Message Highlights

• Paul’s shift in tone from chapters 1–3 is intentional: he moves from rebuking the Galatians to appealing to them relationally—not because he’s backing down from truth, but because he understands that doctrinal deviation isn’t just disobedience, it damages people and relationships.
• “Become as I am” isn’t a call to higher moral performance—in context, it’s a deeply relational invitation to stand where Paul stands: free in Jesus Christ, with nothing added and nothing owed.
• Truth without grace crushes people. Grace without truth abandons them. Paul refuses to separate the two, and this passage shows us how to hold both when someone we care about has drifted—and how to receive correction when we’re the ones who’ve drifted.

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Conversation Starter

• Think of a friendship or relationship where someone told you something hard—and it actually helped. What made you willing to hear it from them?
• When you think about people in your life who’ve influenced how you see yourself or the world, how much of that came from what they said versus how they treated you?

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Core Discussion Questions

Connection Question What stood out to you from today’s message about how Paul balances truth and grace with the Galatians?

Context Question Before today, how did you understand Paul’s phrase “become as I am”? Did you read it differently after hearing it in context?

Clarity Question How did today’s message shape or challenge how you think about the relationship between speaking truth and maintaining relationships?

Application Question Is there a relationship in your life right now where you’re either holding back the truth or delivering it without enough grace? What would it look like to hold both this week?

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Additional Questions

• Cory mentioned that the false teachers used flattery and made the Galatians feel important—and that it worked because the Galatians were already primed to prefer comfort over truth. Where in your own life are you most vulnerable to that same pull?
• Paul says he would rather be with the Galatians in person so they could see his concern in his eyes and hear it in his voice. When have you experienced the limits of written communication in a hard conversation—a text or email that couldn’t carry what you really meant?
• The message pointed out that it’s easy to chase questions Scripture leaves unanswered while neglecting what it plainly commands. Where does that tendency show up most for you—in your faith, your relationships, somewhere else?

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Exploring the Scripture

Main Scripture: Galatians 4:12–20 (CSB)

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Paul wrote Galatians to a group of young churches in the region of Galatia (modern-day Turkey) likely in the early 50s AD, making it one of his earliest letters. These were communities he had helped plant during his first missionary journey, and the relationship was warm and personal from the start. The problem Paul is addressing throughout the letter is a serious one: false teachers—likely Jewish Christians insisting that Gentile believers must also follow the Mosaic Law, including circumcision—had come in after Paul’s departure and were convincing the Galatians that faith in Jesus wasn’t enough for salvation and standing before God. Paul’s response is urgent, at times sharp, and deeply pastoral.

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Chapters 1 through 3 establish Paul’s apostolic authority and make the theological case for justification by faith alone in Christ alone. The tone throughout is confrontational—he calls the Galatians “foolish,” challenges Peter publicly, and dismantles the false teachers’ arguments systematically. But something shifts at the beginning of chapter 4, verse 12. Paul pivots from theologian-defender to shepherd. He doesn’t abandon a single word of what he’s already written, but he lowers his register, appeals to shared history, and makes clear that his concern has always been for them, not for winning an argument.

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This shift matters because it reflects Paul’s understanding of how truth functions in relationships. He knows that doctrine isn’t only about ideas—it involves people. False teaching doesn’t just lead people into error; it severs real relationships and creates real damage. Paul’s personal illness, mentioned in verse 13, had actually been the occasion for the gospel reaching them in the first place—a “God moment,” as Cory described it—and the Galatians had responded to Paul with extraordinary generosity and care despite the awkwardness his condition may have created. That history is the emotional ground Paul is returning to. He wants them to remember who they were to each other before the false teachers arrived.

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The theological center of this passage is the phrase “become as I am, for I also have become as you are” (v. 12). Paul had given up the privileges and identity markers of his Jewish heritage—the very things the false teachers were now demanding the Galatians adopt—because he understood that in Christ, those things added nothing. He became like the Galatians (Gentiles, free from the Law) to show them what freedom in Christ actually looked like. His invitation is not moral conformity but a shared standing: you are already fully accepted in Christ. Live there.

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Personal Study:

Verse 12:

The theological center of this passage is the phrase “become as I am, for I also have become as you are.” Paul had given up the privileges and identity markers of his Jewish heritage—the very things the false teachers were now demanding the Galatians adopt—because he understood that in Christ, those things added nothing.

• Review Paul’s own explanation of the above truth in his life from Philippians 3:4-11. 

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Paul says that he became like the Galatians (free from the Law) to show them what freedom in Christ actually looked like. Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (with specific emphasis on verse 21 for this particular setting). 

• What exactly does Paul mean here and how can we personally apply this tactic in our evangelistic efforts? 

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Pastor Cory explained to us that this was absolutely not a call for the Galatians to behave like Paul. Doing so would be no different than promoting the legalism he had so ardently been preaching against. 

• What then was this a call to specifically? Review Ephesians 2:5-10 and Romans 8:1–11. 

