The Foolishness of the Galatians

Hello everyone. I hope last week was great for you. It’s a new week and we will proceed to Galatians 3

“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified” Galatians 3:1 New International Version

I crave your indulgence to digress from our core subject of grace and briefly press home a few points in this post and the next. 

The Apostle Paul apparently did not expect the Galatian Christians to be in the state they were in. In the verse cited above, he was expressing surprise about how easily they had been deceived. Had they been hypnotized? Were they under a spell? What happened to them? They had clearly heard the message of grace and according to the New Living Translation that experience had been as vivid as seeing Jesus Christ on a signpost before their eyes. But then just a short while later, they were confused and being led away from the message of God’s grace.

Paul called the Galatian Christians “foolish”. This was not an expression of contempt or reproach. It wasn’t to convey a sense of insult like in our contemporary use of the word “foolish”. I remember another verse of scripture where the same term is used to describe some people too. It is in Luke 24 when Jesus after His resurrection met Cleopas and an unnamed disciple on their way to Emmaus. He said they were “fools and slow of heart to believe” (Luke 24:25). It is a term that expressed their thoughtlessness. The Galatian Christians just like those 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus were not acting in accordance with what had been very clearly shown to them to be the truth. They were acting unreasonably. 

The Galatian Christians were being deceived to embrace the law after the grace of God had been so clearly presented to them while the disciples were still mourning the absence of their teacher when they had several Old Testament passages that clearly explained all that was happening. That my friends, is the foolishness of the Galatians and the disciples. 

How often we slip into the “foolishness” of the Galatians and the disciples. Many times despite having a full view of God’s evidence, God’s principles and God’s choice, we still get ‘hypnotized’ and allow ourselves to be led away from God’s plan for us.

Are you being “foolish” in any way? Are there any issues or areas of life concerning which your thought patterns are clearly against the principles of God very clearly presented in scripture? Have you adopted a system of belief that is obviously contrary to the mind of God? It’s time to “wise up”.

I don’t want to be foolish. I don’t want to be unreasonable with God. And I’m sure you don’t want to be too. Let’s agree with God. Let’s reject contrary opinions and stick with God’s plan, His choice and His principles.

My song for this week is “Never Alone” by Barlow Girl. Have a beautiful week. 

"Never Alone" by Barlow Girl