Why did Paul write to the Church of Galatia?

Even though a short letter, you can tell the severity in Paul’s tone of writing. His greeting is extremely short compared to his other writings and you can tell that he is furious with the church of Galatia. I think Paul would be extremely devastated if he saw the churches of today and all the different denominations and all the different things said over the pulpit. One of my sources says that despite all of Paul’s effort to push the matter of “faith” throughout his letter, he still clearly expects certain behavior from the believers in Galatia.

One source says that more than any other book in the New Testament, perhaps even including Romans, that Paul’s letter to the Galatians has been the source of religious instruction for the church in the midst of its deepest crisis. The Jewish-Christian missionaries, also called the “Judaizers,” were false teachers telling Gentiles that in order to be Christians that they had to obey Jewish tradition, especially by receiving the sign of circumcision. Paul felt that what they were a teaching went against God’s free grace and to defend the truth.

Every letter that Paul wrote was always to deal with specific problems, but with the churches of Galatia, the matter was especially urgent. He even went so far as to call them “foolish Galatians” in chapter 3 for not only questioning him as an apostle, but his doctrine that he taught them. Paul felt compelled to write to the churches of Galatia, which he founded, because they were turning to what Galatians 1:6 a “different gospel” while Paul wasn’t with them. Paul says that he was “astonished” that the people of God were so quickly “deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ.” Paul had to defend his apostleship by reminding them right off the back that he was sent “not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.” He also urges them to understand, what one source says, “the integrity of the Christian message is at stake.”

The fact that Paul actually took the time out to write this to the Galatians shows that, even with his harsh tone, he loves the people of Galatia. He shows them what my dad would call “tough love.” He could have just been frustrated and let them follow their new gospel and been out of God’s grace. He could’ve washed his hand and been done with the Galatians but instead he decided to have patience with them and sense of urgency only shows that he is trying to help them and do what God has called him to do.

Maybe the churches felt like Judaizers were richer or more charming than they were? Maybe they missed Paul and felt he abandoned them? Why the people were so easily persuaded after all they had seen or been taught is a major question. Ligonier Ministries posed the question “Why did the Gentile Galatians believe the Judaizers?” They also went on to say maybe it was because the Galatians had not shed their “cultural baggage,” so they found the Judaizers “higher” religious life attractive.

Paul felt that the Judaizers were destroying the unity of the church. The Judaizers felt they had a better advantage of knowing God because they were circumcised; but in Galatians 5:2 though, Paul tells them that “if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.” He also says that “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” He also quotes them an Old Testament scripture and reminds them of Abraham who “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

Below is a short video that also talks about Paul's journey and again, why he wrote this specific letter.