Galatians - Paul's Personal Appeal Galatians 4: 12-20

This week we continue our study in Galatians as we see Paul begin his personal appeal to the Galatia church.

Paul’s Personal Appeal (Gal. 4:12-20)

I. Paul reminds them of the past (v.12-14)
A. Paul wants Christians to live by grace not law (v.12)
a. Legalism- Man’s attempt to obtain right standing before God and men by using religious or man-made rules that give the appearance of holiness but are actually works of the flesh. [Matt. 6:1-2, 5, 16, 23:1-5]
B. Paul wants them to return to how they once viewed him (v.13-14)
a. Paul was physically ill but spiritually strong [Malaria or Ophthalmia].


II. Paul reviews their problem (v.15-16)
A. Because of a lack of discernment, the Galatians now view Paul as an enemy. (v.15-16)
a. The truth once brought salvation, now it divides.
1. The Galatians lacked spiritual discernment [Heb. 5:12-6:1].

III. Paul reveals his position (v.17-20)
A. He cautions the Galatians about the Judaizers (v.17)
a. Judaizer’s Goals [e.g., Matt. 23:15]:
1. To zealously seek after the Christians.
2. To separate the Galatians from the truth of the Gospel, a by faith alone salvation.
3. To make the Christians submit to the Judaizer's teachings.
B. He has concern for the Galatians (v.18)

C. He has compassion for the Galatians (v.19-20)
a. Paul wants the Galatians to be like Christ.

Points to Ponder:
1. Be gentle and gracious when confronting a wayward Christian trapped in false doctrine. [2 Tim. 2:24-26]
2. Christians should be discerning when confronting claims contrary to biblical truth. [Col. 2:8; Ps.119:66;
3. The power to change a person’s life is in the gospel and not in the persuasiveness of, man or his methodology.


John F. MacArthur Jr., Galatians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1983), 114, 119.

Buy Now: https://amzn.to/2CbuATy

John F. MacArthur Jr., The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2007), 212, 215.

Buy Now: https://amzn.to/2CPAQAf

Thomas R. Schreiner, Galatians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 288.

Buy Now: https://amzn.to/2xtss4a

Charles Spurgeon, Galatians, ed Elliot Ritzema, Spurgeon Commentary Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013), Ga 4:1011.