Author: Lois

I think a good way in which to start this study is to get an overall feel for the epistle (letter) and understand a little background.

Galatia was an area that Paul and Barnabas visited during what is termed Paul’s first missionary journey. For some background on what happened, you may want to take the time to read two chapters in Acts, the 13th and 14th. Verse 14 in chapter 13 is where their visit to Galatian cities starts.

While it appears many came to God in Galatia, there was also great persecution to the point where they were pushed out of the area of Pisidian Antioch and Paul was stoned and left as dead in Lystra. This is also where some were looking at Paul and Barnabas as gods and were going to make sacrifices to them. (Note: there are two Antiochs. One was in Syria and the other in Galatia. Paul and Barnabas started their missionary journey from the Antioch that was in Syria. Galatia is now part of Turkey.)

I am attaching a drawing of what is believed to be the area of Galatia at the time of this missionary journey.

Something of special note in reading these two chapters of Acts is 13:38-39 as it ties in with what Paul later has to share in his letter to the Galatians.

NLT: 38 “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do.”

NASB: “38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”

I want to share part of the introduction to Galatians that is found in my NIV Inductive Study Bible:

“The gospel introduced the Jews to a new way of life-that of grace rather than law. The old covenant with all its regulations was made obsolete by the new covenant (Hebrews 8:13). This transition was difficult for some Jewish believers to handle, and a group called the Judaizers sprang up. The Judaizers embraced Christianity but said that some of the old covenant rites, including circumcision, still must be observed.

“As Paul, God’s apostle to the Gentiles, went on his missionary journeys sharing the gospel of grace, many of these Judaizers followed him, teaching the necessity of keeping the law to one degree or another. They even went to Galatia. That is why Paul wrote what he did to the churches in Galatia.

“There is some uncertainty about whether Galatians was written after Paul’s first or second missionary journey, and so the exact date of his writing is not known. The debate centers on whether Paul was writing to the northern or southern churches of Galatia. If Paul wrote to the northern churches, the epistle would have been written sometime between A.D. 53 and 57, but if the letter was written to the southern churches, this would have been between A.D. 48 and 49.

“However, the date does not affect the message of this critical letter. The truths in this epistle will liberate you to walk in the glorious freedom of a righteous life in the Spirit-truths you can glean through careful observation. Therefore, devote your energies to discovering these truths rather than to debating when Galatians was written.

“The more you read and observe the text of this book, the more you will understand Paul’s words: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).”

For those who are able to do so, it would be good to read all of Galatians (without attempting to study it) before starting into the study that will be posted separately. It will give you a better feel for a more in depth look.

Also from the study Bible quoted above, below are some things to think about:

“1. Are you living under grace or under law? Have you accepted the grace of God for your salvation but still put yourself under the law for daily living?

“2. According to Galatians 5:16-21, if you live under grace, under the control of the Spirit of God, you will not be able to live a life habitually controlled by the flesh, producing the works of the flesh. Evaluate your walk according to these verses.

“3. What do you boast in?

“4. As you look at Paul’s life, what do you learn for your own life?”

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Conviction or peer pressure, or just wanting to fit in or obedience to the pastor? It appears most unhealthy churches have a list of standards they impose upon members. While they will tell you that they are founded upon the Bible, there are some who will admit it is up to each pastor to set these rules, whether or not one might find them in the Bible. There can be a lot of pressure upon people to fall in line.

There are those who abide by such standards that will tell you it was God himself who convicted them to follow. Some will say their pastor hardly ever mentions standards, but peer pressure from those around them convinced them to fall in line. Some others, because they believe they must obey what pastor says, adopt the standards though they do not believe God started them. Yet others will change simply because they wish to fit it and not stand apart from the others. There are also some that study and believe that the church is right and that God instructs these rules.

The new person is given some leeway and isn’t expected to incorporate all the standards at first. Yet as they attend more, and especially if they wish to become involved, they start to feel pressed to do so. This pressure could come from one or more sources- the pastor, the other members and themselves. It could be due to a Bible study the church gives. It could be subtle or blatant comments from members. It could even come from strangers online in discussion/debate boards. I don’t know how many times I have seen ministers post online, to those they do not know, and tell them certain standards are necessary or the person will be lost. Just the thought of losing out with God is enough to cause many to become adherents to these standard teachings. Fear can be a great motivator.

