Galatians - Background Booklet
Location of the Galatian
Churches
During the days of Paul there were two areas known as
The oldest was
the geographical territory of
a Celtic people (Gauls) that had
migrated from southern
History
278 BC
Gauls of Southern Europe
had migrated to
232 BC
The
state became known as
25 BC
The last
independent ruler of
Northern Galatia included Pessinus,
They were:
Southern Galatia was called
Religious Background
Religion in Southern Galatians cities was more oriental
than Greek and involved degraded sensuous worship.
Greek philosophy and Roman morality demanded higher
expectations from human’s duty and government than the Eastern religions
provided.
Jewish synagogues had spread into these areas and gave an
alternative option that included truth and holiness.
The Gentiles could received the standard of truth and
holiness from Judaism, but did not embrace the temple and
sacrifices.
Paul’s Message
Paul’s message included faith in Christ, deliverance from
the corrupt world system and Jewish ethics.
Paul’s message brought salvation to the Gentiles, but at
the same time unraveled the core of Judaism (the law, temple and sacrifices.)
Paul’s Audience
The people who heard Paul’s message in
this case where the citizens of southern
Paul’s Use of Roman Roads
Acts 13:4-14:28
Paul sailed to Perga
He then took
the highway to Pisidian Antioch.
This highway
continued into
Paul’s
intention appears to be to take the road into
If he had
planned to go through
But, instead of
going on into
Roman Roads
The Roman road system was quite
remarkable in its extent - from throughout
Some of the most famous Roman
Roads right in Italy were the 160 mile (260 kilometers) Via Appia,
or Appian Way, which ran southeast from Rome down
through Tarentum, then straight to the Adriatic coast; the Via Aurelia, running
northwest up to Genoa; the Via Flaminia, that ran
northeast to the Adriatic; the Via Aemilia, that
crossed the Rubicon; the Via Valeria, eastward from Rome; the Via Latina, that
ran southeast. With
The Roman Roads were also noted
for the high quality of their construction. Most were straight, solid-surfaced,
and cambered for drainage just as modern highways are today. Along with natural
stone, they often used a form of concrete made from volcanic ash and lime.
The vast
The Roman Roads also served Christianity. Although the
early Christians often suffered tremendous persecution from the Romans, the Roman
Roads permitted the apostles and many of God's people (particularly those who
held Roman citizenship) to travel much more easily, while protected by
patrolling Roman troops from detachments who were stationed along the way.
The field engineer, assisted by a
stake man aligned the road with a groma and ran levels
with chorobates. A plow
was used to loosen the soil and mark the trench (fossa) margins.
Workmen dug trenches for a roadbed with a depth of 6 to 9 feet, carrying away
the dirt in baskets.
The earthen bed was tamped firm.
The foundation of lime mortar or sand was laid to form a level base (pavimentum). Next came stones of about 4 to 5 in. in diameter, cemented
together with mortar or clay (statument). This layer
could be anywhere from 10 inches to 2 feet deep.
The next course (rudus) was 9
to 12 inches of concrete filled with shards of pottery or stone. Atop this
layer was the nucleus, a concrete made of gravel or sand and lime, poured in
layers with each layer compacted with a roller. This layer was one foot at the
sides and 18 inc. at the crown of the road. The curvature was to allow good
drainage to the finished road.
The top course was the summum dorsum,
polygonal blocks of stone that were 6 inches or more
thick and carefully fitted atop the still moist concrete. When a road bed
became overly worn, this top course was removed, the stones turned over and
replaced. A road was 9 to 12 feet wide which allowed 2 chariots to pass in each
direction . Sometimes the road was edged with a high
stone walkway. Milemarkers indicated the distance. A
cart, fitted with a hodometer was
used to measure distances. Later maps detailed routes, miles towns, inns,
mountains and rivers. The first roads were quite straight going over hills
rather than around them.
