According to Philips Brooks, preaching is the “communication of truth through personality.” Andrew Blackwood says that God is the source of truth for biblical preaching, so putting the two together we can define biblical preaching as the communicating of God’s truth through human personality.

Anyone who reads Galatians can readily see how apropos the little epistle is to biblical preaching. In the very first verse the apostle Paul claims to be the author of the letter and he asserts apostolic authority for its contents! He goes on in the book to assert categorically that the gospel he preaches came not from man but from God. Throughout the entire book the author’s personality is felt and revealed. In fact, most of the first two chapters are autobiographical in nature. Here then is an excellent example of biblical preaching—God’s truth being communicated through human personality!

Paul did not write this letter (or his other letters for that matter) in the quiet and solitude of a cloistered study. With few exceptions he wrote his letters out of a life situation to meet an immediate need. It is precisely this type of situation and need that gives to his letters such a pulse and throb of life. God used real needs in Paul’s day to inspire him to write letters like Galatians. This quality enables them to help meet life’s needs today. Therefore, the pastor or minister who is sensitive to human needs, and who feels compelled to preach relevant truths, will find abundant preaching material in Paul’s letters. In short, if a preacher has any “preach” in him, he ought to find inspiration and information for preaching in Galatians.

William Barclay says that someone has compared Galatians to a sword Hashing in a great swordsman’s hand. The reason for such a sharp note in the letter is that both Paul’s character and the gospel he preached were under attack. His enemies were attacking his character (his claim to apostleship) in order to attack and undermine his gospel of salvation by grace through faith. Had his opponents found a lesser personality than Paul, they might have succeeded in relegating Christianity to a Jewish sect. Had their attack prevailed and Paul been weak in his defense, then the history of the Christian faith would probably have been changed. The Christian gospel could have become dependent upon such legalistic requirements as circumcision and keeping Jewish laws instead of being the free gift of God’s grace alone through faith in Christ.

What faithful pastor has never been subjected to some kind of character assassination by certain people whose real aim was to obstruct the kind of gospel he was preaching? Many a devout, conscientious minister has had his character maligned, when the real issue was his preaching on ethical or moral issues (such as race, etc.). His opponents were really trying to undercut his gospel by discrediting his character! The motto: discredit the man and you discredit his message! Create a credibility gap around him and his message will become suspect and impotent.

The pastor who wants to preach on Galatians will be wise to study the background material for the book. Commentaries and study guides will assist him in seeing the crucial issues that lie at the foundation not only of Galatians but the very nature of Christianity itself. Numerous books are available, and space will not permit a complete list, but we will try to list some that are recommended by reputable New Testament teachers as being especially helpful for pastors.

William Barclay has a fine exposition of Galatians in The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1959). On pages xiii-xviii he gives a good introduction to the letters of Paul and includes an excellent discussion of the literary form of letters in general during the first century. Barclay’s style lends itself readily to the busy pastor. He organizes his material in such a way that preaching points and outlines are obvious at a glance. While a minister will not want to restrict himself to a single author and use his ideas without acknowledgment as if they were one’s own, a busy pastor can find stimulating suggestions for further development and valid use. A preacher who does not read Barclay before he preaches on Galatians will miss much that will enrich and enlighten his sermons.

One of the great works in Christian history has been Martin Luther’s A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. It was the manifesto of the Protestant Reformation and its message the major theme of Reformation preaching. Fleming H. Revell Company has reprinted Luther’s commentary which has been revised. Baker Book House in 1965 reprinted the outstanding work of William Ramsay entitled A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. It was first published in 1900. Charles R. Eerdman produced a very helpful work under the title Commentaries on the New Testament: Galatians (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1930). A. M. Hunter has made a worthy contribution to studies on Galatians in Volume 22 of The Layman’s Bible Commentary (Richmond: John Knox Press, 1959). There are many other standard commentaries which will help the studious pastor, but space here will not permit their listing.

