Life Group - Galatians Chapter 2

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

Acts 4:36–37

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.

Acts 11:1–18

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,

Acts 10:9–15

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

Acts 10:22–48

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

Acts 11:1–18

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.