In our last visit I invited you to a study of the book of Galatians.
Paul had tried living for God by diligently keeping the law. He was convinced this was the only way to know and serve God, and was vehemently opposed to anyone who proposed another way. This led him to persecute those who believed and proclaimed faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ as the way. But once he was confronted by Jesus Christ all that changed.
He put it this way in Galatians 1:15-16: “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles.” Everything he had opposed now made sense. He embraced those he had previously persecuted. Under the tutelage of Jesus Christ Himself Paul was grounded in the truth and never wavered in his commitment to the truth which had set him free. Throughout the rest of his life he tirelessly, uncompromisingly and graciously poured out his life to reach his world for Christ.
He had planted the churches he was now addressing in this letter, because he heard they were being led astray by some who believed they needed to follow the law and be circumcised before they were truly saved. That’s why he declared in Galatians 1:6-9: “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.” In fact, “If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned.”
Those are strong words, but necessary to protect the truth of the Gospel.
