Paul Writes to the Galatians
Unlike his corrective letter to the Romans whom he had not met face-to-face (where Paul also answered slanderous charges from competing Jewish “authorities”), the Galatians were people he had personally ministered to (Acts 18:23). So while the basic arguments in Galatians and Romans have much in common, the tone of Galatians is more like a father scolding a child, whereas Paul’s letter to the Romans takes a far more diplomatic tone. Galatia likely refers to a region in what is now central Turkey. At the time Paul wrote this letter—which is often placed around 55 AD—these cities would have been Roman colonies, occupied primarily by Greek—speaking Gentiles. The region included cities mentioned on Paul’s missionary journeys in the book of Acts such as Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe. (Acts 14 and Acts 16:1-5). Paul’s disciple Timothy was from Lystra (Acts 16:1).
