False Teaching Condemned

Paul's argument against those who believe they must add their own works righteousness to the righteousness of Jesus Christ throughout the first four chapters of Galatians has been very persuasive.

His letter to the churches in Galatia was the result of visiting Jewish men from Jerusalem who had converted to faith in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, yet still insisted that, in order for the Gentile men in the churches to actually be saved, they first had to become Jews, be circumcised, and follow Mosaic Law.

They either had a misunderstanding of God's grace and Jesus' new covenant in His blood, or they just could not bring themselves to believe that salvation comes through faith and faith alone, without any merit on the part of the individual sinner.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul insists that reverting back to live under the law once a person converted to Jesus Christ through faith, was an act of personal enslavement to the law—enslavement to a system of works rightness.

And, if they were to submit to circumcision, they would be forsaking Christ and He would be of no benefit to them.

Paul called that type of teaching a distorted gospel, saying about those teachers, "let them be accursed!" (Galatians 1:9)

Scripture References

Galatians 5:6-12
John 14:15-24
Galatians 1:9
Galatians 5:1
Galatians 5:5
Romans 4:4-5
Ephesians 2:10
Matthew 5-7
2 Corinthians 5:10
Galatians 5:7
Galatians 5:8-9
Galatians 5:11
Galatians 5:12
Philippians 3:2-3
2 Corinthians 13:14