Galations

I hope never to get a letter from an apostle like the Galatian churches received from Paul. Paul was absolutely furious. He was angry at the churches for so quickly accepting false doctrines and even angrier at those who were teaching them. If he had shown a draft of this letter to a friend, his friend may have suggested to Paul, “Do you think you should sleep on this for a day or two before you mail it?” Paul may have responded, “I’ve already slept on it for two days and toned it down!”

This letter has been described as the Declaration of Independence of Christian liberty; the cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation. This is one book (along with Romans) that I believe Herbert W. Armstrong did not understand.

Here’s the issue: If you recall, the church was established on Pentecost in Jerusalem. Jesus told his disciples that they were to be his witnesses, in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Well, the church began with Jewish members (Messianic Jews) but as it spread beyond Israel, it became less Jewish and more Gentile. The big question, answered in Acts 15 was: “Do the Gentiles have to obey the Law of Moses? Apparently, some false teachers were telling the church that the Apostle Paul didn’t quite have his theology right. Gentiles, they taught, had to be circumcised (this is a shorthand for saying that they must keep the Law of Moses). In other words, they had to obey the dietary rules, observe all of the holy days of Lev 23, etc. This is what Herbert Armstrong taught us when we were in his group.

Paul insisted that salvation was never to be achieved by any amount of conformity to rules and regulations, even those given through Moses. Laws can only condemn us. They can never save us.

Those who thought otherwise criticized Paul for not being among the original disciples and that his motive for teaching an easy means of salvation was to ingratiate himself with the Gentiles. If you recall, the subject of salvation is the main subject of Paul’s letter to the Romans and is closely related to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who wanted to return to the ways of Moses, in part to avoid persecution. It is also interesting to note that in each of these three books, their authors quote from Habakkuk 2:4, “The righteous shall live by faith.” It is by grace, though FAITH, not of works (including keeping the Law of Moses) that we are saved.

1:6 “I 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- which is really no gospel at all.”

Now, imagine how this would sound if Paul had delivered this verse over the phone. What would he sound like? I imagine that he is screaming into the phone, spittle flying from his mouth, blood vessels bulging on his neck and forehead. Anyone around him might have been stunned into silence with their jaws open. Paul appears to be absolutely furious! Paul says that this so-called gospel was no gospel at all. If you recall, “Gospel” means “good news.” Do you think it would be “good news” to mankind if they were told that they had to obey all 613 laws of the Old Testament? Keep them? I couldn’t even remember ten percent of them.

1:8 “But even if we or an angel from heaven preached a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”

I’m reminded of Acts 17:11 where the Bereans were commended for searching the scriptures to see if what Paul said was true. Here Paul is saying that even if an angel brought you a different message, do not accept it. Can you name a religion that was founded on a message that was claimed to have come from an angel? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormons believe their message came from an angel named Moroni. In the introduction to The Book of Mormon it says, “On September 21, 1823, the same Moroni, then a glorified, resurrected being, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and instructed him relative to the ancient record and its destined translation into the English language.”

You might recall from your reading of II Cor 11:14 that Paul taught that Satan can disguise himself as an “angel of light.”

Having been in a cult, I know from first-hand experience, that error can be very attractively packaged to appear to be the truth of God.

1:10 “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Paul’s critics claimed that he was simply trying to gain a following by watering down the Truth of God. Now there were times when Paul would accommodate others, being “all things to all people” (I Cor 9:20), but never to the point of compromising the Gospel. 

2:6, 9 “As for those who seemed to be important . . . those men added nothing to my message . . . . James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship.”

Here we go again; Paul is defending his apostleship, again, much as he did in II Corinthians.

2:11 “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.”

Paul was not inferior to the other apostles. He was every bit their equal and he even confronted Peter for his hypocrisy, which is explained in verses 12-14. 

2:15-16 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is NOT justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”

This is probably the key verse in the whole book. The same point is made elsewhere in Paul’s writing. Rom 4:3 says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Eph 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Notice, we do not do good works in order to be saved, but because we are saved.

2:21 “. . . if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”

Can you imagine Jesus returning to heaven and God the Father asking, “Where have you been?” And Jesus replies, “I had to go to earth to die for the sins of man so they can be saved.” God the Father may have responded, “You idiot, you didn’t have to do that, I gave them the Laws of Moses to obey so that they could be saved.”

3:1 “You foolish Galatians!”

Compare his assessment of the Galatians with the Bereans in Acts 17:11. The Galatians were called “fools”; the Bereans were called “noble”. What do you think he would call those who wanted to return to the way of Moses as seen in the book of Hebrews?

