The basic error the Apostle Paul was dealing with was the mingling of Law with grace. There are three grave errors that arise out of this.
First there is what we call "legalism." This is the teaching that people are saved by works or human effort. That, in this case, would include the keeping of the Law and observing the rituals and ceremonies found in the Old Testament covenant God made with Israel.
This same error is reflected today when someone claims to have done his best to keep the Ten Commandments. This to him is the way of salvation.
The second error that can undermine true faith in Jesus Christ is what we may call "false liberty."
The Christian is called unto liberty, but that liberty is defined for us in the Scriptures and not left to our imagination. Yet there are those who teach that because they are saved by grace, it makes no difference how they live or behave.
This Satanic error is answered in the Book of James. He wrote: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (2:17). In other words, a faith that does not produce works is not real faith.
The third error is the one Paul deals with in his Letter to the Galatians. In fact, the error itself is often named "Galatianism." This false doctrine teaches that we are saved by grace but are kept saved by the Law.
In reality this makes salvation dependent on our works. Our works of righteousness are to be a supplement to our faith for ultimate salvation. One must endure to the end by keeping the works of the Law if he is going to be saved.
This is the error of Galatianism, the error that Paul combats in this brief letter.
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
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Theodore Epp (1907 - 1985)
Theodore H. Epp, a graduate of Southwestern Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, Texas, was the founding director of the Back to the Bible Broadcast. He began his ministry as a pastor in Goltry, Oklahoma, where he received his first taste of radio preaching. He moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, to establish the Back to the Bible Broadcast, and the first program was heard on May 1, 1939, on a small local station.He served as General Director for the broadcast until his retirement from on-air radio speaking in 1984. He continued to serve the ministry as well as perform other speaking engagements until his death in 1985.
Theodore H. Epp was an American Christian clergyman, writer, and a radio evangelist. Epp was the founding director and speaker of the Back to the Bible broadcasts between 1939-1985, heard worldwide on eight hundred stations in eight languages.
He started his ministry as a pastor and radio preacher in Goltry, Oklahoma and then relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he established the Back to the Bible radio program. It was first broadcast May 1, 1939, on a local station and was eventually syndicated as a daily, 30-minute program to more than 800 radio stations worldwide by the time of his retirement in 1985.
Under Epp's direction, the broadcasts were also noted for music by the Back to the Bible Choir and quartet. Several popular recordings were made by the choir in the 1940s and 1950s. Back to the Bible also had a weekly youth program, featuring a youth choir and serialized adventures with a Christian theme. Both the music and youth program have since been discontinued. Epp wrote nearly 70 books and magazine articles.
Theodore H. Epp was an American Christian clergyman, writer, and a radio evangelist. Epp was the founding director and speaker of the Back to the Bible broadcasts between 1939-1985, heard worldwide on eight hundred stations in eight languages.
Epp was born in Oraibi, Arizona, the son of Russian Mennonite immigrants. His parents were missionaries to the Hopi Indians there. After graduating from Oklahoma Bible Academy, Epp attended Hesston College, Hesston, Kansas and the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now, Biola University), Epp received a ThM degree in 1932 from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
He started his ministry as a pastor and radio preacher in Goltry, Oklahoma and then relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he established the Back to the Bible radio program. It was first broadcast May 1, 1939, on a local station and was eventually syndicated as a daily, 30-minute program to more than 800 radio stations worldwide by the time of his retirement in 1985.
Epp wrote nearly 70 books and magazine articles.