Snoopy Grapples with Galatians

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paradox3

paradox3

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Galatians 1:1 - 10
www.biblegateway.com

Bible Gateway passage: Galatians 1:1-10 - New English Translation

Salutation - From Paul, an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead) and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia. Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our...
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Paul opens his letter by greeting the Galatians and explaining his credentials. He declares himself to be an apostle, appointed by Jesus Christ and God the Father.

He chastises the Galatians for following a distorted version of the gospel. And for deserting the one who called them by the grace of Christ. (He seems to be referring to himself here in v.6)

Paul is not trying to please the people. Rather he is a slave of Christ.
 
Snoopy's Snappy Review: Galatians 1: 1-10
This guy Paul is pretty confident in himself & his God given authority, don't you think? :rolleyes:

Probably important to remember as we read his letters. Yours, Snoopy. :dog:
 
Paul starts this letter of with kind words ----

Verse 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

This letter starts the outpouring of Paul's passionate soul that is on fire for the Lord and is deeply committed to Preaching The Real True of the Gospel of Christ to his hearers so that they can grasp and understand what Saving Faith really is -----

He is telling his Brothers and Sisters who say they are in Christ that they are not Preaching to please God but to Please the People -----which is causing Confusion to the hearers -----

He goes on to say Preaching another Gospel is no Gospel at all -----so in other words if your not Preaching what Jesus taught and teaching the Good News that He died for then your Preaching another Gospel which is No Gospel at all ----

He Says ----When your preaching to appease what people want to hear not what God intends people to here ---- your not a servant of Christ ---Paul does this part graciously and lovingly using Himself as the one preaching wrongly as the example ----

In other words your preaching your own twisted Gospel not God's Gospel

He goes on to make a strong point here in verse 8

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

Pretty strong words here I say ----

Preaching another Gospel today is running rampid in all Churches ----not many are preaching to please God ---Fear of people leaving if the real truth is preached is high on the list of keeping the real truth hidden -----only give half a truth is the motto today ----but a half truth is not the truth at all ---- it is a lie ----confusion is high in churches today Folks ------

Very Sad ----

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Thanks @unsafe

Betcha Paul grabbed the attention of those Galatians right away. :)

He has grabbed my attention and I am eager to read on. I have been told that Paul's point of view undergoes some shifts over time. For this reason, reading the letters in chronological order is often recommended.
 
Two questions rivet my attention:
(1) Why the hyperbolic reference "If I or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel?"
Paul's Judaizing opponents might be Ebionites (Latin for "the poor") from Jerusalem. In their writings, this Jewish Christian group refers to Paul as "the enemy." But they also believe Jesus is the incarnation of the Archangel Michael. Paul's angel phrase may be attacking this heresy.

(2) Why does Paul contrast being "a servant of Christ" with being a "people pleaser?"
Can't we follow Norman Vincent Peale's advice in "The Power of Positive Thinking" and strive to make others happy by making our spiritual points in a winsome positive way? Sketpcis of this approach reply with a cdorful phrase, "Paul is appealing and Peale is appalling!"
In the Galatian context Paul views this accommodating attitude as a trap in the sense that to help Christians grow, we must confront them with what they need to hear rather than with what they want to hear.
 
I would give you dollars to doughnuts that Paul was a Virgo. First letter ever, and he charges out, complaining. "Yer doin' it wrong", *sigh*.
 
BetteTheRed said:
I would give you dollars to doughnuts that Paul was a Virgo. First letter ever, and he charges out, complaining. "Yer doin' it wrong", *sigh*.
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But Paul had a good reason to assert his apostolic authority. Remember his Judaizing opponents were teaching new Galatian believers that unless they got circumcised, they were not saved!
 
And if I'm not mistaken, he and Peter and James were trying to sort out exactly the same things. Paul was a Romanized Jew, Peter and James were oppressed Jews under Roman rule. Sorta natural enemies, maybe almost as bad as Jews and Samaritans.
 
BetteTheRed said:
And if I'm not mistaken, he and Peter and James were trying to sort out exactly the same things. Paul was a Romanized Jew, Peter and James were oppressed Jews under Roman rule. Sorta natural enemies, maybe almost as bad as Jews and Samaritans.
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You're mistaken! Peter and Jesus' brother James were ecstatic about Paul's missionary success among the Gentiles and totally supported his continuing efforts.
 
BetteTheRed said:
And if I'm not mistaken, he and Peter and James were trying to sort out exactly the same things. Paul was a Romanized Jew, Peter and James were oppressed Jews under Roman rule. Sorta natural enemies, maybe almost as bad as Jews and Samaritans.
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Paul was a Romanized Jew. His holding Roman citizenship gave him certain privileges and protections. His background and education allowed him to navigate both Jewish and Roman cultures effectively.

Peter and James, on the other hand, were Jews living under Roman rule in Judea. They experienced the oppression and challenges faced by Jews in that region.

Their differences over the inclusion of Gentiles in the early Christian community didn't reach the level of animosity seen between Jews and Samaritans. Instead, their shared faith in Christ ultimately united them
 
Mystic said:
You're mistaken! Peter and Jesus' brother James were ecstatic about Paul's missionary success among the Gentiles and totally supported his continuing efforts.
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Peter and James had concerns about maintaining the Jewish traditions and ensuring that new believers adhered to essential aspects of the faith.

Acts 15 describes the Council of Jerusalem, where Peter, James, and Paul discussed these matters. Peter and James ultimately supported Paul's mission while emphasizing the importance of certain guidelines for Gentile converts.

While not ecstatic, they acknowledged the success and necessity of Paul's efforts and worked together to further the spread of Christianity
 
Jae said:
His "thorn in the flesh." As an epileptic, I'm fond of that theory
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Yeah, maybe his epilepsy was his thorn. You could be right. Others have suggested it might have been his homosexual desires. Who knows????
 
Hey everybody, thanks for joining Snoopy's bible study. A very worthwhile discussion is shaping up here. I always appreciate it when this happens.

Galatians 1: 11-17
www.biblegateway.com

Bible Gateway passage: Galatians 1:11-17 - New English Translation

Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship - Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source; instead I received it by a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former way of life...
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Paul emphasizes the divine origin of his faith in Jesus. And he discusses his former way of life. He relates that God set him apart from his birth and revealed the Son to him.

Paul did not ask for advice from any human beings. Nor did he go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before him. Right away he departed to Arabia and then returned to Damascus.
 
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