Biblical Essay: Analysis of Paul's Letter To The Galatians

Paul’s letter to the Philippians was written to the first church he established in Europe, the Roman province of Macedonia. The apostle wrote the letter to express his appreciation and affection to the people of Philippi while imprisoned in Rome. Paul’s affection to the people in Philippi is clear throughout the letter as he encouraged them to live out their faith in joy and unity (Towns, 201).

Paul's letters to the church, also known as epistles, are considered some of the most important documents in the New Testament. Paul's writings continue to shape and forge church even today. His letters were written in some of the darkest, most intense moments of Paul's life, but they also celebrate the grace, love, and life changing power of Jesus. Paul's journey in faith is shown in raw, unapologetic honesty, and inspires Christians to maintain a forward momentum, and to run the race Paul speaks so passionately about in Hebrews 12:1. Paul is able to write with both confidence and humility as he writes about the Christian journey.

He became an advocate for the inclusion of the Gentiles among the true followers of Christianity. Until Paul’s challenge, Jewish Christians believed that non-Jews had to convert to Judaism and follow the law, which included restrictions and circumcision. Gentiles who worship in the synagogue but did not become proselytes were called god-fearers and were only second-class citizens in the synagogue. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision_controversy_in_early_Christianity)

Without Paul, all of Jesus’s followers would have remained Jewish. Jesus’s disciples thought that the afterlife was going to happen very soon, so they awaited and kept on being Jewish. Paul knew Jesus’s main disciples. After Jesus’s death, Paul went out and talked with these disciples and formed a plan to spread Jesus’s teachings. Paul convinced them to start converting others, Paul was the one who organized the early converters and told them what to do. When Jesus’s disciples started to try and convert Jewish people, they remained unsuccessful and low on resources. Paul gave them the resources they needed, as he was doing very well at converting. These resources helped the other heads of the religion to start converting. They listened to Paul, and because of Paul they started to be successful at gaining more followers. Paul decided to convert Gentiles, the non-Jewish people. Paul expanded the religion from being a small branch off of Judaism,

Paul became an advocate for the inclusion of the Gentiles among the ‘true’ followers of Christianity. Until this moment in history, Jewish Christians believed that non-Jews had to convert to Judaism and follow the law like them, which included many dietary restrictions and circumcision. Gentiles who worship in the synagogue but did not convert were only

law itself, directly to the people who want to be under it. He reminds them of Abraham's two sons by

From what we know about Paul, he was not one of the biggest fans of Christianity before his conversion. Though, as our text recognizes, there isn’t much knowledge of Paul’s life before becoming a follower of Jesus, and much of it is sourced from the Acts. We do know that while Paul was a Jew his name was Saul. Scholars theorize that he was a Jewish missionary. We know that he was raised to be Jewish, and he was a Pharisee. Our textbook elaborates that Saul was, in fact, a very dedicated Jew. He wrote in one of his letters “I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors” (Gal 1:14). Scholar Johnny Awwad goes as far as to suggest that Paul was an apocalyptic

To understand the meaning of Galatians 5: 16-18 we must understand the purpose of the letter. Galatians is an occasional letter (Duvall, Hayes 2008, 100) meant to address a congregation who is faced with the dilemma of Judaizers. The Judaizers were teaching that in order for a Gentile to be truly saved he must convert to Judaism; he must be circumcised. They preached salvation by works of the flesh, putting the Gentiles under the law (5: 9-15). But the flesh; circumcision or no circumcision, following the Judaic laws or not following the Judaic laws, makes no difference in salvation. Righteousness is found through faith and shown in love (5:6). Insistence that Gentiles convert to Judaism “distorts salvation by grace alone” and causes dissension in the body of Christ (Wilson 2013, Gal. 5:15). Paul argues that Christians should rely on the Holy Spirit for the power to overcome the flesh and walk in love and faith (5:16– 18). There is clearly a distinction between the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit (5:19-26). Paul

In Galatians 1-6 we start off by learning that Paul the apostle was sent through Jesus christ and God the father to the churches of Galatians. Paul returns to Jerusalem and seks help to tell the converts that they don’t need to follow every Jewish law. Then he calls the Galatians foolish, then tells them that Jesus was crucified and now everyone can live for God and not worry about anything. The Galatians begin to question and all Paul wants is for them to stop worrying about Jewish holidays and to start living the way God wants them too. Now we learn that the Galatians are free and if they go and get circumcised, they will be forced to obey Jewish law. Paul then gives them advice about everyone's imperfections and how they

Paul was a Jew, born in Tarsus, but brought up in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law…at least that is how Luke puts it in Acts of the Apostles, where he documented the actions of the followers of Jesus. This book of the New Testament serves as a summarized history of the first Christians. Regardless of Paul’s former life as a Jew, so successful at spreading Christianity that the idea that he is a co-founder of Christianity, second only to Jesus, is an extremely popular one. It could not have been an accident that he was able to accomplish so much. Paul’s conversion to Christianity is well documented but, aside from a few important details about his education, not much is known with certainty

Before Paul became a Christian, he was a Roman citizen that persecuted Christians. Paul effortlessly transitioned from a Jew to a Christian by striking faith with God. In one of Paul’s letter’s he states he “went after Christians mercilessly, hunting them down and doing my best to get rid of them all. I was one of the most religious Jews of my own age in the whole country, and tried as hard as I possibly could to follow all the old, traditional rules of my religion” (Galatians 1:10-2, Bible); The letters Paul wrote toward the local Christian societies were included in the New Testament, Old Testament, and the Bible and were also meant to be compatible to all issues with believers of Christ. Paul also wrote to Christians in Rome to guide them with faith, which led to Paul to expand Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. Paul believed his duty on Earth was to spread the word of Christianity and to be on the pathway to

Issues began to arise after the Jews were expulsed from Rome around 49 AD. At that time, the “Gentile congregations developed largely without Jewish influence and thus without sensitivity to Jewish scruples.” Kostenberger believes Paul wrote this letter for a couple of reasons; first to remind the Romans of gospel truths and his duty to proclaim it to Gentiles, secondly to unify the Roman church, and finally to, “formally introduce himself to the Roman churches and solicit their support for the Spanish mission.” Kostenberger also believes, “… the multiple

Both men had very different perspectives on tier faith. Paul was stating how a guilt-ridden and lost soul could be found again through God. James wrote how about how a righteous man could show how real and true his faith was. Although, both writers used Abraham to show their principle not both chose the same incident in his life to tell their story.

They simply wanted the men and women who had converted over as Gentile to change their attitudes and behaviors. By changing their behaviors and attitudes they would become more “Jewish like”. Most readings dealing with Paul perceive him as being anti-Jewish. However, this is not only a misinterpretation of Paul, but it is also a misunderstanding of the letters and Judaism itself. I believe Allen and Williamson wants the readers to understand that Paul never intended to harm or betray the Jews. He never wanted to separate himself from the Jews and initiate an independent religion that would someday take over the Jews. Paul’s letters was not even about Judaism. Paul’s writings were about the Judaism’s understanding and relationship with the

For some background information on Paul. His original name was Sual in Hebrews announced in the new testaments. He was yoked to a rabbi so he can become a rabbi him self. Paul converted to christianity when he saw the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the road of Damascus. During his life he created three big ministries to travel through the Roman Empire, and he did this because he was planting churches. His goal was to preach to the new Christians the word of God, and to give encouragement. Paul started his mission because the Lord asked of him to do so, and so the Lord provided him with wisdom and strength to for fill his journey.