3:2 “Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Law, or by believing what you heard?”

Paul was great at reasoning with people. Oftentimes you read in the book of Acts that Paul would “reason” with the Jews. Here he is asking them a question. “Think about this . . . .” If you recall from Acts 10, the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit. Yet they were not keeping the Law of Moses. How did they get the Holy Spirit? Not by baptism. Verses 45-47 shows that they had received the Holy Spirit BEFORE they were baptized. 

3:5 “Did God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard?”

Again, Paul is reasoning with them. Can’t you just hear Paul saying, “Stop and think for a minute . . . . .”

3:6 “Consider Abraham: “He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

3:10 All 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. Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

It’s as if God is giving you two options: 1. Obey the law perfectly, or 2. Faith. The problem with option number 1 is in the fine print it says that it say that the law has to be obeyed PERFECTLY. If you mess up once, you’re lost. The Law of Moses is a package deal. 

Some people try to separate the sacrificial and ceremonial law from the moral Law of Moses. But this can’t be done. II Chronicles 23:18 reads, “Then Jehoiada placed the oversight of the temple of the Lord in the hands of the priest, who were Levites, to whom David had made assignments in the temple, to present the burnt offerings of the Lord as written in the LAW OF MOSES.”

Here we see the ceremonial and sacrificial laws as part of the Law of Moses.

Also, keep in mind that the Law of Moses was given to Israel, a chosen and separate people. Under the New Covenant, the plan of God became universal, these laws, barriers and stumbling blocks, had to be removed.

James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” 

The Law of Moses is a package deal.

3:19 “What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.”

The purpose of the law is to demonstrate that we are sinners, in need of a savior. When I’m riding my motorcycle I sometimes wonder what the speed limit is out here in the country. I then see the speed limit sign and realize that I am breaking the law. I wouldn’t know if I was speeding unless there was a speed limit. Likewise, the law is in place to show us that we are sinners. But the law was only temporary, until “the Seed” comes. Who is the “Seed”? The seed is Jesus, promised to Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis 12. So the Law was temporary, to help us understand our sinfulness and need for a Savior.

3:24-25 “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.”

The Law of Moses was temporary. It was given through Moses and would end on Pentecost. Jeremiah predicted that the Old Covenant would be replaced by a New Covenant (Jer 31:31-32), an “everlasting one” (Jer 32:40; Heb 8:13). Now we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within is to guide us. Do you remember when you were trying to learn how to ride a bicycle? Did you have training wheels on it? Do you still need training wheels? I hope not. Once you learn how to ride, the temporary training wheels are removed. Later, in chapter 5 we will see the impact the Holy Spirit should have in our lives.

4:9, 10, 15 “But now that you know God-or rather are known by God-how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years. . . . What has happened to all your joy?”

When Paul is referring to “special days and months and seasons and years” he is referring to all of the Holy Days of Lev 23 and other Old Testament requirements such as the Sabbatical year (every seven years) and the Jubilee Year (every fifty years). The Seasons refer to the three Pilgrim Festivals (Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles). The Pilgrim Festivals required them to go to Jerusalem to observe those Holy Days.

Now notice, he asks, what happened to all of their joy. I have to tell you, when you are in a legalistic church, struggling to be good enough to earn your salvation by keeping all of the laws, there is no joy in that.

If I may go back to the introduction to The Book of Mormon, it says that The Book of Mormon is “a new and additional witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that all who will come unto him and obey the laws and ordinances of his gospel may be saved.”

Here we see that coming to Jesus is not enough, that one has to obey the “laws and ordinances” in order to be saved. The message of the Mormon Church is not much different from that of Herbert W. Armstrong or those who Paul condemned in the Book of Galatians. Back in 2003 I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA. There were so many reservists called to active duty that they had to house many of us off post. I was at a motel and my car was in the shop one weekend. On Sunday morning I thought that since there was a residential neighborhood nearby, they must have a church in the area. I decided that I would attend the first church I found in the area. I spotted a steeple in the distance and that became my target. When I approached the church the sign read, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Well, I entered in the middle of the services and sat in the back. They must have known I was a visitor since I was wearing sunglasses and blue jeans. I looked around and noticed that every man I saw was wearing black trousers and a white shirt. As I listened to the speakers I felt as if I was back in the Worldwide Church of God. There was a sense of oppression in the service. People were speaking of their failures and shortcomings; there was no joy to be found there. This is what the Galatians were experiencing. They lost their joy as they returned to their effort to earn the favor of God by observing Laws.

5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

Oftentimes, writers will use the term “circumcision” as shorthand for “The Law”.

