Bible Study

“Those people”, in verse seventeen, refers to false teachers who claimed to be religious experts and authorities in Judaism and Christianity. By appealing to the believers’ desire to do what was right, they drew quite a crowd. Paul said, however, that they were wrong and that their motives were selfish. False teachers are often respectable […]

Paul’s illness was a sickness that he was enduring while he visited the Galatian churches. The world is often insensitive to the pain and misery of others. Paul commended the Galatians for not scorning him, even though his condition was a trial to them. Such caring was what Christ meant when he called us to […]

Jesus was born of a woman – he was human. He was born as a Jew – he was subject to God’s law and fulfilled it perfectly. Thus, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice because, although he was fully human, he never sinned. His death bought freedom for us who were enslaved to sin, so that […]

The “basic principles of the world” are the elementary stages of religious practice, whether in the pagan or Jewish religion. Paul uses the illustration of slavery to show that before Christ came and died for sins, people were in bondage to the law. Thinking they could be saved by it, they became enslaved to trying […]

In Roman society, a youth coming of age laid aside the robe of childhood and put on a new toga. This represented his move into adult citizenship will full rights and responsibilities. Paul combined this cultural understanding with the concept of baptism. By becoming Christians and being baptized, the Galatian believers were spiritually grown up […]

When God gave his promise to Abraham, he did it by himself alone without angels or Moses as mediators. Although it is not mentioned in Exodus, Jews believed that the Ten Commandments had been given to Moses by angels. Paul was showing the superiority of salvation and growth by faith over trying to be saved […]

In the same way that we claim Jesus’ death as God’s progression for salvation, Abraham believed in God and his promises, although they would not have made fully evident until centuries later on the cross. God promised, and Abraham answered in faith, even during the trial of God asking him to sacrifice his son. This […]

Paul quoted Deuteronomy 27:26 to prove that, contrary to what the Judaizers claimed, the law cannot justify and save—it can only condemn. Breaking even one of God’s commandments brings a person under condemnation. Because everyone has broken the commandments, everyone stands condemned. The law can do nothing to reverse the condemnation. But Christ took the […]

Galatians knew that they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed, not when they obeyed the law. People still feel insecure in their faith because people still try to get closer to God by the normal Christian habits of Bible study and prayer. While these may help us grow, they must not take place […]

The Galatian believers had become fascinated by the false teachers’ arguments. Magic was common in Paul’s day. Magicians used optical illusions and Satan’s power to perform miracles, and people were drawn into the magician’s mysterious rites without recognizing their dangerous source. The believers in Galatia knew that they had not received God’s spirit by obeying […]