BLB Commentary
A. No longer under bondage to the basic elements, we are God's children.
4. (Gal 4:8-11) Decision: A choice between living under the elements of the world or as a son of God.
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
a. Then, indeed, when you did not know God: The bondage is natural when we did not know God and when we served those things that are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is that you turn again: But why would someone who knows the true God, and has been set free, place themselves under bondage? This is what the Galatians are doing! i. Or rather are known by God: Paul makes an important point when he says or rather are known by God; it is really more important that God knows us (in the sense of an intimate, accepting relationship) than it is that we know God. Remember the terrible words of judgment in Matthew 7:21-23: I never knew you. ii. Luther on when you did not know God: "The different religions to be found among all nations at all times bear witness to the fact that all men have a certain intuitive knowledge of God ... If all men know God how can Paul say that the Galatians did not know God prior to the hearing of the Gospel? I answer: There is a twofold knowledge of God, general and particular. All men have the general and instinctive recognition that there is a God who created heaven and earth, who is just and holy, and who punishes the wicked. How God feels about us, what His intentions are, what He will do for us, or how He will save us, that men cannot know instinctively. It must be revealed to them."
b. How is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements: In turning to legalism, the Galatians were not turning to a new error, but coming back to an old one - the idea of a works relationship with God. i. The weak and beggarly elements: Paul uses the same word for elements used in Galatians 4:3. As Christians, we can place ourselves under the bondage of a works based, "cause and effect" relationship with God - but this is moving backward, not forward. By writing turn again, Paul shows that the Galatians were not turning to a new error, but coming back to an old one - the idea of a works relationship with God. ii. "One of the tragedies of legalism is that it gives the appearance of spiritual maturity when, in reality, it leads the believer back into a 'second childhood' of Christian experience." (Wiersbe)
c. Weak and beggarly: These elements of the world are weak because they offer no strength; they are beggarly because they bestow no riches. All they can do is bring us again into bondage. i. Stott paraphrases the thought: "If you were a slave and are now a son, if you did not know God but have now come to know Him and to be known by Him, how can you turn back again to the old slavery? How can you allow yourself to be enslaved by the very elemental spirits from whom Jesus Christ has rescued you?"
d. You observe days and months and seasons and years: The false teachers among the Galatians demanded the observance of days and months and seasons and years and other such legalistic matters acted as if this would lead them into a higher plane of spirituality. But all these weak and beggarly elements of legalism did was bring them into bondage. i. Paul seems amazed that someone would turn from the liberty of Jesus to this kind of bondage. But legalism caters to and recognizes our flesh by putting the focus on what we achieve for God, not on what Jesus did for us. The liberty of Jesus gives us status as sons and a rich inheritance, but it won't cater to our flesh. ii. "Notice how such a verse is at a variance with any and every theory of a Christian sabbath, cutting at the root, as it does, of ALL obligatory observance of times as such." (Alford) iii. "When certain days are represented as holy in themselves, when one day is distinguished from another on religious grounds, when holy days are reckoned a part of divine worship, the days are improperly observed." (Calvin)
e. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain: Paul's fear is that this attraction to legalism will mean that his work among the Galatians will amount to nothing and end up being in vain. i. Labored is literally "to labor to the point of exhaustion." Paul worked hard among the Galatians, just like he always worked hard (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul never thought that his gospel of free grace meant laziness in serving God. ii. "I would not be surprised to see my church perverted by some fanatic through one or two sermons. We are no better than the apostles who had to witness the subversion of the churches which they had planted with their own hands. Nevertheless, Christ will reign to the end of the world, and that miraculously, as He did during the Dark Ages." (Luther)
f. In vain: At the end of this section, Paul puts a choice before the Galatians, and before us. We can have a living, free, relationship with God as a loving Father based on what Jesus did for us and who we are in Him. Or we can try to please God by our best efforts of keeping the rules, living in bondage as slaves, not sons. Living that way makes the whole gospel in vain. i. A good example of this is John Wesley. Before his conversion:
- He was the son of a clergyman and a clergyman himself.
- He was orthodox in belief, faithful in morality, and full of good works.
- He did ministry in prisons, sweatshops, and slums.
- He gave food, clothing, and education to slum children.
- He observed both Saturday and Sunday as the Sabbath.
- He sailed from England to the American colonies as a missionary.
- He studied his Bible, prayed, fasted, and gave regularly.