Timeline
30
AD Cross
33 Stephen Martyred
35 Paul Saved
44 James Martyred
47 Paul’s First Missionary Journey
49
50 Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
52 Paul writes Galatians
Synagogue Service
1) Shema
2)
Prayer by synagogue leader
3)
Reading of the Law and prophets
4)
Sermon member of the congregation
5)
Closing Blessing
Paul’s Three Missionary Sermons
in Acts
In
In Lystra 114:15-17
In
Sermon in
13:17-20 Four points concerning
the Jewish faith:
1) God is God of Israel
2) God choose
3) Egyptian Redemption
4) God gave them an Inheritance
13:27-31 Four
points of the Christian faith:
1) Jesus was crucified
2) Jesus was laid in a tomb
3) God raised Jesus from the dead
4) Witnesses saw him alive
Paul Three OT Verses to Justify
the Faith
Psalm 2:7 To teach the resurrection. “Become” is the Greek word “Gennao” and is also used in John 1:13 and John 3:5. It speaks of a new relationship.
Isaiah 55:3 It had been promised to David that
his “son” would be resurrected in the next verse Paul uses, Psalm 16:10. The connection is the word “holy”. First, “I will give you the HOLY and sure
blessings. . .” and
“You will not let your HOLY ONE see decay.”
The exploitation of a common term to unravel its meaning was a common
practice among rabbis. Paul had been
trained by the rabbis.
Habakkuk 1:5 The prophets warned that when these verses were fulfilled there would be Jews
who would reject it.
“Scoffers” in the Greek means “one who despises; one who thinks down
on another.” In this case it is the word
of God and the Holy Spirit being “scoffed at.”
“Wonder” means to be amazed.
“Perish” means to be destroyed so as to vanish and disappear.
“Told you” means
First Stop in
During Paul’s first missionary
trip from the great
The first week in the synagogue
Paul preached about Christ by using Old Testament scriptures. (Acts 13:16-41)
One week later the whole city of
Reason For Jewish Resistance
Jealousy—Paul had gathered a
huge crowd in the Jewish synagogue from the Gentile city.
Gentile Crowds—Paul was not
telling the Gentiles to become Jewish proselytes. Paul was not converting people to a religious
system
Gospel Message—They were against what Paul was saying (13:45)
Even today people resist the
work of God because:
1–
they are jealous
2–
the converts are being led to God, and not led to
people
3–
people resist the gospel message
Acts 13:45 The Jews responded by “talking
abusively”. This is two Greek
words. The first means “to speak against, to contradict”. The second means to “blaspheme, to slander,
to defame”. Those that oppose God’s message first begin
with verbal abuse:
1) Contradict what God’s witnesses say
2) Blaspheme God himself
Acts 13:46 Paul and Barnabus
answered “Boldly”. This word suggests
that their response was filled with
abnormal eloquence and emotion.
Paul and Barnabus
said, “We had to speak. . .” which means it was “urgently necessary,
compelling, and a pressing need.” It was
necessary to speak to the Jews first since it is a God ordained purpose for
“do
not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life” is an interesting phrase in
13:46. The phrase eternal life would
have been understood by the Jews as a reference to the very thing they had been
waiting for over the centuries. It is a reference to the Hebrew phrase “The Life of the Age to
Come.” It is the resurrection life.
Notice, the gospel was offered
to them but they decided to reject it.
The gospel forces the individual to decide. The Bible shows many examples of where the
individual is responsible for their decision towards the gospel and towards
God. Several points to consider:
God’s judgment on man demands
that man is responsible for his decisions.
Ezekiel 18:4 “The soul who sins
is the one who will die.” The people of
Ezekiel’s day had developed several theological arguments to release them from
their own spiritual responsibility. Ezekiel had to teach them They were saying
things like, “The way of the Lord is not just” (Ez.18:25) because God’s
judgment was random, pointless and had nothing to do with the peoples own
hearts.
Luke 8:15— “But the seed on good
soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain
it, and by persevering produce a crop.”
Notice it was the same seed that fell on the road, the rocks, the weeds
and the different kinds of soil. God
sent the Word, but the individual decided.
Hebrews 6:7-10— “Land that
drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those
for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is
worthless and is in danger of being cursed.
IN the end it will be burned. . . God is not unjust.” Notice you can say the rain (or, God)
produced the thorns and thistles, but that same rain (God) also produced a
crop. The variable in this example was
the seed that was in the soil. The rain
(God) simply made it produce what was already there.
