Galatians for You: Tim Keller

Tim Keller has written a new commentary on the book of Galatians.

It’s called Galatians for You.

Note that my review should be understood within the context of someone who owns what I regard to be the very best commentaries on Galatians written by Christians throughout the centuries. They all sit happily in my library.

Keller’s commentary is an accessible, easy-to-read, popular (opposed to academic) commentary on Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

It’s a brief treatment, weighing in less than 200 pages.

Keller’s writing is simple. His focus is the gospel of grace. And he puts a strong emphasis on justification, the Reformed variety.

My analysis is that it’s a good book for the new Christian or even the inquiring unbeliever, as it gives them both an introduction into the first piece of literature ever penned (Galatians).

Deep insights for the mature Christian are lacking, and it’s not a book for academics. But those aren’t its target audience.

While the information presented was good on the whole, I didn’t find anything in the book that threw new light on Galatians. And I disagreed with Keller’s position that on the one hand Christians aren’t under the Law, yet on the other, they must obey the Law. To my mind, that’s doublespeak and it’s not what Paul was arguing.

Paul’s argument, I believe, is that those who are in Christ are no longer under the Law. Seeking to obey the Law will only lead to frustration and failure. This is not just a matter of salvation (as Keller argues), but it’s a matter of sanctification and spiritual growth. We begin with grace, we continue in grace, and we end with grace. We don’t start with grace for salvation, then move to the Law for sanctification.

According to Paul, the Christian has an indwelling Spirit. Christ lives in us by the Spirit. So we are free from the Law, having died to it in Christ, and we are now united to Jesus who lives in us by His Spirit. The Spirit will always lead us to love, which fulfills the Law.

So it’s not a matter of Law-keeping, but a matter of walking in the Spirit. In my Master Class on Galatians, I flesh all of this out in detail, but I was disappointed by Keller’s argument that Paul only had in view salvation when he talked about the Law, and not sanctification and Christian growth. I also was saddened that he believes that Christians still must try to obey the Law. I was glad, however, that Keller doesn’t follow the “New Perspective” and believe that “the works of the Law” only refers to circumcision, the dietary laws, and the Sabbath. We agree that it has in view the entire Law of Moses.

Finally, if you’re someone who likes stories and antidotes (I personally don’t care for those in a commentary), you won’t find them in this treatment. Keller’s object is to expound the text in a logical, straightforward manner. A few times his explanations are a bit abstract. And there are very few, if any, practical handles given. But that’s the case with virtually all Bible commentaries.