Galatians: Freedom in Christ

Lesson 1Establishing Your Credentials............................................3Galatians 1

Lesson 2Living Out What We Say We Believe..................................8Galatians 2

Lesson 3If God Gave the Law, Don’t We All Need to Obey It?........13Galatians 3:1-9, 15-29

Lesson 4Set Free by Christ ..........................................................18Galatians 5:1-6, 13-26

Lesson 5You Raise Me Up............................................................23Galatians 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prepare Before the SessionRead the session for today in the Study Guide. Then read the options in this Teaching

Guide, placing checkmarks beside the activities you plan to include. After you have decidedwhich options to use, gather the appropriate materials.

WHAT’S IN YOUR TEACHING GUIDE

This Teaching Guide has three purposes:➤ to give the teacher tools for focusing on the content of the session in the Study Guide.➤ to give the teacher additional Bible background information.➤ to give the teacher variety and choice in preparation.

The Teaching Guide includes two major components: Teacher Helps and Teacher Options.

Teacher Helps

Teacher Options

Bible BackgroundThe Study Guide is your main

source of Bible study material.

This section helps you more fully

understand and

interpret the Scripture text.

Teaching Outlineprovides you with an outline

of the main themes in the

Study Guide.

The next three sections provide a beginning, middle, and end

for the session, with focus paragraphs in between.

Focus Paragraphsare printed in italics at the top of the page because they

are the most important part of the Teaching Guide. These

paragraphs will help you move your class from “what the text

meant” to “what the text means.”

You Can Choose!There is more material in each session than you can use, so choose the options from each section

to tailor the session to the needs of your group.

Bible BackgroundActs 13:1–14:26 chronicles thestory of Paul’s first missionary

journey. The church at Antiochcommissioned Paul and Barnabas

to take the gospel to predominantlyGentile lands in Asia Minor. Paul andBarnabas traveled to the cities of PisidianAntioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, allwithin the Roman province of Galatia.They preached first in Jewish synagogues,and a great number of Jews and Gentilescame to faith in Christ at Iconium (Acts14:1). Unfortunately, “the unbelievingJews stirred up the Gentiles and poisonedtheir minds against the brothers” (14:2),so Paul and Barnabas moved on to Lystrawhere Paul healed a man who had beencrippled since birth. The people wereamazed and immediately wanted toproclaim Paul and Barnabas as gods andoffer sacrifices to them. However, thepositive welcome did not last. non-Christian Jews arrived and incited thecrowds to turn against the apostles,stoning Paul and dragging him out of thecity. Paul survived and continued topreach in the other Galatian cities. Beforeleaving the province, he and Barnabasappointed elders to lead each of thechurches they had planted (Acts 14:23).

This background information gives usa better understanding of Galatians. Wesee that the churches were formed in anatmosphere of conflict and that Paul

faced severe opposition from the begin-ning of his church-planting efforts. Notealso that some of the Galatians witnessedPaul perform a great miracle, and mostothers heard about it. Finally, rememberthat persecutors stoned Paul and left himfor dead outside Lystra. Surely, thatattack left scars on his body, scars thatPaul would later refer to as “the marks ofJesus branded on my body” (Gal 6:17).

Many scholars believe that Paul wroteGalatians within a few months of his firstvisit to the province. If so, then he wrotethe letter around AD 49, and it may wellhave been the first-written of all hisletters later included in the NewTestament.

Other scholars note that Paul alsovisited the province of Galatia on hissecond and third missionary journeys(Acts 16:6; 18:23). We have no details ofthese visits, but it is possible that it wasafter these visits (possibly to sections ofthe province farther north than he visitedearlier) that he wrote his letter to theGalatians. In this case, he wrote aroundAD 54. Unfortunately, we have no ideawhere Paul was when he wrote Galatians.All we can say is that he was on one of hismissionary journeys and apparently notin jail. The good news is that our uncer-tainty does not interfere with a clearinterpretation of the letter.

Who were the opponents that Paulattacked so severely in Galatians? Somescholars think they were Gnostics, early

1Lesson Teaching Guide

ESTABLISHING

YOUR CREDENTIALSGalatians 1

Christian heretics who emphasizedspecial knowledge (Greek, gnosis) andthe evil nature of all things physical.Other scholars find no evidence ofGnosticism in Galatia. Instead, theevidence of the letter strongly suggeststhat Paul’s opponents were Jewish-Christian missionaries. Like Paul, theyaffirmed faith in Jesus as the trueMessiah. However, they believed that allChristians, including Gentile Christians,needed to obey the most important OldTestament laws, especially circumcisionand food regulations. They attacked Paulpersonally, challenged his honesty, andinsisted that the new believers in Galatiabegin observing these important Jewishtraditions. Paul reacted volcanically,defending his own integrity and callingdown curses on these opponents andanyone else who would warp the basicgospel message. Their attacks led him towrite his most concise, focused explana-tion of the Christian faith—Galatians.

Introduction: Our first session includes allof Galatians 1 and emphasizes twopassages.

I. Greeting and Attack (1:1-8)A. Paul’s calling to be an apostle—from

GodB. Greetings to the churches of GalatiaC. Amazement that Galatians are desert-

ing the true gospelD. Paul’s attack on the opponents who

are perverting the gospel

II. Paul’s Five-Minute Autobiography (1:11-24)A. Paul’s pre-conversion life as a persecu-

tor of the churchB. God’s revelation of Jesus Christ to PaulC. Paul’s commissioning to preach to the

GentilesD. Paul’s independence from the

Jerusalem apostles

4 Lesson 1

❍ Defining the Term “Apostle”Begin this learning option by asking theclass how many “apostles” there were inthe early church and what their nameswere. While most class members will notremember all the names, they will proba-bly name most of the following group:Simon Peter, Andrew, James son ofZebedee, John son of Zebedee, Philip,Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, Jamesson of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus (or Judas sonof James), Simon the Zealot, JudasIscariot. Several class members may saythat there were only twelve apostles. Askthe class members why the following fivepeople could also be referred to as apos-tles: James the brother of Jesus (Gal 1:19),Andronicus and Junia (Rom 16:7),Barnabas and Paul (Acts 14:14).

Clearly, Scripture refers to severalpeople other than the Twelve as apostles.Ask the class what qualifications werenecessary for apostleship. Some scholarsbelieve that anyone who saw the resur-rected Christ and received a specificcalling could be considered an apostle.

Questions➤ Why did Paul feel he had to defend his

status as an “apostle”?➤ What argument might some people

have made to deny that Paul was a “real” apostle?

➤ Was it wrong for Paul to insist that he was an apostle?

❍ Tracing Paul’s History on a Map Secure a large map of Paul’s missionaryjourneys. If you cannot find a printedmap, use the one provided in yourResource Kit. Ask class members to helpyou highlight the important cities andprovinces in Paul’s life. Include his birthin Tarsus (in Cilicia) his student days withGamaliel in Jerusalem, and his conversionnear Damascus (in Syria). Point out histrip to Arabia, his return to Damascus,and his eventual return to Jerusalem threeyears after his conversion.

❍ Questions➤ What effects do you think being raised

a devout Jew in a Gentile city like Tarsus might have had on Paul?

➤ When Paul returned to Jerusalem, whatwere the biggest differences his old acquaintances would have noticed about him?

