You asked

what was paul's main argument against the teachers who advocated for circumcision in galatia?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Galatians 5:6

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision means anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.”

Paul wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia, likely in the mid-1st century CE. He was addressing a serious theological dispute where some teachers were insisting that Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians needed to be circumcised and follow other aspects of the Mosaic Law to be truly saved. Paul viewed this as a betrayal of the Gospel message he had preached.

How might focusing on outward actions or rules, instead of the internal posture of faith and love, distract from what truly matters in your own life or community?

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Read alongside it

Galatians 2:16
Paul explains that people are justified by faith in Christ, not by works of the law.
Romans 2:28-29
Paul discusses true circumcision as a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not merely outward observance.
1 Corinthians 7:19
Paul reiterates that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters, but keeping God's commandments does.

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