Overview of the Book of Galatians

The overview of the week for this Sunday is the book of Galatians. Paul is the author, and he's writing sometime between 49 and 52 AD. And the theme of Galatians is salvation by grace. So basically what Paul is fighting against is the error of legalism.

The idea that salvation is by faith plus works. Salvation by faith plus the works of the law of Moses. Now the letter is very clear, that is not the case. That salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Now the churches of Galatia knew that originally, but they were starting to change their beliefs. Galatia was a region in Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey. And a group of false teachers had kind of targeted that area.

And they were persuading people, Paul says they had been bewitched, into thinking that faith in Christ was not enough. That in order to be saved, you had to keep the Mosaic Law. In other words, to be a good Christian, you essentially had to become Jewish.

Get circumcised, keep the dietary laws, observe the feast days. And this false teaching posed a great threat to the early church. We know it was a great threat because of Paul's strong language in chapter 1, verses 6 through 9.

He says, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him, who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another. But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you, than that which we have preached you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you, than that which you have received, let him be anathema, and that means let them be eternally doomed.

So in conclusion, this threat to the gospel continues, really to this very day, just in different forms, where people think they are going to heaven, not because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for the remission of sin, but because of the good things that they do.

No, the gospel is all of grace, and grace by definition is undeserved. You cannot work for it. Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. I'll close with what Paul says in chapter 2, verse 21.

He says, I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.