Now trace Paul’s three missionary jour-neys on the map, beginning and ending inAntioch in Syria (don’t confuse thisimportant city with the small town ofPisidian Antioch). Call special attentionto the three times he traveled through theprovince of Galatia, in central Asia Minor.

❍ Question➤ Had you spent years planting new

churches, how might you have reactedif you heard that new missionaries werevisiting some of these congregationsand altering the basic Christianmessage you had given them as theirspiritual foundation?

Most twenty-first century Americans like to think of themselves as open-minded,friendly people. They do not enjoy conflict. However, our often-violent culturalclimate has made most of us long for peace and tranquility, especially in our spiri-

tual lives. That longing for peace and tranquility may mean that some of your class members willfind it difficult to appreciate Galatians. This is a letter full of conflict and strong opin-ions. However, encourage your listeners to be open-minded enough to appreciate Paul’s situationand perspective. Here are two possible ways to introduce your study of Galatians.

A Way to Begin

Teaching Guide 5

6 Lesson 1

❍ My Personal Spiritual HistoryAsk class members to imagine that someoneis attacking their Christian witness because ofpast behavior. Give everyone a piece of paperand a pencil. Ask them to list some parts oftheir history that might be used against theircurrent Christian witness. Ask if there is aninterpretation of their autobiography thatmight help answer these attacks or reducetheir effectiveness. Would the effects of yourconversion to Christ be an important part ofyour autobiography; if so, how would thathelp you answer your critics? Now focus onthe events of Paul’s life. List the key events towhich he refers in Galatians 1:11-24.

Questions➤ Is Paul bragging in 1:14 when he claims

that he was spiritually advanced? Why or why not?

➤ Where can we find more details of the way God revealed his Son to Paul? (Acts 9)

➤ What commission did God give Paul at his conversion (1:16)?

➤ How many years did Paul proclaim the gospel before he met Cephas (Peter) or any of the other apostles (1:16-18)?

➤ Why would Paul feel it necessary to tell the Galatians that he was not lying (1:20)?

❍ Paul as a PhariseeAsk the class to pool their knowledge aboutPharisees. List all the characteristics they canrecall on the board. Explain that Phariseeswere only one of several Jewish religious

groups in the first century AD. Offerthis outline as you study:• Sadducees: This group lived mostly in

Jerusalem and exercised much powerat the temple. They only accepted thefirst five books of the Old Testamentas Scripture.

• Zealots: They believed that politicaland military independence fromRome was of paramount importanceto Judaism. Eventually the Zealotslaunched a war of independenceagainst Rome in AD 66, which led tothe complete destruction of Jerusalemand the temple in AD 70.

• Essenes: They believed that Greco-Roman culture had hopelesslycorrupted all other Jews, so they with-drew from society and lived inisolated colonies.

• Pharisees: These were Jewish laymen,not priests, who strove to apply thescriptural laws to daily living. Theytried to live holy lives by honoringGod in religious ritual and ethicalliving. Despite their conflicts withJesus, they shared more in commonwith him than the other three majorgroups. Paul was one of the strictestmembers of this group (Phil 3:5)

Questions➤ How did Paul’s background affect

his early opposition to the Christian message?

➤ How did his Pharisaic background prepare him to debate the Jewish-Christian missionaries in Galatia?

A Way to Explore Scripture Very few autobiographical sections, like Galatians 1:11–2:14, exist in the Bible. Thissection helps organize the chronology of Paul’s life. However, the Galatians were

certainly not clamoring for help in remembering the important dates in Paul’s spiritualpilgrimage! Paul authored this autobiographical section to prove a key point in his defense againstthe attacks the Jewish-Christian missionaries were making against him. They challenged his statusas a “real” apostle, questioned his honesty, and belittled him as one whose message and under-standing was totally dependent upon the “real” apostles in Jerusalem. These Judaizers offered tocorrect the deficiencies in the message that Paul had delivered to the Galatians. For all thesereasons, Paul outlined his own personal history to demonstrate that hisconversion and calling to preach the gospel were dependent upon Christ alone.

❍ Writing Your Personal TestimonyTo conclude this session, ask classmembers to write an outline of theirpersonal testimonies. Offer Paul’s testi-mony as a reference. Ask what importantfacts Paul included in his personal testi-mony. Refer to the session text forresponses. Note that many personal testi-monies feature the following elements:• A brief characterization of my life before

Christ• A description of how God reached me or

what led up to my acceptance of Christas my personal savior

• A description of the changes God hasbrought since my conversion and/orwhat new purpose God has given mebecause of new life in Christ

Encourage your group members toinclude as many of these three elementsas possible in their testimony outlines. Iftime remains, ask volunteers to shareverbally their testimony with the class.

❍ Personal Testimonies in Church—Positives and NegativesThere is a danger in using personal testi-monies in church. People who share aparticularly effective testimony may betempted toward spiritual pride because ofthe praise of others. Conversely,Christians who do not have a dramaticstory may feel discouraged. As a teenager,my pastor asked my friend Luis Govantesand I to give our personal testimonies inworship. Luis had a dramatic testimonyabout his escape from Cuba, including aharrowing brush with soldiers huntingfor his family. I was afraid that my testi-mony seemed rather mundane bycomparison. Fortunately, my pastorexplained to me that God values everyperson’s salvation.

Questions➤ What testimony have you heard that

was particularly effective?➤ When have you ever heard a testimony

that seemed inappropriate in church?➤ What is the most appropriate venue to

share testimonies in your congregation? Worship? Private conversation among friends? Special services? Sunday school?

➤ How effective do you think Paul’s testimony was when the Galatians read it?

After his conversion, Paul could have lived the rest of his life ashamed of his persecutionof the early church and his role in Stephen’s murder. Instead, he admitted his sinful

past and used his testimony to advance the gospel and focus on God’s purpose for hislife. While we might be uncomfortable comparing ourselves to Paul, each of us has a personal testi-mony that God can use to advance the gospel. Encourage your class members to reflecton God’s purpose for their lives and to write an outline of a personal testimony.

A Way to End

Teaching Guide 7

2Bible Background

t is hard for modernChristians to imagine what

deep chasms separated Gentilesand observant Jews in the ancient

world. It’s no big deal for us to rub shoul-ders with people of different faiths, but itwas for ancient Jews. The story of SimonPeter and the centurion Cornelius in Acts10 illustrates the difficulties.

Cornelius was a centurion, a non-commissioned officer serving Rome in theItalian regiment stationed in Caesarea.Clearly, he was an uncircumcised Gentile,but he also believed in one God, prayedregularly, and gave generously to thepoor. God spoke to him through a visionand told him to send messengers to Joppato find Simon Peter. As those messengersapproached Joppa, God also spoke toPeter through a vision. He showed Peter alarge sheet coming down from heaven,filled with animals traditionally consid-ered “unclean” by observant Jews. ButGod told Peter, “Kill and eat” (v. 13). Atfirst, Peter refused to eat, but Godinsisted: “What God has made clean, youmust not call profane” (v. 15). This state-ment referred immediately to thenon-kosher food but more profoundly tothe Gentiles Peter was about to meet.When the messengers found Peter, heinvited them to stay with him. Then, trav-eling to Caesarea, he met Cornelius andother Gentiles, who demonstrated an

openness and eagerness to hear thegospel. Peter summarized the basicdilemma and proclaimed his new perspec-tive concerning Gentiles: “You yourselvesknow that it is unlawful for a Jew to asso-ciate with or to visit a Gentile; but Godhas shown me that I should not callanyone profane or unclean.… I trulyunderstand that God shows no partiality,but in every nation anyone who fears himand does what is right is acceptable tohim” (vv. 28, 34-35). God affirmed Peter’snew understanding by sending the HolySpirit to the Gentiles who heard themessage. Peter then baptized them in thename of Jesus Christ (vv. 45-48).

