is why, as cited earlier, the epistle has been called “The Magna Charta of Spiritual Emancipation.” No congratulations or words of praise It was not that there was nothing commendable about the Galatians’ spiritual lives The epistle was written under strain of urgency, over a situation of emergency Paul would be having personal interaction with the churches later, when he could inspire them through commendation G GALATIANS IN RELATION TO OTHER NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS We have already James Two other are made below Galatians and works is prominent compared Galatians and interesting comparisons Romans The subject of in Romans as well as in Galatians Romans exposes the error of legalism, which says that a person is saved by works The subject of justi cation by faith appears often in both epistles (Read Galatians 2:16-17; 3:11, 24; 5:4; Romans 3:20, 24, 28; 5:1, 9.) The large subject of salvation is treated more fully in Romans It has been said that Galatians is the “rough block” of what appears in more nished form in Romans, written eight years later Galatians and Corinthians Much of Corinthians is devoted to a defense of Paul’s apostleship (e.g., Cor 10-13), because Paul’s opponents were stirring up the Corinthian believers by challenging his credentials as an apostle In the rst two chapters of Galatians Paul defends his apostleship, which was challenged by the same kind of troublemakers When you are surveying Galatians 1-2, recall the apologia chapters of Corinthians 10-13 III SURVEY A PREPARING TO SURVEY Visualize the young Christians of a church of Galatia about to read Paul’s letter for the rst time Keep in mind the antecedents of the epistle: a Paul’s first missionary journey b conversion of residents of Galatia c Paul returns to home base, Antioch d troublemakers and false teachers harass the Galatian Christians Take a casual look at Galatians in your Bible, observing such things as number and length of chapters B FIRST READING Read the entire book in one sitting Aim here to get the feel of the book Approach the text, as much as possible, with “an innocence of the eye,” that is, as though you had never seen it before What are your impressions? Scan the book for the general content of its chapters Is there an opening salutation in the rst chapter? What would you consider to be the concluding section of the letter? How the rst two chapters di er from the others as to content? Which group has more commands: chapters 3-4, or 5-6? What key words, phrases, and subjects of the epistle have stood out as prominent so far in your survey? How would you describe the atmosphere of the book? C INDIVIDUAL SEGMENTS AND ... Corinthians 10-13 III SURVEY A PREPARING TO SURVEY Visualize the young Christians of a church of Galatia about to read Paul’s letter for the rst time Keep in mind the antecedents of the epistle: a Paul’s... impressions? Scan the book for the general content of its chapters Is there an opening salutation in the rst chapter? What would you consider to be the concluding section of the letter? How the rst two... number and length of chapters B FIRST READING Read the entire book in one sitting Aim here to get the feel of the book Approach the text, as much as possible, with “an innocence of the eye,” that