However, hot on their heels came false teachers, Judaizers, who persuaded some in the Galatian congregations to believe that circumcision and observance of the Law of Moses were essential parts of true Christianity.

3. From where and when may Galatians have been written?

³ Where and when did Paul write the letter to the Galatians? No doubt he wrote it as soon as word reached him concerning the activity of the Judaizers.

6. (a) What two points does the letter of Galatians establish? (b) What was unusual about the writing of this letter, and what does it emphasize?

⁶ In Paul’s powerful and hard-hitting letter “to the congregations of Galatia,” he proves (1) that he is a true apostle (a fact that the Judaizers had sought to discredit) and (2) that justification is by faith in Christ Jesus, not by the works of the Law, and that therefore circumcision is unnecessary for Christians. Though it was Paul’s custom to have a secretary write down his epistles, he himself wrote Galatians in ‘large letters with his own hand.’ (6:11) The contents of the book were of the greatest importance, both to Paul and to the Galatians. The book emphasizes appreciation for the freedom that true Christians have through Jesus Christ.