Galatians by Gary DeLashmutt (2015)

The Judaizers attack Paul's message and authority. Paul defends his apostolic authority and emphasizes God's grace. Four insights into God's grace are presented: 1) God offers us His peace by His grace, 2) God's grace gives us justification by faith alone, 3) God's grace rescues us from the authority of evil in this life, and 4) God's grace motivates its recipients to praise Him.

Paul defends the Gospel against false teaching put forth by the Judaizers. Paul's passion against false teaching is reflective of God's response to false teaching. If jeopardizing people's physical health is a grave problem, how much more is jeopardizing people's spiritual well-being? Adding works to the Gospel reverses the Gospel so that it is no longer good news. The Gospel brings life and this message is more important than its messenger.

Paul uses his testimony as a defense against the Judaizers' accusations. The Judaizers were like a substitute teacher that undermines the main teacher's authority while he or she is away. Paul states that his goal is to please God and not men. In fact, Paul contests that he not only received the gospel from Christ Himself, but he also promoted the gospel in a situation with Peter in which Peter acted inconsistently with truth as a result of trying to please men. Mike Sullivan explores what implications Paul's response to the Judaizers has for us.

God's generosity challenges both Judaizer theology and Lordship theology. Regardless of how our sin compares to the sin of others, we are all hopelessly in debt and in need of grace. The implications of believing that Christ's justification is unconditional in contrast with believing it is highly conditional (as these two faulty theologies claim) are explored.

Paul calls on the Galatian church to reflect on their encounters with the Holy Spirit, asking them not to discount what they have experienced and know to be true. Eight key ways the Holy Spirit helps us are highlighted. The Spirit: 1) helps us to know God personally; 2) brings the Bible to life; 3) sensitizes us to sin; 4) gives us a true bond to other Christians; 5) gives us the desire to defend God; 6) delivers us from destructive habits; 7) prompts us in specific ways to give His love to other people; and 8) gives us peace. \r\n\r\n

The passage explores two main questions about faith: 1) Is salvation by faith alone enough in the Old Testament? and 2) Why were we given the Law in the first place? Paul contends that salvation has always been through faith in God and explains the Law's proper role as a testament against self-righteousness.\r\n\r\n

Biblical Christianity is not ritualistic. On one hand, ritualism can lead to a false sense of confidence; on the other, ritualism can turn into an aversion against Christianity, which is a shame because Biblical Christianity is not ritualistic. We can cultivate a personal closeness with God without reducing our faith to a formula.

Spiritual growth is not autonomous. Beyond a primitive level, true spiritual maturity cannot develop outside the family of God. Receiving Christ means adoption into God's family, and God calls each family member to play a role in caring about the spiritual welfare of others, even when relational risks are involved. God calls us to prioritize vulnerability over relational calm and constructive conflict over relational comfort.

The same humble faith that is required for justification (or salvation) is required for sanctification (or spiritual growth). While Christians may be tempted to define themselves by their mistakes, clinging to this view of self is not conducive to spiritual maturity and contrary to God's view. Instead, when God looks at a Christian, He sees someone who: 1) has been redeemed and made righteous; 2) has been adopted as His child into His family; and 3) has His life indwelling within through the Holy Spirit. Just as Abraham had a choice between the free woman and the slave woman, Christians have the choice between depending on God's promise and self-effort for spiritual growth.

Biblical freedom, like all freedoms, is comprised of a negative and positive aspect: freedom from and freedom for. God has freed Christians FROM acceptance based on performance, and God has freed Christians FOR loving others powerfully through the Holy Spirit. Gary explores subtle signs of a legalistic, 'acceptance by performance' mentality and gives a positive vision for how loving others within the protective boundaries of love ethics can turn enslaving self-absorption into a healthy self-forgetting.

Unlike a force that all people are born with and need only to learn how to harness, the Holy Spirit is a being that starts to live within the Christian upon accepting the gospel. Even with the Holy Spirit indwelling, Christians still retain a fallen nature; our fallen nature rejects God while the Spirit initiates with God. Gary gives practical insight on what it looks like to walk by the Spirit and saying yes to being used by God, on a day-to-day basis.

What distinguishes walking by the Spirit from living by the Spirit? What walking by the Spirit looks like is discussed as an alternative to a life of empty boasting, glory-seeking, or envy.

The world system is designed to distract non-Christians from ever coming to Christ and seduce Christians away from following Christ fully. Pride and fear go hand in hand; seeking the approval of men (or avoiding their disapproval) is a dangerous trap. Gary poses some questions to help us personally reflect on the ways this fear can permeate our lives and calls us to trade this fear of people's disapproval for trusting in God's approval instead.