John Calvin Commentary Galatians 4:11

"I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain." — Galatians 4:11 (ASV)

Lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. This expression is harsh and must have filled the Galatians with alarm, for what hope would be left to them if Paul’s labor had been in vain? Some have expressed astonishment that Paul would be so powerfully affected by the observance of days as to almost designate it a subversion of the whole gospel.

But if we carefully weigh the whole, we shall see that there was just reason. The false apostles not only attempted to lay the yoke of Jewish bondage on the neck of the church but also filled their minds with wicked superstitions. Bringing back Christianity to Judaism was in itself no light evil. However, far more serious mischief was done when, in opposition to the grace of Christ, they set up holidays as meritorious performances and pretended that this mode of worship would propitiate the divine favor. When such doctrines were received, the worship of God was corrupted, the grace of Christ was made void, and the freedom of conscience was oppressed.

Is it any wonder, then, that Paul was afraid he had labored in vain and that the gospel would from then on be of no service? And since that very kind of impiety is now supported by Popery, what sort of Christ or what sort of gospel does it retain? Regarding the binding of consciences, they enforce the observance of days with no less severity than Moses did. They consider holidays, no less than the false apostles did, to be a part of God’s worship and even connect with them the diabolical notion of merit. The Papists must therefore be held equally censurable with the false apostles, with this aggravating distinction: while the former proposed keeping those days which had been appointed by the law of God, the latter enjoin days, rashly stamped with their own seal, to be observed as most holy.