Notice that criticism came quickly (see11:3 for the earliest example) and thatJewish Christians reacted differently tothis change in their relationships withGentiles. For centuries, many non-devoutJews had ignored the food laws and asso-ciated closely with Gentiles in the RomanEmpire. Devout Jews, especially thePharisees, protested loudly that keepingthe food laws and avoiding unnecessarycontact with “unclean” Gentiles wasessential. Peter and other JewishChristians were trying to overturncenturies of tradition and ignoring whatmany considered the clear teaching ofScripture. No wonder the issue became sovolatile!

When people who have held strongviews on a particular issue are convincedto change their minds, they do not always

Lesson Teaching Guide

LIVING OUT WHAT

WE SAY WE BELIEVEGalatians 2

find it easy to consistently hold to theirnew convictions, especially in the faceof strident opposition from those withwhom they previously agreed. Peterfound himself facing just such adilemma when he was ministering in thelate forties of the first century. Pauldescribes the problem quite explicitly inGalatians 2. Peter, John, and James led thechurch in Jerusalem and focused onspreading the gospel to Jews. Theyaffirmed Paul and Barnabas’s ministry tothe Gentiles and gave them “the righthand of fellowship” (2:9). They acceptedthe Gentile believer Titus without askinghim to follow Jewish law (2:4). Later,however, when Paul and Peter moved onto Antioch, the Jerusalem church had adramatic argument over Peter’s hypocrisy.A group called the “circumcision faction”surfaced. James, Peter, and even Barnabaswavered from their new convictions andstopped eating with Gentile Christians(2:12-13). Paul saw clearly that the issuewas far greater than a question of lunchpartners. If Jewish Christians like Peterand Paul told the Gentiles that Christ’sdeath changed everything, but then actedas if it changed nothing, the Gentileswould stop believing their message. Paultook a stand, insisting that Gentile believ-ers in Christ be treated the same as Jewishbelievers who had been saved by the deathof Christ on the cross. Paul preventedcatastrophe. He made it possible for theChristian message to reach Gentilesthroughout the world.

Introduction: This session includes all ofGalatians 2, divided into three sections.

I. The Conference in Jerusalem (2:1-10)A. Paul’s conversion (or first Jerusalem

visit?) took place fourteen years earlier.B. Barnabas and Gentile Titus attend.C. James, Cephas (Peter), and John accept

the Gentile mission.

II. Paul’s Confrontation with Peter inAntioch (2:11-14)A. Peter and Barnabas fear the “circumci-

sion faction” from James.B. They stop eating with Gentile

Christians.C. Paul confronts their hypocrisy.

III. Paul’s Theological Lesson (2:15-21)A. All people are justified by faith in

Christ, not works of the law.B. No one can be justified by obeying the

Old Testament law.C. Acting as if justification comes through

the law nullifies Christ’s death.

Teaching Guide 9

10 Lesson 2

Questions➤ What kind of negative effects would a

couple in your town have faced in 1967 if their daughter married a person of another race? How about in 2005?

➤ Why was it easier for the Draytons to teachtheir daughter the truth about race than it was for them to consistently follow through with the implications of that teaching?

➤ What does peer pressure have to do with this issue?

❍ Invite a GuestInvite an older African-American member ofyour church or a neighboring church tospeak to your class. Make sure he or she willfeel comfortable sharing personal experiencesfrom difficult times in our country’s past. Ifyou think that this issue will be uncomfort-able for some of your members, tell themahead of time or choose another teachingoption. Ask your guest speaker to describebriefly his or her experiences when racial inte-gration first came to the community. Askspecifically how white Christians reacted.Then ask if he or she ever saw white or blackbelievers acting hypocritically—professingone thing but acting as if they did not reallybelieve their own words. Invite class membersto discuss the issue with your guest, remem-bering never to make your guest feeluncomfortable. Finally, ask how this discus-sion has made it easier for class members tounderstand the dilemma faced by Peter andPaul and other Jewish Christians regardingthe issue of equal treatment for GentileChristians.

❍ Guess Who?In the 1967 movie Guess Who’s Coming toDinner?, Spencer Tracy and KatharineHepburn portray wealthy couple, Mattand Christina Drayton, who haveraised their daughter to believe inracial equality. However, when theirdaughter returns from a Hawaiianvacation and introduces them to ablack physician who is now her fiancée,they face a real dilemma. Will they actconsistently with the values they havetaught and face the possibility of socialostracism from their friends, or willthey cave into peer pressure and acthypocritically?

You could choose several differentclips to introduce the dilemma to yourclass. One clip shows the Draytons’daughter introducing her fiancé to hermother: “Mom, this is John.… Hethinks you’re going to faint because heis a negro!… I’ve told him ninety-seventimes that it wouldn’t make the slight-est bit of difference to you or to Dad.”A second clip captures the first discus-sion between Mr. and Mrs. Drayton.Mr. Drayton asks, “Did it ever occurthat this might happen?” Mrs. Draytonreplies, “The way she is is just exactlythe way we brought her up to be. Weanswered her questions; she listened toour answers. We told her it was wrongto believe that the white people wereessentially superior to the blackpeople.… We did not add, ‘But don’tever fall in love with a colored man.’ ”

The specific issue that Paul addresses in Galatians, the equal treatment of GentileChristians and their admission to the church because of their faith in Christ, hasceased to cause controversy. Our churches are full of Gentile Christians! To

understand the extreme pressure that led Peter and Barnabas to act hypocriti-cally and deny their new perspective concerning Gentiles, we need to consideran analogous modern-day issue. In some ways, the changes in relationship that haveoccurred between black and white Americans in the past fifty years offer us a look at similaremotions. Here are two ways to address this issue and to understand how difficult it can be forpeople to consistently live out the faith they profess.

A Way to Begin

❍ Conclusions about SalvationSummarize for your group the informa-tion in the Bible Background portion ofthis Teaching Guide. Ask the class to read2:15-21, and invite them to share theirconclusions about salvation based on thistext and your comments. Summarize theirconclusions on the board. If they are notmentioned, offer the following theologi-cal points:• Nearly two decades after his conversion,

Paul still considered himself a Jew (2:15).• The Greek verb dikaioo, translated

“justify,” is a forensic metaphor drawnfrom a first-century courtroom. The ideais that God, acting as the judge, declaresthe accused person “justified” or “notguilty” because Christ received thepenalty on behalf of the accused.

• In 2:16, the sentence that begins “And wehave come to believe in Christ Jesus, sothat we might be justified by faith inChrist” can also read, “justified by thefaithfulness of Christ.”

