Study of Galatians Part 1 - Introduction

Even though Jesus clearly said that the Good News of His saving work, the Gospel, was to go to all people (see, for example, Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15 and Acts 1:8) the early Christians were slow to carry out His command. Peter preached already on Pentecost, 10 days after Jesus ascended into heaven, that God’s promises in Jesus were for those in Jerusalem and their children “and for all who are far off.” Those promises included bringing people to repentance and forgiveness and baptism and faith, through the power of the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 2:38-39, and Acts 5:29-32, for example.)

However, it was not until Acts 8, with persecution coming, that many Christians scattered, leaving Jerusalem, and some began to reach out to people of Samaria and to an Ethiopian man. (See Acts 8:1, 12-14, 27-38.) Even Peter himself struggled to reach out to non-Jews until God convinced him, with words and visions, to go and meet with and teach a Roman centurion, Cornelius, and his family and friends. (See Acts 10. In Acts 10:28, we hear that this was the first time that Peter had even gone to the home of a non-Jew of another nation.)

There were many rules for the Jewish people, some from the Old Testament and many more made up by Jewish authorities themselves, that kept Jews and non-Jews apart. How were Jews and others who became believers in Jesus going to respond to all these Jewish rules and expectations?

We hear in Acts 11:1-3 that Peter was strongly criticized for even associating with non-Jews. Instead of rejoicing that some of these Gentiles (non-Jews) had received the Word of God and had come to faith in Jesus, the critics were condemning Peter and others. Peter had to defend himself and explain that the Holy Spirit had sent him and others to these Gentiles, and the Holy Spirit had brought even non-Jews to the same faith and blessings of God. See especially Peter’s Words and the response of the people in Acts 11:11-18.

The tensions continued, though, especially about how “Jewish” new Christians needed to be, especially with regard to these Jewish rules and regulations. Acts 11:19 tells us that some still wanted to share the Good News of Jesus with “no one except Jews.” Others shared about Jesus with everyone they could, though, and more people came to faith, especially in the Syrian city of Antioch. These tensions were not directly dealt with until the Council of Jerusalem, a meeting of early Christian leaders, in Acts 15.

While all this was going on, there was a strongly anti-Christian Jewish leader, by the name of Saul, who was a well-trained Pharisee and felt it was his duty to round up Christians and put them in prison. He even helped put at least one Christian, Stephen, to death. (See Acts 7:54-8:3, 9:1-2.) The Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus had other plans for Saul, though.

Jesus appeared to him as he was traveling to Damascus, Syria, and turned his life around and brought him to faith and baptism and called him especially to to be a witness for Him to Gentiles (non-Jews). You can read about this is Acts 9:1-30. Saul quickly began to speak positively about Jesus as the promised Savior, but was in danger because of doing so, and was sent off to his home city of Tarsus, in the Roman province of Cilicia.

We’ll hear later of how he spent a number of years learning more about the Christian faith and about prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament and receiving revelations directly from Jesus. Then he was brought to Antioch to help teach new believers and then was sent off with Barnabas on his first missionary journey, preaching the Good News of Jesus in areas that included the Roman province of Galatia. (See Acts 11:25-26, 13:2-14:28.)

Churches were established there, which included Jews and Gentiles. Tensions continued about how Jewish the Gentiles believers needed to be,  though, and Saul, who was now called Paul, attended the Jerusalem Council, in Acts 15. Peter and other leaders clearly said everyone simply needed to “hear the Words of the Gospel and believe.” God would “cleanse their hearts by faith.” And Peter said, “We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."

The Lord led the Council to say that was enough. All people were to avoid wrongdoing like “sexual immorality” and avoid a few things that would be really offensive to Jews. Otherwise, Peter said, “Why are (some of) you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear.” Peter wanted no other burdens placed upon people who were saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus. (See all of Acts 15, but especially v. 4-11.)

Paul returned to Antioch and then went off on a second missionary journey (Acts 15:35, 40-41, and the chapters following). Unfortunately, some of “party of the Pharisees” continued to insist “It is necessary to circumcise (the Gentiles) and to order them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). Some them actually traveled then to the churches in Galatia and stirred up trouble against Paul and his teachings and terribly confused the churches.

Dr. Martin Franzmann says that their attack was three-pronged: (a) an attack on Paul as an apostle, (b) an attack on the Gospel of Paul as omitting essential demands of God, and (c) an attack which pointed up the moral dangers that would result from a proclamation of salvation by mere faith in an absolutely free and forgiving grace of God. When he heard of it, Paul could not go to Galatia at that time, but wrote what was likely his very first missionary letter, the Letter to the Galatians, in 48-49 AD or a little later, to refute the false teachings and emphasize once again that salvation is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

That is what we will be looking at as we study Galatians. We will see that we are facing the same challenges and dangers from some in our own day and need to stand firm in what God teaches us through Paul. May the Lord richly bless our study together in the weeks ahead.