galatians 4:12-20
In this second half of Galatians 4, Paul softens his tone toward believers. Rather than, "You stupid Galatians!" (Galatians 3:1), he refers to them as "brothers and sisters." He first connected with the church in Galatia when recovering from an unknown illness or injury. They showed him great compassion and treated him with respect rather than following the custom of that time, which would have been to exclude him from society until he had fully recovered.
However, now that he has been outspoken against the Judaizers, the church has turned its back and treated him as an enemy because he's preaching salvation by faith alone, in contrast to the Judaizer's teaching of adherence to Levitical Law by both Jew and Gentile. Not only were they preaching false doctrine, but instead of pointing believers to Christ, they were drawing the focus to themselves as the final authority. Their "zeal" (Galatians 4:17) was for themselves, not the truth of the gospel.
We are saved by grace through faith, in Jesus Christ crucified, not by works. Perverting this truth puts us in grave danger of three things:
Relationships: Paul asserts, "I am for you, not against you," but their willingness to accept the lies of the Judaizers has made them enemies. Perversion of the gospel destroys good relationships.
Experiences: By taking our eyes off the truth of the gospel, we forget that we have freedom in Christ, not bondage to the Law or salvation based on good works.
Allegiance: The Judaizers wanted the church in Galatia to pursue them and offer allegiance to them rather than to Christ.
Anything that draws us away from salvation by grace through faith, in Jesus Christ crucified, not by works, will pervert our relationships, experiences, and allegiance to Jesus Christ.
Paul took a risk in speaking against falsehood and telling the truth to the Galatian Christians. Have you ever told someone you love the hard truth about something in their life? What happened?
Paul has a reputation for being a direct and often insensitive preacher and teacher. Read 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 and Galatians 4:19-20. How do Paul's tender words here challenge that misconception?
Based on verses 17-20, why do you think the Judaizers might have succeeded in winning some of the Galatians believers to their teaching, or at least significantly influencing them? What is it that enticed these believers to change?
In 4:17, Paul says, "They make much of you but for no good purpose." In other words, the Judaizers are flatterers. Where do you see that in our culture? How can we become aware of the danger of flattery in our lives that may cause us to adjust the gospel's message?
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