“I
am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in
the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that
there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to
distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you,
let him be accursed. 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 accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of
God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please
man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” -Galatians 1:6-10 (ESV).
In
Baptist adult Sunday School classes for the fall semester beginning
Sunday, September 2, using the Explore
the Bible
quarterly from LifeWay, Nashville, the studies are in Galatians and
James. We move from a semester in 2 Samuel when we studied biblical
history, the reigns of King Saul and King David, to doctrinal studies
as given to us in the New Testament books of Galatians and James.
As
Paul opens Galatians, he addresses a serious condition existing in
the Galatian churches he wants to discuss in his letter circulating
to the churches he established in Galatia on his first missionary
journey (read about his first missionary tour in Acts 13:1-14:28).
After he and his fellow missionaries had established churches,
instructed them as much as they could while there, and then gone on
to further work, some trouble arose in the congregations. A group
called the “Judaizers” began to teach the church members that not
only were they to become Christians through faith in Jesus Christ,
but because the new belief, based on the sacrificial death of Christ,
His resurrection from the dead, His commissioning the disciples and
other believers to tell the story of salvation “into all the
world,” there was still something needed besides forgiveness of
sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The men needed to go
through circumcision if they had not already had that rite performed.
Also, obedience to the Jewish canon of laws was necessary to
salvation, so the Judaizers taught. Paul wrote the letter to the
Galatian churches, scholars believe, before the Jerusalem Council was
held in AD 48/49. It would have been most helpful to Paul could he
have mentioned the decision of the Jerusalem Council—that believers
did not have to go through the rite of circumcision to become members
of the Christian faith/church. But no mention of the Council is made
in the letter to the Galatians. Paul conducted his first missionary
journey and established churches there in AD 47/48. Therefore, it
seems plausible that AD 48 is the probable time that Paul composed
and sent the letter to the Galatian churches addressing the serious
problem there.
Paul
wanted to make it clear that faith alone saves a person, not
fulfilling the law to the letter, not “becoming a Jew” first, not
works—faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, and accepting God’s
grace for forgiveness of sins and Christ’s sacrifice to restore the
broken fellowship between a person and God. “Through Jesus Christ,
salvation and justification come to both Jew and Gentile, fulfilling
the promise to Abraham of blessing to the nations (Galatians 3:8;
Genesis 12:3).” (p. 2242, Dr. Simon J. Gathercole, Univ. of
Cambridge. In The
Study Bible, ESV. Wheaton, IL, Crossway. 2008. P. 2242, note).
Even
though Galatians follows the general New Testament form of letters,
with a salutation, a body, a paraenesis (set of moral exhortations),
greetings, and a benediction, there is no general thanksgiving. Paul
gets directly into the problem: the serious theological questions
the Galatians must become aware of and settle: Salvation is by
faith, not by faith and circumcision; not by faith and works. Paul
defends both himself and the gospel in chapter 1. He was recognized
by the apostles in Jerusalem (especially by James, half-brother of
Jesus Christ Himself.) In strong language, Paul states that even if
an angel came from Heaven and preached a gospel contrary to what Paul
himself preached to the Galatians, that angel would be accursed.
What we believe is important. One of my favorite passages succinctly
explaining salvation by faith is Ephesians 2:8-9. Please read those
two verses, examine your own faith, and if you are seeking God’s
grace by any other means that faith in the Lord Christ, confess,
repent, and believe! Today is the day to seek Christ! -Ethelene Dyer
Jones 09.02.2018
