We are starting back on our journey through
Galatians. A quick refresher on what we have seen so far.
So far Paul has hit pretty hard against those who
would distort the message of Grace that is freely given to all. To paraphrase
him, those sugar coating, rule creating, false teachers are going to be cursed.
Not a category I want to be in, and I would be willing to bet you don’t want to
be either. That is why we need to stay true to God’s Word. We have also seen
him take a firm stand in defending his position as an apostle and as one who
was given a message directly from Jesus.
Essentially Paul has stated ignore those false
teachers and staked his claim as a true apostle.
Let's see what the first part of Galatians 2 has for us.
Galatians 2:1-2
“2 Then
after 14 years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking
Titus along also. 2 I
went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I
preach among the Gentiles—but privately to those recognized as leaders—so that
I might not be running, or have run the race, in vain.”
Since Saul became Paul on the Damascus Road he has
spent a total of 15 days with any of the other apostles. He went to Arabia,
Damascus, spent 15 days with Peter in Jerusalem, and then spent the next 14
years preaching in Syria and Cilicia. Then after all this time Paul goes to
Jerusalem and is part of the Jerusalem Council that we talked about a bit
during the first week of this series. It was there that it was discussed if
gentile believers needed to adhere to the laws of Moses.
What we have found so far is that Paul was a
freedom fighter. He regularly fought for freedom from Mosaic laws for all
believers in Jesus Christ. Now remember this is not some gentile fighting to
not get pulled into all of the laws, Paul was an aspiring rabbi. If he had
continued on the path he was on before he met Jesus, he could have very easily
been a leader in Jewish society. But here he was, a true rabbi, fighting
against the Mosaic laws. Thankfully Paul kept up the fight for freedom from the Law or Christianity might have become a Jewish sect that taught a mixture of
law and grace.
Galatians 2:3-5
“3 But
not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be
circumcised. 4 This
issue arose because of false brothers smuggled in, who came in secretly to
spy on the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up
and submit to these people for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel
would be preserved for you.”
Here Paul is making the case that Titus, who was
not Jewish, was not pressured to be circumcised. The apostles and other
leaders of the early Christian church in Jerusalem did not see that as a
priority. From a Jewish perspective that would have been a big deal, as every
male child without exception must be circumcised. But, those who walked with
Jesus were not making it a priority. Freedom and grace were prevailing.
Paul goes on to say that some ‘false brothers’
were trying to stir up trouble where it was not needed. These were most likely
devout Jews who were out to destroy this Christian sect before it got out of
hand. One of the quickest ways to do that would have been to join up and then
be a stinking rotten apple. After all, no one wants to eat an apple pie if even
one of the apples were rotten.
Who would want to be a Christian in the early
church if you needed to follow the laws that the Jews struggled with? What good
is grace if it is tied to a bunch of rules that controlled everything you did?
How would anyone be set free through Christ with the burden of the law?
Jesus did not die to continue this division
between Jew and Gentile, His sacrifice was made to unite all of us together.
Ephesians 2:11-16
“11 So
then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the
uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the
flesh by human hands. 12 At
that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of
Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without
hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have
been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. 14 For He is our peace, who
made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His
flesh, 15 He
made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations,
so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two,
resulting in peace. 16 He
did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the
cross and put the hostility to death by it.”
Jesus tore down all the barriers between Jew and
Gentile. Through Jesus there is no racial difference, rich or poor, popular or
outcast. None of that matters. We are all united through our faith in Jesus
Christ.
James who was the leader of the early church and a
devote Jew gave us the final verdict.
Acts 15:15-20
“15 And
the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written: 16 After these things I
will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. I will rebuild its ruins and set
it up again, 17 so
the rest of humanity may seek the Lord—even all the Gentiles who are called by
My name, declares the Lord who does these things, 18 known from long ago. 19 Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause
difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but instead we should
write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality,
from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood.”
Paul the freedom fighter fought for freedom and it
was confirmed by the apostles and other church elders. The Law was important to
many, but in the end Grace Won.
This is something we need to remember. Rules are
important to protect us from the things in the world that would like nothing
more than to destroy the church. They help us make sure we have checks and
balances in place so that no one power hungry person can take over. We have to
be careful though as rules can be as crippling today as the Mosaic law would
have been to the early gentile church. Let me be clear, some rules like who can
vote at a church meeting are ok. Rules that need to be followed for a person to
be saved, are a stumbling block and not what Jesus died for.
