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| PAUL FIGHTS BACK |
| When freedom gets dangerous. |
| The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 5:6 |
| Over the years Paul caught on to his opponents' crafty ways of undermining him. Galatians provides a textbook case of his response to critics. First, Paul answered their personal attacks. Some had questioned his right to be called an apostle. In chapters 1 and 2, Paul insists that he received the gospel directly from God. In addition, he has met every criterion of an apostle. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with Paul's ideas. Had he strayed too far from Old Testament law and customs? Some hinted that Paul was preaching an incomplete gospel. He answered those objections with a carefully reasoned look at the Old Testament, focusing on Abraham, the father of the Jewish race. What to Do with Freedom Then Paul turned to more practical matters. Stressing freedm, not rules, left him open to criticism. Did his strong emphasis on freedom lead to loose morals? To answer this question, he ended Galatians, a letter devoted to Christian liberty, with a warning. "Why did Christ set us free?" Paul asks. To make possible a life of orgies, drunkenness, and witchcraft? Obviously no. Christ freed us from worrying about whether we are "doing enough" to please God and from uselessly following external forms. But we should use that freedom to serve one another in love and to live a Spirit-filled life. His arguments and emotions exhausted, Paul concludes, "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation" (6:15). A released prisoner, a freed slave, the bountiful fruit of a living tree - all the images in Galatians convey life, an abundant life in the |