Galatians Outline

Outline of Galatians –

Theme: “The true gospel justifies sinners by faith, not by works; and it frees them to love others, not serve the flesh.”

Date of Galatians.

The true gospel (1:1-5).
1. The true gospel is preached by Paul, a true apostle (v. 1).
2. The true gospel desires grace and peace for local churches (vv. 2-3).
3. The true gospel is news about a crucified and risen Savior (vv. 1, 4a).
4. The true gospel delivers from the present evil age (v. 4b).
5. The true gospel brings eternal glory to God (v. 5).
The false gospel (1:6-2:14).
1. The nature of a false gospel – a perversion (1:6-9; Acts 15:1).
  1. A false gospel is a product of a process of change (vv. 6-7a).
  2. A false gospel is the opposite of the true gospel (v. 7b).
  3. A false gospel is dangerous (vv. 8-9).
  4. A false gospel is a breach in trust (v. 9).
2. The goal of a false gospel – to please men (1:10-24).
  1. Do not please men because the gospel makes us slaves of Christ (v. 10).
  2. Do not please men because the gospel is not human in nature (vv. 11-12).
  3. Do not please men because the gospel does miracles that men cannot do (vv. 13-16a).
  4. Do not please men because the gospel is for God’s glory, not man’s (vv. 16b-24).
3. The perpetrators of a false gospel – false brethren (2:1-10).
  1. They think too highly of men (vv. 1-2, 6-9).
  2. They think too highly of ritual (vv. 3-5).
  3. They think too highly of division (vv. 9-10).
4. The temptation of a false gospel – compromise (2:11-14).
  1. Compromise with a false gospel is blameworthy sin (v. 11).
  2. Compromise with a false gospel is hopelessly inconsistent (v. 12).
  3. Compromise with a false gospel is dangerously influential (v. 13).
  4. Compromise with a false gospel is a denial of the true (v. 14).
True justification – by faith, not by works (2:15-5:12).
1. True justification summarized – “Sinners” no more (2:15-21).
  1. “Sinners” no more because man is justified by faith in Christ, not by works (vv. 15-16).
  2. “Sinners” no more because it is not a label Christ uses (2:17-18).
  3. “Sinners” no more because Christ died for something, not nothing (2:19-21).
2. True justification experienced personally (3:1-6).
  1. Understand your justification by knowing where confusion about it comes from (v. 1).
  2. Understand your justification by remembering what God did for you (vv. 2-5).
  3. Understand your justification by believing what the Bible says about it. (v. 6).
3. True justification in the example of Abraham (3:6-18).
  1. The example of Abraham: justification by faith is Scriptural (vv. 6-14).
    1. Scripture explains how Abraham became justified by faith (vv. 6-7).
    2. Scripture explains how Gentiles must be justified by faith (vv. 8-9).
    3. Scripture explains why no man can be justified by his works (vv. 10-12),
    4. Scripture explains why no man can be justified without Christ (vv. 13-14).
  2. The example of Abraham: justification by faith is covenantal (vv. 15-18).
    1. God will keep His promise to justify apart from works because He is not inferior to man (v. 15).
    2. God will keep His promise to justify apart from works because it is a promise He made to Christ (v. 16).
    3. God will keep His promise to justify apart from works because He does not contradict Himself (vv. 17-18a).
    4. God will keep His promise to justify apart from works because salvation is by grace (v. 18b).
4. The role of God’s law in true justification (3:19-28).
  1. The role of the law in justification is not a divine contradiction (vv. 19-21).
  2. The role of the law in justification is like the role of incarceration in the life of a criminal (vv. 22-23).
  3. The role of the law in justification is like the role of a guardian in the life of a school-boy (vv. 24-26).
  4. The role of the law in justification means that we are Christians before anything else (vv. 27-28).
5. The role of inheritance in true justification (3:29-4:10).
  1. Justified heirs belong to Christ (3:29).
  2. Justified heirs are redeemed by Christ (4:1-5a, 8-10).
  3. Justified heirs are adopted by Christ (4:5b-7).
6. The role of Paul after true justification (4:11-20).
  1. Disciple-making and a certain kind of fear (4:11-15).
  2. Disciple-making and a certain kind of message (4:16).
  3. Disciple-making and a certain kind of selflessness (4:17-20).
7. The role of freedom in true justification (4:21-31).
  1. The Bible of true justification is liberating (v. 21).
  2. The mother of true justification is liberating (vv. 22-28).
  3. The persecution of true justification is liberating (vv. 29-31).
8. The defense of true justification (5:1-12).
  1. Christ saves; religious works do not (vv. 1-6).
  2. Truth saves; lies do not (vv. 7-12).
True justification – for love, not the flesh (5:13-6:18).
1. Serving the flesh: the opposite of the love of the justified (5:13-15, 19-21).
  1. Serving the flesh is false freedom (v. 13).
  2. Serving the flesh is selfish (vv. 14-15).
  3. Serving the flesh is pollution (vv. 19-21).
2. Walk in the Spirit: the power for the love of the justified (5:16-18, 22-26).
  1. Time of possession is part of walking in the Spirit (v. 16).
  2. Do-overs are part of walking in the Spirit (vv. 17-18, 24).
  3. Honest fruit-inspection is part of walking in the Spirit (vv. 22-23, 25-26).
    1. Love.
    2. Joy.
    3. Peace.
    4. Longsuffering.
    5. Gentleness.
    6. Goodness.
    7. Faithfulness.
    8. Meekness.
    9. Temperance.
3. The mutual care of the love of the justified (6:1-10).
  1. Restore: one-another love restores the fallen (vv. 1-5).
  2. Share: one-another love supports the ministry of the Word (vv. 6-8).
  3. Persevere: one-another love does not grow weary (vv. 9-10).
4. The glory of the love of the justified (6:11-18).
  1. The glory of the justified has nothing to do with the flesh (6:11-13).
  2. The glory of the justified is all about the cross (6:14-18).

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