The gospel of grace through Jesus is clear. Man is
saved by faith in Jesus. There is nothing else required. Faith saves.
To be clear let’s look at what Paul states is the
Gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:1-7
“15 Now
brothers, I want to clarify for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you
received it and have taken your stand on it. 2 You are also saved by it,
if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you—unless you believed for no
purpose. 3 For
I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that
He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to
Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 Then
He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time; most of them are still alive, but
some have fallen asleep. 7 Then
He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”
Jesus died for your sins. He was buried, raised on
the third day, as was witnessed by many people.
The Gospel is that simple. Believe that Jesus died
for your sins, was buried, and defeated death when He rose from the dead. If
you believe. You are saved.
Sadly, there are those who say you need something
else. As if Jesus’ gift of grace is not enough. Some will tell you that you
need to earn your way into heaven through works. Others will tell you that you
have to worship in one of their churches, follow the Ten Commandments, be
baptized, belong to a specific church, practice some ritual, speak in tongues, attended
church on a set day of the week, or any number of other things. If anyone ties
rules to the gift of grace, they distort the message that Jesus died for.
What was Paul’s message to those who corrupted the
Gospel of Jesus? They would be cursed.
As a believer we need to remember that the price
was already paid, and through our faith in Jesus we are saved. Yes, we are
sinners. Yes, we struggle with things every day. But they do not interfere with
the saving grace we have in Jesus.
John 10:28-30
“28 I give them eternal
life, and they will never perish—ever! No one will snatch them out of
My hand. 29 My
Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to
snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
You do not need to live your lives in fear of
losing your salvation. Jesus did not put down a deposit for your eternity, He
did not make a partial payment and you have to earn the rest. No, He paid the
full price for your salvation. He paid the price with every drop of blood. If
you believe, if you have faith, you are saved.
While our salvation is not at risk, it does not
give us a license to sin.
Romans 6:1-2
“6 What
should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may
multiply? 2 Absolutely
not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
Salvation results in life change. For some it is
instantaneous for others it is a lifelong battle.
Paul fought to keep the Gospel message simple for
all and I for one am thankful for it. As witnesses we need to remember that the
Gospel message is simple. We don’t need to make it complicated at all. We are
sinners, Jesus died for our sin and rose again. Belief in Him is all that is
needed for eternity in paradise. That really is all you need to remember when
we witness to others.
Let’s turn back to Galatians.
Galatians 2:6
“6 Now
from those recognized as important (what they really were makes no difference
to me; God does not show favoritism)—they added nothing to me.”
At first it might sound like Paul did not really care what
the church leaders thought. The reality is that he respected who they were. He
sought them out and met with them before the main meeting shows that he valued
who they are and was hoping they would agree with him.
Galatians 2:7-10
“7 On
the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the
uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised, 8 since the One at work in
Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the
Gentiles. 9 When
James, Cephas, and John, recognized as pillars, acknowledged the
grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me
and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the
circumcised.10 They
asked only that we would remember the poor, which I made every effort to
do.”
After years of ministering to the gentiles Paul is being
recognized for his faithful ministry. Through this agreement and recognition,
they are telling the world that the message Peter and the other apostles are
sharing to the Jewish and the message that Paul, Barnabas, and others are
sharing with the gentiles is one and the same. One message being shared to
different people. One message that saves all who believe. One message for the
entire world. One message that unites all into the Body of Christ.
Sometimes I joke that God must be shaking His head at us and
all of our different denominations. If you are saved through the Gospel you are
a member of Jesus’ church. It does not matter if it is Baptist, Lutheran,
Methodist, Pentecostal, or any other denomination or church that believes that
the blood of Jesus is sufficient to save all of human kind. Each group tends to
reach different people, as long as they teach the same Gospel they are part of
the Church of Christ. Some are more traditional some are a little freer, but
the message of Christ is the same. Different messengers, different styles, but
the same Gospel message.
Just like Paul and Peter. They had different styles, reached
out to different people, but both shared the same message. The simple Gospel
message.
You are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that His
death paid for your sins, and His life sets you free in this life and for all
eternity.
If you don’t know Jesus and would like to, I want to invite
you up during our closing hymn and I would love to pray with you.
God Bless,
Robert
