Galatians: Paul's Charter of Christian Freedom

Among the letters of Paul, Galatians burns like a firestorm of apostolic rebuke, persuasion and passion for the truth of the gospel. Paul directs his anger against those who would preach "another gospel." And he urgently warns the Christians at Galatia of spiritual bewitchment and its dire consequences.

To battle these seductive enemies of truth, Paul deploys a powerful arsenal - both biblical-theological reasoning and a rhetoric of vivid, contrasting images that has seldom failed to impress readers from Paul's own day until now. Freedom in Christ is set against bondage to the law; justification by faith is opposed to works of the law; Jerusalem above outshines Jerusalem below; adopted children of God are contrasted with slaves of elemental spirits; and the quality of life in the Spirit finds no rival in the diminished life of the flesh. But the decisive difference between these pairs of opposites is the cross of Christ staked at the heart of Paul's charter of freedom.

While some aspects of the letter to the Galatians stand out with bold clarity, other aspects are notorious for their interpretive difficulties. Leon Morris explores both the complex arguments and bold affirmations of Galatians. With seasoned insight and inspiring elegance, he lays bare the text's essential structure, logic and meaning. In Morris's introduction and commentary, Paul's great letter which through the centuries has continued to fuel the gospel faith speaks with force and clarity to present-day readers. 191 pages.

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Among Paul's letters, Galatians burns like a firestorm of apostolic rebuke, persuasion and passion for the truth of the gospel. Against those who would preach 'another gospel', Paul deploys an arsenal of biblical-theological reasoning and rhetoric of contrasting images that have seldom sailed failed to arrest readers of every succeeding era.
Freedom in Christ is set against bondage to the law, adopted children of God are contrasted with slaves of elemental spirits, and justification by faith is opposed to works of the law. But what are these 'works of the law' good works by which people assert their self-achieved righteousness, or practices of the Jewish law that defined social boundaries and thus stood as a barrier to Gentiles from entering the new covenant?
Astute readers will recognize this question as central to the recent scholarly debate over the "new perspective" on Paul. Leon Morris clearly stands in the tradition of Martin Luther and the reformers. With seasoned insight and deft simplicity, he explores the complexities and bold affirmations of Galatians, laying bare its essential lines and message. Never diverted by interpretive fashion or speculation, he represents a classic exegetical tradition that focuses on the plain meaning of the biblical text and the apostolic truth of the gospel.
Readers who have puzzled over the twists, turns and compressed arguments of Galatians will be delighted to have Morris as their guide. The text that through the centuries has stirred and ignited the embers of gospel faith speaks with clarity again in our day.