I’m working through the book of Galatians. I just finished reading the book, and now I’m going back over it and rereading and doing a deeper study of the word. Years ago, when I first became a Christian, I was so hungry for the word that I would read it and the Holy Spirit would begin to show me what the verses meant. I’d get an impression of where the text was going, but wouldn’t stop to allow that impression to develop into a complete thought. I was like a starving baby with a bottle of milk…drinking so fast I was spilling it. Now I get the same desire to keep reading to get more and more… but what I do is, I go back after and do a slow walk through. The scripture is in bold, my thoughts are in italic.

Galatians 1:1-24

1 ¹Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

Paul is introducing himself and giving his position and how he came to be an apostle. He was appointed by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. Paul is reminding the reader of a couple of things. One is his position that Jesus gave him, 2 who Jesus is…the Son of God, 3 that Jesus was raised from the dead. Paul was once a man who followed the Law, but after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he is now a born again believer called to be an apostle of Jesus. The Law was given to point out sin, it could not redeem us because none of us could keep the law since we are all sinners. Jesus, who laid down his life and paid the price for our sins, rose again from the dead. Having faith is Jesus and receiving salvation through his death and resurrection is spiritual, and the law is flesh. This is what this book covers.

² And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:

³ Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴ Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

⁵ To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

⁶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

⁷ Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Paul is confronting the body of believers at Galatia because they allowed someone to come in and change the gospel which they began to follow. This new belief was a perversion of the true gospel.

⁸ But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

⁹ As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Any changes to the Gospel is a serious matter.

¹⁰ For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Since the beginning, mankind has twisted what God’s word says into what they want it to say… but why? The reason is…. so we can control things instead of allowing God to control things. In the instance with the Galatians they allowed people to come in and combine following the Law with walking in Faith. Meaning, they were teaching that Jesus’s death for our sins was not enough, that the body of believers still had to follow the law. The law is more than the 10 commandments… there are things like circumcision and other customs and observances.

¹¹ But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

¹² For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

¹⁴ And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵ But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,

¹⁶ To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

In these verses above, Paul talks about his service to the Law in the Jew’s religion and then his conversion into becoming a Christian. He outlines the difference between the two. In one, he was actually causing the death of Christians… so he was in the flesh following the religion… but then he had an encounter with Jesus and began walking in the Spirit…. actually converting people through sharing the Gospel to Christianity. Remember, he is confronting an issue where people were trying to bring both together… the Jewish religion and Christianity. In the early church the Jewish religion, because they rejected Jesus, wanted to stop the spread of the gospel.

¹⁷ Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

¹⁸ Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

¹⁹ But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

²⁰ Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

²¹ Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

²² And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:

²³ But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

²⁴ And they glorified God in me.

It seems to me that re-embracing the old religious traditions was an act of not trusting that Jesus’s free gift of salvation is enough to save them, they still needed to work to feel saved… which isn’t how it works…. because nothing man can do compares to the free gift that Jesus gave us… and if man could earn salvation by works of following a religion, then why did Jesus come here to die for our sins? The answer, because works and following religion can’t pay the debt or stop mankind from being sinful…. we must be forgiven and there is only one way to do that…. believe in Jesus and accept his payment for your sins when he laid down his life. It takes faith and people who have lived with traditions and religion their entire life have a hard time letting go of works and trusting. They walk in the flesh following the law instead of walking in the Spirit following Jesus.