A number of new paperback guides are available for the study of Galatians. Some of these are helpful for “priming the preaching pump.” One of the most recent publications is The Glory of Galatians (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972) by Fred M. Wood, a pastor in Memphis, Tennessee. The book is organized so as to reveal the major ideas of Galatians, but it also offers a verse-by-verse treatment of the text. Howard Vos is author of Galatians, A Call to Christian Liberty (Chicago: Moody Press, 1970), a paperback that emphasizes insights drawn from the original Greek text of Galatians but does so in an easily understood manner. Another fine study is The Message of Galatians (Inter-Varsity Press, 1968) by John R. Stott. In Galatians: A Letter for Today (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), Harold DeWolf seeks to throw biblical light on many issues that confront the church today—e.g. the race issue. He describes the steps by which contemporary man may recognize God’s own intended message to us. Throughout the book he illustrates these steps by interpreting Galatians for modern Americans. There is a sting in his verbal whip as he applies the message to our day.

Before offering sermon suggestions based upon chapter and verse divisions, let us consider some of the over-all emphases of Galatians. This wonderful little book provides a frontal attack on the desire of human beings to achieve salvation by their own efforts. This has ever been one of mankind’s most sophisticated types of idolatry—to earn or merit salvation. To feel that he has earned it appeals to man’s basic pride and egocentricity. If he deserves it, he is not quite so completely in debt and obligated to God. It gives him a sense of self-sufficiency. If he is utterly dependent upon anyone (including God), he feels that he is robbed of his dignity and personal freedom. Modern man, proud of his technological achievements and brainwashed by a secularized form of humanism in his educational institutions, loves to pride himself on his personal attainments. Wanting freedom from restraints so that he can do as he pleases, the contemporary man “come of age” champions free speech and free love societies and rejects the obligations that a God-faith places on him. Paul makes it plain that man cannot save himself or deserve salvation; it is the free gift of God which man must receive by faith. But to receive it as a gift makes man feel obligated! He wants to deserve it and not feel obligated to God. He wants to be free from obligations and responsibility.

One of the main emphases of Galatians is liberty, freedom from the law, but it is not the kind the secularist is looking for. Paul shows that true freedom is not escape from restraints or the absence of controls but the acceptance of a salvation that man cannot earn for himself and which must be received by faith from the One who earned it for him by dying in man’s place. We thus come wholly under obligation to Him. It is this surrender to Christ that makes us victors in the struggle for freedom. We become free as Christ becomes our Master! Herein lies a great paradox of life -man wanting and talking so much about freedom today ever enslaves himself as he struggles to be free from God! Doing what he wants to, when he wants to, as often as he wants to, seems to offer freedom to modem man, but in fact it enslaves him because he worships an inadequate and false god, namely himself! But it is precisely when he surrenders himself to become a slave to the true God as revealed in Jesus Christ that he becomes a free man. Paul was the most truly liberated man of his day, but he gloried in being a “bondservant” of Christ.

Another major emphasis in the book is that the Christian life is not a catalogue of prohibitions and inhibitions—a list of don’ts, can’ts, shouldn’ts, and oughtn’ts. Galatians teaches that when Christ is accepted by faith, He comes into the life of the believer to save him from his own efforts to save himself and to save him to the kind of life that only Christ’s indwelling presence can empower! Thus this powerful little epistle is a death-blow to the tendency of Christians to try to live the Christian life in their own strength or in a legalistic manner. With so many religious cults and sects finding renewed vigor today, the faithful pastor has a powerful preaching weapon in Galatians to slay the systems that promise salvation or heaven by good deeds—whether the good deeds consist of baptism, church membership, giving money, possessing esoteric knowledge, or having a -special “spiritual” experience! The Judaizers, whom Paul opposed in the letter, were legalists. Many of the movements in today’s upsurge of religious interest are legalistic. Other trends magnify man’s ability to live he Christin life in his own strength. The Christian can only live the Christian life as Christ lives in and through him.

These are probably the two most central ideas in Galatians—justification by faith and the nature of Christian liberty. Now let us attempt to suggest some possible sermon topics as reflected in the verse sequences of the book.

Paul opens the letter (1:1) with a strong claim for apostolic authority. His apostleship is “not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father” (KJV), or as the New English Bible has it: “not by human appointment or by human commission, but by commission from Jesus Christ and from God the Father.” Here is an area that desperately needs attention today from our pulpits—the problem of authority. We are in an authority crisis of the first magnitude.

