Welcome to Life Group. We invite you to join
us in this verse -by -verse study through the
Word of God. In this lesson, we'll be looking
at Galatians 2. Let's begin in verse 1. Then
fourteen years later, I went back to Jerusalem
again, this time with Barnabas, and Titus came
along too. We saw in chapter 1 that Paul described
a trip he made to Jerusalem three years after
Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. But now
he describes a second trip to Jerusalem 14 years
later. We see from the verse that Barnabas and
Titus went with him. Barnabas, we know, was well
-respected among the leadership in Jerusalem.
This is found in Acts 4, verses 36 -37. And chapter
11, verse 22. And Titus. And it's important to
know that Titus was a Gentile convert. Only two
visits to Jerusalem in 17 years shows that Paul
did not sit at the feet of the disciples of Jesus
to learn the gospel. Verse 2. I went there because
God revealed to me that I should go. Here we
see that Paul went to Jerusalem by the express
direction of the Holy Spirit. He did not go because
any man called him to come. It was because God
told him to come. This trip to Jerusalem is most
likely the one mentioned in Acts 11, 27 -30,
when Paul brought the gifts from Christians to
other cities to the Christians in Jerusalem.
Continuing in verse 2, It's important to see
that at this time, there was a little bit of
contention rising over the place of the Gentiles
in the church. And God used Peter to welcome
Gentiles in the church in Acts 10. But most Christians
from a Jewish background said that Gentiles could
only be saved if they became Jews first and brought
themselves under the law of Moses. Paul knew
he had the true gospel, but he didn't know how
everyone of reputation in Jerusalem would receive
it. Perhaps some of the apostles themselves were
wrong on this point and needed to be corrected.
Continuing in verse 2, I wanted to make sure
that we were in agreement for fear that all my
efforts had been wasted and I was running the
race for nothing. An unnecessary conflict with
the leaders of the church in Jerusalem might
damage Paul's reputation in ministry by validating
the false teachers who taught that Gentiles had
to convert to Judaism to become Christians. Verse
3. And they supported me. and did not even demand
that my companion Titus be circumcised, though
he was a Gentile. It's important to realize that
circumcision was the initiation into the Jewish
faith and the Mosaic covenant. If Titus or any
other Gentile man wanted to become a Jew, he
would have to be circumcised. Verse 4. Even that
question came up only because of some so -called
Christians, false ones, really, who were secretly
brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and
to take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus.
They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow
their Jewish regulations. Since they opposed
and contradicted the gospel revealed to Paul
by Jesus Christ, Paul's saying that they're really
false brethren, that they're just so -called
Christians here. Because grace salvation is received
as a gift. And gift righteousness brings freedom.
But this law salvation that they were trying
to push is really unobtainable. Works righteousness
brings bondage. false doctrine. Verse 5. But
we refused to give in to them for a single moment.
We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel
message for you. Paul's saying that any false
doctrine of mixing grace and law is dangerous
to not only the Jew, but the Gentile. These secret
spies probably had the best of intentions, but
they were still promoting a very dangerous doctrine.
that had to be confronted, as Paul is doing.
People can be sincere, but sincerely wrong at
the same time. Verse 6, And the leaders of the
church had nothing to add to what I was preaching.
By the way, their reputation as great leaders
made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.
You see, famous Christians did not overly impress
or intimidate Paul. And his words were not a
denial of their apostolic authority or even a
mark of disrespect, but he is simply indicating
that he is not overawed by them. Verse 7. Instead,
they saw that God had given me the responsibility
of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just
as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching
to the Jews. For the same God who worked through
Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked
through me as the apostle to the Gentiles. In
fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known
as pillars of the church, recognized the gift
God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas
and me as their co -workers. Here we see that
the leaders of the Jerusalem church, James, The
brother of Jesus, Cephas, also known as Peter,
and John accepted Paul and his ministry to the
Gentiles. They approved it, knowing that Paul
did not require the Gentiles to come under the
Mosaic law to find favor with God. Verse 9, they
encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles
while they continued their work with the Jews.
So Paul's main ministry was to the Gentiles,
and Peter's main ministry was to the Jews. And
these distinctions were not absolute, though,
because we know that each ministered to both
groups at different times. Verse 10, Their only
suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor,
which I have always been eager to do. And we
see here that Paul remembered the poor in Jerusalem.
He put a lot of effort towards gathering a contribution
among the Gentile churches for the sake of the
saints in Jerusalem. Picking up with verse 11.
But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose
him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.
Now, Peter had approved and agreed with Paul's
gospel message and his ministry when Paul was
in Jerusalem. We see that in verse 9. And God
used Peter himself to welcome Gentiles into Christianity
without a precondition of becoming Jews. We see
that in Acts chapter 11, verses 1 through 18.
Going back to verse 12. When he first arrived,
he ate with the Gentile Christians who were not
circumcised. But afterward, When some friends
of James came, Peter wouldn't eat with the Gentiles
anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these
people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.
