In our study on Saturday, June 8th, 2026, we finished the book of Galatians. The overall context is that the Galatian church was abandoning the true gospel of justification by faith in Jesus and instead adopting a false gospel that required circumcision and works of the law for salvation (Gal. 1:6, 5:2). This passage, chapter six, flows directly from chapter five's command to "walk in step with the spirit" and serves as a practical conclusion, explaining what living by the Spirit looks like in community.

In our Bible study on June 7th, 2026, we continued our journey through the book of Galatians. In the previous chapters, Paul had been addressing the Galatians who were deserting the true gospel for a false one, which taught that justification came through works of the law, specifically circumcision, rather than by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16). Paul has already compared living by faith to being children of the free woman, Sarah, and living by the law to being children of the slave woman, Hagar, urging them to embrace their freedom.

As a quick recap from our study on Saturday, June 6, 2026, the apostle Paul has been writing to the Galatian churches because they were being misled by false teachers. These teachers, called "the party of the circumcision," were insisting that Gentile Christians had to obey the Old Testament law, including circumcision, to be saved, which Paul calls a false gospel. Paul's main point throughout the book is that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law (Galatians 2:16).

In our study tonight, we picked up in Galatians chapter 4. As a reminder of what's been happening in the book, Paul is astonished that the Galatian believers are so quickly deserting the gospel of grace for a different one (Galatians 1:6). This "different gospel" was brought in by false teachers who insisted that believers must first obey the Old Testament law, including circumcision and observing special days, to be saved. Paul's main argument, stated in chapter 2 verse 16, is that a person is justified by faith in Christ, not by the works of the law.

On the evening of June 4, 2026, our group gathered to study Galatians chapter three. Paul is writing this letter because the Galatian believers were being led astray by false teachers who insisted that Gentile Christians had to follow Old Testament laws, like circumcision, to be saved, when Paul's main point is that people are justified by faith in Jesus, not by works of the law (Galatians 2:16, 21).

In our study tonight, we picked up in Galatians chapter 2. We were reminded of our last session that in chapter 1, Paul established the problem of a false gospel creeping into the church and shared his own conversion story. Now, in chapter 2, he confronts this false teaching head-on, explaining that the Galatians, like him, should let go of the old law and embrace the newness of faith in Jesus.

As we began our new study on Monday, June 1, 2026, we learned that Paul wrote this letter to the Gentile Christians in Galatia to correct a false teaching. Jewish Christians had come into the area, teaching that to be truly right with God, the Gentiles needed to follow the old law, including circumcision, but Paul wrote to defend the true gospel message: justification is through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by works of the law.