5:12 “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves.”

WOW! Paul is appears to be really agitated. Might he have a stroke? For those who insist on circumcision, he says, they should be super-righteous and “cut it all off!” Have you ever noticed when others try to dictate rule to us, it is always “their rules” that they think we should obey? At a Bible camps there was a rule that said, “No Bible, no breakfast.” In other words, you must have your devotional time in the morning or you don’t eat. Excuse me, but where is that in Scripture? If someone “suggests” that you should pray for 30 minutes a day, just turn the tables on him and say, “Why not 60 minutes a day? You do love the Lord, don’t you?” I have come to resent rule makers who then have the audacity to dictate to others declaring it to be the Word of God. 

5:14 “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

If you insist on obeying a law, this is the only one you need concern yourself with. Love your neighbor. Think about it. If you love your neighbor, you don’t need another law that commands us not to lie, steal, murder, etc. If you love someone, you won’t hurt them. You would be kind to them. You would be generous to them, etc. 

Love your neighbor as yourself. That just about sums up what God would like for us to do. There are other passages in scripture which summaries the law. Moses had 613 laws-365 negative and 248 positive. Micah summarized it to three in 6:8, to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God; Isaiah summarized it to two in Isa 56:1, to maintain justice and to do what is right. Amos said, “Seek me and live” (Amos 5:4); and Habakkuk said, “live by faith” (Hab 2:4). Jesus said that we should love God and love our neighbors.

5:19-23 “The acts of sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like.”

As Paul discusses how we should life by the Spirit, rather than the Law, (v 16), he contrasts the fruit of our sinful human nature with the fruit of the Spirit (22-23).

Did you notice that “minor sins” like selfish ambition, discord and jealousy, are listed right beside immorality, witchcraft, etc.? Why do we overlook what we consider “minor” sins?

For an explanation of this passage, go to the Frequently Asked Question section and read the article entitled: Was He/She Saved?

6:1 “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.”

If you recall, when Paul advised the Corinthian church to disfellowship someone who was living in open sin, ( I Cor 12) he later urged them to restore him in II Cor 2:6. Again, we should never discipline someone out of hate, anger or other negative emotion or do it in a way that makes it impossible for him to return. The goal should be repentance and restoration; not embarrassment and destruction.

6:2, 5 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ . . . . each should carry his own load.”

First, Paul says that we should carry each other’s burdens; then he says each should carry his own burden. This is not a contradiction. We should each carry our own burden; but when they become overwhelming, others should come and assist. But, we are not under an obligation to help those who can, but won’t help themselves. II Thess 3:10 tells us, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” Notice it says “will not” rather than “cannot.”

The “Law of Christ” seen in verse 2 is the same as the Law of the Spirit found in Rom 8:2, “. . . through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.”

6:6 “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructors.”

6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Did you notice that our obligation to help other is not limited to our church family? Have you ever neglected your own family to do church work? I Tim 5:8 says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

From these passages it appears to me that there should be priorities in our lives: First, our immediate family; then relatives; then the church and finally those outside the faith.

We know that Paul continued to observe Jewish holidays (Acts 20:16; I Cor 16:8-9) and continued to refer to himself as a Jew. And, as we have read, the principles of Rom 14 and I Cor 8 he taught that there are things we can do, if we choose, even if others choose not to. But a Gentile who believes he earns God’s approval by doing what is not required and then imposes it onto others is wrong.

What is it about religions that require certain works in order to earn our salvation? Hinduism tells us we have to give up all desires. Buddhism tells us we have to follow Eight Principles. Judaism tells us to obey the Law of Moses. Islam says we have to pray five times a day and fast during the month of Ramadan. Humanists say we are saved by doing good to others. Only Christianity is the only major religion that says we are saved by grace through faith, not of works.

So here we have fierce enemies of the Gospel, Paul and the church. Who or what are the greatest enemies of the truth today?

Let me close with a comment concerning a passage that Herbert Armstrong used to quote to prove that Jesus did not come to do away with the Law of Moses.  In Matt 5:17 Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” As long as Jesus lived, He, as a Jew, was under the Mosaic Law and was obligated to keep it and to fulfill prophecy. The Law of Moses did not end with the coming of Jesus; but with His death.

The Law of Moses was not kept by those before Moses nor are they to be imposed upon the church. Please, do not let anyone destroy the joy of your salvation by their efforts to impose upon you Laws that have been done away with.

Now, Paul did continue to observe some of the Law of Moses, but he did it out of choice, not obligation. Take a look at Rom 14 for further guidelines on religious freedom.