Taught 6/1/2008
Galatians 2:1-10
Fighting for the Gospel of Grace
Open your Bible to…
Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Rom. 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Pray
Intro
√ Fighting
Fighting isn’t something we would normally associate with Christ-like character!
However, there are times when it is very Christ-like to pick up our spiritual weapons and wade into the battle.
Those times are when the sheep of God’s flock are threatened by wolves!
In fact, we see that example in Jesus’ earthly ministry when he confronted the religious leaders over the heavy burdens they placed on the people.
√ Fighting for the Gospel of Grace
In our text this morning we find that Paul was a fighter!
He fought to protect the purity of the Gospel message from the corrupting influence of false teachers.
In our text he recounts for the Christians in the churches of Galatia how he took that fight for Grace all the way to the Church in Jerusalem!
How the Church leadership responded to Paul’s fight was important because it firmly established the message that Paul preached as the one and only authoritative Gospel…
…the Gospel of Grace not Law!
That fight is recorded in greater detail in Acts 15 so we’ll refer back to it to help us understand the battle that Paul fought…
…and it’s outcome!
Ap. Grace is worth fighting for!
Abolitionist Wendell Phillips…
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Reporter Elmer Davis…
“This will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”
The same is true of our spiritual liberty!
It has been under constant attack since the time that Jesus first preached the Gospel of Grace.
It’s a fight that we must by willing to engage in, both in the personal practice of our faith and the collective practice of the local church.
If we aren’t willing to stand up for the Gospel of Grace we’ll soon find ourselves under the burden of the Law!
Ex. The Shepherding Movement
The so-called Shepherding movement came on the heels of the great work of Grace that God did in the late 60’s and throughout the 70’s among the hippies.
Tens of thousands of young people were delivered from drugs, immorality and hopelessness by the power of God’s Grace.
Then the false teachers began preying upon these new believers and many fell victims to the unbiblical control of the Shepherding movement.
The legalism of that movement killed off the faith of many of those young believers or so twisted their understanding of God that today they no longer walk in His power.
The unique work of God through the Calvary Chapel movement was founded on the proclamation of Grace. Therefore it’s critical for us to understand and embrace the Gospel of Grace for it is the power of God to transform lives!
Private Consultation (vs. 1-2)
Gal. 2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me.
Gal. 2:2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.
√ Private Consultation
The setting for this private meeting that Paul had with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem was proceeded by a very heated disagreement (fight) at the first Gentile church, in Antioch.
On one side was Paul and Barnabas…
…on the other were some false teachers from Jerusalem.
The fight was over the question of whether or not Gentiles had to keep the Law to be saved, note the historical record in Acts…
Acts 15:1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
Acts 15:2a Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them…
I like the description of their disagreement…
“no small dissension and dispute”
That’s a nice King James way of saying…
“They opened a can on em!”
That is, when Paul and Barnabas heard what these guys were teaching they lit into them!
Remember that the church in Antioch, though not founded by Paul or Barnabas…
…had been built up through their labor and teaching.
So, the people of that church were their spiritual children and they weren’t going to stand for anyone coming into their church with some false teaching.
√ To Jerusalem
The dispute between Paul and the Judaizers wasn’t settled in Antioch, so they head to Jerusalem to resolve the issue. Luke records that discussion in Acts fills in the details of Paul’s visit to Jerusalem that we read in Galatians 2:1-2…
Acts 15:4b … they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.
Acts 15:3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.
Acts 15:4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.
Acts 15:5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
So the dispute between Grace and Law wasn’t settled in Antioch.
Each side was convinced they were right, Paul and Barnabas claiming that a person is saved by Grace alone…
…while the Judaizers claimed that a person had to keep the Law too.
So, the church in Antioch decided it would be wise to send representatives from both sides of the argument to Jerusalem to settle the issue.
Once in Jerusalem Paul and Barnabas met privately with the leaders of the church where they laid out their argument and presented the Gospel message they preached.
However, some protested their message and sided with those who said the Gentiles had to keep the Law.
So, the leaders called together all the apostles and elders to hash out the disagreement in a public meeting.
The point is that Paul brought all this to the attention of the Galatians to demonstrate that this wasn’t the first time this issue had come up…
…rather, it had already come up in Antioch and was settled by the leadership in Jerusalem.
Ap. Do you know enough to defend the Gospel?
The trouble in the Galatian churches could have been averted if the believers there had a better foundation for their faith.
To be fair they were at a disadvantage because they didn’t yet have a New Testament…
…it was still being written by the Apostles!
But, they had heard Paul clearly present the Gospel message and experienced salvation through Grace…
…so they should have known better than to believe the false teachers.
We can’t use ignorance as an excuse because we do have the full revelation of God, the Bible in our hands!
The problem today is that many (most) Christians don’t really know their way around the Bible.
So when wolves come preaching “another Gospel” they aren’t equipped to know the difference between the Truth and a lie.
That’s one reason we teach the whole Bible so that you might be equipped to know enough to protect yourself and your family from false teaching.
√ Get equipped
For further study you might want to pick up…
“Why Grace changes everything” ~ Pastor Chuck
You’ll know when you’ve got the doctrine of Grace down because the cults will stop coming to your door!
Public Confrontation (vs. 3-5)
Gal. 2:3 Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
Gal. 2:4 And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),
Gal. 2:5 to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
√ Public Confrontation
The record of this meeting is found in Acts 15:6-21 which I’ll summarize for you…
As Paul indicates in vs. 5 he along with Barnabas engaged in a heated debate with those who preached a mixture of Grace and the Law.
Interesting to note that Paul calls them “false brethren” ~ literally he’s saying that these Judaizers weren’t even real Christians!