The wise pastor will read widely and study thoroughly before he attempts to preach on this difficult subject, but do it he must if Christians are to be helped in the midst of a confusing clamor of uncertainty posed by so many different opinions. With the increasing influence of secularism and relativism, the pulpit needs to speak clearly, powerfully and lovingly on the matter of authority. While this one verse alone may not be adequate, the preacher may exegete other passages in the Bible on authority and read again on the subject in his seminary textbooks on philosophy of religion and systematic theology. Few subjects today are more crucial for the survival of genuine biblical faith than that of authority.

What is authoritative for the Christian? Is it his own personal experience? What if that experience is an emotional orgy that cannot stand the searchlight of intelligent inquiry? What if that experience is so spurious that even a little biblical knowledge would reveal it as not being of God? What if a person starts making a god or an idol of his religious experience. With the contemporary scene characterized by “Jesus Freaks” and other zealots claiming special experiences with Christ and special revelations from Him, the responsible pastor will find that many new enthusiastic young Christians will fall into the subtle trap of making their experience authoritative rather than letting good Bible knowledge guide and deepen their Christian lives.

Is the Christian’s authority his own unaided reason? Is his uninspired intellectuality able to sit as god over all his decisions? Is it tradition? Are customs and mores necessarily valid authoritative guides? Is it man’s animalistic passions and desires? Can a person really be a Christian and let his authority be his own unevaluated whims and petty peeves? Paul claims that the God who revealed Himself historically in Jesus Christ is the authority for his Christian life. Present-day Christians need help to understand the relationship of God to the Bible and the Bible to their lives in the structure of valid authority.

Another sermon suggestion comes from 1:6-9. When is the gospel not the gospel? For Paul to write as he does in these verses, there must be a definite content to the true gospel. It cannot be what somebody simply likes, prefers, or desires. There is a given entity that must be understood and fearlessly proclaimed if one is to be a worthy preacher! But how many of our church people really could succinctly define the gospel? Or, for that matter, how many of us as ministers could do it? Could we be inadvertently preaching “another gospel” and thus deserve Paul’s anathema?

The Greek word for “another” is heteron and means another of a different kind which has nothing in common with the true gospel. Inverse 7 the Greek word for “another” is allo and means another of the same kind. Thus the gospel to which the Galatians have turned is not at all the same kind which Paul preaches. In verse 4, Paul talks about our sins and Christ’s giving Himself for us that He might deliver us. Here Paul is beginning his definition of the gospel. Martin Luther said there were two great dimensions of the gospel: the bad news of man’s sin and the good news of God’s provision of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Chapter 2:16 should be included with the earlier passage and a broad study of the entire New Testament definition of the gospel be made before the faithful pastor proclaims the “good news” of God’s great deed in Jesus Christ! W. A. Welsh has a sermon based on the combination of 1:6 and 3:1-5 entitled “On Getting Started Right.” It can be found in his book Villains on White Horses (St. Louis: The Bethany Press, 1964, pp. 91ff.). Also, E. N. Patterson has a sermon by the title of “The Gospel According to Paul” based on 1:10-12 in Evangelical Sermons of Our Day (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1959, pp. 280ff.) which is edited by Andrew W. Blackwood.

Chapter 1:10 has challenging possibilities for the creative and imaginative preacher. Pleasing God or pleasing men? If we are really honest with ourselves, which do we preachers actually do most of the time? How important to us is our popularity with our people and our peers? Is there necessarily a conflict between pleasing men and pleasing God? Can’t we do both? What are some specific things that we can pin-point for ourselves and for our people on this subject? How many of our sermons are actually designed to impress certain people rather than please God? How many subjects do we not preach on because it would offend powerful, influential church members? How many of our faithful church people are living their lives primarily to please themselves or other people rather than living to please God? In verses 11 and 12, Paul makes his bold claim that his gospel is not from man but from a revelation by Jesus Christ!

