Galatians: Gospels in Conflict, Introduction

Does the gospel of John conflict with Matthew, Mark and Luke? Do the writings of Paul, Peter, John and James conflict with the writings of other gospel writers? It is an interesting question, perhaps a question we are reluctant to look at for it might shake up our fundamental belief in the four gospels. But is that a bad things? Is it a bad thing to critically look at the Bible, along with manmade beliefs and teaching, to see if they are in conflict with each other? Christ was always challenging the religious leaders of his day to consider their man made rules, regulations, and traditions and compare them to what the Old Testament writers had said. If Christ used this method, is it wrong for us to consider the same in regards to Biblical teachings verses man made theology?

Five Hundred years ago, Martin Luther an obscure Augustinian monk in Wittenberg Germany started studying the Bible, especially the books of Romans and Galatians. His findings challenged the teachings of his day. He took his findings and nailed them to the door of the church. This was a common practice when scholars wanted to ignite public debate on a subject.

The results of these 95 points of debate the Luther publicized on the door of the church, ignited the Protestant Reformation. As I mentioned just a moment ago, his primary area of Study was Romans and Galatians. Galatians with its portrayal of gospels in conflict among the earliest Christ believers, highlighted for Luther the pivotal issues in the New Testament, issues that are still, 500 years later persistently and doggedly hounding the church to this day. Thus over the next 14 weeks we will look at some the central themes of Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians and discover that these same themes still make up the fabric of the Christian community today.

It is my desire you will enjoy this series which will be presented over a thirteen week period of time starting on July 1 and running through the last Saturday of September.

Here are the titles and each will be broken into four parts and typically posted at 8:00 am and 8:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Lesson 1 Paul and His Galatian Letter:

Part 1: Why Did Paul Write to the Galatians

Part 2: A Look at the Letter

Part 3: Major Themes in the Book of Galatians

Part 4: Why is Galatians Important Today

Lesson 2: Gospels in Conflict and Paul’s Authority

Part 1: Paul’s Apostleship and His Gospel

Part 2: That Other Gospel

Part 3: More of Paul’s Authority

Lesson 3: Threats to Gospel Unity

Part 1: The Threat From Jerusalem part 1