Yet all the time, he was bound in the chains of his own religious efforts, because he trusted in what he could do to make himself right before God instead of trusting in what Jesus had done. Later, he came to "trust in Christ, in Christ only for salvation," and came to an inner assurance that he was now forgiven, saved, and a son of God. Looking back on all his religious activity before he was truly saved, he said: "I had even then the faith of a servant, though not that of a son."
B. A personal appeal from the Apostle Paul.
1. (Gal 4:12) Paul appeals: "Become like me."
12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong.
a. I urge you to become like me: For many of us today, these are strange words from Paul. How could he ever urge them to become like him? Should he only point them to Jesus? In what way should the Galatian Christians become like Paul? i. Paul knew well that he wasn't sinlessly perfect. He wasn't standing before the Galatian Christians, saying "Look at how perfect I am. Don't worry about following Jesus, just follow me." He simply wanted them to follow him as he followed Jesus. ii. Instead, Paul knew the Galatian Christians should imitate his consistency. The Galatians started out with the right understanding of the gospel, because Paul led them into the right understanding. But some of them didn't stay there like Paul did, and in that way, they should become like Paul. iii. Paul knew the Galatian Christians should imitate his liberty. Paul was free in Jesus, and he wanted them to know the same freedom. In that way, they should become like Paul. "Be as I am is an exhortation to the Galatians to become Christians in the same sense as Paul is a Christian, one who is not bound by the Jewish law." (Morris)
b. For I became like you: Paul can say to the Galatian Christians, "When it comes to legalism, I know where you are at. I used to live my whole life trying to be accepted by God because of what I did. In that regard, I became like you and saw that it was a dead end. Take it from someone who knows where you are coming from." i. Or, Paul may have in mind the idea that he became as a Gentile when he was among them, according to the philosophy expressed in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. In this thinking, he became "One who lives free from the restrictions imposed by the law. This means he had thrown off his Jewish shackles and come to be like a Gentile; he beseeches his converts not to become like Jews." (Morris)
c. You have not injured me at all: Paul has used pretty strong words with the Galatians. It would be easy for them to think he spoke just out of a sense of personal hurt. Paul assures them that this wasn't the case at all. Paul wants them to get this right, but for their own sakes, not for his.
d. We can feel Paul's heartfelt emotion in these verses. As Stott puts it, "In Galatians 1-3 we have been listening to Paul the apostle, Paul the theologian, Paul the defender of the faith; but now we are hearing Paul the man, Paul the pastor, Paul the passionate lover of souls." i. "Like Paul, all pastors and ministers ought to have much sympathy for their poor straying sheep, and instruct them in the spirit of meekness. They cannot be straightened out in any other way. Oversharp criticism provokes anger and despair, but no repentance." (Luther)
2. (Gal 4:13-16) Paul appeals: "Remember how you used to respond to me."
13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?
a. You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at first: Apparently, Paul was compelled to travel into the region of Galatia because of some type of physical infirmity he suffered while on his first missionary journey. The book of Acts doesn't tell us as much about this as we would like to know, but we can piece together a few facts. i. We know that when Paul was in the region of south Galatia, they tried to execute him by stoning in the city of Lystra (Acts 14:19-20). His attackers gave him up for dead, yet he miraculously survived. Some think that this was the cause of the physical infirmity he mentions. But Paul was already in the region of Galatia when that happened; his wording in Galatians 4 suggests that he came into the region because of a physical infirmity. ii. "The emphatic position of the phrase suggests that Paul's original plan had been to go elsewhere (perhaps westward toward Ephesus) and that his missionary visit to the Galatians was due solely to his illness and his need for recuperation." (Fung) iii. What exactly was Paul's physical infirmity? Some believe his problem was depression, or epilepsy, or that his illness was connected with the thorn in the flesh mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12. None of these can be established with certainty. iv. According to Acts 13, Paul came to the region of Galatia - specifically, the city of Pisidian Antioch - from the city of Perga in the region of Pamphylia. We know a few things about Perga - first, it was the place where John Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:13), and the trials related to the physical infirmity may have had something to do with it. Second, Perga was in a lowland, marshy area. The Galatian city of Pisidian Antioch was some 3,600 feet higher than Perga. It has been suggested that Paul's physical infirmity was a type of malaria common to the lowlands of Perga. William Barclay describes this malaria as producing a terrible pain that was like "a red-hot bar thrust through the forehead."
