Articles
Important Question - 9
“Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16)
A common literary device is a rhetorical question, a question asked to make a point rather than to gain information. Such a question usually has an obvious answer. Paul’s frustration with the Galatians is two-fold: 1) Some have listened to Paul’s detractors and have come to question his credentials, and 2) They have drifted from the truth in embracing a double-standard for Gentiles (cf. 1:6; 3:1-3; 4:9-11).
In our featured question, Paul is contrasting his relationship with and teaching of the Galatians with the pro-Mosaic teachers. He is flummoxed that the Galatians have been persuaded to disregard him – a legitimate apostle who has taught them the truth – in favor of self-seeking compromisers (4:17; 6:12-13).
Paul reminds them that his first work among them was in the midst of infirmity (4:13). They loved him and helped him even as he, while in their vicinity, was stoned and left for dead (4:15; cf. Acts 14:19-20). But something has changed, and it isn’t Paul. He is preaching the same message as always, and now some of them are pulling away. Thus the piercing question. Sometimes we resent those who have our best interests at heart. May we always love truth and those who speak it for our good.
