At the estimated time of Paul’s writing his letter to the churches of Galatia, the Christian community had reached a crossroads. There were two major kinds of Christians: Jewish and Gentile. The Jewish believers still practiced many of their religious and social customs within their Jewish community in that they continued to frequent the synagogue, offer sacrifices, upheld social separation from gentiles, and practiced adherence to Mosaic rituals and dietary restrictions (Gundry, 2012). Gentile believers, with no prior adherence to these Jewish customs, did not begin to practice them upon their acceptance of the Gospel. This intersection of differing “mode(s) of life” presented the church with important questions regarding “what makes a person Christian” (Gundry, 2012. Pg. 305). Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches addresses this.
The theological issues discussed represent a lynchpin in the Christian faith. According to Paul, a person is a Christian by faith alone (Gundry, 2012). Faith in Christ relieves the believer of the burden of the yoke of the law, which “neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear” (The Holy Bible, Acts 15:10, ESV). If, then, we are made righteous by our faith alone, the Jewish customs that are rooted in Mosaic Law are not necessary for gentiles to considered Christian (Galatians 2:16, 3:2). To that end, there is no need for a “second-class citizenship” (Gundry, 2012. Pg 305). The conclusions reached in Paul’s letter relieved new gentile believers from circumcision and other Jewish customs as it “insists on Christian liberty from any doctrine of salvation that requires human effort” (Gundry, 2012. Pg 305).
The implications of Christian religion by faith alone were far less burdensome than the Judaizer’s version of “faith in Christ plus adherence to the principles and practices of Judaism” (Gundry, 2012. Pg 305). Continuing to cling to the law was and is not only a burden, but a rejection of the righteousness freely given by Christ. Legalism risks smothering the good news of the gospel, and the principles of good conduct with minutiae that muddles the important so much as to be indistinguishable from less important (Gundry, 2012).
Paul clarifies that justification by faith alone is not a license to sin (Galatians 5:13). Rather, believers are called to act with conduct becoming of the Holy Spirit, and to not give themselves over to “desires of the flesh” (The Holy Bible, Galatians 5:17, ESV). In this way, the letter to the churches of Galatia instructs believers that they are relieved of the burden of the Mosaic Law and Jewish rituals – as they are unable to keep the law – but in living by faith in the Spirit they ought to live by the Spirit and not the flesh (which is how he describes sinful actions and desires). Christian conduct, then, follows the ethical principles laid out in the commandments given to Abraham at Mount Sinai by God, but justification is not found neither in the rituals nor simply in following the law, as one cannot live by the law perfectly and Jesus fulfilled the law for all (Gundry, 2012). If believers are not justified or held to the law, why should conduct be based on the principles of the law? “At the future judgement each person will answer to God for his or her own conduct alone” (Gundry, 2012. Pg. 311). Righteousness is found in faith alone, and by living according to the Spirit “you are not under the law” (The Holy Bible, Galatians 5:18, ESV), yet believer’s are called to proper conduct, remembering that striving for obedience does not give a person merit, it is merely their duty (Gundry 2012).
In this way, Galatians reminded Christians in the crux of their faith - Christ and his fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and the Mosaic Law - while also guiding them in how they should live. Galatians rebukes the idea that Christ’s death was not enough, and encourages Christians to strive for a standard of obedience, not because they are burdened by the law, but because they are free from it.
References
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2001/2011). Crossway.
Gundry, R. (2012). A Survey of the New Testament. Zondervan.
Colorado Christian University. (n.d.) BIB-102A Session 3 Introduction. School of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Colorado Christian University. BIB-101A.