Hebrews 4:12 says the word of
God is a “double-edged sword.” The same
sword can defend you or it can kill you.
There is much to consider here
but our point is there is no room for hiding behind a false wall of spiritual irresponsibility. We are all responsible to how we respond to
God’s word. How we respond simply shows
our hearts and our attitudes. The Word
of God “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Paul and Barnabus
said to the Jews in Pisidain Antioch “Since you
reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to
the Gentiles.”
13:14—Paul and Barnabus now take a passage of scripture intended for the
Jews and personalize it for themselves: “I
have made you (singular in the Greek and not plural) a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring
salvation to the ends of the
earth.”
We to
should personalize the appropriate scriptures for ourselves. Today you are the light for the Gentiles. Today
you are bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. Today it is up to you to
either do the work or the Lord or not.
13:48 Gentiles were “glad”. They
began to rejoice Gentiles honored the “word of the Lord”. “Honored” comes from a word that comes from “doxozw” (glory or glorify) and means to glorify and to
praise. The Jews had blasphemed the word of the Lord.
“All who were appointed
for eternal life believed.”
“Appointed”
is the word “tetagmenoi”.
It is the perfect passive participle of “tassw” which means “to put in place, to appoint, to arrange, to
assign.” It may have the sense of having been
“enrolled” or “inscribed” in a book
ahead of time. The perfect tense of
the verb indicates a past event that is now completed or accomplished has a
continuing effect or consequence in the present. The passive voice expresses that the
subject receives the action of the verb.
The subject (here, the
believers) do not cause the action of the verb.
Generally speaking, the Jews in
Book of Life
“Another book was opened, which is the book of life. . .If
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire.” Revelation 20:12,15
Exodus 32:33- “ ‘Please forgive their sin—but if not, then
blot me out of the book you have written.’
The Lord replied to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out
of my book.’ ”
Psalm 69:28 “May they be blotted out of the
book of life and not be listed with the righteous.”
Isaiah 4:2, 3 “In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the
fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in
Daniel 12:1- “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will
arise. There will be a time of distress
such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose
name is found written in the book—will be delivered.”
Luke 10:20— “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names
are written in heaven.”
Philippians 4:3— “I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my
side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow
workers, whose names re in the book of life.”
Revelation 3:5 - “He who overcomes will like
them be dressed in white. I will never
blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before
my Father and his angels.”
Revelation 13:8— “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have
not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from
the creation of the world.”
Revelation 17:8— “The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book
of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, . . .”
Revelation 21:27— “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is
shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s
book of life.”
Review of Book
of Life:
Ex.32— blot out a name among names already there
Ps 69—blotting out a mane already written; names
left are righteous
Isaiah 4—book records those who are left to live in
Dan.12:1—People in book will be delivered in the
end
Luke 10—disciples’ names are in the book
Phil 4— Paul’s fellow workers re in the book
Rev. 3:5— Overcomers are
never blotted out
Rev. 13:8—Names not in the book worship the beast
Rev. 17:8—Names not written in the book from
creation of world
Rev.21:27— Names in the book enter the city. Names of shameful and deceitful are not in
the book.
The Book of Life may be a book of all the living,
or those born into the world. Those who do not trust in Christ are blotted
out.
Even in the book names are eliminated based on what they did in life.
Parts of the Book of Galatians
Chapters 1 and 2 Paul’s personal story used to defend his apostleship and so
defend his message
Chapters 3 and 4 Doctrinal attack on Judie's and
their false message
Chapters 5 and 6 Emphasizing the ministry (work)
or the Holy Spirit in contrast to work of the flesh.
Reason for Writing the Book
The Galatians do not appear to
have written a letter to Paul (for he does not answer it in his letter.)
Paul does not appear to hear
rumors or personal reports (for he does not question the truthfulness.)
Paul has not recently been in
Most likely Paul was approached in
Paul Leaves
Taking the Good
and the Bad (Acts
13:49-52)
13:49 “The word of the Lord
spread through the whole region.”
