Quite simply, the short letter to the Galatians is the earliest of Paul's letters about the Gospel. The letter begins with an emphatic identification of one true gospel while recognizing the existence of different gospels. There are many things that become our functional saviors, taking the place rightfully reserved for Jesus Christ alone. Our meaning, our purpose, our hope, our joy, our value, all comes from Jesus. He lived the life I should have lived and died the death I should have died. He pays my penalty and gracefully offers to me his righteousness. I do nothing for it. I do not deserve it. I simply believe and I am justified, declared innocent, redeemed from slavery to sin by the price of Jesus sacrifice, and declared righteous. In other words, when God sees me, God sees Jesus and loves me that much. We can do nothing to make God love us more...we are freed from a law we could not satisfy and any attempts to make a new law only result in pride or despair. I live now because Jesus lives in me, not because of anything I have done or will ever do. Imagine, the God of creation loves us this much!
For the next several weeks we will make our way through the letter to the Galatians, exploring the freedom God offers the world through Jesus Christ. A companion to our journey will be the opportunity for you to also study Galatians in our adult Sunday school classes. If you have not become connected with one of these classes feel free to join one over the next several weeks. All are open and inviting to new folks. A list of classes and locations is available at the Connection Point