• Note the irony of Paul, formerly thestrictest of all Pharisees, arguing that noone will be justified by works of the law(2:16).

• In addition to his famous metaphor ofsalvation by justification through faith,Paul also describes salvation in moremystical terms: “I have been crucifiedwith Christ: and it is no longer I wholive, but it is Christ who lives in me”(2:19-20).

❍ Imagine a Scenario Ask your class members to imagine thefollowing hypothetical scenario, and thendiscuss that scenario as a group. Peter andBarnabas, fearing the Judaizers, stopmeeting with Gentile Christians and Pauldoes not confront the issue. The influenceof Peter and other Jewish Christians isoverwhelming, and gradually JewishChristians throughout the Roman Empirewithdraw from table fellowship with allGentile Christians. They tell the GentileChristians, in essence, “You can be savedby faith in Christ, but if you want to befull members of the Christian church, youhave to be circumcised, obey all the OldTestament food laws, and keep theSabbath.” What implications might such ascenario have had on the development ofthe early Christian church?

Questions➤ In what ways do we limit the gospel

today?➤ In what ways has the gospel refused to

be hindered by human limitations?

We consider Paul a great theologian. He was also a zealous church planter whothought deeply about the theology of the faith he proclaimed. While in Romans he

begins with theology and then draws ethical conclusions, in Galatians he begins withpersonal memories and then draws out theological implications of the issues raised. For Paul, theissue of full inclusion of the Gentiles was both personal and profoundly theolog-ical. The theological conclusion he drew came from a confrontation with Peter and it is one of themost brilliant explanations of salvation in the New Testament. Here are two ways to explore 2:15-21, which is the theological basis of the entire letter.

A Way to Explore Scripture

Teaching Guide 11

12 Lesson 2

❍ Check-UpMost of us agree that people are justifiedbecause of their faith in Jesus Christ.There is no different method of salvationfor some because of their race, socialstatus, financial gifts to the church,education, beauty, or community influ-ence. However, churches must continuallyguard against developing cliques or hier-archies within the membership. Considerthe following questions for reflection.

Questions➤ How would you describe the majority

of your church congregation?➤ Does your church welcome visitors

with equal enthusiasm, regardless of race or perceived social class?

➤ Are singles in your church offered as many ministry opportunities as are families?

➤ Does your church seek to minister to people very different from the majority of the congregation?

❍ Make an ExchangeIf your church is not integrated racially,ask your pastor if your class can help plana pulpit exchange with a neighboringchurch whose congregation is predomi-nantly of a different racial group. If this isnot practical or is already being done, askyour class members to plan a joint classsocial with a Bible study class from thatsame neighboring church. Living out thefaith we profess is different from merelyprofessing that faith.

We are not surprised that Paul considered the crucifixion and resurrection of JesusChrist non-negotiable for the Christian faith. That is, he absolutely refused to com-

promise on these key theological beliefs. Does it surprise you that Paul also treatedChristian fellowship as a non-negotiable? If the early church was to offer Christ as a savior to allpeople—devout Jews, immoral Gentiles, drunks, wealthy women, runaway slaves, city officials, andphysicians—then the church had to show all these people that they could beaccepted on an equal basis. Their sinful behavior would have to change, of course, and espe-cially those who failed to see their own sin would have to change. But Christ died for them all, andthey could all be justified on the basis of their faith in Christ.

A Way to End

3Bible Background

To understand Galatians 3, ithelps to remember key Old

Testament events involvingAbraham and Moses. Genesis 12

tells us that God called Abram (hisoriginal name) to leave Haran (nearmodern-day Turkey) and travel to theland God promised. Genesis 17 recountsthe beginnings of the Jewish rite ofcircumcision. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God reaffirmed hiscovenant and gave him a new name,Abraham. God also reaffirmed thatAbraham would be the father of manynations and would inherit the promisedland. In return, Abraham and hisoffspring would honor God and keep thecovenant. As a sign of the covenant, Godtold Abraham, “Every male among youshall be circumcised. You shall circumcisethe flesh of your foreskins, and it shall bea sign of the covenant between me andyou. Throughout your generations everymale among you shall be circumcisedwhen he is eight days old.… Any uncir-cumcised male who is not circumcised inthe flesh of his foreskin shall be cut offfrom his people; he had broken mycovenant” (Gen 17:10-12, 14). In responseto God’s command, the Jewish peopleadopted circumcision as a physicalsymbol of their status as God’s covenantpeople. When Jesus and Paul were bornmore than 1,000 years later, devout Jews

continued this tradition. We can easilyunderstand why any attempt to lessen theimportance of this ancient traditionwould have met great resistance.

Centuries after the time of Abraham,after the covenant people had moved toEgypt to survive a famine, God formed anew covenant with the Hebrews and theirnew leader, Moses: “You have seen what Idid to the Egyptians, and how I bore youon eagles’ wings and brought you tomyself. Now, therefore, if you obey myvoice and keep my covenant, you shall bemy treasured possession out of all thepeople. Indeed, the whole earth is mine,but you shall be for me a priestlykingdom and a holy nation” (Ex 19:4-6).God then called Moses to Mount Sinaiand gave him the Ten Commandments,along with many other ordinances. ThisMosaic covenant greatly influencedHebrew history (it was especiallyesteemed by the Pharisees in Jesus’ day,because they emphasized God’s Torah, orlaw). Again, it is easy to understand whyany attempt to lessen the importance ofthe law would have been met by strongopposition.

Jesus clashed with the Pharisees overthe importance of the law and his willing-ness to reach out to uncircumcisedpeople. After Paul’s conversion, he arguedabout these same issues with JewishChristians who defended the importanceof these traditions associated withAbraham and Moses. These Jewish

Lesson Teaching Guide

IF GOD GAVE THE LAW, THEN DON’T WE ALL NEED TO OBEY IT?

Galatians 3:1-9, 15-29

Christians wanted new Gentile believersin Christ to honor the ancient Jewishtraditions. They wanted them tobelieve in Jesus, be circumcised, andhonor Jewish law (especially the regula-tions they deemed most important, suchas food and Sabbath regulations).

Paul realized that according toScripture, before God ever mentionedcircumcision to Abraham, God justifiedAbraham because of his faith. WhenAbraham asked God how he was tobecome a father of a great nation eventhough he had not yet fathered any chil-dren, God “brought him outside and said,‘Look toward heaven and count the stars,If you are able to count them.’ Then Godsaid to him, ‘So shall your descendantsbe.’ And he believed the LORD; and theLORD reckoned it to him as righteous-ness” (Gen 5:5-6). To be “reckoned asrighteous” means the same as to be “justi-fied.” So while Abraham was stilluncircumcised, he had faith in God’spromise, and God justified him on thebasis of that faith.

In Galatians, Paul uses this brilliantinterpretation of Scripture to defend hisministry to uncircumcised Gentiles. LikeAbraham, the Gentiles were justified bytheir faith, not by circumcision or anyother legal obedience. Abraham was thefather of all who believe God and God’spromises.

Introduction: This session includes most ofGalatians 3, divided into four sections.

I. An Appeal to Experience (3:1-5)A. Charge that Judaizers had “bewitched”

the GalatiansB. Did Galatians receive the Spirit on the

basis of faith or law?

