Forsaking All Others

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January 11, 2009 - Galatians 1:1-10

Open It

  1. What is your usual way of starting a letter?

  2. When you have something difficult to share with a loved one, how can jotting down your thoughts help?

  3. When you want to emphasize an important point to someone, how do you do it?

Explore It

  1. How did the author of the letter identify himself? (1:1)

  2. How did Paul bring up two vital concerns in the beginning of his letter (1:1, 4)

  3. Who joined Paul in sending the letter? (1:2)

  4. To whom was the letter sent? (1:2)

  5. What traditional form of greeting did the apostle use in his letter? (1:3)

  6. How did Paul conclude his salutation? (1:4-5)

  7. What attitude did Paul express? Why? (1:6-7)

  8. How were the Galatian Christians being thrown "into confusion"? (1:7)

  9. What hypothetical case did Paul present to show the purity of the gospel? (1:8-9)

  10. How did Paul emphasize the importance of representing the gospel accurately? (1:8-9)

  11. What accusation had been directed at Paul? (1:10)

  12. How did Paul affirm his purpose to please God? (1:10)

Get It

  1. The tone of Paul's letter is serious and abrupt; why did he write this way?

  2. Why was it important that Paul establish his credentials?

  3. Why do some Christians base their identity on things other than Christ?

  4. How did Paul assert his authority in this letter?

  5. Why was it important for the Galatian churches to be reminded that salvation lay in the work of Christ, not in human works?

  6. How do Christians have a tendency to bypass God's grace in their daily experience?

  7. What was at stake in Paul's warning to the Galatians? (1:8-9)

  8. How do you need to examine the doctrine of salvation you pass on to others?

Apply It

  1. How can you prepare to respond the next time you hear a distorted message about Christ?

  2. As a servant of Christ, what are some ways you can best share the true gospel with the unbelievers you know?

  3. What important letter to a struggling believer can you write today?

Notes

Galatians 1:1: Paul and Barnabas had just completed their first missionary journey (Acts 13:2-14:28). They had visited Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, cities in the Roman province of Galatia (present-day Turkey). Upon returning to Antioch, Paul was accused by some Jewish Christians of diluting Christianity to make it more appealing to Gentiles. These Jewish Christians disagreed with Paul's statements that Gentiles did not have to follow many of the religious laws that the Jews had obeyed for centuries. Some of Paul's accusers had even followed him to those Galatian cities and had told the Gentile converts they had to be circumcised and follow all the Jewish laws and customs in order to be saved. According to these men, Gentiles had to first become Jews in order to become Christians.

In response to this threat, Paul wrote this letter to the Galatian churches. In it, he explains that following the Old Testament laws or the Jewish laws will not bring salvation. A person is saved by grace through faith. Paul wrote this letter about A.D. 49, shortly before the meeting of the Jerusalem council, which settled the law versus grace controversy (Acts 15).

1:1 Paul was called to be an apostle by Jesus Christ and God the Father. He presented his credentials at the very outset of this letter because some people in Galatia were questioning his authority.

1:1 For more information about Paul's life, see his Profile. Paul had been a Christian for about 15 years at this time.

Galatians 1:2: In Paul's time, Galatia was the Roman province located in the center section of present-day Turkey. Much of the region rests on a large and fertile plateau, and large numbers of people had moved to the region because of its favorable agriculture. One of Paul's goals during his missionary journeys was to visit regions with large population centers in order to reach as many people as possible.

Galatians 1:3-5: God's plan all along was to save us by Jesus' death. We have been rescued from the power of this present evil age-a world ruled by Satan and full of cruelty, tragedy, temptation, and deception. Being rescued from this evil age doesn't mean that we are taken out of it, but that we are no longer enslaved to it. You were saved to live for God. Does your life reflect your gratitude for being rescued? Have you transferred your loyalty from this world to Christ?

Galatians 1:6: Some people were preaching "a different gospel." They were teaching that to be saved, Gentile believers had to follow Jewish laws and customs, especially the rite of circumcision. Faith in Christ was not enough. This message undermined the truth of the good news that salvation is a gift, not a reward for certain deeds. Jesus Christ has made this gift available to all people, not just to Jews. Beware of people who say that we need more than simple faith in Christ to be saved. When people set up additional requirements for salvation, they deny the power of Christ's death on the cross (see Galatians 3:1-5).

Galatians 1:7: There is only one way given to us by God to be forgiven of sin-through believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. No other person, method, or ritual can give eternal life. Attempting to be open-minded and tolerant, some people assert that all religions are equally valid paths to God. In a free society, people have the right to their religious opinions, but this doesn't guarantee that their ideas are right. God does not accept man-made religion as a substitute for faith in Jesus Christ. He has provided just one way-Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

1:7 Those who had confused the Galatian believers and perverted the gospel were zealous Jewish Christians who believed that the Old Testament practices such as circumcision and dietary restrictions were required of all believers. Because these teachers wanted to turn the Gentile Christians into Jews, they were called Judaizers. Some time after the letter to the Galatians was sent, Paul met with the apostles in Jerusalem to discuss this matter further (see Acts 15).

1:7 Most of the Galatian Christians were Greeks who were unfamiliar with Jewish laws and customs. The Judaizers were an extreme faction of Jewish Christians. Both groups believed in Christ, but their life-styles differed considerably. We do not know why the Judaizers may have traveled no small distance to teach their mistaken notions to the new Gentile converts.

They may have been motivated by (1) a sincere wish to integrate Judaism with the new Christian faith, (2) a sincere love for their Jewish heritage, or (3) a jealous desire to destroy Paul's authority.

Whether or not these Judaizers were sincere, their teaching threatened these new churches and had to be countered. When Paul called their teaching a perversion of the gospel, he was not rejecting everything Jewish. He himself was a Jew who worshiped in the temple and attended the religious festivals. But he was concerned that nothing get in the way of the simple truth of his message-that salvation, for Jews and Gentiles alike, is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

1:7 A twisting of the truth is more difficult to spot than an outright lie. The Judaizers were twisting the truth about Christ. They claimed to follow him, but they denied that Jesus' work on the cross was sufficient for salvation. There will always be people who pervert the Good News. Either they do not understand what the Bible teaches, or they are uncomfortable with the truth as it stands. How can we tell when people are twisting the truth? Before accepting the teachings of any group, find out what the group teaches about Jesus Christ. If their teaching does not match the truth in God's Word, then it is perverted.

Galatians 1:8-9: Paul strongly denounced the Judaizers' perversion of the gospel of Christ. He said that even if an angel from heaven comes preaching another message, that angel should be "eternally condemned." If an angel came preaching another message, he would not be from heaven, no matter how he looked. In 2 Cor. 11:14-15, Paul warned that Satan masquerades as an angel of light. Here he invoked a curse on any angel who spreads a false gospel-a fitting response to an emissary of hell. Paul extended that curse to include himself if he should pervert the gospel. His message must never change, for the truth of the gospel never changes. Paul used strong language because he was dealing with a life-and-death issue.

Galatians 1:10: Do you spend your life trying to please everybody? Paul had to speak harshly to the Christians in Galatia because they were in serious danger. He did not apologize for his straightforward words, knowing that he could not serve Christ faithfully if he allowed the Galatian Christians to remain on the wrong track. Whose approval are you seeking-others' or God's? Pray for the courage to seek God's approval above anyone else's.

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