Galatians 1:15 stimulated the sermonic powers of the great F. B. foyer. He has one sermon on it entitled “Separated From Birth” and another based on 1:15-17 entitled “The Inner Revelation of Christ.” They are in his book, Paul: A Servant of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1953, pp. 23ff. and pp. 46ff.). D. M. Baillie combines Philippians 3:7 with Galatians 1:15-16 for a sermon called “Conversion of St. Paul.” It is in the book To Whom Shall We Go (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1955, pp. 94ff.) copyrighted by John Baillie. B. H. Carroll used 1:17 as a text for his sermon on “Paul’s Gospel of Jesus” in The Way of the Cross (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1941, pp. 87ff.) which was edited by J. B. Cranfill and compiled by J. W. Crowder. Galatians 1:18 served C. E. Macartney as text for his sermon entitled “Peter’s Fifteen Days With Paul” in his book Peter and His Lord ( New York: Abingdon Press, 1937, pp. 232ff.). All of these sermons are worth the time it takes to read and study them carefully. While a pastor does not want to be unethical in the use of sources, he will rob himself of rich insights if he ignores the printed sermons of great preachers. What preacher has not smiled at the facetious (at least we hope it to be facetious) remark that “When better sermons are printed, I’ll preach better sermons!”? But the desire not to be unethical should not keep the sincere pastor from reading and learning from printed sermons.

The remainder of Chapter 1is given to the continuation of the subject begun earlier in the chapter, namely, Paul’s defense of his apostleship in order to defend his gospel of grace. Whereas in verses 10-17 he founded his defense upon God’s intervention in his life, he changes the emphasis in verses 18-24 to argue that his apostleship was not dependent upon the authority of the Christian church in Jerusalem. His was not a “second-hand” apostleship, coming from those in Jerusalem, nor was his gospel a “second-hand” gospel, coming only by mere hear-say. He received his commission and his gospel straight from the Lord. Apparently his enemies, the Judaizers, had attacked him at the point of his not being one of the original twelve and yet claiming apostolic authority. One of the requirements of an apostle was to have been with Christ in the flesh. Paul had not been, so he was open to criticism for either flagrant dishonesty or for being the puppet of someone else from whom he got his gospel second-hand.

In chapter 2:1-10 Paul continues the general defense of his apostleship by showing that while he did not get his authority and gospel from the mother church in Jerusalem (but from Christ), he did receive the full approval of the apostles and the church. He names James, Peter and John as pillars in the church, all of whom recognized that Christ’s grace was given to Paul for the express purpose of his going to the Gentiles. Thus, he had their full endorsement for his gospel of grace! In verses 11-21, Paul tells how Simon Peter yielded to the pressure of the Judaizing element at Antioch and how he, Paul, stood up steadfastly to confront Peter. This is actually it part of Paul’s defense of his apostleship—his stand to Peter indicates or verifies his authority as an apostle.

In verse 16 we have one of the clearest expressions of the doctrine of justification by faith that is to be found anywhere in scripture. This is the kind of gospel which Paul had been preaching to the Gentiles. It is the kind which the Judaizers had attacked. The real reason for Paul’s defense of his apostleship and character had been to defend this kind of gospel.

Galatians 2:20 is one of the most of ten memorized verses of the Bible by zealous young converts. But who has truly plumbed its depths? Who would claim to have exhausted its implications or enumerated its applications? This is a rich verse for the minister who wants to preach on Galatians! Crucified with Christ! Dead, yet alive! I live, but not I—Christ! What does it mean, really mean, to be crucified with Christ? Is all of this just so much pious preacher talk, or is there a dynamic Christian dimension in Paul’s life expressed here that most Christians never experience? Is Paul expressing a normal fact of the Christian life, a reality characteristic of the average Christian, or is he speaking of something that only the unusually dedicated, the extraordinarily consecrated, the extra-pious person has? A. J. Gordo has a sermon called “The Love of God” based on this verse in Volume VIII of Great Pulpit Masters (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1951, pp. 43:ff.).

In the first two chapters Paul mainly defends his apostolic qualifications so as to defend the gospel which he preached. Then from 3:1 to 5:12 the real difference between his gospel and the Judaistic heresy is presented and the heresy attacked. From 5:13 to 6:8 Paul warns that Christian freedom is not the occasion for license. From 6:9 on the letter is composed of personal admonitions and a benediction from Paul to his readers. Most scholars regard the section 31-6:8 as the central portion of the book, so there are abundant resources in the commentaries and study guides for the sermon building activities of the pastor. However, it may help him to have some sermons to read or study from this area, thus we will suggest a few.

