Motivations of False teachers from Galatians

The letter to the churches in Galatia was written to correct a particular false teaching. Namely, that non-Jewish Christians would have to be circumcised to be acceptable to Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul identifies their motivations for teaching this soul- damning doctrine.

Galatians 6: 12-13. “Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh”

Here it is… first they wanted to escape persecution. The persecutors were Jews who rejected the teachings of Jesus Christ. These false teachers were trying to escape persecution by circumcising Greek Christians so they could make the claim that Christianity was just a type of Judaism. After all, Jews were intensely interested in converting the Greeks to Judaism. Jesus said to the Jews…

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.” (Mt. 23:15)

If these false teachers could convince the Jews that these new Christians were *just* hybrid Jews then they would not only escape persecution but also achieve their second motivation… making a “good impression outwardly” with the Jews and “Boasting about their flesh” to the Jews.

False teachers are no different today. They want to be accepted… not rejected or persecuted and they love the lime-light. A false teaching can be dressed up and made to look good. Examine the teaching to see if there is consistency with the scriptures and look at the teacher’s motivation… otherwise it could cost you your soul.