Galatians-Week 6-From the Inside Out

Paul finishes up his letter to the churches in Galatia with a little practical advice. First, he addresses handling sin, either in another believer or your own life.

Galatians 6
Doing Good to All
1Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Maturity vs. spirituality. Paul clearly says that each of us has a duty to pick up, hold up, and build up brothers and sisters struggling with sin. Well, those under the influence of the Spirit. Not the Bible scholars, not the grandmothers who've had decades of training...all of us living under the Spirit. Sin impacts us all...in our own lives, it robs us of joy, lessens our anticipation of Christ, destroys our usefulness...and it infects the entire body. To counter sin, every believer has an obligation to support fellow Christians...to help recognize sin, pray for freedom from it, and to share lessons learned.

9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

And in every life, God's law of cause and effect is still in operation. No, we can't lose our salvation. Yes, we still face consequences for bad decisions. And we all make them. And when we do, the command to love one another so that the world will know that we are disciples becomes even more important.

14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[b] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

And to finish up his letter, Paul remind the Galatians one more time: what counts is a new creation, the Spirit at work in you. Nothing on the exterior amounts to anything. And that way is open to everyone.

Galatians-Week 3-Then, what's law got to do with it?

Here's a confession: I break the law sometimes, usually on the way to work. And on the way home. I drive faster than the posted speed limits, even though I understand in my head that driving laws are in place for my safety and others. I also rip tags off of pillows and walk my dog in the park that says "No dogs allowed." I'm a rebel.
What about you? Have any similar challenges under the law?

16. If the law can't save us, why did God give it to Moses in the first place?
That answer is pretty easy. Paul outlines it in the next verses:

15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.

21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

In a nutshell: the law makes us aware of our sin and need for salvation, our utter inability to do it ourselves.

Abraham's covenant is better than Moses' law and Abraham was saved 430 years before God gave Moses the commandments (and isn't it just another sign of Paul's superiority that he has that fact at his fingertips?). In God's covenant with Abraham, God said "I Will" but the commandments said "Thou Shalt"...dooming them to failure! The responsibility for the covenant was on God who does not fail. Only 1 part was required to do anything for success and that party was God. Unlike the commandments which was more of a 2 party agreement...that totally depended on you and me for success. And here's the truth about that: man can't succeed and God can't fail.

So then why did the tablets come down?
They lead us to Christ. They show us our sinfulness, our inability to please God through our own works, our need for mercy and grace. Grace means nothing unless you know you gotta have it. Thanks to the "Thou shalts" we know we must have grace.

Are people inherently good? Are there any laws that you routinely break? Can anyone keep the perfect law of God?

Galatians-Week 3-Let's all sing it...

For some reason, this song is coming to mind as I work on the Bible study. Now you can sing it with me!

The next part of Chapter 3 says this:
6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Why do you think Abraham comes up here? Don't you think part of the Judaizer's argument revolved around the covenant God made with Abraham? Here's what it says in Genesis 15:2-6:
2Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one (A)born in my house is my heir." Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them " And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Paul's point: salvation is personal. It doesn't come through rituals or observances. The circumcision that marks people under God's covenant with Abraham had nothing to do with salvation. Abraham's belief had everything to do with his salvation, or his being made "righteous" just as it does ours. And it was credited to him...before he was circumcised.

The next part of the letter: verses 10-14

10All who rely on observing 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." 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." 13Christ 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." 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

15...Isn't "good" good enough?
Paul clearly answers that here. Only perfection is good enough. There are no exceptions. The law is a curse that no one can live with and Jesus took that curse for us when he hung on a tree. Without him, the perfect sacrifice, there is no good enough. And even more clearly, he is the fulfillment of that covenant.

Galatians-Week 3-It's grace, people, get the message

Ok, so we've laid just a very little background for Chapter 3. In this chapter, Paul is going to annihilate the idea that the law could ever surpass or supplant or in any way challenge the grace offered through Jesus Christ.