After expressing dismay in 3:1 at the Galatians’ action in being misled by the Judaizers, Paul goes on in the following verses to vindicate the truth of his gospel of faith by appealing to their reason and Christian experience. He shows them in the opening verses of Chapter 3 that their own salvation and the accompanying spiritual power had come by faith and not by the law. Was it logical that what had begun in the spirit (i.e. faith) would have to be completed by the flesh (i.e. the works of the law)? No, the entire procedure was the work of the Holy Spirit (vs. 5). As mentioned earlier in this article, there is a sermon which joins, 3:1-5 with 1:6 under the title of “On Getting Started Right” by W. A. Welsh.

After his appeal to their conversion experience, which came by faith and not by the law, Paul next (6-9) appeals to the Old Testament to prove his gospel of justification by faith. His selection was Abraham, their founding father. Since Abraham was justified by faith, as clearly stated in the Old Testament, then Abraham’s spiritual descendants would be justified on the same grounds. This part of the argument reaches its peak in verse 9.

From verses 10-14, Paul shows the impossibility of justification by works of the law. Instead, Christ has redeemed them or delivered them from the works of the law! The incomparable Charles Spurgeon has a sermon entitled “A Call to the Unconverted” based on Galatians 3:10. It can be found in Zondervan’s Reprint Classics, Volume IV of Spurgeon’s Sermons (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, n.d.).

After showing in verses 15-18 that the Mosaic covenant came later than the Abrahamic covenant and therefore could not alter or destroy the unconditional covenant that God had made with Abraham, Paul goes on to set forth the correct place and purpose of the law in verses 19-29, climaxing in verses 24-29. Verse 24 should be read in several translations. The King James has the law as the “schoolmaster” to bring us to Christ, but the Greek word can be translated as “tutor” or “custodian.” Check the commentaries on this verse. Verse 28 is a powerful verse, full of implications for preaching. In Christ there is unity, equality, and true spiritual community! With so many divisions and so much strife among Christians today, a preacher would do well to build a good sermon from verse 28. True Christianity does away with racial discrimination (Jew and Greek), social discrimination (bond and free), and sexual discrimination (male and female). This is a great passage for our day. A minister with an intuitive touch ought to develop a great sermon here.

In chapter 4, Paul continues his argument by continuing his analogy of the law being like a guardian expressed back in 3:24. In the opening verses of this chapter he compares mankind to an immature child, an heir, but not possessing all his rights, still under a guardian (the law) until the coming of God’s Son, at which time the guardian was done away. Two of the most magnificent verses in the entire Bible are to be found in this section—they are verses 4-5. Surely every preacher has a sermon using Paul’s famous words in verse 4. Alexander Maclaren has a sermon outline of his own on Galatians 4:4-5 reproduced in the little book by Ian Macpherson, Sermon Outlines from Sermon Masters (New York: Abingdon Press, 1960, p. 157). The sermon title is simply “When the Fulness of the Time Was Come.” This same book has twenty-one other sermon outlines based on texts from Galatians.

What all did Paul mean by his words “fullness of the time?” Ministers will find many eloquent suggestions and interpretations of this idea in the various study helps. The key idea seems to reflect that God had been at work in preparation for the coming of Christ. Exactly how did He prepare the world? There are many ideas: the Greek language was virtually universal; Roman roads facilitated communication; the Roman peace made missionary travels possible; Jewish synagogues had taught the hope for a Messiah; Greek philosophy had undermined pagan religions; etc., etc., etc.! This writer once built a sermon on this verse and entitled it: “God’s Preparation for Christmas.” I developed the major ideas under God’s giving of certain key promises (in the Old Testament promising redemption); His inspiring certain key prophets (predicting a coming Messiah); and His selecting certain key persons (such as Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, etc.). God’s initiative is stressed in the passage and the incarnation is clearly seen.

Beginning with verse 8, Paul makes a strong personal appeal to the Galatians to turn from legalism. You can feel and sense the earnestness, the sincerity, the heart-throb of the great apostle as he pleads with them. This strong personal note continues through verse 20. In verses 21-31, Paul uses the illustration of Abraham’s two sons, one born to a freewoman and the other to a bondwoman. The implication is that the legalistic Judaizers (and the Galatians who join them in their heresy) are the spiritual descendants of the bondwoman! Paul’s argument here has the force of a body-blow from a boxer who is determined to win by a knockout. He is using the shock-treatment in order to wake them up to the seriousness of their error.

