THE THEME OF GALATIANS

Lectionary text:  Galatians 2:16 - yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

The theme of this epistle is declared in 2:16:
By faith in Christ, not works, we’re justified.
This emphasis on faith, which is distinctively Pauline,
was what caused Martin Luther to decide
the teachings of the Roman Church were scripturally wrong
and nullified the death of Christ, God’s Son.
With such distinctions Luther could no longer go along,
and so the Reformation was begun.