b. My trial that was in my flesh you did not despise or reject: Even though Paul was not a great example of strength and power because of his physical infirmity, the Galatians still received him, and they received him honorably. They embraced Paul so generously that they would have plucked out [their] own eyes and given them to Paul if that could somehow meet his need. ii. This leads some to believe that Paul's physical infirmity had something to do with his eyes. Noted Greek scholars such as Wuest, Rendall, and Robertson believe that the nuances of the Greek text indicate that Paul's physical infirmity as an eye problem. Galatians 6:11 - where Paul makes reference to large letters written with his own hand - may also support this idea. iii. But Cole rightly notes: "Those who see here a proof that Paul suffered from ophthalmia, or some similar eye-disease, are welcome to do so. Certainly with smoky fires, no chimneys, and oil lamps, one would expect a high incidence of eye trouble in the first-century Mediterranean world. To one who had spent years poring over crabbed Hebrew tomes the risk might well be greater. But again we have no proof." iv. But the real point here is that despite whatever Paul's infirmity was, the Galatians did not despise or reject him. "As physical infirmity and illness were regarded by Jews and Gentiles alike as a symbol of divine displeasure or punishment, there would have been a natural temptation for the Galatians to despise Paul and reject his message." (Fung) This is exactly what the Galatians did not do. Even though Paul seemed weak and afflicted, they embraced him and responded to his message of grace and God's love.
c. Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? In light of the great love and honor the Galatians had shown towards Paul, and in light of the great blessing they received from God when they showed such to him, the Galatians should not think that Paul has now become their adversary when he confronts them with the truth. They needed the truth more than they needed to feel good about where they were at. i. "It is not enough that pastors be respected, if they are not also loved. Both are necessary; otherwise, their teaching will not have a sweet taste. And he declares that both had been true of him among the Galatians. He had already spoken of their respect; he now speaks of their love." (Calvin) ii. "To the degree that ministers and teachers of the Word of God do teach the Word, to that same degree should they be received as the Galatians received the apostle Paul. Ministers should not be received and evaluated on the basis of their personal appearance, intellectual attainments, or winsome manner, but as to whether or not they are indeed God's messengers bearing the word of Christ." (Boice)
3. (Gal 4:17-18) Paul appeals: "Beware of the affection the legalists show you."
17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,
a. The zealously court you, but for no good: Paul will admit that the legalists zealously court the Galatians; and legalism often comes wrapped in a cloak of "love." But the end result is for no good. i. Many cults use a technique informally known as "love bombing." They overwhelm a prospective member with attention, support, and affection. But it isn't really a sincere love for the prospect; it is really just a technique to gain another member. Christians - and legalistic groups among Christians - can use the same technique in some way or another.
b. They want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them: Paul's legalistic opponents wanted to draw the Galatian Christians away into their own divisive group. They actually wanted to exclude the Galatians from other Christians, and to bring them into the "super-spiritual" group of the legalists. i. The zeal cultivated by legalism is often more a zeal for the group itself than for Jesus Christ. Though they name the name of Jesus, in practice the group itself is exalted as the main focus, and usually exalted as the last refuge of the true "super-Christians."
c. Exclude is literally "lock you up." For now, the legalists are courting the Galatians, but once they have alienated them from Jesus and from Paul, the legalists will demand that the Galatians serve them. Legalism is almost always associated with some kind of religious bondage. i. "The Judaizers had pursued the adroit course of presenting to them only part of the requirements of the Mosaic law, those parts which might be least repulsive to them as Gentiles. Having gotten them to adopt the festivals and perhaps the fast days, the Judaizers were now urging them to adopt circumcision." (Wuest)
d. It is good to be zealous in a good thing always: Paul certainly isn't against zeal. He wants Christians to be zealous in a good thing always. But it is important to make sure that our zeal is in a good thing, because zeal in a bad thing is dangerous. i. The Galatian Christians were no doubt impressed by the zeal of the legalists. They were so sincere, so passionate about their beliefs. Paul will agree that it is good to be zealous - but only in a good thing always. Zeal in the service of a lie is a dangerous thing! ii. Paul knew this well, because before he became a Christian, he had plenty of zeal, even persecuting the church (Acts 7:58-8:4). Later, Paul looked back at that time of great zeal in the service of a lie and deeply regretted it (1 Corinthians 15:9, 1 Timothy 1:15).
e. And not only when I am present with you: Paul wanted the Galatians to be zealous for what is good when he was absent, not only when he was present among them.
4. (Gal 4:19-20) Paul appeals: "I love you like a father, please listen to me."
