of
those in the circumcision group. The other
Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by
their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led
astray. When I saw that they were not
walking in line with the truth of the
gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them
all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a
Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you
compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
(cf. 1 Cor. 9:19-23)
Note:
“When Paul visited Jerusalem, Peter (and
others) gave him “the right hand of
fellowship”; but when Peter visited Antioch,
Paul opposed him to his face. The time of
Peter’s trip to Antioch is not known. There
is no reference to it in the Book of Acts,
but perhaps the visit occurred soon after
Paul, Barnabas, and Titus returned to
Antioch from Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1-10; cf.
Acts 11:27-30). At any rate Peter’s conduct
in Antioch produced a tense face-to-face
confrontation between two Christian leaders.
Paul felt compelled to rebuke and condemn
Peter for his actions, thus defending the
gospel and demonstrating again his own
independence and equality as an apostle”
[The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Gal. 2:11].
Peter’s actions were
contradictory and hypocritical. The
MacArthur Study Bible is correct when it
says that this was one of the “darkest of
days in the history of the gospel. By
withdrawing from the Gentile believers to
fellowship with the Judaizers who held a
position he knew was wrong, Peter had in
appearance supported their doctrine and
nullified Paul’s divine teaching, especially
the doctrine of salvation by grace alone
through faith alone.” [see Gal. 2:11-13]
God’s people are justified by faith
in Jesus Christ alone, not by keeping the
Law.
Galatians 2:15-16, “We who
are Jews by birth and not Gentile “sinners”
know that a man is not justified by works of
the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So
we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that
we may be justified by faith in Christ and
not by works of the law, because by works of
the law no one will be justified.”
Note: The law is not
sinful; its purpose is to convince everyone
that they are spiritually dead in their sin
apart from faith in Christ (cf. Rom. 6:11; 7:7-13;
Gal. 2:18-20; Phil. 3:9; Eph. 2:15;
Heb. 7:18-19).
A true Christian has
to die to the law.
Galatians 2:19,
“For through the law I died to the law
so that I might live to God.”
We live by faith in Jesus Christ
alone. He died so we could have new life.
Galatians 2:20, “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 up for me.”
The law actually
frustrates grace.
Galatians 2:21,
“I do not set aside the grace of God.
For if righteousness comes through the law,
Christ died for nothing.”
It is foolishness to go
back under the law after embracing faith.
Those people who preach law-keeping act as
if they are under an
evil spell.
Galatians 3:1-2, “O
foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?
Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was
clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like
to learn just one thing from you: Did you
receive the Spirit by works of the law, or
by hearing with faith?”
The law brings a curse on everyone
who fails to keep it perfectly.
Galatians 3:10, “All who rely on works of
the law are under a curse. For it is
written: “Cursed is everyone who does not
continue to do everything written in the
Book of the Law.” (cf. Deut. 27:26; Rom.
10:5; James 2:8-10)
Christ redeemed us from the law’s
curse.
Galatians 3:13, “Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the law by
becoming a curse for us. For it is written:
“Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
The Old Covenant Law was added 430 years
after God made His covenant with Abraham.
Galatians 3:17,
“What I mean is this: The law that came 430
years later does not revoke the covenant
previously established by God, so as to
nullify the promise.”
God’s promise comes to us by faith,
not by keeping the law.
Galatians 3:18, “For if the inheritance
comes by the law, it no longer comes by
promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a
promise.”
The Mosaic law was only a temporary
covenant.
Galatians 3:19, “Why then was the law given?
It was added because of transgressions,
until the arrival of the seed to whom the
promise referred. It was administered
through angels by a mediator.” (cf. Luke 16:16)
If the law worked — God
would have used it to save us.
Galatians 3:21, “Is the law, then, opposed
to the promises of God? Certainly not! For
if a law had been given that could impart
life, then righteousness would certainly
have come from the law.”
The law is a
prison that enslaves those who try to live
by
it.
Galatians 3:22-23, “But the
Scripture pronounces all things confined by
sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the
promise might be given to those who believe.
Before this faith came, we were held in
custody under the law, locked up until faith
should be revealed.”
The law was guardian until Christ came.
Galatians 3:24-25, “So the law became our
guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might
be justified by faith. Now that faith has
come, we are no longer under a guardian.”
It is through faith in Christ
alone that we become part of God’s family.
Galatians 3:26-29, “You are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of
you who were baptized into Christ have
clothed yourselves with Christ. There is
neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male
nor female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you
are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to
the promise.”
Jesus was born under the law to
redeem us from the curse of the law.
Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the time had
fully come, God sent His Son, born of a
woman, born under the law, to redeem those
under the law, that we might receive our
adoption as sons.”
