Galatians 6 Analysis

According to the New Testament there is an event with is called justification by faith which is where the human heart is restored fully (Merrick, 2015). This is the solution to human problems which accords to the Christian worldview. If one were to claim their faith with God, they are forgiven for their sins and are blessed with the grace of God. It is by grace that one has been freed through the faith, which is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV). This is the role of which grace and faith plain in the Christian salvation.

Though Jesus was sinless and undeserving of death, he offered himself as a sacrifice in atonement for all sin (Invitation to World Religions, pg.418). Paul was always emphatic in maintaining that salvation cannot be earned by “works”, whether humans’ effort to obey the commandments in the Torah or excellent work in general. Instead, he taught that the salvation made possible by Christ’s sacrifice is a gift, the ultimate expression of God’s love and grace. Salvation is given to those who respond to God’s grace in faith, the conviction that God has acted through Jesus Christ to amend for human sin. Although Paul was very clear in teaching that salvation depends on God’s grace and the individual’s turning to God in faith, he did not dismiss the importance of works (Invitation to World Religions, pg.419). For Paul, faith does more than bringing salvation; it unites the believers with Christ in a “newness of life”. He believed that the spirit lives in believers and brings them into union with God. As a divine presence within, the spirit encourages the growth of spiritual virtues, the greatest which is love and makes all Christians one in the church often called “the body of Christ”.

In his book, Studies in Galatians, Tom Wacaster addresses a very vital need: to provide common-level, sound commentaries of the Bible. Books such as this are very beneficial, as they assist an “average” member of the church to expand their understanding of God’s word. This, as Wacaster stated himself, was his goal in writing this very commentary. “If [Studies in Galatians] serves to give just one precious soul a better understanding of this wonderful letter…then it will have been worth the time spent in preparing and publishing” (3, 4). Wacaster has surely accomplished this worthy objective and more with this valuable book.

Spirit so as not to be conceited, not provoking nor envying one another. Paul reveals that liberty in

Although it seems that Acts 15 and Galatians 2 record the same event, that is not the case. In the book of Acts, specifically Acts 15, Peter is in Jerusalem at the Jerusalem council. In Galatians 2, Paul speaks about his second journey to Jerusalem. The events that occurred in Galatians also relates to the events in Acts. The main question while analyzing both chapters is: Does it record the same event? There has been speculation that it is the same event told in both chapters, but it is evident that in Acts and Galatians, it tells the stories of different events. Both of these chapters detail similar happenings, but it is not the same event.

In McKnight’s article Jesus Vs. Paul McKnight asks the question of how the kingdom of God and justification by righteousness can be integrated together. The beginning of the article first tells the reader of how the author was more intuitive to Paul and his writings. He grew up with Paul’s theologies and they were his way of living. Justification by faith was McKnight’s way of life until his seminary class that talked about the synoptic gospels.

The book of Galatians was written for the simple reason to clear up the truth of the gospel. Shortly after Paul left the church of Galatia, an unknown person or ‘people’ came to the church and led them to believe otherwise. The church of Galatia, being brand new was thrown off by the idea that they were living an immoral life, and immediately changed what they were doing to fit what the people or persons taught this. The thought of having the

A universal theme seen throughout the writings and letters of Paul is "justification by faith." Justification by faith means that those who truly share a belief in God are saved by him. During the biblical period, it was commonly thought that our pending salvation was dependent on our ability to obey the laws given to the "chosen people," those whom were believed to be chosen by God. Instead, Paul argues that our righteousness is obtained through our faith in Jesus alone.

God seeks to set prisoners free—not always from their physical prison, but certainly from their imprisonment by sin, ignorance, rebellion, and foolish choices. Jesus identified Himself as the source of this freedom. As this is an important part of God's work, it is an important part of the Church’s work a

1). When Paul advises believers about choosing between marriage and the single life, how much do you think his expectations that the parousia might be near affected his advice? Explain why/why not. Paul's expectations that Jesus was coming had a significant impact on his advice towards marriage and living single life.

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

After a brief greeting Paul states his concern for the church in Galatia (1:1-6). The church is rejecting the message that Paul gave them in favor of different teaching. Paul condemns any gospel apart from the one he gave them and backs this up with a brief history of how he received and delivered the gospel to them (1:6-2:10). He reminds them of how he even rebuked Peter for not acting in accordance with the gospel (2:11-21). He then points to Scripture to back up his argument against the false gospel of legalism being preached in Galatia (3:1-4:31). After this he encourages the Galatians to live in the freedom of Christ, which he explains to them (5:1-6:10). He then ends his letter while reiterating the importance of not listening to the false gospel (6:11-18).

Galatians and Romans were the two books that broke the rule enriched religion of the Jewish people. These books written by Paul allowed the rules of the Torah to not stand over them in order for them to be with God. These two books bridged the gap from Jewish to Christianity. The rules of the Torah rule the Jews even until today. Paul swept away all of Torah’s requirements including dietary and circumcision requirements which was a very large part of the rules. These two books transform the laws that were the way to the living by faith thru Christ.

The pericope of Galatians 2:15-21 is the thesis of the entire letter to the early Christian communities in Galatia (Furnish 1971). It begins after Paul greets the people of Galatia. The people of Galatia have been visited by missionaries who still insist that the laws must still be adhered to especially the laws of circumcision causing confusion in the people. Peter had drawn away from the gentiles over purity issues and this was still greatly on Paul’s mind in writing to the Galatians (Furnish 1971). So, Paul wants to clarify that justification only comes through faith in Christ not through the works of the law. After this pericope, Paul constructs his argument to flesh out what Paul states in these few verses. This pericope gives the

Duvall and Hays talk a lot about how to interpret New Testament letters, and the steps to take to do so. They explain this in their book Journey into God’s Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible (pp. 100–102). If these steps are used in the correct ways then Galatians 5:16-18 can be understood much better. Galatians 5:16-18 also helps people in how they interpret different things in the modern world.