The Privileges of Christian Liberty

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

I would they were even cut off which trouble you. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. (Galatians 5:1-18 kjv)

The Epistle of Paul to the GALATIANS There are two prominent theories, called the North Galatia Theory and the South Galatia which present differing views of the location and identification of these Galatian believers. The disagreement revolves around what Paul meant when he used the term "Galatian." Some say that he was referring to the people living in the Roman Province of Galatia while others believe he was addressing a group of believers who were mainly of Gallic descent. Both theories have their own set of suppositions with respect to when the book was written, the place from which it was written, and the time periods in which other details mentioned book took place. The area of northern Galatia (which included the chief cities of Ancyra, Tavium, and was conquered by the Gauls in the third century B.C. and existed as an independent nation for about two hundred years. During this period, however, the Gallic people were absorbed into the native populace there. If Paul was using the term "Galatian" in the racial sense, he was referring to those who had descended from the Gauls. In accordance with imption, it is suggested that Paul visited this church on his second and third missionary journeys (Acts 16:6; 18:23), and wrote this epistle from either Ephesus or Corinth during journey. Those who hold the South Galatia Theory suggest that Paul used the term "Galatian" to refer to those who lived in the Roman province of Galatia which was established in 25 B.C.. In this year, King Amyntas, of the old kingdom of Galatia, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. This province covered the southern part of central Asia Minor and encompassed the cities of Iconium, Lystra, Antioch of Pisidia, and Derbe. If this theory is true, it is probable that Paul visited these believers once on his first missionary journey (Acts 13; 14), and then again his later travels. A reasonable date for the writing of the book then would be .u. 55 or 56 or sometime between his first and second missionary journeys. According to this theory, the cities of Corinth and Antioch in Syria are the most likely places for Paul written the book. It is generally accepted that Paul visited these believers twice before he wrote this epistle. During his absence, teachers came from Palestine, called "Judaizers," and insisted that these Gentile believers could not be true Christians until they submitted to the Jewish ordinance circumcision. Furthermore, they maintained that the Galatians must adhere to the Law of Moses. These naive Galatian Christians accepted their teachings just as enthusiastically as they had Paul's. The purpose of the Book of Galatians is to combat this vicious heresy in he work of Christ was considered insufficient for salvation. The first way Paul chose to do this was to disprove the Judaizers claim that Paul was not a true apostle. They maintained that since he was not one of the twelve original apostles, he must have received his teachings and doctrines second-hand from the other apostles. Paul showed that he was equal with the original apostles because he received his doctrine from a revelation straight from Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:11 -19). He had even rebuked the Apostle Peter when there was a dispute over whether he, as a Jew, should be allowed to disregard ) the Mosaic Law (Gal. 2:11 -14). Once he had established his apostolic authority, he proved that men are justified by faith in Christ's atoning work rather than by the works of the Law (Gal. 2: 15 -4: 15). This leads into his final topic of being led by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16 -6:10). The threat of the Judaizers came to an end at the fall of Jerusalem in A.[). 70. Prior to that time, Jewish Christians were considered by many to be a sect (Acts 24:5), or a new branch of Judaism. [Source for Introduction of chapter: Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible KJV edited by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D. AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 37422]