Explore Paul’s letter to the Galatians

(A leader’s letter to some new Christians)

A series of 15 Bible studies in EasyEnglish

These are good guides for a group of people who are studying the Bible.

There are also ideas for what to do, and the meaning of some difficult words.

About the book of Galatians

Paul wrote this letter to the Christians who lived in Galatia. Galatia was a part of the country that we call Turkey now. The people who lived there were called Galatians.

Paul was a Jew. And he was a Jewish leader. Before this, he had obeyed all the Jewish rules. He had hated Christians. He would not allow Christians to tell other people about Christ. Then he met Christ himself, and his life changed. (You can read how Paul became a Christian in Acts 9.)

When Paul went to Galatia, he told the Galatians about Christ. They were happy to hear this. Many people became Christians. Many of these new Christians were Gentiles. They did not obey all the Jewish rules.

Then some other Jewish teachers went to Galatia. They spoke against Paul. They said that the Christians in Galatia must obey the Jewish rules. This was not right. Some of the new Christians listened to these wrong teachers.

Paul writes this letter to teach the Galatians the truth again. God had sent Paul to Galatia, and Paul had received the true message from God. The first Christians were Jews. They obeyed all the Jewish rules. Some of the new Christians in Galatia were Gentiles. They did not need to obey all the Jewish rules.

Before this Paul himself had obeyed all the Jewish rules. So this wrong idea mattered very much to him. This subject was a problem in other places too. The whole of the church in the first century had to decide what they should do. You can read about this in Acts 15. Paul’s letter to the Christians in Galatia is almost all about this subject. So perhaps he wrote just before the event of Acts 15.