The sixty verses that make up Galatians 3 and 4 are some of the strongest writing that Paul ever penned. But, after all, he was in the middle of a fight! He was out to prove that salvation is by grace alone, and not by the works of the Law. His opponents had used every possible means to try to capture the churches of Galatia, and Paul was not going to fight them halfheartedly or let them win this important battle. Paul was no stranger to debates, and in these two chapters he certainly proves his abilities. His logic is indisputable.

Paul uses six different arguments to prove that God saves sinners through faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law. He begins with the personal argument (Gal. 3:1–5) in which he asks the Galatians to recall their personal experience with Christ when they were saved.

It was obvious that these people had experienced something in their lives when Paul had first visited them; but the Judaizers had come along and convinced them that their experience was not complete. They needed something else, and that “something else” was obedience to the Law of Moses. These false teachers had bewitched them and turned them into fools. In calling them “fools” Paul is not violating Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:22), because two different words are used and two different ideas are expressed. Foolish in Galatians 3:1 means “spiritually dull” (see Luke 24:25), while the word Jesus used carries the idea of “a godless person.” Paul is declaring a fact; Jesus is warning against verbal abuse.