Although Peter had been in full agreement with
welcoming Gentiles into the church without bringing
them under the law of Moses, when Peter came
to Antioch, Paul's home church, it was another
story. He refused to associate with Gentile Christians
once certain Jewish believers from Jerusalem
arrived. Peter knew God did not require Gentiles
to come under the law of Moses for salvation.
I mean, he learned this himself from a vision
from God, and we see that in Acts chapter 10,
verses 9 through 15. He also learned this from
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles
who believed, apart from being circumcised, in
Acts 10, verses 22 through 48. And he learned
it in another place, right? He learned this by
the agreement of the other leaders of the church
in Acts chapter 11, verses 1 through 18. But
now Peter turns back on all that he knew about...
the place of the gentiles in the church and he
treats uncircumcised gentiles as if they were
not saved at all peter knew that the visitors
from jerusalem would be offended by his fellowship
with gentiles who had not come under the law
of moses verse 13 as a result other jewish christians
followed peter's hypocrisy And even Barnabas
was led astray by their hypocrisy. See, sadly,
others followed Peter's lead. You know, Peter
took the lead, then other Jewish Christians followed
him, and now Barnabas is following Peter's lead,
not wanting to have anything to do with the Gentiles.
And this shows us something, the sins of a teacher.
become the teachers of sin see they were being
hypocritical they were play acting that's what
that greek word translated hypocrisy means these
are play acting when they're they're putting
on one mask and then they're taking it off and
putting on another mask and they were going back
and forth saying at one time they believed one
thing and then acting like they believe something
contrary to what they were saying. Pick up with
verse 14. When I saw that they were not following
the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter
in front of all the others, Since you, a Jew
by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and
are living like a Gentile, Why are you now trying
to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
See, the matter was so serious that Paul boldly
confronted Peter in front of everyone involved.
And you got to remember, Peter was the most prominent
of all the disciples of Jesus. Peter was the
spokesman for the apostles. He was probably the
most prominent Christian in the whole world at
that time. But Peter was instigating a division
of believers at the table of the Lord. Peter
acted against what he knew was right out of fear
of rejection. And I guess we all know what it
feels like when social pressure pushes us towards
compromising. in one way or another. Barnabas,
he even caved in to the pressure too. And it's
possible that this event could have played a
part in the ultimate separation of Paul and Barnabas.
Verse 15. You and I are Jews by birth, not sinners
like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person
is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ,
not by obeying the law. Now, this was a serious
matter about the truth of the gospel. They're
talking about how a person can be right with
God. And we know that that's not through works
or following rules or following the law. It's
by faith that a person is made right with God.
Picking back up in verse 16. And we have believed
in Christ Jesus so that we may be made right
with God because of our faith in Christ, not
because we've obeyed the law, for no one will
ever be made right with God by obeying the law.
Now, this is Paul's first use of the Greek word
dikio, and it means justified or declared righteous.
And it's the first time he used it was in his
letter to the Galatians. And it presents a legal
concept. The person who has been justified or
declared righteous is the one who gets the not
guilty verdict. in a court of law. And Paul reminds
Peter that they are justified before God by the
work of Jesus, not by keeping the law. Paul knew
that even a strictly observant Jew could never
be considered right before God by what they did
under the law of Moses. We need to remember that
Christ is not a lawgiver. He's a life giver.
He's the forgiver of sins. Verse 17. But suppose
we seek to be made right with God through faith
in Christ, and then we are found guilty because
we have abandoned the law. Would that mean that
Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not. Rather,
I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of
law I already tore down. Here we see the great
tragedy of legalism. While trying to be more
right with God by keeping a set of rules, people
actually end up being less right with God. Verse
19. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned
me. So I died to the law. I stopped trying to
meet all its requirements so that I might live
for God. Wow, what a powerful statement. The
law reflects the holy heart and the character
of God. There's nothing wrong with the law. And
here Paul is saying it isn't the law that died,
it's Paul that died to the law. To die to the
law is to renounce it, to be freed from its dominion,
and to place no confidence in it. Then the law
no longer holds us captive under a yoke of slavery.
As a result, we are set free from guilt, shame,
and condemnation. Verse 20. My old self has been
crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who
live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this
earthly body by trusting in the Son of God who
loved me and gave himself for me. You want to
know when I died to the law? I died to the law
when Jesus died on the cross. We were crucified
with Christ. So we can live our lives saying,
Mr. Law, go ahead and accuse me as much as you
like. I know I have committed many sins and I
may continue to sin every day. But that doesn't
bother me. You've got to shout louder, Mr. Law.
I am dead, you know. Talk as much as you like.
I am dead to you. Because I am now one with Christ.
And Christ's righteousness is mine. Christ's
victory is mine. Christ's life is mine. Verse
21. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless.
For if keeping the law can make us right with
God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
What does this show us? If work salvation was
so impossible to accomplish that Jesus had to
take on flesh and die on a cross to make the
gift of salvation possible, Why do people think
they can earn his million -dollar gift of grace
with their penny's worth of obedience? Thank
you for joining us for Life Group. Allow God's
Word to build your faith and transform your life.