13:50 “The
Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city.
They stirred up persecution against Paul
and Barnabas. . .”
Just like in physics there is
always an equal and opposite reaction.
It always seems that about the time someone believes and accepts the
gospel there is someone who is blaspheming and rejecting the gospel.
The conflict is not between Paul
and the people. The issue is between the
people and the God’s message. Some
receive it and spread it. Others reject
it and try to stop it. It is always this
way.
The angel told Daniel: “None of the wicked will understand, but
those who are wise will understand.”
(Daniel 12:10)
“God fearing women of
high standing” would have been the gentile women who had been involved in the
synagogues. They were of high standing
and most likely married to the leading men of the city. These
women where used by the unbelieving Jews to take a bad (and a false)
report back to their husbands concerning Paul and Barnabus. The husbands, or leading men of the city,
would not have been directly involved with the synagogues themselves but where
able to make judicial rulings concerning Paul and Barnabus’ right to preach a “new” religion.
Once the Jews rejected Paul and Barnabus the Christian message lost its legal status as an
accepted religion (religiio lacita). Paul and Barnabus
and their Christian message where quickly made illegal by the
authorities.
This persecution was not
physical but legal. It had began with verbal persecution. The word of God and those who embrace it will
go through a similar sequence of persecution.
First
. . . . . . . . . Verbal
Persecution
Second.
. . . . . . Legal Persecution
Third. . . . . . . . . Physical
Persecution
Through out the 1900’s
Christianity became increasingly criticized by groups within our culture. Beginning in the 1960’s we saw Christianity
attacked in the courts. Anti-Christian
opinions have now become law and are being enforced in our country. As Christian “rights” decrease and laws
opposing the faith increase we will soon find ourselves persecuted in the
physical realm. Already, Christian
symbols are illegal in public places. Do
you think it will get better in our culture?
Can we turn the tide of our culture?
Will things continue to deteriorate?
Is our mission like Paul’s to convince as people to accept the gospel?
Paul and Barnabus’s
reaction
13:51 1) Shook the dust from their feet in
protest.
A) A Jewish gesture of scorn and disassociation.
B) Jesus told them to do this in Luke 9:5;
10:11:
“If
people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their
town, as a testimony against them.”
C) It was customary for Jews to do this to a
pagan town when they left. It was a
symbol of separating themselves from the sin of those who do not worship God. For a Jew to do this to another Jew as Paul
did here was the same thing as regarding them as pagan Gentiles. Paul was saying to these Jews in Antioch Pisidia that they were now left behind with out God and
where now just like the unbelieveing Gentiles of the Old Testament.
13:52 2) The disciple s were filled with joy
and with the Holy Spirit
A) It was clear the message had been communicated
because of the reaction.
B) Many Gentiles and Jews had become believers
C) These same believers had already taken the message and began to spread it to the whole
region.
Paul Goes to Iconium (Acts 14:1-7)
The city was connected by a
roadway to Pisidian Antioch some eighty miles to the
northwest and had good lines of trade and communication. It was a Greek minded
community with a significant but not dominant Jewish community. As a more
democratic and Greek metropolis, resistance against Paul and Barnabas was not
swift and decisive as in places with dominant leadership structures. In this
city some of this community stirred up mobs against Paul’s message, but Paul
was evidently able to manage the unrest for a period. The team remained in
place, and saw considerable success in their preaching. After a spell of
success, another mob began to stir. Unlike Pisidian
Antioch, where the aristocrats expelled Paul and his companion, the mob of the
Hellenes was stirred and eventually threatened to stone them. Barnabas and Paul
fled the city south to Lystra and Derbe.
14:1—They
went to the Jewish synagogue.
14:2—A
great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.
Notice: Paul did not quit. He realized the mark of success. People had heard the gospel and made a
choice. So they continued. Many would consider their time in Antioch Pisidia to have been a failure.
14:2— “Jews refused to
believe. . .” or literally, “The disobeying Jews. . .” Here we see the opposite of
believing the gospel is to disobey it. Unbelief is disobedience to the
truth.