II. An Appeal to Scripture (3:6-9)A. Quotation from Genesis 15:6B. Example of Abraham—justified by faith

III. The Temporary Purpose of the Law(3:15-25)A. The Mosaic covenant does not annul

Abraham’s covenant of promise.B. The law was given to deal with sin.C. The law could not make people right-

eous.D. The law was a paidagogos (nanny) to

prepare us for Christ.

IV. “You Are All One in Christ” (3:26-29)A. Faith in Christ unites all Christians.B. Jew/Gentile, slave/free, male/female

barriers fall away in Christ.C. All believers in Christ are Abraham’s

heirs.

14 Lesson 3

❍ Old TraditionsAsk members of the class to tell about oldtraditions that were modified only aftermuch debate and disagreement. Ifmembers are slow to give examples,suggest issues that have created muchdebate in some churches in the past:• Changing what is considered

appropriate clothing in worship• Introducing a paid musician as a minis-

ter of music• Launching a contemporary worship

service• Building a new sanctuary• Removing a century-old tree from the

church property• Replacing one youth or children’s

program with another• Modifying a long-held missions offering

Questions➤ Why are long-held traditions hard to

change?➤ Is it intrinsically bad to have long-time

traditions?➤ What arguments are most effective in

your church when changing an old tradition is discussed (arguments from Scripture, declining attendance, majority opinion, compatibility with church’s mission statement, avoiding an “old-fashioned” appearance)?

➤ When have you favored changing an old tradition?

➤ When have you opposed changing an old tradition?

❍ Witness ClipSecure a copy of the movie Witness, star-ring Harrison Ford. Show the clip thatincludes the Amish barn-raising, and usethis as a launching point to discuss theattractiveness of a legalistic lifestyle incertain situations.

Questions➤ What legalistic traditions do the Amish

have that seem strange to us?➤ Why would anyone stay in a legalistic

environment if they did not have to?➤ What aspects of Amish legalism allow

them to develop a strong sense of community, as exemplified in the barn-raising scene from this movie?

➤ Detective John Book (played by Ford) saw the problems of a Philadelphia society that refused to deal effectively with evil. Why might that specific problem make a legalistic system more appealing?

When he wrote to the Galatians, Paul knew that his letter wouldnot only have to state his case forcefully—it would also have toanswer the counterarguments that the Jewish-Christian mission-

aries would most likely make against him. Years of experience planting churches anddebating other Judaizers allowed him to anticipate their most likely responses. Almost certainly,they would appeal to the example of Abraham. God is the one who told Abraham to initiate circum-cision as a sign of the covenant. If God gave this tradition, don’t all who follow God need to obeythe rule?

A Way to Begin

Teaching Guide 15

❍ Old Testament Law for ChristiansToday

Have the class form two groups to debatewhat relevance Old Testament law has forChristians today. Ask group A to listreasons why the Old Testament lawshould be binding on Christians today.Ask group B to list reasons why the OldTestament law (or a portion of it) is notbinding on Christians today. List thereasons pro and con on the board. Afterall reasons have been read aloud, see if theclass can develop any consensus on thisquestion.

Questions➤ What might Paul have said about this

question?➤ Which of Paul’s arguments do you find

most persuasive?

❍ Group Loyalties and PersonalIdentification

Roman society was stratified, and peoplefound their identity within the variousgroups to which they belonged: “I am aslave”; “ I am freeborn”; “I am a Jew.” Paulknew his church members had variousidentities, but he wanted them all to thinkfirst, “I am a Christian.” Other than youridentity as a Christian, what group identi-ties are strongest for you?• Your favorite sports team (“I am a Braves

fan”)• Your job or profession• Your income level

• Your local social organization (GardenClub, Masons)

• Your level of education• Your alma mater• Your racial or ethnic group• Your home state or region

Which of these identities makes it diffi-cult for you to develop a sense of equalitywith Christians who do not share thatidentity, or who share a competing iden-tity (southerners who give “Yankees” acold welcome, wealthy people who fearrubbing shoulders with lower-class folks,Florida Gators who really don’t like anyGeorgia Bulldogs)?

Questions➤ What does Galatians 3 have to say

about the modern “identities” that divide us from other Christians?

➤ How can your church reduce the alienation other Christians may feel if they have a group identity different from the majority?

Give some good examples from withinyour congregation of people who havevastly different backgrounds but whoobviously experience what Paul describesin Galatians 3:28: “For all of you are onein Christ Jesus.”

A Way to Explore Scripture In writing to the Galatians, it was not Paul’s intention to attack the law of Moses.Nevertheless, he had previously decided that the law of Moses did not lead to true

righteousness, nor was it able to make people who tried to follow the law “righteous”before God. For these reasons, Paul needed to answer the question, “If God gave thelaw, don’t we all have to obey it?” He elected to make two major points about the OldTestament law. First, Paul notes that the Mosaic covenant came 430 years after God’s covenantwith Abraham, which was based on faith. The second covenant did not nullify the first one. Second,Paul describes the law as a “paidagogos,” whose job was preparatory and temporary.

16 Lesson 3

❍ Historical DiscussionIn Galatians 3:28, Paul decrees the essen-tial oneness of all believers. He knewsome were Jews and others were Gentiles,but all are one in Christ. Slavery stillexisted, and Paul did not campaign for itsabolition, but he called for slaves and freepeople to see that they were essentiallyequal in God’s sight. Paul wanted them toknow that differences meant essentiallynothing compared to their equality inChrist.

Questions➤ Which of the three barriers—the one

between Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, or men and women—does Paul focus on the most in Galatians?

➤ Why do you think Paul worked hardest on eliminating that barrier between people?

➤ What barriers are we working to eliminate today?

➤ What keeps us from experiencing oneness or equality in Christ?

❍ God Loves Us, Despite OurselvesAsk the group to join in the followinglitany as a means of committing to andcelebrating the unity you share.

Leader: Even though we are a people ofsin;People: God loves us, despite ourselves.Leader: Even though we fail and fall totemptation;People: God loves us, despite ourselves.Leader: Even though we disobey anddoubt;People: God loves us, despite ourselves.Leader: God’s love is greater than all oursin.People: God loves us, despite ourselves.Leader: God calls us, as community, towork, live, and worship in communion.People: God loves us, despite ourselves.Leader: Despite our differences, our sin,our temptations, and even our fears, let usjoin together in God’s name.People: For we are baptized into Christand are now clothed with Christ. In ourmidst, there is neither Jew nor Greek,there is neither slave nor free, there isneither male nor female; for we are allone in Christ Jesus. And if we belong toChrist, then we are Abraham’s offspring,heirs according to the promise.Leader: Thanks be to God—Amen.

Paul clearly opposed legalism, as this letter (along with Romans) indicates. However,Paul intended for his churches to offer a very powerful sense of unity to their

members that would help them withstand the appeal of legalism. He wanted theirunity built on their faith in Jesus Christ. He also wanted that sense of common oneness in Christ tobe far stronger than the various other “identities” that separated the members of the Galatianchurches. He wanted a female slave to first think, “I am a Christian,” rather than, “I am a slavewho is also a Christian.” He wanted a Jewish believer’s most important self-understanding to be, “Ibelong to Christ.” He wanted all his members to first think, “We are one in Christ.”