19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
a. My little children: Paul rightly considers himself to be a father to the Galatians. Yet this challenge has made him feel as if he must bring them to Jesus all over again (for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you). Paul knew that his work of forming Christ in them was not complete until they stayed in a place of trusting Jesus. i. The idea of Christ is formed in you is similar to the idea of Romans 8:29: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. ii. It would be wrong for Paul to seek to form himself in the Galatians. That is never to be the job of the pastor. He is right to seek to form Christ in them.
b. Through this section, Paul masterfully mixes metaphors to give a powerful picture. i. Paul likens himself to a "mother" who gave spiritual "birth" to the Galatians (my little children). ii. Something unnatural has happened - the Galatians are drifting away from Jesus and to the law. So Paul has to labor in birth again, and this is unnatural to have labor pains a second time. iii. Paul has the labor pains, but Christ is formed in them. Paul will keep laboring until it is Christmas for the Galatians, and Jesus is formed in them! iv. This is a pattern found in all Biblical ministry. "The Word of God falling from the lips of the apostle or minister enters into the heart of the hearer. The Holy Ghost impregnates the Word so that it brings forth the fruit of faith. In this manner every Christian pastor is a spiritual father who forms Christ in the hearts of his hearers." (Luther)
c. I would like to be present with you now and change my tone: Paul wished two things. First, that he could be present with the Galatians. But he also wished that he did not need to speak to them in such strong words, that he could change his tone. But their danger of leaving the true gospel has made such strong words necessary, and has made Paul's doubts necessary to address.
d. This section, Galatians 4:12-20, shows us principles for the attitude for people in the church toward their pastor.
- Their attitude must not be determined by his personal appearance or personality.
- Their attitude must not be determined by their own theological whims.
- Their attitude should be determined by his loyalty to the apostolic message in the Bible.
e. This section, Galatians 4:12-20, shows us principles for the attitude for the pastor towards the people in his church.
- He must be willing to serve and sacrifice for his people.
- He must tell them the truth.
- He must love his people deeply, but never for a selfish motive.
- He must desire to see more than mere excitement, but zeal for good things.
- He must desire to form Jesus in them, not himself in them.
Additional Commentaries
GRACE INT'L - Backwards into slavery? (Gal. 4:8-11)
Paul explains that Gentiles were enslaved, too: "Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods." The people were serving a falsehood.
"But now that you know God - or rather are known by God - how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?" In other words, Now that God has treated you as adults, why would you want to go back to kindergarten? The Gentile Christians were thinking of returning to bondage. They wouldn't have put it in those words, of course, but Paul is pointing out that this is what it amounts to.
Were the Galatians being tempted to go back into idolatry? Nothing else in this letter suggests that possibility. Rather, the letter repeatedly indicates that the problem was the old covenant law. Judaizers wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised and to keep the law in addition to having faith in Christ (4:21; 5:2-4). They were being tempted with a different sort of slavery than what they came out of.
They had come out of pagan principles but were in danger of going back into another set of rules - another nonfaith approach to religion. (Paul uses the Greek word stoicheia here for principles of the Galatian heresy, the same word he used in 4:3 for the slavery "we" had under the old covenant "basic principles." The letter as a whole indicates that the slavery the Galatians were falling back into was an obligation to old covenant customs.)
Paul is saying, You have come out of kindergarten. Why do you want to go back? You have been freed from an oppressive religion; why would you want to be enslaved to basic principles again?
Indeed, the people were already keeping some unnecessary laws: "You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!" It is likely that the Galatians had begun to observe the same days and times that circumcised people kept. But if Paul was talking about Sabbaths and festivals, why didn't he say so? It is because the Galatians were coming out of one religion and into another. Paul used words that applied to both religions to point out the similarities involved.
Pagan religions had their special days, months, seasons and years; so did the old covenant. There was a different set of days, but it is a similar idea. They felt obligated (enslaved) to something that was not obligatory. The Galatians had come out of religious bondage, and were going back into a religious bondage. So Paul asks: How could you do such a thing? Don't you know that this can enslave you all over again?
No matter what days were involved, a focus on times is childish. Our relationship with God is based on Christ and the Spirit, not the calendar.
Have they given up on the grace they had in Christ? "I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you." Paul could assure the Corinthians, as immature as they were, that their labor was not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58), so why would he be worried about whether his own efforts were wasted? Paul's comments in both letters must be viewed with some allowance for rhetorical exaggeration.[2]
Appeal for friendship (Gal. 4:12-20)
Paul's arguments have become less biblical and more personal. Indeed, verses 8-11 are not really an
argument at all - just frustrated questions and exclamations. Now he begins to plead with the people on the basis of his previous relationship with them: "I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you."[3]
In what way did Paul become like them? Probably in the way that he lived. Like Peter, he lived like a Gentile (2:14). He was not bound by the laws that separated Jews and Gentiles, and he encourages them to be that way, too. An appeal for imitation was a common method of ethical exhortation.
