"We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified." ~ Galatians 2:15-16.
"In my heart reigns this one article, faith in my dear Lord Christ, the beginning, middle and end of whatever spiritual and divine thoughts I may have, whether by day or by night" ~Luther's Introduction, 1538.
The Epistle to the Galatians is the ninth book in the New Testament, and it was originally written by the Apostle Paul in an effort to inform the Galatians that 'truth by salvation' is gained by grace alone – a concept that is embodied throughout much of Paul's teachings in the New Testament. The letters were received with disputed contention because if a follower of Christ is able to receive salvation through faith alone, then it also means that good works and good intentions are not what God is demanding of us. It might not seem so, but Paul is actually proposing a relatively radical message because there was a widespread belief that physical (human) actions hold enough weight to earn our passage into heaven, and believers would take this interpretation and cause great harm to themselves, even self-inflicted death, as a way to rid themselves of sin. .
Paul's letters to the Galatians compounded throughout early Christianity and it significantly influenced some of the early reformers, such as Marin Luther. In his Commentary to the Galatians, Paul's work is described as being "the epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock. It is my Catherine." Luther had great respect for the letters that Paul's sent to the Galatians and this is evidenced throughout his treatise entitled, "The Freedom of a Christian.
