Galatians: Robertson's Notes (Volume 48)

The Apostle Paul and Barnabas established churches in four cities within Galatia on what is commonly termed, "The first tour of Preaching." It did not take long, however, for Judaizing false teachers to creep into the church and destroy the faith of many. These teachers taught that Christians were to not only observe the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ but they were to also be circumcised and observe Jewish ceremonies of the Mosaic Law. Paul uses two primary arguments to defuse these erring doctrines. First, Paul argues that all men are justified in the same manner as Abraham. Abraham was justified by faith before the Mosaic Law was revealed (see Galatians 3:17). Abraham's faith was reckoned unto him for righteousness because he manifest it through obedience to God's rules (see Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6; James 2:21-24). Secondly, Paul identifies the distinction between "the rudiments of the world" and the "Law of Jesus Christ" in relationship to man's justification. While all law demands perfect obedience it is the law of Christ alone that offers forgiveness to the erring. The great value of the epistle is that it teaches us that we can be saved by no other means than through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. No personal conviction, opinion, conscience, or spiritual expectation of my own will save me from my sins. This study of Galatians is interactive with the student in that it provides questions at the end of each chapter. The book may be studied in a Bible class setting or alone as a personal study.