14. How do you know you're saved in the first place? Answer: Hello, Holy Spirit, come on in.

1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Here Paul says "Don't you remember how you even came into the family in the first place? It wasn't through anything you did, but through something that Jesus did and because you believed. You experienced it for yourself and you saw the effect of this change in the lives of the people around you. Why would you think you can change it now? Oh, and you know that feeling of difference that you have...let's just call that the 'Holy Spirit.' That's proof of God's favor, proof of salvation, and your guarantee that no matter what happens here, your future is secure. Forever."

I could be paraphrasing, but really, he has an excellent point. The Holy Spirit, which is God, comes to the believer at salvation. And never leaves.

1 John 4:13: We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13-14: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Here's how someone smarter than I am said it:

No ritual, ceremony, regulation or any other thing devised or accomplished by men can pick up where the cross leaves off--because the cross never leaves off. The cross is the continuing and eternal payment for all sin, and every sinner who puts his trust in the cross is forever and continually being forgiven. A believer can no more stay saved by works than he could have been saved by works in the first place. The cross keeps moving powerfully and relentlessly through history, and it will stand forever as living proof that men cannot redeem themselves.

Galatians-Week 3-What is faith?

Chapter 3 of Galatians is a doozy, lots of questions are answered here. Big questions that can cause some confusion and stumbling among Christians, new and old alike. If you're in the class, make sure that you jump in and answer this first question if you're reading it beforehand. I'll be so impressed.

12. Were the people misled by the Judaizers in danger of losing their salvation because they were adding all these requirements to salvation?
Short answer: uh, no. They weren't in danger of losing their salvation. But they were still in big danger. They were in danger of losing all of the joy and hope that is supposed to be a part of the Christian life. And the bigger danger: the harm to their witness to the world. The world knows us because we're different. We have a hope and a future which should mark us as different. Struggling under the law, these Christians were no different than the lost to the world's eyes.

Here's another way Paul addresses the simplicity of salvation:
Romans 3:22

22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

There is no difference...all have sinned and all are justified freely.

13. What is faith?
I think this is a tough question, one I really struggle with sometimes. Do I have (enough) faith? I want to measure up. But it's so much simpler than that. I already do. It's more of an "either or" decision, not a measuring stick.

Here's what Hebrews 11 has to say about faith:
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Isn't it interesting to see what the writer of Hebrews (probably not Paul) says about these heroes of the Old Testament? These are heroes of faith. And they had faith in God and his promises...and their salvation is complete only in Jesus Christ.

Galatians-Week 2-Does this make sense?

In the last part of Galatians 2, Paul really answers the problem of saying one thing and then requiring the Gentiles to do another. He has no patience for the lack of logic in the Judaizers' argument.

15"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus 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.

17"If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I 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. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

11. How does it make sense to expect them to do what we couldn't?
It just doesn't make any sense for privileged Jews who have believed that Christ died to save them and rejected the law as the way to salvation to now burden the Gentiles with the keeping of that law. The law doesn't work. The problem isn't what man does but who he is.

John 3:16-18 says this:

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

And not once is there a line drawn that says there are different requirements. Whoever believes shall have eternal life. Simple. To the point. Hard to miss. And, uh, fairly well known today. And really, if the Judaizers were right, then Jesus was wrong. And that's a problem. A big one. Legalism cancels out the cross. If the Judaizers were right, Christ died for no reason.

Here are the 2 pillars of Paul's gospel: the grace of God, and the death of Christ. Both are destroyed by legalism.

So then, why do we even have this law from Moses?
Check out Chapter 3.

Galatians-Week 2-Ever met a hypocrite?

The real question is more like "Ever been a hypocrite?" In the next part of Chapter 2, Paul recounts an episode where he had to confront Peter and even his right-hand man Barnabas over behavior which was damaging his message.

11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

I've mentioned more than once how much I like Peter. The reason I like him: he messes up. If there's anyone who should know better than to say one thing and do another, it's Peter. Anybody remember the story of Peter, his vision, and his visit to the centurion Cornelius? I posted about it not too long ago. In order to really get the message through to Peter that the law had no impact on salvation and that this gospel applied to all men, God had to send a vision, an interpreter, and a divine appointment complete with wonders performed through the Holy Spirit as Cornelius and his family were saved...to Peter. He confirmed it at the Jerusalem council. But in Antioch, it was time to put it in action. And he was happy to do so, eating with the Gentiles what they ate...until some men claiming to be from the Jerusalem church showed up and put the law about clean and unclean back in place through peer pressure. Peter withdrew from the Gentiles...and took more Jews with him, harming the witness to the church.

