Have you ever wondered what happens when faith and tradition collide? In this episode of Seek Go Create, Tim Winders takes you inside Paul’s passionate letter to the Galatians—a message written in a time of crisis, where early believers were torn between the freedom of Christ and the pull of old laws. Discover why Paul writes with urgency, why the early church faced such intense tensions, and what it means to truly live free. If you’re curious about the roots of the Christian faith and the challenges that shaped its core message, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

"Freedom in Christ isn't license. It's liberation from a yoke that was never meant to save." - Tim Winders

Episode Resources:

1. NT90 Hub – This is the central website for the 90-day New Testament reading plan, with downloadable, printable plans, background information, and links to all episodes and resources.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Introduction to Galatians

00:21 Overview of the Reading Plan

01:05 Context and Background of Galatians

02:26 Key Facts About Galatians

03:14 Historical Context and Tensions

05:53 Paul's Urgent Message

07:11 Reading and Reflecting on Galatians

Paul's most passionate letter, the Galatians are drifting back to

law keeping and Paul is alarmed.

Freedom in Christ isn't licensed.

It's liberation from a yoke that was never meant to save.

This is seek, go create.

You're listening to read the New Testament in 90 days, 27 books in order in context.

We're walking through the New Testament, the way it was written so you can hear

it the way the first churches did.

Make sure before we get going here, you grab the free reading plan at.

K two M Foundation slash NT 90.

There's a ton of resources there.

There's notes, there's background, and as these episodes are recorded,

there'll be links there, so you'll have everything you need all in one place.

K two M DO Foundation slash NT 90.

And the downloadable reading plan that you'll definitely want

to get today, we get to Paul.

Today's stop is Galatians, Paul's most urgent letter.

It's the first one that comes on the scene in what we call our New Testament.

And I just wanna pause real quick before we dive into the book of Galatians.

Let's think where we are in our in order reading plan.

We started with James, the brother of Jesus.

Then we went to Mark, who spent time with Peter getting Peter's account of

the life of Christ, the life of Jesus.

We just finished up Matthew, which is one of my personal favorites, and Matthew

was one of the apostles and we get his account of spending time with Jesus, now

we get to who had the one that has more written in the New Testament than anyone

else, and that is Paul, the one that had the experience on the road to Damascus

with Christ, and we get to dive into.

Paul's letter.

So we got, we, if we stopped right now, we're not going to, but if

we stopped right now with these four books, we would have the most

incredible things that were written.

I believe in the history of all time and and we are walking through it in order.

Cool.

Let's jump into that.

We've got Galatians here.

Key facts author.

There's very little doubt.

This is Paul.

The date, we believe it was around 48 or 49, so about 18

to 19 years from the cross.

The audience, the South Galatian Churches, Pisidian, Antioch.

Iconium, Lystra Derby.

I don't know if I've gotten all those pronunciations right, but

those could be close there about, we're kind of putting this about

19 years after the resurrection.

The churches are barely a few years old, but there's already crisis brewing.

There's things going on.

When you get people together, especially in the midst of all that's happening,

we're about to cover, there's gonna be some stuff that has to be dealt with.

And that's what Paul is doing with this letter.

The context, historical context.

Rome Claudius is still on the throne.

Just months ago, we'll hit this in just a second.

He expelled Jews from Rome, including believers like Priscilla and Aquila.

The expulsion scattered believers like seeds.

What Rome meant for silence, God.

Used it to spread, to spread this gospel in Jerusalem.

The temple is still intact.

Jewish Christian tension over Gentile inclusion is heating up the Jerusalem

Council, which we will look at in Acts 15 is about to happen around this time.

The church Galatian churches that were planted by Paul just months earlier, maybe

a year or so earlier, young believers.

No scriptures, no trained leaders.

The movement is growing, but still it's mostly Jewish, so keep that in mind.

The tension men from Jerusalem are saying that Paul's gospel is incomplete.

Believe in Jesus and to get circumcised.

They're trying to combine the law with the freedom that Paul is speaking about.

They still believe you need to keep the Sabbath and follow dietary laws.

Why now?

Why is this letter written at this time?

Some Galatians are wavering.

Paul writes with no pleasantries, no Thanksgiving, just alarm.

Very firm and very direct.

Let's pause for what I'm calling my reality checks here.

Let's, let's briefly look at the expulsion from Rome that we

know occurred in AD 49, which.

It was right around the time this letter was written and was sent

Claudius, expelled Jews from Rome.

We're not sure exactly why, but it could have been because of the friction

between what we now know are Jewish Christian believers and the faithful Jews.

And they could have been having conflict, and Claudius not really understanding

the difference between the two.

Just said, get out, leave Rome.

Among those forced out, a tent maker named Aquila and his wife

Priscilla, they'll end up in Corinth where they'll meet a man named Paul.

The seeds are scattering the friction.

Is growing.

Here's what you're gonna encounter in Galatians.

It's fierce.

There's no warm opening.

Paul goes straight to the problem.

You'll hear about a different gospel.

Paul is astonished that they're deserting so quickly.

He'll use terms like, oh, foolish Galatians.

Always a nice way to address people.

oh.

Foolish Galatians.

Who bewitched you?

He will talk about the law as guardian.

It held us until Christ came.

But now faith has arrived.

Sons and daughters of Abraham, not by blood or circumcision, but by faith.

He will talk about freedom.

For freedom Christ has set you free.

Do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

That's how he terms the law.

He'll mention the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.

Not by trying harder, but by surrendering.

If righteousness came through the law, then Christ died just

18 years earlier for nothing.

He is reminding the Galatians of that powerful message.

Now you're gonna be reading Galatians over the next three days.

If you're following the plan, you're gonna go chapters one through two, then

three, four, and then five and six.

Again, I encourage you if you can try to sit down and read the whole thing

at once, maybe over the next few days.

Read it a few times.

It will mean so much more, and if you can try to read it out loud,

that's a powerful thing to do.

Next up, after Galatians first Thessalonians, hope

that doesn't disappoint.

Even when believers die, before Jesus returns will get into that topic.

When we get to the.

The book of First Thessalonians reminder to follow along with all

the details, all the information.

the downloadable plan at K two M Foundation slash ntini

K two M. DO foundation slash.

NT 90.

Make sure you go do that.

And a reminder, keep sharing this with people that you may want to

read along in context with them as we're following along this plan.

Okay, here we go.

Before you read.

Let's set the scene for Galatians.

It's a D 90 A courier arrives exhausted, carrying a scroll from Antioch.

Paul has written the believers crowd into a house.

Leather workers, farmers, a few traders.

They remember Paul well, the man who was stoned in Lystra and left for dead.

Then got up and kept preaching.

The scroll is unsealed.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called

you in the grace of Christ.

No Thanksgiving, no blessing.

Paul goes straight to the problem.

Now let's read.