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Paul's Epistle to the Galatians

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Paul's Epistle to the Galatians

7 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

We think it good to show what was the occasion of Paul's writing this epistle. He had planted among the Galatians the pure doctrine of the gospel and the righteousness of faith; but by and by, after his departure, there crept in certain false teachers, which overthrew all that he had planted and truly taught among them. For the devil cannot but furiously impugn this doctrine with all force and subtlety, neither can he rest so long as he sees any spark of it remaining. We also, because we preach the gospel, do suffer of the world, the devil, and his ministers all the mischief that they can work against us, both on the right hand and on the left.

The gospel is such a doctrine as teaches a far higher matter than is the wisdom, righteousness, and religion of the world, that is to say, the free remission of sins through Christ, etc. It leaves those things in their degree to be as they are, and commends them as the good creatures of God. But the world prefers these creatures before the Creator, and moreover, by them would put away sin, be delivered from death, and deserve everlasting life. This the gospel condemns.

Contrariwise, the world cannot suffer those things to be condemned which it most esteems and likes best, and therefore it charges the gospel that it is a seditious doctrine and full of errors, that it overthrows commonwealths, countries, dominions, kingdoms, and empires, and therefore offends both against God and the emperor, abolishes laws, corrupts good manners, and sets all men at liberty to do what they desire. Wherefore, with just zeal and high service to God (as it would seem), it persecutes this doctrine and abhors the teachers and professors of it as the greatest plague that can be in the whole world.

Moreover, by the preaching of this doctrine, the devil is overthrown, his kingdom destroyed, the law, sin, and death (wherewith as most mighty and invincible tyrants, he has brought all mankind in subjection under his dominion) are wrested out of his hands: briefly, his prisoners are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and liberty. Should the devil suffer all this? Should not the father of lies employ all his force and subtle policies to darken, to corrupt, and utterly to root out this doctrine of salvation and everlasting life? Indeed, Paul complains in this and all other of his epistles that even in his time the devil showed himself a cunning workman in this business.

We thought good to show here by the way, that the gospel is such a doctrine as condemns all manner of righteousness and preaches the only righteousness of Christ, and to them that embrace it, it brings peace of conscience and all good things. Yet, notwithstanding, the world hates and persecutes it most bitterly.

I have said before that the occasion why Paul wrote this epistle was that by and by, after his departure, false teachers had destroyed those things among the Galatians which he with long and great travail had built. These false apostles, being of the circumcision and sect of the Pharisees, were men of great estimation and authority, who bragged among the people that they were of the holy and chosen seed of the Jews (John 8, Romans 4:4-6), that they were Israelites, of the seed of Abraham, that they had the promises and the fathers; and finally, that they were the ministers of Christ and the apostles' scholars, with whom they had been conversant, and had seen their miracles, and perhaps had also wrought some signs or miracles themselves, for Christ witnesses (Matthew 7:22) that the wicked also do work miracles.

Moreover, these false apostles, by all the crafty means they could devise, defaced the authority of Paul, saying, “Why do you so highly esteem Paul? Why have you him in so great reverence? Forsooth, he was but the last of all that were converted unto Christ. But we are the disciples of the apostles, and were familiarly conversant with them. We have seen Christ working miracles and heard Him preach. Paul came after us and is inferior to us. It is not possible that God should suffer us to err who are of His holy people, the ministers of Christ, and have received the Holy Ghost. Again, we are many, and Paul is but one, and alone, who neither is conversant with the apostles nor has seen Christ. Indeed, he persecuted the church of Christ a great while. Would you, think you, for Paul's sake only, suffer so many churches to be deceived?”

When men having such authority come into any country or city, by and by the people have them in great admiration, and under this color of godliness and religion, they do not deceive only the simple, but also the learned; yea, and those also which seem to be somewhat confirmed in the faith, especially when they brag (as these did) that they are the offspring of the patriarchs, the ministers of Christ, the apostles’ scholars, etc. Even so the Pope at this day, when he has no authority of Scripture to defend himself, uses this one argument continually against us, “The church, the church.” Thinkest thou that God is so offended that for a few heretics of Luther's sect He will cast off His whole church? Thinkest thou that He would leave His church in error so many hundred years? And this he mightily maintains, “that the church can never be overthrown.”

Now, like as many are moved with this argument at this day, so in Paul's time these false apostles, through great bragging and setting forth of their own praises, blinded the eyes of the Galatians, so that Paul lost his authority among them, and his doctrine was brought into suspicion.

Against this vain bragging and boasting of the false apostles, Paul with great constancy and boldness set his apostolic authority, highly commending his vocation and defending his ministry. And (although elsewhere he never does) he will not give place to any, no, not to the apostles themselves, much less to any of their scholars. To abate their pharisaical pride and shameless boldness, he made mention of the history at Antioch, where he withstood Peter himself. Besides this, not regarding the offence that might arise of it, he said plainly in the text that he was bold to accuse and reprove Peter himself, the chief of the apostles, who had seen Christ and had been most familiarly conversant with Him. I am an apostle (said he), and such a one as judges not what others are. Indeed, I was not afraid to chide the very pillar of all the rest of the apostles.

To conclude, in the first two chapters of the epistle, he does, in a manner, nothing else but set out his calling, his office, and his gospel, affirming that it was not of man, and that he had not received it by man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Also, that if he, yea, or an angel from heaven, should bring any other gospel than that which he had preached, he should be held accursed.

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van dinsdag 1 augustus 2000

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's

Paul's Epistle to the Galatians

Bekijk de hele uitgave van dinsdag 1 augustus 2000

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's