One man once wrote regarding standards, “The conservative pastors have little to no tolerance to those that preach a softer message; those pastors don’t even approach their own congregations with humility. It’s their way or the highway.”

I want you to stop and ponder something. Consider what Titus 1 states about elders (NLT): “6 An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. 7 An elder is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. 8 Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. 9 He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.”

Does this admonition jive with a pastor who has the attitude of, “It’s my way or the highway?” Does this sound like someone who should demand compliance to whatever they teach?

Need more to convince you? Listen to 1 Timothy 3 (NLT): “This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an honorable position.” 2 So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 An elder must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.”

If the pastor of the church you attend is different from what is described above, you need to prayerfully consider if they are someone you should listen to. They may be a self-appointed pastor, concerned with building their own kingdom, instead of someone with the heart of a servant and called by God. If they are adding to the Good News, with lists of demands you must obey, run! Titus states that such “are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching.”

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There are no standard standards in many unhealthy churches. Another way to put it is that standards may change from church to church, group to group and even from area to area. Here is something one man wrote regarding his unhealthy church background:

“Of course, I can’t say the church was all bad. They pretty much blow off all of the UPC standards and do what they want. It was the liberal church in the area after all. The skirts seemed mandatory but honestly it would have been better to just allow pants because any skirt was appropriate (I mean any). This church being completely different than my Uncle’s church also confused me because my Uncle was strict on the standards of holiness. Typically, the guys that were very obedient and religious would say very cruel things about young ladies who wore a skirt too tight or a shirt too low (at my Uncle’s church). But at this new church it was all good or at least I never heard whore and slut being thrown around freely. Though I wasn’t big on the standards this did confuse me because if these standards were somehow guided by the Spirit then did the Spirit change its mind from place to place? Was it a different God? Beards are disobedience one place and not another?”

If one were to never change from one unhealthy church to another and/or never visit another for special services, they may never see that the standards preached in their church are not across the board for everyone everywhere. They do vary and sometimes there is a tremendous difference in what is preached.

Now, some will tell you, as a woman told me and another lady at the Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship conference one year in Gatlinburg, that there will be variations as each pastor sets the rules for the churches. But is this biblical? Does each pastor have the right to demand 24/7 compliance to their own set of rules? I do not see this taught in the scriptures.

As a for instance, there was a United Pentecostal pastor in Arkansas who had a rule that one cannot be a member if they are male and have facial hair. He would not have fellowship with other UPCI pastors who allowed this. This is despite the fact that the organization does not have a written policy against facial hair and that he himself admitted that the Bible does not teach against it. He would not budge from this position. His views actually created division in the organization because of how he would stay away from pastors who do not feel as he did on the matter. He believed he had every right to do this as the pastor and yet he agreed to not contend for his beliefs to the disunity of the organization when he became licensed.

Do we find any instance of this in the New Testament church? Did Paul demand dress codes that Peter said were not necessary? Did James forbid facial hair on men while John allowed it? You will find nowhere that this happened and none of the apostles or Jesus taught that pastors could make up a list of rules and demand that believers follow them.

The Bible states that God is not the author of confusion. Vastly varying standards from one church to another are confusion. They do cause questions, as the man above wrote, “if these standards were somehow guided by the Spirit then did the Spirit change its mind from place to place? Was it a different God? Beards are disobedience one place and not another?”

But the pastors will say that God has lead them to teach these rules. I think not. God does not continually change his mind from place to place. When he gave the law to Moses, for the Israelites to follow, he did not give one set of rules to some of them and another to others. He did not say that some tribes could eat animals that another tribe could not. He did not say that the elders of each tribe could set up arbitrary standards and demand that all in the tribe follow them.

If you are fearful of a pastor, if you follow standards to please the pastor of the church you attend, you are probably in an unhealthy church. You should not fear a pastor. You do not have to obey standards that he sets up that are not given in the Bible. We actually have an incident in the book of Acts where a group of believers was trying to demand that Gentiles be circumcised. A meeting was held in Jerusalem and this is what was stated in the letter given to all the churches as follows:

“The apostles and elders, your brothers,
“To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
“Greetings.

“We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

“Farewell.” (NIV – read all of Acts 15 for yourselves)

Think about it.

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