A 5 Minute Introduction to the Book of Galatians

In this video I give you a brief introduction to the rich and beautiful book of Galatians.

*AUTHOR
The author of Galatians is the apostle Paul. This is clearly stated in Galatians 1:2, "This letter is from Paul, an apostle" and 5:2, "I, Paul."

*AUDIENCE
Paul Galatians to the believers in the region of "Galatia." These believers in Galatia had people known as "Judaizers" starting to teach that in order to saved you had to keep parts of the Old Testament Law of Moses. However, discerning the audience that Paul was writing this letter to is difficult because the word "Galatia" could refer to two different locations. Galatia could refer to the "ethnic-geographical" region in the north (where Paul traveled on his second and third missionary journeys). But, Galatian could also refer to the "political" region in the south (Where Paul traveled on his first missionary journey). It is important to note that the destination of this letter-whether to north Galatia or south Galatia-does not effect it's interpretation. It only effects the date of the letter written.

*DATE
As I referenced above, the date of the letter depends on the location Paul was writing this letter to. If Paul was writing to "north" Galatia then the letter was written in 57 A.D. during his third missionary journey (which occured 53-57 A.D.). This is 57 A.D. date is more traditional and held by most people throughout church history. However, most modern conservative scholars believe that Paul wrote this letters to the believers in south Galatia in 49 A.D. between his first and second missionary journeys. He probably wrote the letter from Antioch (see Acts 14:28).

*OUTLINE (from Warren Wiersbe)
-Personal: Grace and the Gospel (chapters 1-2)
-Doctrinal: Grace and the Law (chapters 3-4)
-Practical: Grace and the Christian Life (chapters 5-6)

*KEY VERSE
"So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law." (Galatians 5:1, NLT)

*THEME
The main theme of the book of Galatians according to Warren Wiersbe is "Christian liberty in the grace of God." As you read this book there also is a lot of talk about the false gospel, doctrine, legalism, the law, and circumcision. Paul also talks about Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the probmise God made to Abraham, as well as righteousness through faith.

Want to do a small group study through Galatians? I recommend the Wiersbe Bible Study Guide and commentary:

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Bibles I Recommend:

Small Group Studies I Recommend:

Thumbnail Photo Credit: Horne, Charles, and Julius Bewer. "The Bible and Its Story: Acts–Epistles, Apostles to Revelation." Vol. 10. New York, NY: Francis R. Niglutsch, 1910.

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[indirasuresh]

Great Pastor...I am from India. God bless you

[ChristopherLScott]

Do you have any questions about the book of Galatians? If so, leave a comment and let's talk.

[Theslavedrivers]

It is disingenuous not to acknowledge that the 'Judaizers' were taking their cue from some of JC's original companions. Paul was basing his authority on a vision of someone he never met. Who would you credit first????