A Way to End

Teaching Guide 17

Bible BackgroundThis series of studies onGalatians skips Galatians 4

because of space constraints.However, Paul included important

aspects of his complete argument in thatchapter, and a full and fair evaluation ofthat material is necessary for a balancedunderstanding of the entire letter.

Paul concluded chapter 3 by compar-ing the law’s purpose—to get people toChrist, the real master teacher—to thesignificant but temporary function of theGreek paidagogos. Furthermore, faith inChrist unifies people in a way the lawnever could. All Jews and Gentiles whobelieve in Christ are heirs of Abraham,who was the first to be justified by faith inGod’s promise.

Galatians 4 begins with a continua-tion of the analogy of Christian believersas heirs of Abraham. Heirs, while they arechildren, experience limited freedomuntil the time of their actual inheritance.Heirs who are minors must obey orders inmuch the same way that slaves do.However, the heir gains freedom and is nolonger treated like a slave. For Christians,freedom arrived with the coming ofChrist.

Paul then mixes his metaphors,switching from an illustration of an heirreceiving his inheritance, to a slave beingredeemed, to an orphan being adopted.All three images convey the same idea of a

dramatic change in status brought aboutby a key event. Inheritance, redemption,and adoption all describe the experiencethat follows a commitment of faith inJesus Christ. The Galatians, most ofwhom were Gentiles, had previously been“enslaved” to the weak and miserable“principles” or “elemental spirits of paganreligious life” (4:8). Paul did not want theGalatians to exchange slavery to paganreligious principles for slavery to Jewishreligious principles.

Following these analogies, Paulchanges his tone to make a personalappeal to the Galatians, reminding themof the first time they met, when Paul wassuffering from a physical infirmity andthe Galatians took him in and tried tohelp. He refers to them warmly as his“little children,” suggesting that most, ifnot all, of them were converted underPaul’s ministry.

Finally, Paul refers to the Genesisstory of Abraham’s two wives, Hagar andSarah. Paul interprets the story allegori-cally, suggesting that the Galatians werechildren of Sarah, just like Isaac. LikeIsaac, they were children of the promise.In contrast, Paul’s opponents, theJudaizers, were children of the slavewoman Hagar. They taught slavery to thelaw.

These arguments prepare the readerfor the material that Paul includes inGalatians 5. Summarize them for yourclass to help them understand how

Lesson Teaching Guide

SET FREE

BY CHRISTGalatians 5:1-6, 13-26

4

Galatians 3 and 5 connect to oneanother.

The big picture that Paul wantedhis readers to grasp was that he wasoffering them freedom in Christ, whilethe Judaizers were offering slavery to thelaw. He understood that obedience to thelaw might have seemed appealing to theGalatians, especially since they werehaving some problems with relapse intoimmoral, pagan behavior. But Paulwanted them to see that submitting tocircumcision, food laws, and Sabbathregulations was actually a move towardslavery. Trying to please God by observingthe law was a step backward from thefreedom of life in the Spirit that believersin Christ can experience. Paul worked dili-gently to convince his readers not to makethis mistake.

Introduction: This session includes most ofGalatians 5, divided into four sections.

I. Christian Freedom (5:1-6)A. Christ offers freedom, not slavery to

the law.B. Seeking righteousness through the law

demands obedience to the entire law.C. “In Christ,” faith working through love

makes circumcision irrelevant.

II. “Love Thy Neighbor” (5:13-15)A. Freedom from the law should not lead

to libertine living.B. Christians are called to fulfill the law’s

purpose by loving their neighbors.

III. Living by the Spirit vs. the Flesh (5:16-21)

A. Each believer has two choices: life inthe Spirit or life in the flesh.

B. These choices are mutually exclusive.C. Christians are free from the law but

subject to the Spirit.D. Living continuously “in the flesh”

disqualifies a person from salvation.

IV. Life in the Spirit (5:22-26)A. The Spirit creates wonderful “fruit” in

the believer’s behavior.B. The Spirit-guided believer crucifies his

or her own passions and desires.

Teaching Guide 19

❍ The Relationship betweenFreedom and RulesAmericans who lived through theRevolutionary War would be amazed bythe tremendous freedom of movementthat we experience today. When JohnAdams traveled from Boston toPhiladelphia, his journey took weeks.Traveling to the South would have takenhim months. Today, such trips are madein a day or two by car and in mere hoursby plane. Such freedom would have over-whelmed Adams, who loved to travel. Hewould be equally amazed by the rules wemust follow to enjoy safe travel. Lead adiscussion about driving and flying ruleswith the following questions.

Questions➤ What is necessary to legally drive a car?➤ List the signs that limit the freedom of

drivers on a typical auto trip (stop signs, speed limits, double yellow lines, yield signs).

➤ What additional rules have been added to make air travel safe since 9/11?

➤ What rules do airline pilots follow in the takeoff sequence, mid-flight, and landing?

➤ Do all these rules demonstrate that we have no “freedom” in the area of transportation? Are countries with fewer rules freer?

➤ What kind of freedom would a country experience if it eliminated all rules related to driving and highways?

❍ Understanding FreedomFreedom carries certain responsibilities.Paul says that we are free from the law butsubject to the Spirit. In our country, weare free to do many things, but are subjectto certain laws that protect the rights ofothers. All freedoms have its limits, other-wise we would too quickly tread on thefreedom of others. Ask the group to liston the board some of the freedom weenjoy today in our country, for example:freedom to worship and freedom ofspeech. Once the group has a working listof freedoms we share, ask them to agreeon at least one responsibility that goeswith each freedom listed.

Questions➤ Why is the relationship between

freedom and responsibility important? What happens if that relationship is broken?

➤ What are the positive outcomes when people experience an increase in freedom? (For example: when a teenager secures his or her drivers license) What are the negative ones?

Bring the discussion to a conclusionaround the point of the complex interplaybetween the “freedom” of one person toact and the fact that some limits to thatfreedom are necessary for the safety and“freedom” of others.

America is famous for its “freedom.” Patriots who founded our country fought bythe motto “Live Free or Die.” We established religious freedom and politicalfreedom when our revolution succeeded. To commemorate the cooperation

between France and America in that fight for freedom, France gave us the Statue of Liberty, whichhas become the most famous symbol of liberty in the world. However, Americans mean many differ-ent things when we speak of “freedom.” To some it means the absolute removal of all restraints onpersonal behavior, short of physical violence toward another person. That is certainly not what Paulmeant when he said, “For freedom Christ has set us free” (5:1). Today’s session will help usexplore exactly what Paul means by the term “freedom.”

A Way to Begin

20 Lesson 4

❍ Old Testament LawsRetrieve the Resource Kit page for thissession, and display the list of OldTestament laws for the class to discuss.Ask questions such as these: Which ofthese laws are consistent with the teach-ings of Jesus? Which ones vary slightly?Which ones are incompatible with a NewTestament Christian perspective?

Exodus 21:15: “Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death.”

Exodus 21:16: “Whoever kidnaps a person…shall be put to death.”

Exodus 21:18-19: “When individuals quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist so that the injured party, though not dead, is confined to bed, but recovers…then the assailant shall be free of liability, except to pay for the loss of time, and to arrange forfull recovery.”

