“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
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