HOW I LOVE THE GREAT REDEEMER

INTRODUCTION

It has been suggested that Galatians can be viewed as one side of a debate. In this debate certain devious teachers had addressed the affirmative proposition among the Galatian churches. That proposition was that one must observe the law of Moses in order to be a good Christian.

Paul not only contradicted their proposition, but speaking by inspiration he challenged their motives, criticized their tactics and expressed concern about their objectives.

In 2:4, he said,

This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

While it may be style as a debate, it was not a mere academic contest with a trophy going to the winners. It was not a game in which sharp-tongued people tested their polemical skills. This was serious business. At stake was the heart of the gospel itself. That's why Paul said in

Galatians 4:11

I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

That intensity explains why the introduction is so brief and almost blunt. He wasted no time affirming his love for the Galatians. When we are reading apostolic writings so often we read over the introductions and go quickly to the heart of an apostolic book. It's best not to do that with Galatians. The introduction contains his "Sunday punch." It's a digest of the premises that Paul used throughout the debate.

Basically Paul made two points in Galatians and both of them are expressed in the introduction.

1. Point # 1. Paul wanted them to know that he was an inspired, divinely appointed spokesman for God.
2. Point # 2. He wanted his readers to know that the gospel centers in the person of Jesus Christ and his sacrificial death on the cross.

PAUL'S DEFENSE OF HIS CREDIBILITY

To appreciate Paul's defense of himself as an authoritative spokesman for God, we need to reconstruct some of the events that had transpired in the Galatian churches.

In our introductory lesson, we noted that Paul had traveled to Galatia on the first, second and third missionary journeys. The people in these churches knew Paul quite well. He and his companions had planted these congregations. They were pioneers, trailblazers for the faith among the Galatians. We really don't know if Paul wrote this letter in between journeys or after he had completed all three and it doesn't really matter. What does matter is the fact that he had been there and he had been there more than once. He once held a position of respect and honor among the people in those churches.

At this point some other teachers had arrived. They were not heathens, nor were they Jews bent on the destruction of Christianity. They were Jews who had become Christians. They were not native Galatians, but outsiders who had infiltrated the church and began to emphasize the teachings of the law - especially the duty of circumcision. You can imagine what probably happened. They were probably sitting around in a Sunday morning Bible class one morning (or whatever the first century equivalent of that was) and some timid brother in the back of the room raised his hand and said, "Our brother Paul didn't teach it that way."

Whether it went exactly that way or not, I can't be sure, but I know what happened next. They dropped the circumcision issue like a hot potato and concentrated all their big guns on Paul.

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