And Paul didn't stand for it. He confronted Peter publicly and directly to correct the problem.

10. Thanks, Peter. Thanks, Paul. What do we learn from this? (Not strictly a question, but my brain is tired.) Let's make it multiple choice...
A. Even strong, talented, gifted, inspired leaders can make serious mistakes.
B. Right words without right action = hypocrisy
C. Truth is more important than outward appearance of harmony.
D. "Situation ethics" or changing the rules depending on the crowd is ungodly.
E. Sometimes you just have to confront falsehood.
F. All of the above. (You knew that was coming, right?)

Paul had no trouble confronting Peter to restore the truth. Society's current emphasis on tolerance makes that rare today. Think that's dangerous?

Galatians-Week 1-The Truth

Here's the rest of the first chapter:

Galatians 1:11-24 Paul Called by God
11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from birth[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they praised God because of me.

8. So which is right...Paul's gospel or the Judaizers? What do the other apostles say?
Again, we don't have a letter written by the chief Judaizer, but it appears that one of the arguments that Paul had to answer was that he wasn't a "real" apostle and that he made up his own gospel. And, of course, he would make it easier than it really is because he wants people to like him.

From what we know of Paul, do you think he ever really spent a lot of time wondering if people liked him? I really don't think so. People feared him. Feared his reputation. Immediately upon his conversion when he began preaching, people wanted to kill him. He had to be rescued by being lowered over the city wall in a basket.

Here Paul is establishing that his gospel came directly from God, not men. He didn't train with the apostles but immediately set out to learn and preach. And people were saved. The gospel the Judaizers held to: based on the early books but even more so on interpretations made by the teachers of the day. The Jews lived by many rules, determined by interpretation of chruch leaders. Paul's gospel clearly wasn't man-made: there were no lists of rules, and man had very little importance in his own salvation...and idea clearly contrary to what the Judaizers believed.

And later on Paul's going to say...oh, yeah, and that message that the apostles in Jerusalem have and the one that I've been preaching without them...it's the same one...because it comes from the same place: Jesus Christ.

And just to finish up Chapter 1, we can take a look at 2 verses that the Judaizers didn't have. Another reason to celebrate the printing press, right?

Here's what Luke wrote in Acts 26:15-18 about Paul's conversion and Jesus' purpose for Paul:

15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'

" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

And later on, we have Peter's confirmation of Paul in 2 Peter 3:15-16 (from the Message translation)

14-16So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master's patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don't know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it.

Galatians-Week 1-A New Gospel?

Here's the next part of the letter, Galatians 1:6-10:

6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul's letters usually start out with a peaceful greeting, an encouraging word to struggling groups of Christians, but, to me, it seems he's just a little put out with the Galatians...the churches that he'd established and invested the time to teach the gospel as it had been directly revealed to him...these believers were being misled...they were deserting. Different translations will have different words but Paul was amazed or astonished that they were deserting, willfully leaving the gospel.

7. So what's this "new gospel" we've been hearing about?
Unfortunately, we don't have a letter from the Judaizers outlining their dogma, but it's easy to see that it's contrary to Paul's message of salvation by grace through faith. The Judaizers agreed that Christ was the Messiah, but they wanted to make salvation for the Gentiles contingent on a type of conversion to Judaism or, really, to make Gentiles subject to the rules of Judaism (specifically, circumcision) before they could be saved.

It's easy to see why the Galatians would have been, at the very least, confused by the Judaizers. I also sometimes wonder about how easily I am saved. Simple faith is all it takes, but it seems like there should be so much more. And the Judaizers have a simple solution to that: yes, you can say that Christ is who He said He was, but then why don't you also try to live under the law perfectly like we've tried and failed to do for centuries? (I don't know if they really said that. I may be paraphrasing.)

Do you see why Paul reacted to strongly? A righteous Pharisee who knew the law and did his best to live it, converted and taught personally by Jesus Christ himself, committed to spreading His gospel...to be confronted again by the law, creeping its way back into the early church to confuse the new believers in Galatia.

