Shortly after Paul’s departure from the churches in Galatia, he was made aware of an inner crisis that was creating division. A group of false teachers had infiltrated the Church and were seeking to distort the true Gospel by requiring believers to engage in Jewish rituals. The reason their message was so dangerous was because it led believers to seek righteousness through their own works, instead of the grace of God. For Jews, this meant returning to the slavery from which they had been saved. For the Gentiles, this would mean submitting to a work-based religion. Paul rebuked the Galatians who had fallen into a falsified version of the truth, and combated the false teachings with the truth of the Gospel. Paul understood that no one could be justified through works. He chose to rely on the righteousness of God, living by faith in Jesus Christ.

• By requiring the Gentiles to follow the Old Testament laws, how were the false teachers distorting the Gospel?
• Do you find in yourself the tendency to rely on your own obedience for right standing with God? In what ways?