Exodus 21:33-34: “If someone leaves a pit open, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make restitution, giving money to its owner, but keeping the dead animal.”

Exodus 22:7: “When someone delivers to aneighbor money or goods for safekeeping, and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, then the thief, if caught, shall pay double.”

Exodus 22:18: “You shall not permit a female sorcerer to live.”

Exodus 23:4: “When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.”

Exodus 23:10-11: “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield;

but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat.”

❍ Breaking the Law?Show the clip from the movie Chariots ofFire where the great Scottish runner, EricLiddell, refuses to run in an Olympic racebecause it was held on Sunday. Let theclass know that Liddell’s story is true andthat this event cost Liddell a good chanceat winning a gold medal. Then tell themthe rest of the story. Liddell later served asa missionary to China. After the Japaneseinvaded China, he and other missionaryfamilies were moved to an internmentcamp. He refereed the various gamesplayed by the teenagers, but he refused todo so on Sunday. One Sunday afternoon,a fight broke out among the teens becausethey had no adult referee. The nextSunday, Liddell broke his own convictionsand refereed the game, in order to keepthe teenagers from getting hurt in a fight(Magnuson, 164).

Questions➤ Do you agree with Eric Liddell’s view of

applying the Old Testament Sabbath regulations to Sunday?

➤ What do you think of his decision to forfeit his chance at Olympic gold for his principles?

➤ What do you think of his decision to referee the youth game on Sunday afternoon?

Read Galatians 5:6 aloud to the class, andask how the verse relates to Eric Liddell.

When most Christians think of the Old Testament laws, they think of the TenCommandments. Most of the Ten Commandments are quite consistent with New

Testament Christianity, leading some Christians to think that there is no real tensionbetween “following the law” and “faith in Christ.” In Galatians 5:3, Paul points out that the deci-sion to build your relationship with God around the Old Testament law obligates a person to obeythe entire law. Encourage the class to explore Paul’s understanding of the law andfreedom in Christ thoroughly.

A Way to Explore Scripture

Teaching Guide 21

22 Lesson 4

❍ The Works of the Flesh or“Compulsions of Selfishness”

Read Galatians 5:19-21 aloud. List thefifteen specific “works of the flesh” on theboard. Compare various translations ofterms that are not widely understood. Iftime permits, read the entire list fromEugene Peterson’s The Message. Close yourdiscussion with the following questions.

Questions➤ Which of these sinful behaviors are

most widespread among people in your community?

➤ Which of these behaviors are most widely seen in your congregation (no names please!)?

➤ Which of these behaviors would you admit are ones you still struggle with in your personal life?

Then read aloud Galatians 5:22-25, askingyour group to listen for the nine “fruit ofthe Spirit” in these verses. List them onthe board.

Close with prayer, asking for God’sgrace as we struggle with sin and forGod’s strength to live by the fruit theSpirit.

❍ The Fruit of the SpiritRead aloud Galatians 5:22-25. Ask yourgroup members to list the nine specific“fruit of the Spirit” that Paul mentions inthese verses. Write them on the board,leaving space next to each term. Then askfor volunteers to discuss these state-ments/questions.• Give the name of one person, living or

dead, from your past who exemplifiedone of the fruit of the Spirit. Describehow they demonstrated that particularfruit of the Spirit.

• Give the name of one person in yourchurch who exemplifies one of thesefruit.

• What fruit would you like the Holy Spiritto develop in your life?

• How is living under the guidance of theHoly Spirit different from living underthe Old Testament law?

In other letters, such as 1 Corinthians, Paul is clear that he has very strong convictionsabout what behavior is acceptable for Christians and what is not. Here in Galatians,

he gives few specifics. However, he does make it clear that every person is either led bythe Holy Spirit or by the desires of the flesh (also called “the compulsions of selfishness” by EugenePeterson in The Message). Paul believes that, for Christians, the Holy Spirit takesthe place of the Old Testament law as the guide to our behavior.

Use the following options to discuss both the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, how weexperience the tension between them, and Paul’s challenge to live by the Spirit.

A Way to End

5Bible Background

In many ways, we shouldconsider Galatians a “minor”

book in the New Testament. Itis much shorter than Romans or

either of the Corinthian letters. It isaddressed to small mission churchesplanted in minor cities of a small Romanprovince. In contrast, Paul wroteEphesians to Christians in a large, impor-tant city. Furthermore, even centurieslater, the Galatian churches never becameleading churches. Finally, the letteraddresses issues such as circumcision andJewish food laws, which were completelysettled for ninety-nine percent of allChristians by the end of the first century.

Despite all these considerations,however, the message of Galatians is onewe need to hear. In studying Galatians,Martin Luther rediscovered salvation “byfaith alone.” This reaffirmation led him tooverturn the widespread understandingof “earning” one’s salvation, a view thatdominated the Roman Catholic Churchin the early 1500s. Luther’s denial of thepossibility of earning one’s salvation andhis insistence that salvation comes solelythrough God’s grace provided the basisfor the Protestant Reformation. Lutherhimself wrote two commentaries onGalatians and considered it one of theclearest explanations of the Christiangospel found anywhere in the Bible.

Today, Galatians continues to hold acrucial place in the New Testament.

Together with Romans, it proclaims thatwe cannot earn salvation in Jesus Christby obedience to even the Old Testamentlaw. It continually confounds individualsand groups who try to turn Christianityinto a legalistic system.

When we speak of the authority ofScripture, we must interpret each biblicalbook in the context of the entire Bible. Wecan learn a great deal about Paul fromGalatians, but we do not get a balancedportrait of the Apostle from his most fieryletter. If we only read Galatians, we mightthink Paul was always angry and uncom-promising. We might think that he spentall his time writing about the essentialChristian message of salvation whileignoring the various moral issues thatChristians confront. However, when webalance a reading of Galatians with Paul’sother letters, we can put this letter inproper context.

By reading Philemon, we can see themore compassionate and sensitive side ofthe Apostle. In Romans 14, we see thatPaul could be very flexible on issues thathe did not consider essential. FirstCorinthians reveals that he dealt exten-sively with moral issues and opposedhedonism as firmly as he did legalism.Romans demonstrates that he couldinclude his emphasis on justification byfaith within a much larger context of theChristian faith. But if you want a succinctexplanation of exactly what it takes tobecome a Christian, it is hard to beat

Lesson Teaching Guide

YOU RAISE

ME UPGalatians 6

Teaching Guide 23

Galatians. Here, Paul gets right to theheart of the gospel.

After you review Galatians 6 withyour class, encourage them to discusstheir overall impressions of Galatians. Itis far more important than its size orplacement in the canon would suggest.

Introduction: This session includes all ofGalatians 6, divided into three sections.

I. Doing Good to Others (6:1-10)A. How to gently rebuke a fellow

ChristianB. Warning to examine one’s own behav-

iorC. Call to give generously to Christian

teachersD. Letting the Spirit lead you to do good

for others

II. Conclusion: The Only Grounds forBoasting Is the Cross (6:11-17)A. Paul writes the conclusion with his

own hand in large letters.B. His opponents want to boast about

getting Gentile Christians circumcised.C. The only grounds for boasting is the

cross of Christ.D. Paul carries “the marks of Jesus” on his

body.

