Tuesday 12 October 2010

Background

In this letter to the Christians in Galatia, in modern-dayTurkey, Paul picks up on the complex argument we looked at yesterday, and now he makes it quite clearwhat he is talking about. Those who are 'in Christ' have been setfree from the demands (or, at least, some of the demands) of theJewish Law. In particular, the defining feature of (male)Jewishness - circumcision - which was regarded by Jews as anon-negotiable mark of belonging to the people of God. Many of thefirst-generation Christians were, like Jesus, Jews and they (quiteunderstandably) assumed that Jewishness was integral toChristianity. So any Gentile (non-Jew) who wanted to join theChurch should first adopt Jewish identity.

But Paul was convinced that they were wrong. The new people of Godwere defined by faith in Christ alone. To embrace Jewish identitywas to put the Jewish Law before Christ and to "submit again to ayoke of slavery". And that, for Paul, meant a rejection of the freegift of new life in Christ (which Paul here calls "grace").

For Paul, the new people of God - those who share this new life inChrist - are bound together by God's Spirit at work in them, givingthem hope and enabling them to live the kind of lives that werepleasing to God. This is probably what Paul means here by"righteousness", although it might also have the sense of Godaccepting them as God's own at the final judgement - the righteousshall live, the unrighteous shall die.

Either way, the important thing for Paul was that their faith wasshown to be real by the love that they showed one another. Outwardreligious symbolism counts for nothing. That is true freedom.

To Ponder

Paul was opposed to outward religious symbols assigns of belonging to the people of God. What do you think he wouldmake of those who claim that their religious freedom is beingcompromised if they can't wear a cross to work?

"The only thing that counts is faith workingthrough love." Why, then, has the Church always tended to addvarious other requirements to those who want to belong?

What do you understand as true Christianfreedom?