by Micky Galloway<\/p>\n
Paul wrote the Galatian letter to those who had been influenced by Judaizing teachers who had bound, as necessary to salvation, certain aspects of the Law of Moses. Paul indicted some of them, “Ye are severed from Christ, ye would be justified by the Law; ye are fallen away from grace<\/em>” (Galatians 5:4). This was a serious charge. Earlier in his letter, Paul had written, “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse: for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the Law, to do them<\/em>‘” (Galatians 3:10).<\/p>\n The Judaizing teachers did not realize that justification under the Law of Moses was not possible unless they kept it perfectly. Paul pronounced God’s anathema upon anyone who preached such a perverted gospel (Galatians 1:9). Evidently, from the text, the Judaizing teachers were causing many casualties. Though Paul had a very close relationship with the Galatian churches (cf. Galatians 4:15), he expressed fear that he had wasted his time, “I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain<\/em>” (Galatians 4:11). He then asked them, “So then am I become your enemy, by telling you the truth?<\/em>” (Galatians 4:16). This question had far-reaching implications.<\/p>\n God’s children need to be rebuked when they sin. In Acts 8, the text tells us that as Philip preached in Samaria, “Simon also himself believed: and being baptized, he continued with Philip; and beholding signs and great miracles wrought, he was amazed<\/em>” (Acts 8:13). Yet, when Simon offered the apostles money to buy the ability to impart spiritual gifts, Peter rebuked him saying, “Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee<\/em>” (Acts 8:20-22).<\/p>\n When Peter disassociated himself from the Gentile converts in Antioch, Paul rebuked him to the face because “he stood condemned<\/em>” (Galatians 2:11). Peter’s actions were hypocritical.<\/p>\n Paul instructed young Timothy to reprove elders who sin “in the sight of all, that the rest also may be in fear<\/em>” (I Timothy 5:20).<\/p>\n The preaching of truth often makes enemies.<\/p>\n None of this is new, for men have always opposed truth. Jesus attempted to prepare the apostles for their work by telling them, “Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake<\/em>” (Matthew 10:22).<\/p>\nSome become enemies of the truth in ignorance. Paul is an example of this; he thought he was doing right in persecuting the church. He said, “I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I also did<\/em> …” (Acts 26:9; cf. I Timothy 1:13). Paul spoke of the Judaizing teachers among the Galatians as “false brethren … who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: to whom we gave place in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour<\/em>.” Why did Paul take such a hard stand? He continued … “that the truth of the gospel might continue with you<\/em>” (Galatians 2:4-5). Paul had no desire to please people. His only desire was to please God. “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 1:10). If Paul wanted to please men, he would never have stopped practicing Judaism. As a Jew, he had many things to his credit, but he was willing, for Christ’s sake, to count it all loss, “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him<\/em> … ” (Philippians 3:7-9).<\/p>\n Yes, preaching the truth makes enemies, but the consequences for failing to teach it are worse; souls are lost. Those who taught that the Gentiles had to be circumcised were “subverting their souls<\/em>” (cf. Acts 15:24). The word used here for “subverting” is the Greek word “psuchas<\/em>.” It means to “turn away violently from a right state, to unsettle” (Thayer). Those who mislead the ones whom they are trying to teach will receive “heavier judgment<\/em>,” or greater condemnation (James 3:1; cf. Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47). There are eternal consequences for teaching that which is false. Therefore, let us “preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season<\/em> …” That means, preach it right, when they like it and when they don’t like it, but preach the word.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Micky Galloway Paul wrote the Galatian letter to those who had been influenced by Judaizing teachers who had bound, as necessary to salvation, certain aspects of the Law of Moses. Paul indicted some of them, “Ye are severed from Christ, ye would be justified by the Law; ye are fallen away from grace” (Galatians…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[535,536,451],"class_list":["post-92246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-enemies","tag-preaching","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34789,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/judaizing-teachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":92246,"position":0},"title":"Judaizing Teachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Galatians 5:1-6 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the beginnings of the church, Christians first came from the ranks of the Jews \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Jews had a hard time at first with the gospel being preached to Gentiles - Acts 11:1-3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As the gospel spread to the Gentiles, trouble arose as some Jewish Christians\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56944,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/holy-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":92246,"position":1},"title":"Holy Days","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 24, June 13, 2008 Question: Does Galatians 4:9-11 refer to holy days (religious observance)? Or could it have a reference to such days as July 4th or our birthdays? Answer: The letter to the Galatians was written primarily to teach these\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12277,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-would-like-to-ask-you-about-the-book-of-galatians-and-paul\/","url_meta":{"origin":92246,"position":2},"title":"I would like to ask you about the book of Galatians and Paul","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to ask you about the book of Galatians and Paul. I was reading this book for one of my Bible studies. I had not done so before in-depth, only certain verses. As I was studying and reading, it seemed to me that what Paul was saying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56753,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/have-you-been-bewitched-galatians-31-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":92246,"position":3},"title":"Have You Been Bewitched? – Galatians 3:1-5","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Thomas Thornhill In these verses, Paul calls the Galatians \"foolish\" and \"bewitched\" for being deceived by Judaizing false teachers. He doesn't believe in such superstition but uses it as sarcasm to make them think. How did they receive the Spirit that brought justification and salvation? Paul is deeply distressed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/magicWand.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22250,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-it-was-taught-that-the-old-covenant-was-abolished-why-was-the-conference-in-jerusalem-necessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":92246,"position":4},"title":"If it was taught that the Old Covenant was abolished, why was the conference in Jerusalem necessary?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Acts 15, we have the elders, apostles, missionaries, prophets, and the Holy Spirit coming together to decide if the Gentile Christians were to keep the Old Covenant Law and circumcision. Most Christians teach that the Old Covenant was abolished at the cross. If this is true, then why\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15725,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/shouldnt-we-live-by-faith-and-not-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":92246,"position":5},"title":"Shouldn’t we live by faith and not law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You said in one of your articles, \"He offers forgiveness of sins if a person submits to God's laws.\" What about faith? Shouldn't we live by faith and not law (Galatians 3:12)?\u00a0Also, what about Romans 7:1-6? 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\nOthers are so blinded by prejudice that they cannot believe the truth (cf. John 12:39). These obviously do not love the truth (cf. II Thessalonians 2:10-12).\nStill others knowingly and deliberately make themselves enemies of the truth. Jesus explained why in John 3:19-20, “men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved<\/em>.”
\nTruth, however, must be preached, even at the expense of making enemies. Paul charged Timothy to “preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:1-4). As we have heard so many times before, “Just one <\/b>untaught generation leads to apostasy.”\n