“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age” (Galatians 1:3-4)
Paul doesn’t need many words to get to the core: already in his greeting he stresses that Jesus Christ “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age”. This is Paul’s primary message in all his teachings and letters. It is the foundation of the Christian faith.
Later in the letter, it becomes clear that this message was particularly important for the Galatians, since false teachers tried to enslave them once more by “the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world” (Galatians 4:9). No, Paul states clearly, believers are delivered from the present evil age. They are now free to love and follow Jesus. They are no longer slaves to sin, or to the law, or to idols, or whatever!
This glorious truth should permeate all of the Galatians’ theology and daily lives – and yours, if you believe in Jesus as your Savior. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
Do you live as a free, forgiven person?