Journey Through Galatians

2 Timothy 3:16 says that God’s Word is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” We are looking at the Epistle to the Galatians, but I bring up this verse because there is a beautiful order found in it. It is actually the order of the epistles found in our New Testament: doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction.

We began our journey through the epistles with Romans in Paul’s letters, and Romans was basically a doctrine. Then you come to Corinthians, which is largely reproof. Now we arrive at Galatians. What is Galatians? Primarily, it is a correction. Paul is correcting perversions of the true gospel.

Listen: Journeying through Galatians

Overview of Galatians

I cannot think of a book that speaks any more to the great need in churches and in Christianity today than the book of Galatians, because there is so much perversion of truth. Countless voices are asserting so many ideas. We need a spiritual reset button, a return to the simplicity of the gospel, the simplicity that is in Jesus Christ. This particular book was Martin Luther’s favorite book for dealing with the Roman Catholic Church.

Galatians has been called the Christian’s Magna Carta, or Declaration of Independence. It is all about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do not think that the gospel is only for lost people. NO! It is the ground out of which every other good thing in your life grows.

Outline of Galatians

• Galatians 1:1-2:14 is personal. The Apostle Paul writes about his own life and ministry
• Galatians 2:15-4:31 is doctrinal. It deals with the truth of the gospel.
• Galatians 5-6 are practical. Apply the doctrine in the life of a believer. Paul famously addresses the fruit of the Spirit. Again, every good thing from God in your life grows out of the gospel.

The Necessity of the Gospel

That is why the gospel should not only be preached to the lost people, but also to believers. We must not forget. Remember, Paul’s whole life was consumed with the gospel of Christ. He was God’s apostle.

He began this letter to the church in Galatia with these words: “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;).”

In the book of Galatians, many times the Apostle Paul made a point to say that the message and his work were not for men. The gospel is all about God. It came from God, it is for God’s glory, and it points us to the Lord Jesus Christ – not to man.

Paul had been saved by the gospel. He stood for the gospel. Then, he was sent to preach the gospel. Paul even suffered for the gospel. He wrote in Galatians 6:17 that, “…I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Jesus died on the cross and bears the marks of that crucifixion, and in Galatians 6:17, Paul is saying that the gospel marked him through persecution.

If you stand for the truth, the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, it will mark you. Someone is going to call you a bigot. Someone is going to say you are prejudiced and you are narrow-minded. But you are simply a soul adhering to the truth.

Theme of Galatians

The great theme of the book of Galatians is this: guarding the gospel of grace. In Galatians 1:6-7, Paul writes: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”

That is the devil’s chief goal. He is a deceiver. The enemy seeks to add a little error to truth, a little mixture of poison with the pure water of the Word of God. Satan wants to pervert the gospel of Christ. Paul says you have been removed from the pure gospel, the grace of Christ, to another gospel.

Paul uses this phrase, “which is not another.” He means by that, it is not just another message of the same gospel. It is not just another application of the truth. It is totally different. Friend, it is either all Christ or it is a totally different gospel. It is either the message of grace or it is the message of law.

Law vs. Grace

You might wonder what the difference is between the two? Consider the following:

• The law says do. Grace, the gospel, says done. 
• The law says run, but it gives you no legs. The gospel says fly, and it gives you wings.
• The law says, if, but the gospel says, therefore.
• The law says, “…do, and thou shalt live” (Luke 10:28), but the gospel says, “Live, and thou shalt do.”
• The law says, “Pay me what you owe me,” but the gospel says, “I freely forgive you and give you all.”
• The law says, the “the wages of sin is death”; but the gospel says, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
• The law says, you must “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” (Matthew 22:37) but the gospel says, “Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
• The law says, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them,” (Galatians 3:10) but the gospel says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered.” (Psalm 32:1)
• The law demands holiness; the gospel of grace provides holiness.
• The law makes blessing the result of obedience, but the gospel makes obedience the result of gospel blessings. 
• The law places the day of rest at the end of a week’s work, but the gospel places the day of rest at the end of God’s work, and leaves us with the expectation of entering into his perfect rest.

There is a difference between the law and grace. There is a difference between our work and God’s work.

Beware of Error

You see, the most dangerous error is the one that is closest to the truth. And so, if you are not careful, a little error sneaks into the doctrine of justification. A little error sneaks into the doctrine of sanctification. This is what Martin Luther discovered after reading the Scriptures — that error had entered the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. You have got to know your enemy. That is why, in this very book, Paul says: “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 5:7) 

Key Verse of Galatians

There are many key verses, and I hesitate to choose one. Full disclosure: my favorite verse of the Bible is in this book. My life verse is Galatians 2:20,  “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” I could spend a long time on that one verse.

I believe the one verse that stands out as the key to this particular book is found in Galatians 5:1, because it has the key word of the book.

Galatians 5:1: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” T

There are many words used over and over in this letter. Law is used 31 times, faith is used 22 times, flesh is used 18 times, spirit is used 15 times, and Christ is used 43 times. But the keyword is liberty. It is used more in this letter than in any other letter, and it is seen in every chapter.

The gospel of the grace of Christ does not set you free to live however you want to live and do what you want to do. Instead, it sets you free from the bondage of sin and death and hell and guilt and shame, and it gives you the freedom to walk in Christ. He gives you liberty to walk with the Lord Jesus Christ because you have been redeemed. The only limit on that liberty is the love of God. The boundary on that liberty is God Himself.

Preach the Gospel

The book of Galatians is a book that we need to return to. We need to meditate more on it. We need to study it and share it with others.I want to give you two simple challenges:

Number one, start to preach the gospel to yourself every day. Every day, look in the mirror and say, “You were just a sinner. You deserve hell. But Jesus died for you and rose from the dead, and now you belong to Christ today.” Preach the gospel to yourself. It will keep many things in perspective in your own life and mine.

Number two, preach the gospel to someone else today. Take the book of Galatians and tell them they can be free in Jesus Christ. How do you guard the gospel of grace? By giving it, not by defending it. Go on the offense.

The best defense is a good offense. Unleash the power of the gospel in your own life and the lives of others today, and God will use it to draw people to Jesus Christ.

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About Scott Pauley

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