Paul answers the question that his reader has to be asking by this point of his letter, "If faith is how man is justified, what was the purpose of the Law?" That's a great question! This week we learn the answer!!

The covenant God made with Abraham was based on, "God will, God will, God will." While the law men live by says, "You shall, you shall, you shall." One is built on a relationship the other is built on performance. One is built on belief, the other on doing.

Paul continues to point the Galatians back to grace. In chapter 3 he reminds them of how they arrived at where they were in their spiritual journey -- it was by faith! Then he shows them that faith has been the foundation of their faith going back to Abraham.

Law + My Sacrifices = God's Favor. That was the equation that Jews lived by for hundreds of years. But God introduced a new equation that totally took man's efforts out of the equation. Man could no longer "earn" his righteousness. Now he was asked to 'believe' -- Believe + Jesus' Sacrifice = God's Favor!

Change is hard. After having all aspects of life be shaped by the Law for hundreds of years, Jewish Christians come to grips with what it means to be Christian. Does it mean that Gentiles must be Jewish to follow Christ?

In this opening chapter of Galatians, Paul writes to establish a base line of what the Gospel is and what it isn't and how no human flesh influenced the Gospel message God gave him.

Galatians is a letter written to correct false teaching about the nature of the gospel. To understand the letter as a whole, we have to have a firm understanding of what Paul taught was the true gospel.

Law, faith, freedom, the Holy Spirit -- topics that Paul addresses in his letter to the churches of Galatia. This week we review these themes in the book of Galatians -- especially the theme of freedom!

Scott Brubaker, one of our church Elders, does an outstanding job of explaining our church's belief on the uniqueness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.