Pretty heavy accusation, but remember that Paul is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so it must have been true.
After a long debate both Peter and James (Jesus’ half-brother) share their perspective on the issue siding with Paul and Barnabas!
Peter
As evidence for a Gospel of Grace alone Peter points out that…
God demonstrated His acceptance of the Gentiles through Grace alone by pouring out the Holy Spirit upon them when Peter preached to those gathered at Cornelius’ home (ref. Acts 15:7-8).
God clearly showed Peter and the Jews with him that God had made Jews and Gentiles equal in Christ (ref. Acts 15:9).
That is, in Christ both Jew and Gentile become God’s “chosen” people.
And most importantly that Jews and Gentiles alike are saved by Grace alone…
“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” ~ Acts 15:11
That is, Peter acknowledged that both Gentiles and Jews are saved by Grace alone…
…neither is under the burden of the Law!
James
Next James points out that Peter and Paul’s experience was confirmed by the Old Testament prophet Amos who predicted that God would save the Gentiles and make them fellow heirs of the Kingdom!
Then he casts his vote with Peter in support of the Gospel that Paul preached…
…a Gospel of Grace alone!
Amazing really because James was very Jewish as revealed in the letter bearing his name in the New Testament.
3) The Holy Spirit
The coupe de grace’ is found in Acts 15:28 where we find the final decision of the Jerusalem counsel was inspired by God Himself!
“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.”
So, the result of the public confrontation between Paul and Barnabas representing the Grace alone verses the Judaizers who claimed that Gentiles had to keep the Law too…
…was a total victory for the Gospel of Grace!
Ap. The battle is still being fought!
Within the Messianic movement today you’ll still find people arguing over this very issue!
Our friends in Israel have shared with me that when they host Messianics from the States that there are those like Paul and Barnabas…
…and others like the Judaizers.
It’s a sad testimony because the issue was settled 2,000 years ago and yet we still find people placing themselves under the burden of the Law.
Ex. Oliver and Erez
These brothers understand Grace, I’ve even seen Oliver eat bacon!
Personal Confirmation (vs. 6-10)
Gal. 2:6 But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.
Gal. 2:7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter
Gal. 2:8 (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles),
Gal. 2:9 and when James, Cephas (Aramaic for “rock” ~ Peter), and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
Gal. 2:10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.
√ Personal Confirmation
Paul’s final point to prove to the Galatian churches that his message of Grace was the one true Gospel was that the leaders of the Church, including those appointed by Jesus while He was still on earth…
…confirmed Paul’s ministry and message!
His point is that the false teachers who were trying to put them under the yoke of the Law didn’t have any of the credentials that Paul did!
They didn’t have the support of…
The counsel that met to discuss this very issue
The Person of the Holy Spirit
Peter and John, two of the 11 Apostles and the two still alive of the inner three disciples (James had already been martyred) and Jesus’ half-brother James who was now leading the Church in Jerusalem!
So on what basis then would the Galatians choose to believe the false teachers!
Certainly not on any rational basis!
Yet, the unfortunate reality is that people caught in the web of false teaching don’t often use their brain!
Ex. Paul’s description of the Galatians
Gal. 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
I like the way that J.B. Phillips translates it…
“O you dear idiots…”
The point is once a person buys into a false doctrine or teaching they often throw out rational thought! Look at what Paul says in Galatians 3:1…
“Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth…”
That is at time of Paul’s writing the Galatians were quickly moving toward legalism and in the process were not obeying the truth!
You simply cannot mix Grace with the Law!
To try and do so is to deny Grace and the work of Christ on the Cross.
Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit says that is disobedience to God!
What a paradox!
The Galatians were trying to please God through obeying the Law…
…but were actually disobeying God by trying to do so!
So, Paul exhorts believers everywhere to place their full trust in God’s Grace, which is able to save us and to transform us into the image of Christ.
Ap. Sharing with people trapped by false doctrine
Recognize that they are have been deceived and logic alone will not win them to Biblical Christianity.
Ex. The Mormon Missionaries
Ap. The Law
It’s important that you understand the context of this whole discussion.
There is the Law of Moses, the 613 ceremonial commandments that the Judaizers were foisting on the Christians.
There is the moral law of God that predates the Law of Moses and is still in effect today.
The moral law are those commandments found in the 10 Commandments…
Don’t worship false gods
Don’t murder
Don’t covet
While it is true that Christians are not obligated to keep the Law of Moses (the ceremonial law)…
…we are still bound to keep the moral law.
With one exception!
Read the New Testament and you’ll discover that Jesus and His disciples instruct us to keep 9 of the 10 Commandments…
…the only exception is the Sabbath!
You won’t find any instructions to the Church to keep the Sabbath or it’s regulations.
In fact, you’ll find that Paul specifically tells us that we’re not bound to keep the Sabbath!
The reason is that the Sabbath was given as memorial to the nation of Israel…
…not the Church!
Ex. 31:16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
Ex. 31:17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”
Paul writes…
Col. 2:16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival (the annual feasts ~ Passover etc.) or a new moon or Sabbaths,
Col. 2:17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
So, Christians are free from the Law of Moses, but still called to honor God’s moral laws.
Close
√ Fighting for the Gospel of Grace
This section of scripture reminds us that there are things worth fighting for!
To protect the Truth of God’s message of Grace from the corruption of legalism.
But, don’t forgot that when we fight we must maintain a Christ-like attitude because the goal isn’t to win the argument…
…it’s to win a person to salvation through the Grace of God!
2Tim. 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,
2Tim. 2:25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
2Tim. 2:26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.