Galatians - By Matt Tinsley

Have you ever gone out of London to visit family? You inevitably land up doing some tech support. Often, I land up trying to explain something like how to use the internet. You show them how simple it is, give them very specific instructions and tell them never to give their bank details to a stranger or accept offers too good to be true. 

And yet... A few weeks later you get a call along the lines of 'I've been a victim of fraud because I listened to a stranger's advice on the internet. They told me I needed to hand over my banking details in order to make my email work. I believed them and now I’m locked out of my computer and I've lost a lot of money.'

This is a little like what's going on in Galatians, except Galatians isn't about tech support, or even life support, but life itself through faith in Jesus Christ alone

Basically, the apostle Paul visited Galatia and told them the Gospel; that because of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, humanity is no longer enslaved to sin and death and separated from God. Rather, in Jesus, we are justified or made right(eous) with God - we're forgiven and reconciled to him, the very source of all life and love, and the way to it. This is called Salvation. All we need to do is believe it - have faith!

Paul, having communicated very specifically this Gospel message, then moved on to the next city.

However, some ‘agitators' or strangers came to the Galatians with a different gospel. Their false gospel was that in order to have salvation, you needed to have faith AND fulfil all the requirements of the Old Testament (the law) as well. Basically, faith in Jesus plus doing lots of very specific things will equal salvation, rather than faith alone.

So, Paul hears about this and writes a letter back to the Galatians. He’s upset, even angry. And justifiably so. He’s concerned for these people, that they are being defrauded of the true Gospel by these agitators. It’s causing significant division, even violence among them, and he wants to persuade them back to the true Gospel.

Basically, he tells them that they've been misled and explains how and why.

One of the most crucial verses of Galatians is 2:16; that we are justified (or made righteous) not by any works, but by faith in Jesus (or the faithfulness of Jesus) alone. This is at the heart of Paul’s message to the Galatians, and to us, too. 

Paul says that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, or even what you might do in the future. The only way to Jesus’ Salvation is Jesus and faith in him. Anything more would be robbing us of this incredible gift of incomprehensible grace. It’s the simple Gospel. 

How we respond to this grace, allow it to work in our lives and bear fruit is another matter (quick answer: chapter 5 - surrender and the Holy Spirt!). 

That being said, Galatians prompts us to reflect on how we receive Jesus, exposing and forcing us to confront any sense of pride or self-justification, or even thinking that we’re too damaged or broken. It’s humbling. It’s liberating! 

As Christians, it also forces us to reflect on how we see and treat others (especially those different to us), exposing patterns and domineering structures of self-righteous power, competitiveness and comparison, no matter how subtle. 

The Good News is that even in all of this, in all of our mess and crisis, we find Jesus in his grace and truth meeting us, again and again and again and again, saying: You can’t do this. Only I can. Turn to me, believe, follow me, have faith and I will lead you to Salvation. I am faithful.