United By The Gospel

Imagine that all of it is great.

All with a massive stage,

and on that stage are two Steinway grand pianos,

about 10 yards apart, one stage right, the other is stage left.

An eight-year-old walks on the stage,

and she draws herself close to one of those Steinways,

the Steinway stage right.

She surveys all the 88 keys,

and with her right index finger,

she strikes middle C.

And everyone is amazed,

because Steinway on stage left resonates middle C back.

When you strike middle C,

on one piano,

it resonates middle C in an unmanned piano.

I'm no pianist,

but I know middle C is central and vital to any song played on a piano.

The gospel is to the church,

as middle C is to a piano and playing music.

And this morning, we're going to look at a historic meeting,

in which the Apostle Paul journeys to Jerusalem,

and he strikes the middle C of the gospel,

surrounded by men of influence.

James, and Cephas, and John.

And he strikes middle C to see what happens,

and it resonates with these three men.

wholehearted gospel resonance.

This morning, I want to make a case for you,

that the gospel of Jesus Christ

must be what unites us as a church

above all else.

It's what unites us.

The gospel is our middle C as a church

in which we play all of our music.

So here's, I'm going to walk us through it.

I'm going to walk you through Galatians chapter 2,

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

1 through 10.

It's a historic account.

And so what I'm going to want you to see is

the kind of the historic background

to this meeting that took place.

And then I want you to show you

a courtroom drama

that takes place at that meeting.

Paul has a star witness.

And then I want you to see

how this courtroom drama

unfolds in the extending

of the right hand of fellowship.

It is this snapshot with words

that needs to be in your minds.

So I'm going to walk you through it.

I'm going to make a point,

and I'm going to try to apply this

in four ways if I've got time.

So let's look at the background

of this historic meeting.

And it's in verses 1 and 2

of Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

We read first,

then after 14 years,

I went up again to Jerusalem.

14 years.

14 years after his conversion.

And so earlier in chapter 1,

we learned that Paul was dramatically

converted by Christ

on the road to Damascus.

It was something that God,

Christ had done.

And then three years after that,

he goes up to Jerusalem

for the first time

for an informal visit

with Peter

for just over two weeks.

And then there's this

passage of time.

Ten plus years

until Paul goes back

to Jerusalem.

And when he goes back

to Jerusalem,

he's not traveling alone.

Which brings me

to the next thing

I want you to see.

He brings Barnabas

with him.

And he takes Titus

along with him.

It's the makings

of a good joke.

It would go like this.

Have you heard the one

about the apostle

who brings a circumcised Jew

and an uncircumcised Gentile

to Jerusalem

to talk to a bunch

of other apostles?

But what you need

to understand is

this is no joke.

This is strategic.

We'll come back to that

in a little bit.

But what you need to see is

Paul has a mixed

traveling group

going to Jerusalem

14 years after

his conversion.

And then we see

why Paul went.

Verse 2

I went up

because of a

revelation.

God had directly

disclosed

to the apostle Paul

I want you

going to Jerusalem

now.

Now we're not told

here in Galatians 2

what that revelation

actually was.

So it could be

a revelation

that is unrecorded

for us.

It's something

that was distinct

that happened to Paul.

Or it could be

something that's

revealed to us.

And my hunch

is that this is

actually a reference

to a prophecy

recorded in Acts

Acts 11:27–30

chapter 11

verses 27 through 30.

There's this prophet

who comes down

from Jerusalem.

His name is Agabus.

And Agabus comes

to the church

in Antioch

where Paul

and Barnabas were.

The church of Antioch

was primarily

a Gentile church.

And this prophet

comes down

and he reveals

something to this church

that there was a famine

coming.

And the response

of this church

these Gentiles

converted to Christ

was to gather

financial help

and send it

with Barnabas

and Paul

to Jerusalem.

that's what I think

is actually

going on here.

The point of it

though is that

God has called

this meeting

in Jerusalem.

God

initiated this

meeting

in Jerusalem

14 years

after

Paul's conversion.

This is God's doing

which means

God wanted

this meeting

to happen

which means

God has

a purpose

for this meeting.

and his purpose

is to unite

his people

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

A little bit

more background

it's

who Paul

and his companions

go to meet with.

We see this

in verse 2 again.

I went up

because of a revelation

and set before them

who

is this

them?

Well

parenthetically

in the ESV

we're told

though privately

from those

who seemed

influential.

