Galatians Introduction
“The Churches of Galatia—Just how and by whom these churches were established we do not know. The great highway from the East to Europe passed through this region, making it possible for some of those present at Pentecost to have sown the seed of the gospel there. It could have sprung up from work done by Paul while at Tarsus from the time of his return from Arabia to his going to Antioch with Barnabas. But the scripture gives us no word about this.
On the second missionary journey Paul visited them (Acts 16:6) and seems to have been taken sick while passing through and to have preached to them while unable to travel (Gal. 4:14-15). They gladly received his teaching, and churches seem to have sprung up. Paul also visited them while on the third missionary journey (Acts 18:23) and instructed and established them in the faith. The churches were running well when Paul left them, but Judaizing teachers had now come in and, acting upon their fickle and unstable nature, had greatly corrupted the simplicity of their faith.
The Occasion of the Epistle. (1) Judaizing teachers had gone among the Galatians, claiming that the Jewish law was binding upon Christians, admitting that Jesus was the Messiah, but claiming that salvation must, nevertheless, be obtained by the works of the law. They especially urged that all Gentiles be circumcised. (2) In order to gain their point and turn the Galatians from their belief, they were trying to weaken their confidence in Paul, their spiritual teacher. They said he was not one of the twelve, and therefore, not one of the apostles, and his teachings were not of binding authority...
The Purpose of the Epistle— The purpose of the epistle was to root out the errors of doctrine introduced by the Judaizers and to hold the Galatians to their earlier faith. To do this it was necessary to establish his apostolic authority and the divine origin of his gospel. He also desired to show the practical value or application of his teaching. He especially shows the value of Christian freedom and at the same time shows that it is not license. In fulfilling these purposes he gave us an inspired classic upon the fundamental doctrine of justification by faith and forever settled the disturbing question of the relation of Christians to the Jewish law.
Author and Date— It was written by Paul, probably from Corinth in A.D. 57.” (Adam Clarke)
“JUDAIZERS— Christian Jews who, during the apostolic and early postapostolic periods, attempted to impose the Jewish way of life on gentile Christians. The Greek verb, which literally means 'to Judaize,' is found only one time in the NT (Gal 2:14), where it actually means ‘to live according to Jewish customs and traditions.’ In that passage Paul quotes part of a brief conversation he had with Peter several years earlier: 'If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews [i.e., to Judaize]?’ (RSV). The issue that concerned Paul was not simply whether or not a person followed the Jewish way of life but whether one erroneously thought that salvation was attained thereby.” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary)
Let’s explore all of the issues together. Let’s see what the Judaizers were saying— which laws (or Torah) were addressed as lacking among the Gentile churches in Galatia, and how Paul responded. I contend that the Mitzvah’s or Commandments— the moral code— were known as binding to Jews and Greeks alike who professed faith in Messiah Jesus. Of course we have a fountain of cleansing from sin as we strive to walk in the Spirit.
"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us." (1 John 1:7-10)