Page 61 - Bible Study Methods-Textbook_Neat

Let’s look at Galatians 5: 16 – 26.

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16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in
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conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are
not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
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witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit
the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
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and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
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the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the
Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
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Language: Written in Greek by Paul to the churches in Galatia (those churches to which Paul had
established on his first missionary journey).

Culture: These are Jewish Christians who would require circumcision of the Galatians—thus alienating
them from their own Gentile culture. Some of the strictest Pharisees may have required circumcision
for salvation, but many Pharisees believed that any Gentiles who kept the few laws given to Moses

would be saved.Indeed, circumcision had even become a major cultural symbol of fidelity to Judaism;
attempts to restrict the practice led to revolts both before and after Paul’s time.Some Judean Christians

were now arguing that one must become culturally Jewish to become a full Christian and fully righteous.
After all, the Bible itself made this requirement for one who wished to belong to God’s people (Gen
17:10–14).

Geography: This matter of the founding of the Galatian churches has
kept serious Bible students at work for many years. The problem
stems from the meaning of the word Galatia. Several hundred years
before the birth of Christ, some fierce tribes migrated from Gaul
(modern France) into Asia Minor, and founded Galatia, which simply
means “the country of the Gauls.” When the Romans reorganized
the ancient world, they made Galatia a part of a larger province that
included several other areas, and they called the entire province
Galatia. So, back in Paul’s day, when a person talked about Galatia,
you could not be sure whether he meant the smaller country of

Gentile *Gentile. Anyone who is not Jewish. In ancient Jewish parlance, this was often the equivalent of
“pagan.”
Pharisees *Pharisees. A movement of several thousand pious Jewish men who sought to interpret the
law carefully and according to the traditions of previous generations of the pious. They had no political
power in Jesus’ day but were highly respected and thus influential among the larger population. They
emphasized their own version of purity rules and looked forward to the resurrection of the dead.

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