STUDIES IN GALATIANS

Copyright © Rosemary Bardsley 2003

INTRODUCTION

Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia is a powerful and impassioned challenge to believers to live in the spiritual freedom obtained through the death of Jesus Christ and proclaimed in his Gospel. It is call to honour and embrace the grace of God.

Yet many Christians, probably most Christians, have little knowledge and understanding of this letter. For some, knowledge of Galatians is limited to the listed works of the flesh and fruits of the Spirit in Chapter 5. Some know of Galatians 2:20 - 'I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me' but sadly this verse has become for many a sanctificational ideal to strive for rather than the grand and victorious expression of the believer's identification with the saving death and resurrection of Christ our substitute, and the letter is turned in upon itself, and is interpreted to teach a similar bondage to that from which it seeks to rescue us.

Let us take ourselves back to Galatia, throwing off our own ideas of its message. Let us enter into the mind and heart of Paul, and behind him, into the very heart of God, as he pleads and agonizes with us to hold fast to the pure truth of the Gospel of grace, as he points out to us the fearful impact and implications of supposing that any law-keeping of our own contributes in any way to obtaining or maintaining our salvation.

CONTENTS

STUDY ONE: INTRODUCING PAUL AND HIS READERS

STUDY TWO: THE FALSE TEACHING CONFRONTED

STUDY THREE: PAUL'S GOSPEL

STUDY FOUR: FAITH VERSUS LAW

STUDY FIVE: FURTHER CONTRASTS

STUDY SIX: FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM

STUDY SEVEN: CHRISTIAN LIBERTY IN ACTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Vines: Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Oliphants, 1966.
• Accessed through www.e-sword.net :
• Barnes: Notes on the Bible
• Clarke: Commentary on the Bible
• Thayer: Thayer's Greek Definitions
• Vincent: Vincent's Word Studies