A) Romans 1:18, “. . .men
who suppress the truth by their wickedness
. . .For although they knew god, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him. . . Although they claimed
to be wise, they became fools. . .”
B) Psalm 53:1, “The fool says in his heart,
‘There is no God.’”
“stirred
up the Gentiles” “stirred up” also means
to excite. The Jews
where making accusations that would draw the Gentiles in on the debate and side
them against the apostles.
“Poisoned their minds
against their brothers”
(This staged the
believing Gentiles against the unbelieving Gentiles) “Poisoned” means “to make evil, to injure, to
irritate.”
The Jews who where disobedient
to the gospel would certainly lie about and fabricate stories about Paul and Barnabus and their
message and their purpose. The
unbelieving (disobeying Gentiles) had no trouble believing or accepting the
lies as the truth.
What was Paul’s response to the
problem of having the messge under attack?
“So Paul and Barnabas spent
considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord. . .”
As the false accusation and poison increased Paul and Barnabas spent
more time there and boldly spoke the
truth. In the Greek, “for the Lord” is “epi to kuriw” or
“upon the Lord” indicating “upon the basis of the Lord” or “in reliance upon the Lord.” They not only were speaking the word of the
Lord but where doing it because:
1)
of who the Lord was,
2)
what the Lord had assigned them to do,
3)
and relying on him to support his message.
There is power in the truth of
the word of God. The power is not in the
messenger. God sends for his word.
“As
the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without
watering the earth and making it bud and flourish.
. .so is my
word that goes out form my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will
accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11
What was the Lord’s
response?
“. . .the
Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous
signs and wonders.”
First, notice that the message
the Lord confirmed with signs and wonders was “the message of his grace.”
“Wonder” The purpose of a wonder is to produce astonishment in the
person who sees it. The word “wonder”
is never used by itself in the scripture.
A wonder without a purpose would simply amaze people as if it were a
form of entertainment. A “wonder” occurs
to get attention and point you to something bigger. If there is nothing more than an amazing
event that causes people to “wonder” then the scriptural purpose is not met. The word “wonder” occurs only in connection
with words like “sign.”
“Sign” which serves as an
indication of the presence and working of God.
The main purpose of a sign is that they are a pledge of something beyond themselves. They say that the doer or the message that
the sign accompanies is in direct connection with a higher world. A sign confirms the message.Example: The angels message
to the shepherds was given with a sign to confirm what they were saying was
true. The shepherds would find a baby in
a manger, or when the shepherds found a new born baby laying in the feeding
trough in a barn then they knew the words were true and that they had the right baby.
“The
things (credentials) that mark an apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance.” Paul
writing to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 12:12
Points concerning signs and
wonders:
1) There is no reason why God can not and will
not use signs and wonders today in the appropriate situations. Signs
and wonders are found from the beginning of time to the end of time and from
Genesis to Revelation. To say that they
do not happen today is the result of theological arrogance of secular man.
2) There is no guarantee that God has to or will
use a sign or wonder at any time. That
is part of what makes it a “sign” and a “wonder.” The sun coming up in the morning is a
demonstration of the power of God, but it is not considered a sign or a
wonder. To believe that God is obligated
to perform signs and wonders is presumption and sloppy theology.
3) There are times where God will not use signs
and wonders because the people already have ample reason to believe. A sign or a wonder would be worthless in helping
advance the purpose of God. Example:
“
‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they
will repent.’ ‘He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the
Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:30-31
4) The power is always in the word of God and
never in the sign or wonder. The purpose
of the sign and wonder is always the word of God. Once you have accepted or rejected the word of
God the need for a sign no longer exists.
14:4 “The people of the city were
divided: some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.” Jesus had said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace
to the earth. I did not come to bring
peace, but a sword.” Mat. 10:34
14:5 The verbal persecution had become
legal persecution and now it reaches an attempt at physical persecution.
Paul and Barnabus move onto Lystra
and Derbe
14:8—Paul saw an
man had “faith”. This means the man was
receptive to the gospel message. His
“faith” was not in the message of healing, but in the message of salvation. Jesus nor the
apostles “preached healing.” They
preached salvation through Jesus Christ.
