A forceful argument that faith, not the law, defines the community.
Galatians is a heated letter to churches in central Asia Minor, written after other teachers urged Paul's Gentile converts to adopt Jewish practices such as circumcision. Paul treats the issue as fundamental.
Paul opens without his usual thanksgiving, alarmed that the Galatians are turning to a different gospel. He recounts his own background and a public disagreement with Peter at Antioch over eating with Gentiles to establish that his message came independently and was not a compromise.
Paul argues that Abraham was accepted on the basis of trust before the law existed, and that the law functioned as a temporary guardian. For those united to Christ, he writes, distinctions of ethnicity, status, and gender no longer determine standing in the community.
The final chapters describe a freedom from legal observance that is meant to express itself in mutual service and self-control. Paul contrasts destructive behaviors with what he calls the fruit of the Spirit.