Note:
Christ was born under the Law as a Jew. He
kept the Law perfectly, fulfilled it, and
then died for our sins so we could be free
from the curse by trusting in Him. (cf. Matt. 5:17-18;
Gal. 3:13; Rom. 8:1-11)
The law is a slave master that we
are freed from when we trust in Christ Jesus
alone for
our salvation.
Galatians 4:7,
“So you are no longer a slave, but a son;
and since you are a son, you are also an
heir through God.”
Observing the Old Covenant’s
system of worship leads to legalism.
Galatians 4:8-11, “Formerly, when you did
not know God, you were enslaved to those
that by nature are not gods. But now that
you have come to know God, or rather to be
known by God, how can you turn back again to
the weak and worthless elementary principles
of the world, whose slaves you want to be
once more? You observe days and months and
seasons and years! I am afraid I may have
labored over you in vain.”
Note: The New Testament
explicitly teaches that Sabbath-keeping
along with all of the other ceremonial
requirements of the Old Covenant Law are not
required for Christians living under the New
Covenant (Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8; Acts 15:1-28;
Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12;
Eph. 2:11-18; 2 Cor. 3:3-11; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 8:6-9:4; 10:23-25).
The false teachers were
flattering the Galatians, but only to
receive flattery back.
Galatians 4:16-18,
“Have I now become your enemy by
telling you the truth? Those people are
zealous for you, but not in a good way.
Instead, they want to isolate you from us,
so that you may be zealous for them.
Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it
serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not
only when I am with you.”
Note: Paul was implying that the
false teachers in Galatia were repeating the
same error he had made before his
conversion. Their zeal for the law had
blinded them to the truth that salvation is found in Jesus Christ
alone.
The bondage of the law and the
freedom found in Christ alone are contrasted.
Galatians 4:21-31, “Tell me, you who want to
be under the law, do you not understand what
the law says? For it is written that Abraham
had two sons, one by the slave woman and the
other by the free woman. His son by the
slave woman was born according to the flesh,
but his son by the free woman was born
through the promise. These things serve as
illustrations, for the women represent two
covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai
and bears children into slavery: This is
Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in
Arabia and corresponds to the present-day
Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with
her children. But the Jerusalem above is
free, and she is our mother. For it is
written: “Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears
no children; break forth and cry aloud, you
who have never travailed; because more are
the children of the desolate woman than of
her who has a husband.” Now you, brothers,
like Isaac, are children of promise. At that
time, however, the son born by the flesh
persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is
the same now. But what does the Scripture
say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for
the slave woman’s son will never share in
the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
Therefore, brothers, we are not children of
the slave woman, but of the free woman.”
Note:
“People are saved because of their faith in
Christ, not because of what they do. Paul
contrasted those who are enslaved to the law
(represented by Hagar, the slave wife) with
those who are free from the law (represented
by Sarah, the freeborn wife). Hagar’s abuse
of Sarah (Gen. 16:4) was like the
persecution that the Gentile Christians were
getting from the Judaizers, who insisted on
keeping the law in order to be saved.
Eventually Sarah triumphed because God kept
his promise to give her a son, just as those
who worship Christ in faith will also
triumph” [The Life Application Study Bible:
Gal. 4:21-31].
No one has
a right to tell you to keep any of the Old
Covenant laws, they were a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then,
and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke
of slavery.”
If you are trying to keep the law to
be saved, you must keep it perfectly or be
lost.
Galatians 5:2-3, “Take
notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let
yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of
no value to you at all. Again I testify to
every man who gets himself circumcised that
he is obligated to obey the whole law.”
We fall
from grace when we try to be justified by the law.
Galatians 5:4, “You who are trying to be
justified by the law have been severed from
Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”
The Galatians detour into legalism
was a false gospel and contrary to God’s
will.
Galatians 5:7-8, “You were
running so well. Who has obstructed you from
obeying the truth? Such persuasion does not
come from the One who calls you.”
Paul
suggested that the Judaizers mutilate their own bodies
and castrate themselves!
Galatians 5:12,
“I wish those agitators would go so far as
to castrate themselves!” (NET)
Note: “The
spiritual damage caused by legalistic
teaching regarding circumcision and the law
was so serious that Paul used strong,
sarcastic words to emphasize his point. The
false teachers should go beyond mere
circumcision and castrate themselves. This
exaggerated statement reveals Paul’s
frustration with those who muddied the clear
gospel message of God’s grace” [The
Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible: Gal. 5:12].
Divine love fulfills the Law’s purpose.
Galatians 5:13-14, “For you, brothers, were
called to freedom; but do not use your
freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.
Rather, serve one another in love. The
entire law is fulfilled in a single decree:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” (cf. Rom. 13:8-10)
When we
are led by the Spirit we are no longer under
the law. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live
obedient lives apart from keeping the law!
Galatians 5:16-18, “So I say, walk by the
Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires
of the flesh. For the flesh craves what is
contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what
is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed
to each other, so that you do not do what
you want. But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under the law.”
