Galatians 1-3

It is not known for sure when Paul wrote this epistle to the churches in Asia Minor that were collectively located in the Galatian region, which today is in modern Turkey.  However, the nature of Paul’s letter is to bring correction to those churches, where Jewish Christians were convincing Gentile Christians of the need to obey the Jewish laws of Moses.  Paul explains to them the foolishness of such a thing, since there was nothing in the observation of Old Testament laws that had saved them in the first place, and nothing in the law that would commend them to God beyond what had already been accomplished in Jesus Christ.

Paul explains all of this in the context of his own Christian journey, where he had been the strictest of Pharisees in following the law, and in persecuting the church of Christ, but was eventually embraced by the apostles in Jerusalem.  He tells them that all of the apostles came to agree that there was no benefit in having new Gentile believers submit to circumcision.  He also points out to them the timeline of God’s dealings with Abraham and his descendants, where he was declared righteous because of his faith in what the Lord had said, and the promises of God were given more than 400 years before the law was ever laid out to Moses.