Intro to Galatians

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. 
Galatians 1:10 

One of the most heinous and grievous sins that we still see today is the trafficking of woman and men in the sex trade. And even worse, too many who are rescued and liberated out of this land of oppression find themselves back in it. Having been set free, they are lured back and brought back into captivity into the life that they had struggled to get free from. And as monstrous as it is that there are people who steal the freedom of woman and men now, a worse thing was occurring in the Galatian region. Many of the churches were turning away towards another Gospel and were being persuaded to return back to a life under the law and away from the grace of God. These false teachers were placing on the backs of these Galatian believers the yoke of the law which would only lead to death. As a counter-measure, Paul delivers his letter to them in defense of the grace of God. This brief letter was one that was urgently needed by the Galatians and one that even Martin Luther called “my epistle” and added “To it I am, as it were, in wedlock. It is my Katherine.”

Paul had preached the Gospel and established churches in the region during his missionary journeys and as quickly as he had brought the Gospel to the people, many Jews were following behind and handcuffing the people back to the law. One way that they were doing this was by telling the people that without circumcision it was not possible to please God and be reconciled to Him. This message was contrary to what he had preached to them and he warned that those who delivered these false Gospels, whether by men or angels, were to be anathema (forever condemned and separated from God). This is not to say that believers are to completely abandon the law for Paul understood that the law served to guard the faith until Christ came (3:24-25).

And since Christ has come, salvation has come with him. In order for man to be reconciled with the Father, they simply need to place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and to be crucified with him and to have him live in us (2:19-21; 5:16-24). Which then brought Paul to close with some final instructions. Having been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ and been crucified spiritually with him, we are to live in newness of life. We are to “live by the Spirit” and called to live in service of one another, not growing “weary of doing good…to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (5:25-6:10). In this holiday season, let us too not return to the yoke of the law thinking that our good deeds will merit a good thing for us (like the children‘s song about Santa Claus). Instead, let us consider how we may serve one another with joy, never losing sight of the Gospel which has saved us.

*If you would like to find ways to liberate women who have been trafficked or are captive in the sex trade in Houston, TX, please visit Elijah Rising. There you can find several ways in which you can help and even schedule a two-hour-long tour of high-probability trafficking sites in our city along with a Human Trafficking 101 class.

Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez

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