Purpose and Main Themes of Galatians

Purpose and Main Themes of Galatians

1. Probably written ~AD48 - 49

2. Purpose

   • 1) To defend Paul's authority
   • 2) To defend Paul's message of justification by faith
   • 3) To explain the meaning of Christian freedom

3. Background

   • Judaisers in Galatia claiming that for a Gentile to become a Christian, they first needed to be circumcised and follow the Jewish Law

4. Dispute Over the Destination of the Letter

   • North Galatian Theory
     • Galatia thought to cover the land in the central parts of Asia - Paul was here on his Second Missionary Journey
       • Most likely theory
   • South Galatian Theory
     • Galatians thought to have been written to the Roman province of Galatia (Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe)
       • First Missionary Journey - Before the Council of Jerusalem

5. Tone of the Letter

   • Drane - The letter to the Galatians "was written hastily in the middle of a raging controversy"
   • Paul was so angry because of the seriousness of the issue at stake
     • Paul feared that Christianity was becoming a Jewish sect