What was Paul's gospel before conversion? What is his purpose after conversion?
What kinds of substitute gospels to people preach today that tempt people to depend on something besides Christ for security and salvation?

The MacArthur NT Commentary says this:

Satan's primary target for false teaching is the doctrine of salvation, because if people are confused about that they have no way of coming to God in the first place and thus remain under Satan's influence and control. He teaches lies about church organization, Christian living, the Lord's return, and many other things. But his first concern is to undermine the heart of the gospel, which is salvation by grace, made possible through the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We can talk about whether Paul was changing the gospel to make people like him tomorrow...but I'm thinking "No" is the answer.

Galatians-Week 1-Apostolic Authority

Those are big words...apostolic authority...what do they mean? It's easier to ask

5. Just who does Paul think he is? What gives him the right to tell off the Judaizers and assert so firmly his version of the gospel?

First, let's take a look at what Paul says, how he begins his letter: Galatians 1:1-5

1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:

3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Who is Paul? He's an apostle...
apostle--one who is sent with a commission, an envoy or messenger who was chosen and trained by Jesus Christ as His special emissary for proclaiming His truth during the formative years of the church. (Note: anytime you see something that sounds really smart like this, I didn't come up with it. Probably it's from the MacArthur NT Commentary.)

An apostle had to have seen the resurrected Christ. That sorta limits the pool. Here's what Acts 1:22-26 says about replacing an apostle (who had to be replaced because...well, he had his priorities out of line.)

21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

23So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." 26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

6. How in the world could Paul be an apostle? The original 12, sure. They came from the disciples and the others who traveled with Christ. Remember Saul/Paul's conversion story? There on the road to Damascus? Jesus spoke to him there. And then Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8:

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

So basically, Paul says here that his gospel and that of all the apostles comes directly from God, not from men. They were all taught by Jesus. Oh, yeah, and that his gospel contains grace and peace, grace for salvation which leads to peace for living.

Galatians-Week 1-The problem

Keeping up with the Q&A format (until I can't do it easily and then I'll drop it like one hot potato)...
3. What's the deal? Why did Paul write the letter?
Most of the time, Paul wrote letters to address questions or problems in the churches. The Galatian churches had been invaded by Judaizers, Jews who made a profession of Christianity but wanted to add a legal requirement to salvation. They added circumcision and other requirements under Mosaic law. They rejected Paul's message: salvation comes through grace by faith in Jesus Christ. Alone. There is no other requirement, even for Gentiles like the Galatians.

And they attacked Paul personally to cast doubt on his authority and further challenge his message.

4. What's Paul's message? Ephesians 2:8-9 says it pretty clearly. Here's Paul's version of the gospel, in a nutshell:

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.

Do you ever question how easily we come to God? Shouldn't salvation be more difficult? Maybe more like Survivor with challenges to over come or some other reality show where you are judged critically and eliminated, leaving only the best standing? Definitely there should be a long list of rules to follow. Right?

Paul's going to answer that question for the Galatians, the Judaizers, and for us. It's simple because it has to be. There's no other way. We've had a chance to try it by performing rituals and ceremonies and following the rules and we couldn't do it. But Jesus could. And did. Now we have to understand what that means.

Galatians-Week 1-The history

I decided to post a little of what we talk about in our weekly Bible study here. Maybe it will help me remember as we go along what we've talked about. I'm an optimist.

Here are a couple of questions that I had to answer for myself first:
1. Where or what is a Galatia? (I like to start with the basics, you know.)
Galatia is a region in Turkey, settled by Celtic tribes who migrated due to conflict with the Romans at home. The Galatian churches, recipients of the letter, were established during a missionary trip by Paul.

2. And so then...who is Paul?
Paul was the author of this letter and many others which make up books in the New Testament. And he was a very big deal, a Pharisee, committed to destroying the early Christian church. Here's what he has to say about himself:

Phillipians 3:5-6
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

And this is part of that question...how did Paul make it from "Hebrew of Hebrews" to the author of critical Christian doctrine? Here's the story of his conversion, along the road to Damascus:

Acts 9-Saul's Conversion
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
5"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he answered.

11The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

13"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.