If you look down

at verse 6

we read

and from those

who seemed

to be influential

and then

just a little bit

further down

in verse 6

I say

who seemed

influential

and then

if you go down

to verse 9

who seemed

to be

pillars

there is

a group

of men

in Jerusalem

that Paul

Barnabas

and Titus

are going

to meet.

Paul actually

names them

in verse 9.

They are

James

Cephas

aka

Peter

and John

all three men

have New Testament

books with their

name on it.

That's who

they're going

to meet.

Now if you

notice

it's an interesting

way to describe

these people

these

who seemed

influential

it's like

Paul is

distancing

himself

from them

and he is.

On the one hand

he's not denying

their authority

on the other hand

he's not

deifying them

either

and what he's

doing is

he is maintaining

his own

apostleship

that he himself

has been

set apart

by Christ

himself

to proclaim

a gospel

to the Gentiles.

That was important

for the Galatians

to hear.

In other words

the apostle Paul

is not in the

back pocket

of these

Jerusalem

men of influence.

well the

reason why

Paul is

going up

to Jerusalem

is because

this is

a private

meeting.

Did you notice

that in verse 2?

Though privately

before those

whom seemed

influential

in that

parenthesis.

In other words

this isn't a

public meeting.

This isn't

the council

of Jerusalem

that we read

about in Acts

15

that happened

in 50 AD.

this is a

private

meeting

that took

place

before that.

But both

meetings were

dealing with

the same

thing.

The question

that was being

raised at this

time in the

early church

was this

was it

necessary

for Gentiles

to be

circumcised

in order

to be

saved?

Did a

Gentile

who's not

a Jew

who's not

circumcised

did they need

to become

a Jew

first in

order to

be saved

to become

a Christian?

In other

words

do they

need to

obey

the Mosaic

law

in order

to be

a Christian?

That was

the issue

at hand

and that's

why God

is sending

Paul up

to Jerusalem

and when

Paul gets

to Jerusalem

he is going

to hit

the middle

sea

of the

gospel

at this

private

meeting

and see

where the

chips fall.

Which brings

me

to the

focus

of this

meeting.

He says

I went

up to

I went

up because

of a

revelation

and set

before

them

the

gospel

that I

proclaim

among

the

Gentiles.

He's

there

because

of the

gospel.

On

one hand

the

circumstances

surrounded

circumcision

but Paul

has

recognized

the real

issue

at hand

is not

circumcision

it is

the very

nature

of the

gospel

of Jesus

Christ

itself.

What

is

necessary

for a

sinner

to be

saved?

Does

a

Gentile

sinner

need to

believe

in Jesus

plus

be

circumcised

or eat

kosher

foods

or

observe

Jewish

holy

days

in order

to be

made

right

with

God?

Paul

is going

up to

say

nothing

of that

sort.

