Road signs are meant to keep drivers on the correct path. These signs help keep everyone safe. To ignore them invites disaster. Consider what would happen if there were no stop or yield signs along the road? If one relates books of the Bible to traffic signs, then Galatians is one that denotes “One Way.”
Our next eight lessons cover the chapters of this terse, right to the point letter. Six lessons, titled “Only by Faith in Christ Jesus” will focus on Galatians 1:1-5:1. Two lessons, based upon Galatians 5:2-6:18, will highlight the importance of living out the truth of salvation by grace through faith. This unit is titled “The Gospel in Life.”
Of the 13 letters Paul penned in the New Testament, Galatians is the most forcefully written of all. His language is blunt—“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (1:6). At times, Paul is critical of the people—“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you” (3:1)? On more than one occasion, he expresses his opinion with the words, “absolutely not” (2:17, 3:21). What was behind these emotionally charged words? What was driving Paul?
What the Bible says
Most of Paul’s letters begin with a warm greeting followed by a prayer of thanksgiving. In Galatians, Paul skips the prayer. Instead, he launches right into two issues—first, the perversion of the gospel itself and second, the integrity of Paul and his work. For him, these two were inseparable. The Galatian believers were heading the wrong way. They were turning away from the truth Paul had preached to them.
Paul identifies a group commonly known as Judaizers when he says “some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ” (1:7). These Jewish Christians held to many of the Old Testament ceremonial practices and demanded Gentile believers submit to certain rules, particularly circumcision. These Judaizers apparently were very successful. Imagine how easy it was to convince new converts they must believe in Jesus and commit to certain rites and practices.
Paul felt strongly about any who would add requirements in addition to accepting Jesus by faith alone. He wrote, “if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned” (1:9)! Paul knew much was at stake here. There was only one way to salvation—by faith in Jesus the Christ, nothing more and nothing less.
What the Bible means for me today
Can one identify any perversions of the gospel in the present day? Is there any room for tolerance of other viewpoints? At what point does acceptance of other viewpoints become a denial of the gospel of Christ? These questions deserve careful and prayerful attention.
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Any movement or teaching that adds anything to the premise of salvation “by faith alone” is a perversion of the genuine gospel message. One need not look far to identify groups who have clearly twisted the teaching of Scripture. Freedom of religion in our country rightly allows all groups to practice their teachings without fear of persecution. This freedom does not mean they are right. Followers of Jesus do well to evaluate and test the teachings of other groups. Followers of Jesus do well to refute and reject teachings that dilute the meaning of salvation by faith.
An incipient form of legalism is alive and well within the church today. You may not hear calls for believers to practice circumcision as a requirement for salvation, but you can hear calls for adding this or that in order to be a genuine Christian. Consider the following:
• God helps those who help themselves. At first glance, this seems reasonable. Upon closer inspection, this idea completely ignores the fact that God reached down to us through Christ because we could not help ourselves at all.
• When I die, I hope my good deeds outweigh my bad ones. This is the most popular understanding of salvation in the minds of most people. Once again, salvation depends upon my efforts, not God’s grace.
• I am a Christian because I was baptized. How many people have substituted this powerful symbol of obedience for salvation itself? This perversion is very hard to root out of one’s mind.
• God loves me because I go to church most every Sunday. Church attendance as a means of salvation means I can chart my attendance and know just where I stand.
The above examples point to good things. Every committed follower of Christ wants to be helpful, wants to do good, should follow the example of believer’s baptism and should be actively connected to a local congregation. Believers do these things because they have experienced salvation by grace through faith. They become perversions when they become the means, the way of salvation.
Drivers know the perils of the road. One can become lost just trying to read and follow the signs. That’s why the one way sign is so important. Its presence points out the correct direction. To ignore it invites disaster. The road of life has many twists and turns as well. There is one way to salvation—faith in Jesus Christ. For anyone to disregard the Way is tragic. For anyone to lead another away from the Truth is unacceptable.
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