Evaluating Paul's Theology Of The Law: The Book Of Galatians

Wacaster’s book, which is (as the title suggests) centered on Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, is very obviously intended to the common-level, “average” audience. Wacaster does not delve into complex conversations of textual variants, manuscript discrepancies, and disputations of authorship, nor does he use vocabulary or phraseology that is above the understanding of most individuals. Rather, Wacaster is simple, straightforward, and effective in communicating his points on the wonderful book of Galatians. With many commentaries that are written at a graduate and scholarly level, a more basic approach is much appreciated and needed.

Paul’s letter to the Romans can be broken down into four major sections. Within each of these sections there is a single compelling issue. Within the context of these respective issues, several interpretive questions can be answered through the interpretative process. These answers help us to understand how to apply the spiritual principals to our lives, as well as, help us compel other individuals to apply these spiritual principles within their lives.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is known as one of his greatest theological works. It has been passed down for thousands of years and is still just as relevant today as it was in Paul’s time. How exactly is it relevant the modern day Christian may ask? What with its harsh language that includes strong sentences such as “the wages of sin is death” (6:23) and “the wrath of God” (1:18) one may say that the times have changed. Some may say that these issues in Paul’s time are acceptable in society today. Jesus is all loving not wrathful. What exactly is the Christian to think? The purpose of this short essay is to examine how the Book of Romans relates to the Christian in the twenty-first century and how it helps to shape his worldview.

Paul’s letter to the Romans is of his greatest theological works, passed down for thousands of years and still as relevant today as it was in Paul’s time. How exactly is it relevant the modern Christian may ask? What with its harsh language that includes statements such as “the wages of sin is death” (6:23) and “the wrath of God” (1:18), one may say that current times have changed. Some may say that the issues Paul addresses are acceptable in today’s society. What exactly is the Christian to think? The purpose of this short essay is to examine how the Book of Romans relates to the Christian in the twenty-first century and how it helps to shape his worldview.

Paul’s letter to the Romans presents a systematic approach to the Gospel. This makes the Gospel of Roman an important book when it comes to the Christian Worldview. The Book of Romans covers a wide array of topics that are important to believers to understand and to live by. These topics includes: the attribute and existence of God, origin of creation, problem of evil in conjunction to sin, solution of sin to reach salvation, ethics and morality and lastly hope for humanity/creation. This reflection paper will show what Paul teaches us in regards to these topics and how it is applied to Christian’s worldview.

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

The controversial figure of St Paul is credited with writing thirteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament; thus making him one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age and in the development of the early Christian faith. Paul’s letters are some of the earliest Christian documents discovered dating to approximately 50 AD, whereas the scholarly consensus for the dating of the gospels is between 70 AD and 90 AD. Therefore, Paul’s thirteen letters reveal the earliest teachings about Jesus and the Christian faith; in particular Paul’s letter to the Romans expresses the fullest statement of how salvation in Christ is achieved (Wansbrough, 2011, P247). Thus, this essay will primarily focus on Romans and the extent it concurs with the Gospel according to Luke. In doing this, the essay will also analyse whether Paul’s letters rely on the narrative of Luke’s gospel. The overall message Paul preaches in his thirteen letters is we can be saved through Jesus’ actions, but only if we follow his teachings. However, the argument is can this message be fully understood by Christians without Luke’s gospel? Additionally, this paper will attempt to show how Paul’s preaching has altered or remained the same throughout time.

Christianity is interpreted in different ways depending on one’s acquired knowledge of the religion and its beliefs. There are many different interpretations of Christianity, so the ideal principles of the religion are sometimes lost. In the Letter of Paul to the Galatians, Paul writes to the Galatians, addressing their unrighteous actions toward Christianity. Every religion has requirements that the followers should practice and lived by; this concept also, applies to Christianity. Paul, an apostle, received his authority from God, which implies that he obeys and understands the laws of Christianity.

The dispute over the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law is one that has likely generated exegetic debate for centuries. Although it would be tempting to reduce the conflict of literalist interpretation and radicalization as a split between Jewish and Christian tradition, a deeper reading into the foundation of this dispute yields a more comprehensive analysis of the argument. In the three synoptic gospels, and in the book of John, Christ teaches that laws were not put in place solely to instill fear of punishment, but for the benefit of its practitioners. It is in the Sabbath’s reinterpretation, through Christ’s liberal compassion, that the Old Testament transition of letter to spirit is fully evolved, and that the son of man operates to fulfill the spirits of his disciples, not condemn them.

Out of all of the things the Galatians were doing to try to become more Jewish than Jews, why had Paul picked the most on circumcision? There are two possible explanations for Paul’s stance on the Galatians circumcision. First Paul is a male; the thought of other adult males performing circumcision on themselves and other people in the community is cringe worthy at the very least. The Galatians would not have had the training to perform proper circumcisions and would also be performing circumcisions on adults as well as the infants. The second explanation for Paul’s stance on circumcision would be less about the act itself and more about the beliefs behind it. The circumcisions that the Galatians were performing did not have the same principles behind them as they would for the Jews. The Galatians would be performing circumcisions to become more Jew-like and be perceived to the outside world as being Jewish. The Jewish people would perform circumcisions because it had a spiritual and religious significance behind it. This second explanation to Paul’s letter regarding circumcision seems the more plausible because Paul is Jewish. Paul, Jesus, and many others in the Bible are typically seen as being Christian but were actually Jewish with a long Jewish history. Paul would have known the religious significance behind circumcision and would also have known that the Galatians didn’t know why they were doing

Paul’s interpretation of first-century Judaism which began in the 1970s started a scholarly debate that persisted in the twenty-first century, A “new perspective” on Paul’s seemingly negative attitude toward the Torah-observant Judaism which many scholars advocated and began the religion in which Paul was raised. Paul believed that some of the critics compared a legalistic view of Judaism which was law-keeping that was dominated by fear of divine punishment, against the Gospel of divine grace, faith, and redemption that was created by Paul.

Chapter 7 of Engaging Christian Scriptures focuses on Paul’s ministries, letters and writings, and the Pauline tradition. The seventh chapter gives perspective over the books of Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, Ephesians, and The Pastoral Letters. In the books of Thessalonians the first principle is seen as Paul accentuates and commends them for their faithfulness to the Lord. Paul highlights Love and Hope and encourages the church to walk in love. Galatians has greatly influenced Christian understandings of the significance of Jesus’s death, a law-free gospel, and the equal status of Gentile and Jewish Christians.

One of the most hotly debated and crucial historical questions that emerges in a study of Galatians is its correlation to the book of Acts. Some scholars take a positive view of the historical reliability of Acts and have no difficulty in seeing it as a framework for the life and times of Paul’s ministry (J. B. Lightfoot). Others, have a far more skeptical approach fuelled by differences between Acts and the Epistles (Tübingen). The dominant inclination of the scholars who remain unconvinced of the contextual value of Acts has been to downgrade the

Paul has traditionally been portrayed as having converted from Judaism to Christianity, and thus as both the original apostate and a threat to the Jewish people and to Judaism (Jant, 551). Paul’s conversion “was not the conversion of a terrible sinner from

He describes how they were made alive in Christ, and freed from the bondage of sin. He says that they were saved by grace through faith, not works, which helps to prepare for the latter half of the chapter where Paul dismantles the necessity for Jewish traditions as a means of salvation. “God has responded in his love to the dreadful situation of humanity. He has delivered people from captivity to evil based on the work of Christ. Those who are redeemed are brought into close relationship with Christ and a solidarity with the events of the cross” (Arnold,