Paul

is going

to proclaim

a gospel

that he

lays out

for us

in chapter

1

verse 4

that this

gospel

is

Christ

who has

given

himself

for our

sins

to deliver

us from

this present

evil age

and to

place us

into

God's

family

all by

his grace

by

faith

alone

in

God's

grace

alone

works

can have

nothing to

do with

it

because

it's a

salvation

of God

from

beginning

to end

that

phrase

that we

read

I set

before

them

the gospel

that I

proclaim

that phrase

is used

in the

end of

the book

of Acts

of Festus

laying out

Paul's

case

before

King

Agrippa

in other

words

Paul

is going

up to

Jerusalem

to meet

with these

influential

men

in order

to lay

out a

case

for the

gospel

of grace

and what

we're going

to see

in a

second

is he's

got a

star

witness

but

before

we get

there

I just

want to

point out

one thing

it seems

as though

something's

weighing

on

Paul

look at

the end

of verse

two

I

went up

to

Jerusalem

by way

of a

revelation

to set

before

these

men

of

influence

of the

gospel

that I

proclaim

among

the

Gentiles

in order

to make

sure

I was

not

running

or

had

not

run

in

vain

that's

an

interesting

thing

for

Paul

to say

when

he

uses

running

language

it's

a way

of him

describing

his

gospel

labor

his

ministry

the hard

work

involved

with that

and he's

asking the

question

hey

I'm

wondering

if this

is all

worth it

and one

can think

when you

read this

that

hey

apostle

Paul

hold on

a second

are you

having

second

thoughts

about

the

gospel

because

that's

kind

of

what

it

sounds

like

are you

wondering

if you're

running

in vain

what do

you mean

you think

you got

the wrong

gospel

but that's

not what

he's saying

and there

are a couple

reasons why

that makes

no sense

the first

is this

it's been

14 years

since he

was converted

and

commissioned

by Christ

to preach

the gospel

that's a

little long

to have

some unresolved

questions

about the

nature

of the

gospel

second

in chapter

1 verses

11 and

12

Paul makes

it very

clear

that this

gospel

is not

man's

gospel

but a

revelation

of God

that was

given to

him

Paul has

no questions

about the

nature and

power of

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

so what's

he concerned

about

he's concerned

about the

practical outcome

of this

meeting

and here's

why

these men

who seemed

influential

these

apostles

in Jerusalem

if they

had any

reservations

about the

gospel that

Paul was

preaching

he could

open the

door

he could

open the

door to

false

teachers

in Galatia

making a

claim

something like

this

a false

teacher

would say

yeah we

heard about

what the

Jerusalem

apostles were

saying

that they

didn't really

buy Paul's

gospel

and so

Galatians

don't buy

into what

Paul is

preaching to

you

believe what

we're saying

that you

don't only

need to

believe in

Jesus

but you

need to

be

circumcised

too

in order

to be

saved

Paul is

very concerned

about what

the outcome

would be

of this

meeting

on

Gentile

churches

he knows

that this

could result

in

Christian

Gentiles

being

enslaved

by a

false

gospel

but he's

also concerned

about the

overall

unity

of the

church

because

if these

apostles

don't

fully

embrace

this

gospel

that he

preaches

the very

foundation

of the

church

that's

going to

open the

door to

a dividing

of the

church

to

now

two

churches

you've

got the

Gentile

church

and you've

got the

Jewish

church

so what

Paul is

actually

concerned

about

is what's

at stake

the unity

and the

health

of the

church

of Christ

that's

why he

says

he's

fearing

that he

may have

labored

in vain

if these

men

don't

fully

agree

to

Paul's

gospel

it

means

slavery

and

division

for

the

church

universal

that

would

have

been

laboring

in vain

so we've

got a

sense of

the

background

of what's

going on

here

that's a

lot

to pack

into

two

verses

I

realize

that

but what

we see

going on

here

is we

have

Paul

Barnabas

Titus

going

to

Jerusalem

because

God

has

sent

them

in order

to have

a

meeting

with

James

Cephas

and

John

in order

to hit

the middle

sea

of the

gospel

because

there's

a lot

riding

on it

and so

now

in verses

three and

five

we have a

courtroom drama

unfold

Paul makes

his case

for the

gospel of

grace

if we

can just

go back

to verse

two

we see

I went

up

because

of

a

revelation

and set

before

them

the

gospel

that I

proclaim

I

have

laid

my

I

laid

my

case

out

before

them

that

this

is a

gospel

of

grace

received

by

faith

alone

there's

no place

for works

we can't

add

anything

to our

salvation

this

is an

invitation

only

meeting

remember

that

Paul

then

in verse

three

makes

his

appeal

to

his

star

witness

Titus

imagine

Paul

calling

Titus

to stand

before

this

group

of

men

in whom

this

meeting

has been

called

by God

imagine

this

Paul

Titus

are you

a Gentile

Titus

says

yes

Titus

are you

circumcised

Titus

says

no

Titus

are you

saved

yes

I

am

Paul

how

how