Salvation can be manifest in the physical body by the power of the
Spirit. Hebrews 6:5 calls it “the powers
of the coming age.” In the coming age
all will be healed.
14:11—The
local people shouted in their local language and Paul did not understand until
they saw the local worshippers from the local temple to Zeus coming to
sacrifice to them.
14:15—Paul’s message was not a
scriptural message for the Jews, but an apologetic message for the heathen. This is similar to his message in
14:19—Paul is apparently killed and refers to this in 2 Corinthians12.
Events Between The First Visit (47 AD) &
The Letter (52 AD)
Return to
Peter is Misled Gal.
2:11
Paul Goes Through
Paul Meets Timothy in Lystra Acts 16:1-3
Paul Moves Through
Paul Goes to
Paul Goes to Thessalonica Acts
17:1
Paul Goes to
Paul in
Paul in
-Paul
Starts a church
-Paul
Writes 1 & 2 Thesalonians
Paul Leaves for
Paul Stops in
-Here he
receives a report concerning the Galatians and writes back a letter.
Paul goes onto
Paul
returns to the Antioch Church Acts 18:22
Judaizers
Blood sacrifice is not salvation.
Abel was saved by faith. (Gen. 4)
Cain replaced it with his own
merit and good works.
History is filled with people
of:
1) Faith .
. . . Saved by faith in Christ (Messiah)
2) Rituals without Reality.
. .Symbolic teaching methods that have lost their meaning. Could be Jewish
sacrifices, communion, etc)
3) Human Merit . . .Trusting
in personal works to achieve God’s standard of holiness (which is perfection)
The Israelites used sacrifices
as:
1) An expression of their faith
2) Some simply went through a ritual with no
faith to receive
the grace of salvation. They believed
they were saved by the institution of ritual.
3) Many developed a system of rules for the Law
to produce salvation by works.
The Galatians were inspired by Judiazers to earn their salvation. The Letter to the Hebrews was an attack on those who were attempting
to achieve salvation by observation of the ritual of the
Ritual without reality is false
doctrine aimed at the Jew
Human merit is false doctrine
aimed at the Gentile.
Judaizers in Philippians 3:2-6:
“Dogs”
- is a Greek word of reproach among Jews / Gentiles
“Evil
Doers” - they did evil by coming against the gospel
“Mutilators
of Flesh” - is the same word used in the LXX Septuagint)
to refer to pagan religions inflicting cuts, etc. in their bodies.
Believers are said to worship in
the Spirit.
Judaizers worship in the Flesh.
Judaizers depend on these elements for divine acceptance:
1) Circumcision - This was a marking that
showed a person was a member of the Chosen People of Israel. This rite never had anything to do with
personal salvation. Judaizers made it a prerequisite
for salvation. Acts 15:1
2) Of the stock of
3) Ecclesiastical position in the
religious system Example: Paul was a Pharisee
4) Observance of the Law They believed they were made righteous by obeying the
Law. Romans 9:30-33; 3:21; 10:5; Philippians 3:9
Paul says in Philippians 3:4-7
that he has every one of these advantages if he would teach Judaism. But, Paul willing through away all these
religious advantages (which really mean nothing before God) and replaced them
with faith in the Christ.
Salvation is not by works Romans
4:1-8
Salvation is not by ordinances (circum) Romans 4:9-12
Salvation is not by the Law Romans
4:13-25
Two Groups of Jews:
1) The Judaizers
preached Jesus of
2) Other Jews persecuted the church.
* Neither of these where
members of the true
Paul was opposed by the Judiazers because:
Paul was not one of the original 12 disciples/apostles
Paul had not heard Jesus’ voice during earthly ministry
Paul had not seen Jesus during his earthly ministry
Paul had not attended Christ’s ministry
Paul had not been “sent out” by Christ like the others
Paul had not received his gospel by revelation
Reason for writing the
Book of Galatians
The Galatians do not appear to have written a letter to Paul for he does
not answer it in his letter.
Paul does not appear to hear rumors or personal reports for he does not
question the truthfulness.
Paul has not recently been in
Most likely Paul was approached in