III. Final Benediction (6:18)

24 Lesson 5

❍ A Story from HistorySummarize this historical incident from achurch in Virginia in the early 1900s:Church members discovered that a couplefrom their congregation was participatingin square dancing. They brought thecouple before the church board andwarned them to stop dancing or facedismissal from the congregation. Usequestions like the following to leaddiscussion.

Questions➤ Why do you think church members

living a century ago opposed dancing so vigorously?

➤ If you had been that couple, how wouldyou have reacted?

➤ Today, churches would likely not threaten dismissal from the membership, but would there be any behavior that would lead to mild correction? If so, what behaviors might lead to a gentle correction?

❍ Tell Your StoryAsk class members to recall a time whenthey received a gentle correction that hada positive effect on them. It does not needto have occurred in church, although afew stories about a gentle correctionreceived in church would be helpful.

Questions➤ Did your parents correct you in

worship when you were a child? If so, tell what behaviors led to the correction. Looking back on the incident, was their correction helpful or not?

➤ Tell about a time when someone corrected you as a teenager. It might have been at church, in school, at basketball practice, by your band director, an older sibling, or a friend. How did you react to the correction? Was the long-term impact of the correction different from the short-term impact?

➤ What difference does it make if a correction is gentle or harsh? Tell about the differences through specific incidents, if possible.

➤ Paul told the Galatians to correct one another “with a gentle spirit” (6:1-2). Do you think his words still apply to our churches today? If so, how do we apply Paul’s teaching?

Most Christians are not comfortable dealing with one another’s shortcomings orfaults, to say nothing of dealing with each other’s sins. We have lost the art ofgentle correction. Sometimes we see a fault clearly but deal with it in an unhealthy

manner. We gossip to others about the fault, hoping they will agree there is a problem. We treatothers coldly, without explaining why. They, more often than not, withdraw from us. In turn, wewithdraw from their presence, or from the class we share in common, or, as a last resort, from thechurch. At root of the Galatian problem was how church members dealt with each other’s sin. Paulencouraged the believers to learn the art of gentle correction.

A Way to Begin

Teaching Guide 25

❍ “You Raise Me Up” Secure a copy of Josh Groban’s CD thatincludes “You Raise Me Up.” Read aloudGalatians 6:1-10 before listening to thesong. As you play the recording, askgroup members to think of people who fitthe description this song invokes.

When I am down and, oh my soul, so wearyWhen troubles come and my heart burdened beThen, I am still and wait here in the silenceUntil you come and sit a while with me

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountainsYou raise me up, to walk on stormy seasI am strong , when I am on your shouldersYou raise me up…to more than I can be

There is no life—no life without its hungerEach restless heart beats so imperfectlyBut when you come and I am filled with

wonderSometimes, I think I glimpse eternity

Questions➤ Who did you think of as you listened to

the song?➤ Who might think of you as an encour

ager?➤ What effect might appropriate encour

agement have on the fellowship of your class or your church?

❍ A Message from LewisAsk class members to read Galatians 6and list every verse that warns againstboasting or spiritual pride—include theverses that do not mention those wordsbut address the idea. Note these verses on

the board. Then read the followingpassage from C. S. Lewis’s MereChristianity:

I now come to that part ofChristian morals where they differmost sharply from all othermorals. There is one vice of whichno man in the world is free; whichevery one in the world loatheswhen he sees it in someone else;and of which hardly any people,except Christians, ever imaginethat they are guilty themselves.…The vice I am talking of is Pride orSelf-Conceit; and the virtue oppo-site to it, in Christian morals, iscalled Humility. You may remem-ber, when I was talking aboutsexual morality, I warned you thatthe centre of Christian morals didnot lie there. Well, now we havecome to the centre. According toChristian teachers, the essentialvice, the utmost evil, is Pride.Unchastity, anger, greed, drunken-ness, and all that, are merefleabites in comparison: it wasthrough pride that the devilbecame the devil: Pride leads toevery other vice: it is the completeanti-God state of mind. (45)

Questions➤ What is your response to Lewis’s state

ments about pride?➤ Do Paul and Lewis agree about pride?

A Way to Explore Scripture Paul knew he had written a stinging rebuke to his beloved converts in Galatia. Heskipped the note of thanksgiving typically included with his letters. He criticized them

harshly and called upon them to return to the gospel message he first proclaimed tothem. Now, Paul wanted to end on a more positive note. He wanted the Galatians to raiseone another up. He called upon them to correct one another gently, to avoid self-centered pride,to share generously with their teachers, and to work for the good of others, especially for fellowchurch members.

26 Lesson 5

❍ Living in GraceAsk the group to join in the followinglitany as a means of dedicating themselvesto the kind of life Paul encourages.

Leader: As followers of Christ, we arecalled to live the grace we have received.Let us confess the sin and inconsistencyof our lives, saying:People: Lord have mercy and call usback to your ways.Leader: When we separate worship andworld, practicing religion but not lovingour neighbor,People: Lord have mercy and call usback to your ways.Leader: When we are driven by desire formoney and power,People: Lord have mercy and call usback to your ways.Leader: When we love the wrong things,People: Lord have mercy and call usback to your ways.Leader: When we cling to our thoughtsand ways refusing yours,People: Lord have mercy and call usback to your ways.Leader: Where our pattern has been totake, abuse, and hide, restore us to yourpattern of blessing, breaking, and giving.People: Lord have mercy and call usback to your ways.Leader: When we are tested by tempta-tion,People: Lord have mercy and call usback to your ways.Leader: When we do not live the life towhich you call us,

All: Lord have mercy and call us back toyour ways. Amen.

❍ The Place of GalatiansAsk the class to summarize the distinctivecontributions that each of Paul’s lettersmakes to our understanding of theApostle. It is not necessary to include alltwelve of the other letters, but be sure toinclude a summary of these key letters:• Romans—Paul’s most famous letter,Romans is similar to Galatians in that itemphasizes justification by faith alone,but more sweeping in its relation of thisconcept to Paul’s entire theology.• 1 Corinthians—In some ways this is the

counterbalance to Galatians in thePauline collection. If the Galatians weretempted toward libertinism, theCorinthians were tempted towardhedonism. Paul strongly rebuked theirimmoral behaviors. Galatians is allabout what is necessary to become aChristian. 1 Corinthians is about adozen different issues.

• Philemon—Paul mixes boldness withcompassion in this very personal letter.

• Ephesians—Paul focuses more on thechurch rather than the salvation of indi-vidual believers in this majestic letter.

After the class has made comments onmany of Paul’s other letters, ask them tosummarize the contribution thatGalatians makes to our understanding ofthe Apostle from Tarsus. What is thebiggest contribution that Galatians canmake to the twenty-first-century church?

Paul asked his scribe for the pen and concluded Galatians in his own handwriting,which was apparently a much larger script than his scribe’s (6:11). Paul probably

chose to write the last part of his fiery letter in hopes of ending on a warmer, moreencouraging note. As you conclude your study of Galatians, ask yourself how important the letterwas and is. How might Christianity have developed differently if Paul had notwritten this letter and the Judaizers had won over the Galatian churches? Howmight Christianity be different if a majority of early Christian churches had started requiringcircumcision, food laws, and Sabbath observances for conversion to Christ?

A Way to End

Teaching Guide 27