I see that I have fallen behind in this series on the “New Testament in a Nutshell” in my posts that provide a bullet-point overview of each book (“at a glance”) and the kinds of questions I ask my students to reflect on after they have studied the text.  Catch-up time!  Here I deal with the letter to the Galatians.  If you want to review the earlier nutshell posts on it, you can find them here:

At a Glance:  Galatians

  1. The letter to the Galatians is written to a group of churches in the Roman province of Galatia, in Asia Minor.
  2. Paul had established churches there; but after he left, other missionaries arrived proclaiming a different version of the gospel.
  3. These other missionaries insisted that Gentiles had to become circumcised and keep the Jewish Law to be fully right with God.
  4. Paul’s angry response begins with an autobiographical sketch designed to show that his version of the gospel came directly from God through a vision of Christ, not through any human agency.
  5. He then argues vehemently that salvation comes to Gentiles by faith in Christ alone, not by keeping the Jewish Law. Any Gentile who thinks Law observation is necessary has missed the point and may well miss out on salvation.
  6. The letter concludes with ethical admonitions, showing that for Paul, the Law-free gospel does not lead to lawless behavior.

Paul seems unusually angry in his letter to the Galatians, more than in his other letters. Why do you think that is? 

Questions for Reflection: Galatians

  1. Paul seems unusually angry in his letter to the Galatians, more than in his other letters. Why do you think that is?  Compared with, say, the severe moral and theological problems in Corinth the Galatians’ issues seem far less significant.  Why would Paul be so upset if the men in the congregation decided to be circumcised?
  2. Pretend you are a Christian in the church of Galatia who thinks that Paul has gotten his gospel completely wrong, while the disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem (e.g., James and Cephas) have it right: to be a true follower of the Jewish messiah, you have to follow the Jewish Law. Argue your case.
  3. Paul makes a vehement argument in Galatians that followers of Jesus are not to adopt the ways of Judaism, and are not to be concerned about keeping the “works of the [Jewish] law.” If that’s the case, why, near the end of the letter, does he tell his readers they are to serve one another because the law is fulfilled by those who keep the commandment “love their neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14; quoting Leviticus 19:18).  Doesn’t that assume that they are to fulfill the law?  Why not the entire law?