Bible Journaling: Book of Galatians

In this letter from Paul to the Galatians we will discover where love meets law in Christ’s new command. Let’s travel through these tricky concepts together, relying on the Holy Spirit for insight and revelation, wisdom and understanding.

For a broader view of this book of the Bible, we encourage you to watch this video:

Bible journaling tip:

There are some concepts in Theology that can help even the average reader of the Bible to have a greater understanding. One such concept has to do with God and His chosen people. Throughout the Bible we see each one evident in many places: 

1. Particularism - Israel is God’s nation, set apart and holy. 

2. Inclusivism - God will save all people from all nations. 

3. Exclusivism - Only those who believe will be saved. 

A helpful journaling tool is to color-code these 3 for yourself and mark relevant Scriptures / stories / books with a tag that has one of 3 category names on it.

LOOK UP(information): encounter God through the Scripture 

Author:

When we dive into the book of Galatians and how it deals with the questions of Jewish-Christianity, it is important to remember some things about the author, Paul. Before Paul came to faith, he was a persecutor of Christians. He was a Pharisee! He had memorized the entire Torah and he had every “qualification” to be among God’s people - but what does he say about this? 

Audience:

You can read Acts 13-14 to find out more about the churches in Galatia who Paul wrote this letter to. What does this tell you about the audience? Why would Paul write to them? 

History:

As we have journaled through the whole Bible, we have seen the story of God and His people unfold since Genesis. God chose the Israelites for Himself and He walked closely with them throughout the years. The Israelites were the (only) people group who were expecting a Messiah to come. Imagine their confusion and frustration when He finally comes (Jesus Christ) but He says that salvation is for ALL people, not only the Israelites. This is the topic that the book of Galatians deals with. 

Genre:

This letter to the Galatians is a passionate attempt by Paul to address the worrying issue of salvation that is for ALL people. See if you can find places where Paul used words that show how passionately he cared about this topic and mark them with an exclamation mark.

LOOK IN(revelation): contemplate / reflect on our own lives

Key verse:

Galatians 2:15-16 NIV

We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

Inspiration:

The word ‘justified’ here is an important one. What can make a person clean? What can get a person to be in right-standing with God? This is a question that flows throughout the whole Bible like a golden thread. About Abraham it is said that God “counted it to him as righteousness” - he was justified. David wrote in Psalm 24:3-4 “Who may stand in His holy place? The one with clean hands a pure heart.” How does Jesus justify those who believe?

LOOK OUT(transformation): respond with creative worship action 

Drawing prompt:

The fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5 is a famous concept that is often used in Christianity. Use your creativity to illustrate these fruit in a new way. How does it grow out of the Spirit? Where is Jesus in the equation? What came before the fruit of the Spirit (this is what Paul calls the old humanity)? 

Bible Journey with JournalOwl:

Here are some questions / prompts provided by the JournalOwl community. 

• God sent his Son when the fullness of time was come to redeem them under the law that “we might receive” what? (Galatians 4:4-5)
• What Spirit caused some to cry “Abba Father”? (Galatians 4:6)

Follow this link to dive into this book with an online Bible Study group.

Writing prompt:

Use the following writing prompts to write an essay on the role of the law.

• Paul says in Galatians that the laws were always intended to be temporary. See if you can find the negative and the positive roles of the law, as he describes them.
• What did Jesus say about the laws? (Read Matthew 5:17) 
• Did any of Jesus’ other teachings contradict the laws? Look for places where He said “It is written… BUT I SAY TO YOU…” 
• Can we be selective when we decide which laws to follow? E.g. circumcision, kosher eating, murder, idolatry. Why?

Prayer:

God, I want to thank you for the book of Galatians. Fill me with your Spirit of wisdom and understanding while I read this difficult book. Let my response to this text be worship unto you!