Chapter 5 opens with a ringing exhortation to maintain Christian freedom. Paul bluntly tells the Galatians that they must not entangle themselves again in the work-law syndrome, that to do so will subject them to a “yoke of bondage” (vs. 1). He chooses circumcision as the key example of entanglement. Throughout the early verses (1-12) he warns about the serious consequences of legalism. Chapter 5 has been a very popular source for sermon texts. Many complete sermons can be found for study. Alexander Maclaren, for example, joins 5:6 and 6:15 with I Corinthians 7:19 for his sermon, “Forms Versus Character,” in his book Christ in the Heart (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1905, pp. 229H.). G. Campbell Morgan uses 5:7 for his message, “Holiness: Hindrances,” to be found in Volume III of The Westminster Pulpit (Westwood, N. J.: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1955). In Volume II of the same set he uses 5:11 for his sermon, “The Stumbling-Block of the Cross.”

One great objection against Paul’s gospel of salvation by faith alone was the fear that freedom from works of the law would lead to wild, irresponsible pagan godlessness in the name of Christian freedom. If a Gentile could be saved by faith alone, and if he did not have to keep the laws of the Old Testament, would it not inevitably lead to debauchery and degradation in the guise of Christian liberty? In 5:13-6:10 Paul deals with this very important matter. According to 5:13 6:10, this life of Christian liberty is to be directed by love and consideration of others. It must not be allowed to degenerate into license. The remainder of the chapter (16-26) is given to the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The real assurance and safeguard for godly living is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the Christian.

Every minister will surely want a sermon (if he doesn’t already have one) on the difference between the “works of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit” in verses 19-26. It will be helpful to study these verses in several translations and use some commentaries that explain the meanings of the Greek words that underlie our English text. G. Campbell Morgan has a sermon entitled “The Fruit of the Spirit” based on 5:22-23 in Volume I of the earlier mentioned set, The Westminster Pulpit.

Chapter 6 also has had a special appeal to the great pulpiteers of Christian history. The beloved George W. Truett believed by many to have been Southern Baptists’ finest pastor-preacher, joined Galatians 6:2 and 6:5 with Psalm 55:22 as texts for his sermon, “What to Do With Life’s Burdens.” It can be found in his book, A Quest for Souls (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1917, pp. 15ff.).

The prolific G. Campbell Morgan used Galatians 6:9 for a message, “The Well-Doing That Brings Harvest” which can be found starting on page 287 of Volume X of the above mentioned set, The Westminster Pulpit. A verse that seems unpromising to most ministers, 6:11, was taken by the gifted F. B. Meyer and used for his sermon simply entitled “How Large Letters.” It is to be found in the earlier mentioned book, Paul: A Servant of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 6:14 had a special appeal for the eloquent Charles Spurgeon. He has two different sermons from it in one book Sermons on the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids. Zondervan Publishing House, 1953). One sermon is entitled “Three Crosses” and the other one is “The Cross Our Glory.” W. A. Welsh, in the book mentioned earlier Villains on White Horses, joins 6:14 with verses 17-18 as his text for a sermon, “If I Were a Layman.”

Paul’s poignant words in 6:17, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus,” inspired J. Sidlow Baxter’s sermon, “The Man Who Bore the Brands.” It can be found in his book M ark These Men (London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1949, pp. 59ff.). It also served as the text for Arthur J. Moore’s sermon, “The Credentials of a Life Lived for Him,” in The Mighty Saviour (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1952).

For the preacher who enjoys H. A. Ironside, there is an entire book, about 235 pages in length, of expository sermons delivered by him in Moody Church, Chicago, based on Galatians. He plainly says that they are not intended for the learned or the theologians, but for the common people. The title is simply Expository Messages on the Epistle to the Galatians (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1941).

In conclusion, let me point out that Galatians and Romans enjoy the distinction of sharing much in common. In fact, many have, thought that Galatians was either an abbreviation of Romans or Romans was an expansion of the thought in Galatians. There are, however, notable differences to be seen between these two books. Any thorough study of Galatians must include a comparative analysis of its relation to Romans. Various commentaries and studies of Galatians will do this for the reader, so the busy pastor can benefit from these resources.