It is worth noting the apostle's ongoing concern for the churches he planted. We might have supposed that a church founded by the Apostle Paul, especially one whose founding involved miracles, would be and would remain sturdy, sound, and full of spiritual vitality. Alas it was not the case, and that fact is a warning to us. God's people, however saved, whatever their privileges may have been, however solid the foundation that was laid at the beginning of a church, require constant care on the part of the ministry and constant vigilance is required of them. Galatians, Corinthians, Colossians were all written to churches near to death after the most wonderful beginnings.
Churches are susceptible to declension in every conceivable way.
Who would have thought that the lessons of the 1920s and 1930s would be so easily forgotten by churches that were formed as a result of those controversies, but they are being forgotten as we speak. Indeed, it is bitterly ironic that it seems as if we could save the publishing houses a great deal of money and simply have them republish the books from that former era, so similar are the arguments, the subjects, the poses being taken. The world brings a constant pressure to bear and worldliness in all its forms can creep in with scarcely a notice. We all know how quickly our hearts can grow cold and how hard it is to warm them again. A long dispute about the date of Galatians too complicated to reproduce here.