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This was a deeply relational plea. Paul was not contradicting all he had taught the Galatian believers in the first several chapters, but instead, his words were coming from a place of love and concern. Paul calls the Galatians “foolish” multiple times in chapter 3 and “my children” in chapter 4. 

• How can we hold both of these statements together? In what instances might this type of approach be necessary or appropriate? 

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Verses 13-14:

Paul’s physical affliction became the providential instrument through which the gospel first came to the Galatians. It was a “God moment,” as Pastor Cory described it—allowing Paul to pause and spend time preaching the gospel.

The specific details surrounding Paul’s particular ailment are vague for a reason. Pastor Cory reminded us that we shouldn’t spend our energy on minor issues while failing to apply the clear commands of Scripture. 

• How does one separate crucial Biblical truths from peripheral information/details that do not require our time or attention? Reference 1 Timothy 1:3-7.
  
  

God allowed Paul’s ailment for a purpose. Through our pain, God can orchestrate divine moments that we would have otherwise missed. He can open doors we may have walked right past if not for the difficulty in our lives.  

• How have you seen God leverage the difficulty in your life to mold and shape you personally? 
• Where in your own story has God used pain/trials/loss/heartache/etc as a door to speak into someone else’s life? 

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This example allows us to see that we must keep our eyes open. We cannot allow trials to overtake us so much that we are useless and incapable of seeing the opportunities around us. 

• How can we effectively balance the pain and hurt we experience with the opportunities to glorify and serve God that can come alongside it? Reference 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 and Paul’s own example in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. 
• If you’re in a difficult or trying season right now, consider the following: Is there a door God is opening that you would have walked past if things were “normal?” What is God teaching you right now that you couldn’t have learned any other way?

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Back when this letter was written, illness was viewed by both Jews and Gentiles as a punishment, a rejection by God (or “the gods” if one was pagan), and/or evidence of sin (see John 9:2, Job 4:7-9, and Acts 28:3-4). Thus, Paul’s ailment could have proven to be a significant barrier.

• How does this passage refute the idea that suffering or weakness equals God’s disfavor? Reference James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:6–7.
• What does the Galatians’ reception of Paul despite his illness teach us about recognizing God’s work beyond outward appearances? 
• Would we have received Paul the way the Galatians first did—or would his weakness have made us skeptical? 

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Verses 15-16:

Paul wanted to know what happened to the Galatian believers to change their thinking so much. They hadn’t lost their salvation, but they had certainly lost the joy of their salvation by placing themselves back under the enslavement of the Law.  

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Paul wanted the Galatians to remember the prior relationship they once shared with him and the faith they had embraced and understood so clearly before the false teachers intervened. 

• To gain insight into the way in which Paul’s message was first received by those to whom he was writing this letter, reference Paul’s first missionary journey to Galatia from Acts 13:42-52. 
  
  • How does this knowledge help us understand Paul’s exasperation and disappointment in the current state of their relationship with him as well as their departure from the truth?

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The Galatians may not have consciously thought of Paul as an enemy, but their rejection of his message communicated that. They clearly did not receive his rebuke well. 

• Verse 16 suggests the Galatians had begun treating Paul as an opponent without explicitly saying so. Read Proverbs 27:6. 
  
  • What distinguishes a wound from a friend from the flattery of an enemy? How do you tell the difference in the moment?  
• How does Scripture instruct us to receive godly correction? Reference Proverbs 15:31–33 and Hebrews 12:6–11.

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Receiving truth with grace requires humility. 

• What makes this so difficult? 
• What is the difference between humility that receives correction and the kind that just defers to keep the peace?

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Verses 17-18

Paul sought to expose the false teachers and their motives as disingenuous. They weren’t seeking to help the Galatian believers know and follow Jesus better, but instead wanted to promote their own glory while alienating Paul from the church. Whether Paul was present with them or not, he wanted the Galatians’ focus to steadfastly remain on salvation by grace through faith. 

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Pastor Cory highlighted many tactics which are often used by false teachers (both back then and today). Such tactics include, but are not limited to: flattery, appealing to pride, manipulating emotions, isolation, requiring exclusive allegiance, using others to inflate personal ego, and focusing on themselves instead of lovingly leading people to know and follow Jesus. 

• Have you had personal experience with a false teacher? 
• How do you recognize the marks of a false teacher? Reference 1 Timothy 4:1-5, 1 Timothy 6:3–5, Romans 16:17–18, and 2 Peter 2:1–3. 

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In verse 17, Paul describes the false teachers as those who “court you eagerly, but not for good.” Read 2 Timothy 4:3-5.

• What similarities do you notice between these two passages? 
• What does it look like today when someone builds loyalty through flattery or appeasement rather than truth? 
• According to verse 5, Acts 20:28–31, and 1 Corinthians 16:13, how should believers respond to false teaching? 

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“Zeal or eagerness in pursuing something in the service of a lie is a dangerous thing.” Paul recognized that had done this very thing himself (1 Corinthians 15:9 and 1 Timothy 1:15). 

• How can we tell if our zeal is targeted toward the right thing or whether we are heading down a faulty path? 