When we
focus on keeping the law we are driven to
sin even more!
Galatians 5:19-21,
“The acts of the flesh are obvious:
sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord,
jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions,
factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and
the like. I warn you, as I did before, that
those who practice such things will not
inherit the kingdom of God.” (cf.
Rom. 2:17-24; 7:1-6; 7:7-24; 8:1-13; Phil. 1:6)
Note:
It is easy to think that if we just focus on
keeping the Ten Commandments we will be
saved, but the scriptures warn us that
whenever the law is preached, a veil lies
over the hearts of all those who would try
to live by it (2 Cor. 3:1-17).
When we belong to Christ, the
passions and desires of our flesh that the
law produces is put to death.
Galatians 5:22-25, “But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. Against such
things there is no law. Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with
its passions and desires. Since we live by
the Spirit, let us walk in step with the
Spirit.”
Christians are under the New Covenant, law
of Christ. Love for God and our fellow man
is the foundational principle upon which the
New Covenant is based.
Galatians 6:1-2, “Brothers, if someone is
caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual
should restore him with a spirit of
gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also
may be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens,
and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ.” (cf. 1 Cor. 9:19-23; James 2:8-12;
5:19-20)
Note:
In place of the Old Covenant Law, Christians
are told to focus on loving God and loving
others. If we would obey those two commands,
we would be fulfilling everything God
desires of us. Christ freed us from our
bondage to the Old Covenant Law to love as
he first loved us. John 15:9-12 says, “As
the Father has loved me, so have I loved
you. Abide in my love. If you keep my
commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and abide in his love. These things I have
spoken to you, that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be full. “This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I
have loved you.” (cf. Gal. 5:13-14; Rom. 13:8-10)
How we live our lives matters to God
and our fellow man.
Galatians 6:7-8,
“Do not be deceived: God is not to be
mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in
return. The one who sows to please his
flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction;
but the one who sows to please the Spirit,
from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
Note:
Ralph Waldo Emerson
once said, “Sow a thought
and you reap an action; sow an act and
you reap a habit; sow a habit and you
reap a character; sow a character and you
reap a destiny.”
Actions have consequences.
People either follow their fleshly desires and
reap destruction, or they follow God’s
Spirit and reap eternal life. Punishment for
sin will certainly come in this world or the
next (Prov. 1:10-19).
The
Christian’s primary focus should be on
serving other Christians, but not to the
exclusion of non-believers.
Galatians 6:9-10, “Let us not grow weary in
well-doing, for in due time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as
we have opportunity, let us do good to
everyone, and especially to the family of
faith.”
Note: The law was
given to condemn us and show us our need for
a savior (Gal. 3:10; Rom. 8:3; Acts 13:39;
cf. Deut. 27:26; Rom. 10:5; James 2:8-10).
Only those people who live by God’s Spirit
will receive
eternal life.
We are
either under the Old Covenant “law of sin
and death”, or, we are under the New
Covenant law of the life-giving Spirit
(Rom. 8:1-11). The Old Covenant law does not,
and cannot ever bring victory over sin and
death because sin is actually magnified by
the law (Rom. 5:20).
We can
only experience freedom from the law’s curse
when we trust that it is Jesus Christ alone who
justifies us. It is Christ, not the law,
that gives us freedom from the power of sin
and death by giving us a new nature.
The main
theme of the book of Galatians and the heart
of the gospel message is justification by
faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
The Law was powerless to produce
righteousness in us (Gal. 3:21), and it
could not deliver us from the penalty of
death (Gal. 3:10; cf. Rom. 7:12-20; Acts 13:38-39).
The only way to
be saved and pleasing to God is to have
Christ’s righteousness imputed to us.
Romans 3:21-22 says, “But now, apart from the
law, the righteousness of God has been
revealed, as attested by the Law and the
Prophets. And this righteousness from God
comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all
who believe.”
God has graciously
provided a righteousness for us that only comes
through faith in Jesus Christ alone
(Rom. 3:21-5:21).
When we let Christ
live his life through us, he will produce
the fruit of the Spirit naturally in our
lives. All we have to do is believe that
Christ died for our sins and trust in Him as
Lord and Savior. (cf. 1 Jn.
4:14; Rom. 10:9-13)
Remember you have been set free from
the law to live by God’s Spirit.
Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom
Christ has set us free; stand firm
therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke
of slavery.”
Accepting
the false gospel of legalism can only lead
to death.
When someone says you have to keep the Old
Covenant law they are preaching the false
gospel of works-righteousness that Paul
warned the Galatians, the Romans, and the
Colossians about.
We have been set free from “the law of sin
and death” to live by God’s Spirit (Rom. 8:1-11).
Stand firm and do not submit to them.
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ
alone!
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