Readings:
Galatians 1:1-10
Romans 1:1-15
Background: Lutheran Study Bible (Introduction to Galatians, paragraph 2)
Other Jewish leaders who were believers in Jesus had come to Galatia. They insisted that to be acceptable to God the non-Jewish believers must observe the laws of Moses. They claimed the authority of prominent leaders of the church in Jerusalem. In addition to Jewish food laws and festivals, they taught that the men and boys must be circumcised in accord with God’s covenant with Israel.
Questions: to be engaged in the comment section
1. What is the nature of Paul’s relationship to the Galatians? Look for evidence in Paul’s message and style in Galatians 1:1-10. Include the use of pronouns.
2. What about Paul’s relationship to the Romans? What evidence do you find in Romans 1:1-15?
3. Consider: How might the contents of a letter from Paul be shaped for a given audience?
Always keep in mind that Paul wrote each of his letters to a particular audience. He didn’t know that he was writing scripture.
4. When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians, the “Gospels” that we find in our New Testament hadn’t been written yet. In your opinion, when Paul says there is only one gospel, what does he mean by “gospel”?
5. What suggests that Paul considers the situation in the Galatian churches an emergency?
These weekly readings are based on the Lutheran Study Bible, which is simply the NRSV Bible that we use for worship the addition of study notes, introductory material for each book, and sections on Lutheran principles. Any Bible will do, but there are 8 copies of the Lutheran Study Bible in the church library, 7 of them available for checkout. Take a look. Sign one out – no due date!
Thanks for these thoughtful comments and prompts for reading this scripture passage. Galatians was one of the first letters of scripture that I taught when I was doing youth ministry. Paul puts on a vivid defense of the gospel as it expanded outside of cultural Judaism. That movement was challenging… as is evident by the lack of the traditional “thanksgiving” for the recipients of the letter in these beginning verses.