"You did me no wrong." You have always done what I have asked... And then Paul rehearses how their friendship began: "As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you." Unfortunately, we do not know what Paul is talking about; Luke says nothing about it in the book of Acts.[4]
"And even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself." The people apparently helped Paul recuperate, and treated him like a king, we might say, and believed his every word.
"Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me." Some have speculated based on this verse (and 6:11) that Paul had an eye problem, but Paul is just using a figure of speech that was common in friendship: you would have given me your most precious possession.[5] What he is really saying is: You used to love me. What has come between us?
"Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?" They had become friends because they believed Paul; why do they doubt him now? It is because some interlopers are trying to convince them that Paul did not tell the truth.
Paul says that their motives are selfish: "Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them." They are sheep-stealers, trying to drive a wedge between us so that you will be loyal to them instead of me. It's not enough to be loyal to Christ, in their book - you have to do it their way, and be in their camp.
Zeal isn't wrong, but if it's genuine it will be consistent, not fickle. "It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you."
He throws in one more personal appeal: "My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,[6] how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!" Paul is agitated, partly because he doesn't know exactly what he's fighting against. If he could be in Galatia and talk to them face to face, he might have a better response.[7]
Don't listen to those Judaizers (Galatians 4:8-20)
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
Paul takes a little time to address the big issue here - the nagging teaching of those Judaizers. Look! If you're saved by faith, you're kept by faith also. Don't let those misguided false teachers bring you under the Law of Moses. Notice the criticism of the practice of observing the Jewish Sabbath and high days (special sabbaths) in verse 10. These apparently were being imposed by the Judaizers on these primarily-Gentile Believers. Paul emphasizes a real danger in not understanding the finished work of Christ on the cross and continuing in the observances of these days as well as the adherence to other Jewish laws. He indicates the false motives of the Judaizers (aka legalizers) in verse 17. Their goal was to win the Galatians over at the exclusion of Paul. Recognizing that Paul's teaching of grace was incompatible with their teaching of submitting to the Law of Moses after salvation, they sought to turn the Galatians against Paul and the true message of grace. So, Paul's question in verse 9 is this: "You were saved from your impotent "weak and beggarly elements" (superstitions and religious practices unable to save), are you now going to subscribe to another set of such rules and regulations?"
So, has Paul wasted his time on these Galatians...having given them the Gospel of grace only to have it displaced by a law-grace hybrid teaching by the Judaizers? That's the big question of verse 11. In expressing his concern for them, Paul encourages them in verse 12, "Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are." We simply don't have enough in that verse to conclusively decide what exactly Paul means by that statement. From context, he seems to be implying that they need to be free from the Law of Moses as he is.
Paul makes reference to an eye ailment he had in verses 13-15. This ailment is undoubtedly the same infirmity that he spoke of in II Corinthians 12 (see notes) when he asked the Lord to remove it from him and was probably the result of the stoning he received in Acts 14:19-23 (see notes).Though obvious even to the casual reader, some today deny that Paul's "infirmity of the flesh" was a physical ailment involving his eyesight. There's no question that God had declined to heal Paul of this eye ailment; he says so in II Corinthians 12:8. So, does God heal today? I'm convinced that he does. Every time? No, not every time - not today nor in Paul's day. It is scripturally advisable to pray with people regarding their illnesses. The wisdom of James 1:5 (see notes) should be sought regarding the illness. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." It is wrong to teach a doctrine that God wants to heal of every physical infirmity, but cannot if they can't muster up enough faith to claim that miracle of healing. Wisdom - wisdom - wisdom - wisdom, the wisdom of James 1:5 is the key to healing and any other adversity in one's life. Pray for wisdom!
We see the battle lines clearly drawn in verse 16-20 between these false Judaizing teachers and himself. Paul asks in verse 16, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" That verse seems to make clear that Paul had been negatively portrayed to these Galatians as an enemy by these Judaizers because of his grace-alone salvation message. There you have it; those who teach that favor before God can only be attained through a combination of grace and works are the enemies of those who believe the simplicity of the Gospel message alone. He expresses disappointment in these Galatians for being "affected" by those Judaizers - goes so far as to say in verse 20, "I stand in doubt of you." He is amazed that they could have been so confused by this false teaching after the clarity with which he had taught them previously.
