These church visitors insisted that the law concerning circumcision, as well as the other requirements of the Mosaic Law, was binding on all Christians, including those coming from a Gentile background. Furthermore, they launched a vicious attack on Paul because of his attitude about this matter. They even went so far as to charge that he was an impostor and was guilty of misleading the membership of the churches. In response to these charges, Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians.
At the beginning of the letter, Paul expresses astonishment at what has taken place during his absence from the Galatians. Surprised at the attitude taken by the so-called leaders of the Jerusalem church, he is deeply disappointed when the people among whom he labored are persuaded by these visiting brethren to turn from the message that he proclaimed and accept as obligatory the requirements characteristic of Jewish legalism. Replying to the accusation that he is not a qualified leader of the Christian community, Paul defends his apostleship by declaring that Jesus Christ — not men — called him to that office. In support of this claim, he reviews the experiences that led to his conversion and the circumstances under which he carried on his work among the churches. He describes his relationship with the so-called "pillars of the church" at Jerusalem, explaining both the purpose and the outcome of his conferences with them. Although he did not receive from them any directive concerning the content of the message he was to proclaim, they were fully informed about the work he was doing and gave their approval to it, specifying in particular that he should devote his main efforts toward working with people entering the church from a Gentile background.
Following this introduction, Paul proceeds to the main point of the letter: to explain and clarify his position concerning the Law, which he does by detailing both its uses and its limitations as a means of obtaining salvation. The Law, he maintains, lays bare the defects in a person's character. In this respect, its function is like that of a looking-glass, which reveals blemishes but does not remove them. He writes, "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith." When this goal has been reached, the Law is no longer necessary: "Clearly no one is justified before God by the law." Only by faith in Christ are people justified. By faith, Paul means something more than a mere intellectual assent to a number of facts in connection with the earthly life of Jesus. He means a commitment on the part of an individual to the way of life exemplified in the person of Jesus. A person possessed by the same spirit present in Jesus will be saved from sin and the spiritual death that sin brings. That person's desires and whole nature will be so transformed that he will do what is right because he wants to act that way rather than because he thinks it is a duty to be performed in order to obtain a reward.
