Thematic Overlaps
The lengthy correspondence to the Romans shares the closest literary affinity with the briefer letter to the Galatians and appears to be a further development of the themes introduced therein.1 Both letters address tensions involving ethnic Jews and non-Jews and what it means to be a genuine follower of Jesus in the mid-first-century Mediterranean world. Both letters share the common theme of God’s righteous justification through faith centered on the gospel of Christ rather than the old-covenant Law of Moses.2 Both letters highlight the antithesis between “flesh” [σάρξ] and “spirit” [πνεῦμα],3 and between “faith” [πίστις] and “works” [ἔργα] (of the Mosaic Law),4 including the example of Abraham’s faith,5 albeit “a faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6), with Christian “love” [ἀγάπη] being another shared theme.6 Probably the best commentary on Galatians is Romans, and vice versa.7
Distinctives
Despite thematic overlaps, the occasion of each letter and Paul’s relationships with the respective reading audiences were different. Paul knew the Galatian brethren personally, having spent considerable time with them and having led many of them to Christ. But he had not been involved in planting the church in Rome, had never been there, and was not directly acquainted with most of these Christians.
While Jew-Gentile friction was an underlying current of both letters, in Galatia this was instigated and fueled by the recent incursion of Judaizing teachers, and in Rome by the inevitable sociocultural differences among ethnically diverse believers with and without connections to Jewish ordinances and customs. In Galatia the central message of the gospel had been corrupted, whereas the situation in Rome was not as critical.
The tone of the respective letters is therefore quite different; Galatians is much more polemical.8 Paul was clearly disappointed and upset with the churches of Galatia, prompting rebukes, warnings, and corrective instruction with a sense of urgency. He was much calmer, more systematic, and encouraging with his words to the Romans, praising their faith and progress and seeking their acceptance and cooperation.
To the Galatians he says, “You are observing days and months and seasons and years. I am fearing for you, lest in vain I have labored for you” (Gal. 4:10-11).9 But to the Romans he says, “for one person is esteeming a day over another day, but one person is esteeming every day alike; let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5). Why the difference? The non-Jewish Galatians had been misled to observe culturally-irrelevant Jewish rituals of the Mosaic system to supposedly merit divine favor. The apparent discord among the multi-ethnic Romans was a matter of cultural diversity unrelated to their common faith. Different circumstances call for different responses.10
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
2 Students of Pauline theology have historically understood “justification by faith” as the central focus of Paul’s thought. However, this teaching is developed in the polemical contexts of Galatians, Romans, and Philippians, where there is conflict with religious Judaism, but is absent from most of his extant writings. “It functions as a polemical doctrine … understandable only in the context of his controversies with Judaism and Jewish Christianity, and it is intended only for that purpose …” (H. Boers, The Justification of the Gentiles 30-31; cf. also F. F. Bruce, Romans 32-35).
3 Rom. 7:5–8:18; Gal. 3:3; 4:29; 5:16-17; 6:8.
4 Rom. 3:27; 9:32; Gal. 2:16; 3:2-5. Paul emphasizes in his writings certain types of works or deeds that contribute nothing to one’s salvation, e.g., works of the Law of Moses (Rom. 3:27; Gal. 2:16), works of human merit (Eph. 2:9; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:5), and works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). But he never understands “faith” as merely a mental assent to a doctrinal truth without an active response (cf. Gal. 5:6; Phil. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:3), nor does he view the requirements of God as works that humans have devised to save themselves (cf. Eph. 2:10; Col. 1:10; Tit. 2:14). Paul defines what he means by “faith” [πίστις] at both the beginning and the end of his letter to the Romans, viz. “obedience of faith” [ὑπακοὴν πίστεως] (1:5; 16:26).
5 Rom. 4:1-16; Gal. 3:6-18.
6 Rom. 12:9-10; 13:8-10; 14:15; Gal. 5:6-22.
7 “In order to interpret a text we are dependent on some overall understanding of its meaning that enables us to make sense of the individual parts and the way they are structured…. These letters have enough in common at a fundamental level to allow us to approach them with a single macro-structure” (H. Boers, The Justification of the Gentiles1-2).
8 The polemic of Romans 1:18-32 is indirectly in the third person and non-confrontational, and in Romans 2:1-5 is with an imaginary interlocutor, whereas in Galatians the polemic is pointedly direct.
9 Unless noted otherwise, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.
10 Paul was in favor of the Law and its precepts with respect to those for whom it was an important part of their cultural heritage (i.e., within the context of ethnic Judaism), as long as it was not at variance with the Christian faith (cf. Acts 16:1-3; 18:18; 21:20-26; 1 Cor. 9:20). On the other hand, he was vehemently opposed to the enforcement of the Law’s ritualistic ordinances on those for whom these practices had no relevance (i.e., non-Jewish Christians), especially if the imposition of such created division in the church and supplanted reliance on God through Christ.
Related Posts: Studying Romans & Galatians (Part 1), Introducing Galatians Part 1
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