ANTHONY ANDERSON

The Apostle Paul’s message to the Galatians shows the deep concern of a pastor for the spiritual health of the church. His words show a struggle that continues today: the danger of drifting away from the truth of the gospel. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, especially in chapter 4, expresses his distress that believers were turning to false teachings and abandoning the message of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

Paul begins by urging the Galatians to be like him because he had once been like them. He meant that he wanted them to be free from the demands of the Jewish law as a means of salvation. Paul himself, though born a Jew and raised under the Mosaic law, had come to realize that no one could be saved by following it. The law only showed human sinfulness and pointed to the need for Christ. His plea was simple: stop trusting in religious rules to be saved, and trust instead in Christ’s finished work.

Paul also reminded them of the close relationship they once shared. When he first arrived in Galatia, he was ill, likely suffering from a painful eye condition. Despite his appearance, the Galatians had welcomed him warmly, treating him with great kindness and respect. They received his message as if it had come from Christ himself. They were so grateful that Paul said they would have given him their own eyes if it were possible. But now, something had changed. The same people who once loved him were beginning to see him as an enemy.

The reason for this change was Paul’s honesty. He had told them the truth about the false teachers who were trying to lead them back under the law as a way to salvation. These teachers were persuasive and passionate, but their motives were not good. They wanted to draw believers away from the true gospel and make them followers of their own teachings. Paul asked a painful question: “Have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” He knew that people often resist correction, preferring comforting lies over hard truths.

This struggle between truth and deception is not limited to Paul’s time. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul warned that as history moves toward the return of Christ, some will abandon the faith. They will follow deceiving spirits and false teachings. He said that such teachings would distort God’s good gifts, such as marriage and food, and turn them into matters of guilt or restriction. Paul explained that everything God created is good when received with thanksgiving. But in the last days, truth would be rejected.

We can see this happening today. There are people reject the moral and spiritual truths that guided earlier generations. What was once respected is now ridiculed, and what was once seen as wrong is now celebrated. This confusion reflects a society that has turned away from God’s Word. Paul’s warning reminds believers to stand firm, to recognize the difference between truth and lies, and to live according to Scripture even when it is unpopular.

Paul also taught that truth must be shared with love. In his letter to the Ephesians, he explained that God gave the church pastors and teachers to help believers grow in unity and maturity. Christians are not to remain like children who are easily misled by false ideas. Instead, they should build each other up by speaking the truth in love. This can be difficult because truth sometimes hurts. But silence in the face of error is not love. It is neglect.

Too often today Christians hesitate to correct one another, fearing rejection or offence. Yet Paul shows that love sometimes requires hard words. Just as a parent disciplines a child for their good, believers must at times speak firmly to each other to prevent harm. Truth spoken with care and humility is an act of love. It protects the church and helps each member grow in faith.

Paul’s closing words to the Galatians express both affection and worry. He calls them “my little children” and compares his concern for them to the pain of childbirth. He had already laboured to bring them to faith, but now he feels as though he must labour again until Christ is fully formed in them. His greatest fear was that some of them had not truly understood the gospel and that his work among them might have been in vain.

Consider Paul’s words and think about faith. It is not a one-time event but a growing relationship with Christ. Pastors, like Paul, carry a heavy burden for their people. They long to see believers remain strong, rooted in truth, and living lives that reflect genuine faith. In a world filled with confusion, deceit, and shifting values, the call remains the same: hold fast to the truth of God’s Word, live by it, and speak it with love.

Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are parts of one another.

Ephesians 4:25