It is clear that a crisis has come upon the church in Galatia. Paul's authority had been undermined, and a different gospel was being propagated amongst the Galatians. This is a very serious matter, and Paul addresses it immediately.
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel" (vs 6). Within the short amount of time since Paul had left, the Galatians have been convinced of a false gospel, one which required them to be circumcised. He will go on to address this issue in chapter 3, but first he must demonstrate the veracity of his own apostleship, and once again put forward the message of Christ as the one, true gospel.
I see at least two applications for us in light of this chapter:
First, there are many distortions of the gospel floating around today, especially in Christian circles. Some of them are easy to see as false, but many of them seem no different to those who do not know the true gospel well. Make sure you know the gospel that Paul preached, the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Second, recognize that some will be more easily swayed by these "other" gospels. Don't just leave it up to a pastor to correct them. When you hear something that doesn't sound quite right, hold it up to the Scriptures. Even if the difference is subtle, that's how distortions of the gospel begin. So use it as an opportunity to gently nudge a brother or sister back to the truth of the Bible.
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