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The false teachers weren’t teaching that Jesus was irrelevant—they were teaching that Jesus wasn’t enough. False teaching doesn’t always deny Jesus outright; but it subtly diminishes Him. 

• Why is this the most dangerous type of false teaching? Where have you witnessed this occurring today?

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Verses 19-20

Paul’s appeal is one of a parent agonizing over a wayward child. You can feel his deep concern emanating off of the page when you read his words. He longed to be with the Galatian believers in person so that he could speak to them face-to-face to express his love and compassion. 

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Paul writes this letter even knowing it might cost him the relationship. He knows the Galatians’ souls are worth the risk of their rejection.

• Do we see people in this light? How might we be able to impact others eternally if we viewed our relationships this way? 

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The message noted that some of us have confused grace with never saying anything hard—“cowardice dressed up as grace and conflict avoidance with a kind face.” 

• How does that kind of false grace actually harm people, even when it feels kind in the moment?

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“Truth without grace crushes people, and grace without truth abandons them.” 

• How do 2 Timothy 2:24-26 and 2 John 1:9-11 exemplify this truth? 
• John 1:14 says that Jesus came “full of grace and truth”—not balancing them, but embodying both completely. 
  
  • What is the difference here and why is the “balance” framing actually misleading? 
  • What does it look like in practice when someone gets the ratio wrong in either direction?

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Paul’s main concern was for Christ to be formed in the Galatians.

• What do Colossians 2:6-7, Ephesians 3:16-19, and Ephesians 4:14–15 teach us about how we are to conform to the character of Jesus?

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Living It Out

Sometimes we are Paul, providing correction… and sometimes we are the Galatian believers, needing correction. Either way, we should always seek to:

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Be filled with grace and truth:

It’s not about balancing grace and truth… it’s being full of grace and full of truth. Christ-followers can accomplish this because of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. 

• Up until now, do you find yourself following Jesus’ example here, or do you major in one and minor in the other? Which side do you tend to lean toward? 
  
  • Do you wield truth like it’s a weapon, leaving people feeling prosecuted rather than loved? 
  • Are you so afraid to “offend” that you don’t say anything at all… consistently choosing comfort over courage? 
• Moving forward, how can you be filled with both? Remember and recognize the signs. One who is full of grace and truth: 
  
  • Seeks both restoration and reconciliation
  • Isn’t angry over the lost but instead, heartbroken
  • Does not write people off because they get confused
  • Makes it easy for people to repent and turn to Jesus

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Prepare yourself in advance for the times when the Holy Spirit prompts you to provide Biblical correction. Consider the following: 

• What is the difference between selfish rebuke and biblical rebuke?
• How can you determine when it is appropriate to lovingly correct a brother or sister in Christ? 
• How might the way in which you present correction to someone impact how they understand it, react to it, and take action on it? 
• What practical steps can you take before providing godly correction to help ensure the other person receives it well and as intended?
• What role does relational depth play in determining the timing and manner of rebuke? 
• When might it be helpful to include a trusted friend, advisor, or pastor?
  
  

Consider past occasions where you provided godly correction in an appropriate manner: 

• How did you prepare for the conversation?  
• What made that conversation productive? 
• What was your heart posture before, during, and after the conversation? 
• Did you receive feedback that your correction was effective? What was it?
• How did your rebuke affect the other person, their relationship with Jesus, and your relationship with them? 
• What can you take from this instance moving forward?

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Is someone’s soul worth the risk of rejection to you? 

• Who in your life would you say difficult things to even at that cost? 
• Who in your life would you hope feels this way about you?
• Think about the communities you’re part of: your small group, your workplace, your family. Where is truth being avoided to protect comfort? What would it cost you to say something, and is that cost worth bearing for someone’s soul?

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Receive truth with grace: 

Receiving truth with grace demonstrates humility, and that humility helps us grow closer to Jesus and become more like Him. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is your go-to reaction when someone tries to provide you with biblical correction? If your first reaction to rebuke is anger or shame, how might you practically surrender this to Jesus? 
• Do you get upset at the person correcting you? Do you find reasons to discredit them, question their motives, distance yourself, or find more agreeable voices to listen to? If so, Pastor Cory offered a practical step: think of someone who recently said something hard to you and your gut reaction was to pull back or push them away. Before you dismiss what they said, sit with it honestly—is there something there? Write it down, pray over it, and consider whether humility is asking you to go back to that person.

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People who say what you want to hear but disregard Biblical truth are not your friend…they are the enemy. Always align everything back to Scripture. 

• Is there someone in your life whose godly rebuke you would willingly accept? What about your relationship with them makes it easier to receive correction?
• Does this person correcting you love Jesus, follow Jesus, stand on the truth of God’s word, and love you? If yes… listen! If no… beware of a “false teacher.” 

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Prayer Focus

Today's lesson showed us how the false teachers sought to destroy the faith of the Galatians, but God used Paul to restore their faith. Ask the Lord to surround you with godly believers like Paul who will help you to walk in grace and truth.

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