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Paul’s Authority and Proofs for Justification by Faith
READ
Galatians 1:11 – 4:31; Genesis 12:1-8; Genesis 15:1-6CONNECT
10minJesus dismantled Paul’s life on the road to Damascus. Paul’s encounter with the risen Messiah forced him to revisit what he already knew about God’s promised salvation. In his letter to the Galatians, he presented a carefully structured argument to show why salvation is not, and has never been possible through the law or Jewish traditions like circumcision. Instead, it has always been through faith in God’s promises. The apostle Peter may very well have been thinking about Galatians when he said of Paul’s letters, “There are some things in them that are hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). But there is no one more qualified to explain the relationship between law and grace, faith and works, the old and new covenants, than a Pharisee of Pharisees who was tutored by Jesus himself.Reflection
What is one of your favorite books in the Bible? Why? Some people prefer the practical guidance of books like Proverbs and James, while others prefer to let the praise or lament of the Psalms give form to their conversation with God. Some people are drawn to the inspiration or warning in the stories of people’s lives. Some only look to the red letters of Jesus’ words, while others mine for Christ in even the most obscure parts of God’s written revelation.WATCH
20minDISCUSS
10min- What is something that stood out to you from the video?
- Why was it important for Paul to prove his authority as an apostle at the beginning of this letter?
- Read Genesis 11:27–12:3.
- What parts of God’s promises do you imagine would have been most surprising to Abraham?
- If you were Abraham, what would have taken the most faith for you to believe?
- In what ways have God’s promises to Abraham already been fulfilled?
- How do you imagine the content of this letter might have affected you if you were one of the original recipients?
- How could you present Paul’s arguments to people today to help them understand that they should look only to Christ for right standing before God?
Straight from the Heart
15minChrist and the Gospel- According to Galatians 1:3-4, what did Christ’s death accomplish for the believers in Galatia?
- In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul says the Galatians are turning to a different, perverted gospel. According to Paul, and what you have seen in the video, what makes the difference between the true gospel — or “good news” as it’s sometimes translated — and the perverted gospel?
- Read Isaiah 52:7-9. What stands out to you from the passage?
In this passage, Isaiah spoke of the announcement of God’s victory over evil when Israel’s judgment of exile would come to an end. And he used the term “good news” to describe the announcement that God would establish his reign in human history by judging his enemies and blessing his people. As Isaiah said here, the good news of salvation is, “Your God reigns” — the reign of God. This reign of God after the exile is what the New Testament calls, ”the gospel of the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43), which is also another term for “the age to come.” So, when Paul said that the false teachers had “no gospel at all” (Galatians 1:7, NIV), he implied that they had denied that Christ had brought the age to come, the age of salvation, the age of the kingdom of God. By continuing to teach what had led so many in Israel to receive God’s judgment — namely that justification before God came by works of the law — the false teachers had rejected the true significance of the Christian good news.
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