Galatians
Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. Each review contains quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover Galatians, a book written in the first century AD and one that is part of a larger collection of books called The Bible.
Galatians
Author
The apostle Paul
Introduction
This New Testament book is actually a letter that was written to the churches of Galatia, a Roman province in what is now Turkey. Galatians is one of several letters written by the apostle Paul and is also his most intense. Although the actual year it was written is not widely agreed upon, it is believed to be one of Paul's earliest letters. It gives us a strong presentation of the truth that sinners are justified and live godly lives by trusting in Jesus alone. Paul is very harsh and clear and explicitly outlines that the pathway to salvation is by faith, not works.
Message and Purpose
Galatians was written to clarify and defend "the truth of the gospel" (2:5,16) in the face of a false gospel. This was done by:
Defending Paul's message and authority as an apostle
Considering the Old Testament basis of the gospel message
Demonstrating how the gospel message Paul preached worked practically in daily Christian living
Paul chose this approach to correct those in Galatian churches in regard to both their faith and practice related to the gospel. A heavy emphasis is placed on the freedom that Christ-followers have and the community that Christ-followers must exhibit to one another.
Remarkable Chapter
Although this letter only contains six chapters, each chapter packs a punch. I think perhaps the most remarkable chapter is Chapter 5, which discusses the freedom we have in Christ and how that freedom must not be lost through legalism. This chapter (and the whole book) tells us much about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in relation to the Christian life. After the Spirit's role in the ministry of adoption (4:5-6), believers are commanded to "walk by the Spirit" (5:16), be "led by the Spirit" (5:18) and "follow the Spirit" (5:25). The moment-by-moment outcome of that kind of sensitivity to the ministry of the Holy Spirit is what is meant by "the fruit of the spirit" in verses 22-23:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
The mention of "love" first in the list looks back to verse 6, and then again in verses 13-14. "Self-control" (in Greek is the word egkrateia, which means "holding in passions and appetites") is placed last in the list for emphasis, because all the works of the flesh reflect lack of self-control.
Conclusion
Galatians is one of my absolute favorite books in all of Scripture. Paul's words in this letter are brutally honest and forthright which makes for an eye-opening experience for the reader. Among all else, Paul's mission in writing this letter was to turn the eyes of the Galatian churches back to the one, true gospel. So I ask you, the reader, to implore the same question Paul urged the Galatian churches to consider. And regardless of whether or not you are a Christian, consider this: If you have been freed from slavery once, (why) would you go back to it?