1. Paul declares his authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ; he says that he is surprised by the false teachings that the Christians in Galatia have accepted from other people (1:1-10).
1. Paul says that people are saved by trusting in Christ alone, not by keeping the law (1:11-2:21).
1. God puts people right with himself only when they trust in Christ; the example of Abraham; the curse which the law brings; slavery and freedom compared and illustrated by Hagar and Sarah (3:1-4:31).
1. When people are joined to Christ, they become free from having to keep the law of Moses. They are also free to live as the Holy Spirit guides them. They are free to refuse the demands of sin. They are free to bear each other's burdens (5:1-6:10).
Paul wrote Galatians. Paul was from the city of Tarsus. He had been known as Saul in his early life. Before becoming a Christian, Paul was a Pharisee. He persecuted Christians. After he became a Christian, he traveled several times throughout the Roman Empire telling people about Jesus.
It is uncertain when and where Paul wrote this letter. Some scholars think Paul was in the city of Ephesus and wrote this letter after the second time he traveled to tell people about Jesus. Other scholars think Paul was in the city of Antioch in Syria and wrote the letter soon after the first time he traveled.
Paul wrote this letter to both Jewish and non-Jewish Christians in the region of Galatia. He wrote against false teachers. They said that Christians must obey the law of Moses. Paul defended the gospel. He explained that a person is saved by believing in Jesus Christ. People are saved as result of God being kind. People are not saved as a result of people their doing good works. No person can perfectly obey the law. Any attempt to be right with God by obeying the law of Moses will only result in God condemning them. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/goodnews]], [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/save]], [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith]], [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/lawofmoses]] and [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/works]])
Translators may choose to call this book by its traditional title, "Galatians." Or they may choose a clearer title, such as "Paul's Letter to the Church in Galatia." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
To "live like Jews" means to try to obey the law of Moses, even though one trusts in Christ. The people among the early Christians who taught that this was necessary were called "Judaizers."
Paul used these terms in a unique way in Galatians. He taught an important lesson in Galatians about Christian living. Under the law of Moses, righteous or holy living required a person to obey a set of rules. However, Christians have freedom in Christ. They are not required to obey a specific set of rules. Instead, Christians are to live a holy life because they are thankful that God has been so kind to them. This is called "the law of Christ." (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/righteous]] and [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/holy]])
This kind of expression occurs in 1:22; 2:4, 17; 3:14, 26, 28; 5:6, 10. Paul meant to express the idea of a very close union with Christ and the believers. At the same time, he often intended other meanings as well. See, for example, "when we seek for God to justify us in Christ" (2:17), where Paul spoke of being justified by means of Christ.
* "Foolish Galatians, whose evil eye has harmed you? Was not Jesus Christ depicted as crucified before your eyes?" (3:1) The ULB, UDB, and the other modern versions read this way. However, older versions of the Bible add, "[so] that you should not obey the truth." Translators are advised not to include this expression. However, if in the translators' region there are older Bible versions that have the passage, the translators can include it. If it is included, it should be put inside square brackets ([]) to indicate that it is probably not original to Galatians.
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