are you

saved

Titus

Titus

replies

something

like

I

was

saved

only

by

trusting

in

the

finished

work

of

Jesus

Christ

on

my

behalf

Jesus

gave

himself

for

my

sin

in order

to

pluck

me

out

of

this

world

and

place

me

into

the

family

of

God

he

set

me

free

by

faith

alone

and

God's

grace

alone

Paul

Titus

what

difference

then

would

it

make

for

you

to

be

circumcised

Titus

responds

it

would

make

no

difference

because

it

was

by

God's

grace

alone

that

I

have

been

adopted

into

his

family

he

caused

his

spirit

to

come

and

dwell

in

me

and

his

spirit

bears

witness

to

my

spirit

that

I

am

his

son

and

a

brother

to

everyone

in

this

room

who

proclaims

Christ

he's

given me

a new

heart

and

there's

nothing

that I

desire

more

than

to

live

a

life

of

faithful

obedience

for

the

glory

of

my

risen

savior

not

in

order

to

earn

my

salvation

but

because

I

have

been

saved

he

died

for me

so that

I

could

live

for

him

Paul

circumcision

does

not

give

me

a

new

heart

it

does

not

place

me

into

the

new

people

of

God

the

church

only

the

gospel

does

that

could

you

imagine

being at

a

meeting

like

that

did

it

happen

this

way

to be

honest

with you

I

don't

know

but

I

can

see

with

my

eyes

the

result

but

even

Titus

was not

forced

to be

circumcised

could

you

imagine

the

apostle

Paul

going

up

to

James

the

brother

of

Jesus

James

do

you

think

that

Titus

needs

to be

circumcised

in order

to be

saved

James

no

salvation

is by

faith

alone

in

God's

grace

alone

in

Christ

alone

Peter

does

Titus

need

to be

circumcised

in order

to be

saved

does

he

need

to

do

anything

in addition

to

believing

in

Jesus

in order

to be

rescued

by the

grace

of

God

Peter

says

absolutely

not

that

is

enough

to

John

Paul

says

does

Titus

John

need

to be

circumcised

in order

to be

saved

to be

set

free

to which

John

says

no

circumcision

that doesn't

save

anybody

only

God's

grace

in the

cross

of

Jesus

Christ

only

believing

that

is

someone

saved

the

apostle

Paul

is

striking

the

middle

sea

of

the

gospel

at

this

meeting

private

meeting

in

Jerusalem

and

none

of

these

apostles

are

requiring

Titus

to be

circumcised

because

the

gospel

doesn't

require

Titus

to be

circumcised

God

doesn't

require

Titus

to be

circumcised

God

doesn't

require

any

of

us

in

this

room

to

do

anything

in

addition

to

believing

in

the

finished

work

of

Christ

in

order

to

be

saved

that

is

good

news

that

is

the

gospel

but

not

everyone

at

this

meeting

was

in

agreement

because

in

verses

4

and

5

we

read

about

some

false

brothers

secretly

brought

in

that

the

Greek

there

is

just

yet

because

of

false

brothers

who

snuck

in

false

brothers

is

pseudo

Christians

guys

that

are

just

looking

the

part

it's

kind

of

like

this

have

you

ever

been

to

a

conference

and

you

get

a

lanyard

and

your

name

is

printed

on

a

lanyard

these

guys

heard

about

this

private

meeting

and

they

had

these

lanyards

made

outside

of

this

meeting

and

their

names

printed

on

it

and

they

are

kind

of

like

and

walked

into

this

meeting

it

says

they

slipped

in

in order

to spy

out

our

freedom

I

know

what

it's

like

to

slip

in

I

practiced

a lot

of

slipping

in

when I

was

in

high

school

my

parents

were

asleep

I

slipped

in

past

my

curfew

because

I

didn't

want

them

to

wake

up

I

didn't

want

to

deal

with

it

these

false

brothers

slipped

in

but

they

didn't

slip

in

in

order

to

because

they

were

past

their

curfew

they

were

slipping

in

to

spy

out

they

were

undercover

agents

there

was a

group

called

the

Judaizers

this

is

a

group

of

false

teachers

who

are

saying

that

you

need

to

become

a

Gentile

need

to

become

a

Jew

first

to

be

practicing

the

law

first

before

they

become

right

with

God

it's

by

your

works

in

addition

to

your

faith

that

you're

made

right

with

God

and

Paul

is

completely

repudiating

that

he's

no

no

no

no

no

that's

not

it

at

all

these

false

brothers

slipped

into

this

meeting

in

order

to

spy

out

what

Paul

says

our

freedom

in

Christ

freedom

from

having

to

earn

God's

favor

through

our

obedience

freedom

from

having

to

perform

and

impress

God

so that

he would

be like

oh

come on

in

here's

something

special

he says

no

no

no

no

no

they

came

to

spy

out

the

freedom

we

have

in

Christ

that

it's

by

grace

alone

in

Christ

alone

by

faith

alone

these

false

brothers

with

these

fake

lanyards

they

weren't

there

to

learn

they

weren't

there

to

benefit

they

weren't

there

to

contribute

they

were

there

so

that

they

might

bring

us

into

slavery

they

were

there

to

proclaim

a

false

gospel

to

enslave

people

to

they

were

bringing

in

the

law

again

verse

five

to

them

we

did

not

yield

in

submission

even

for

a

moment

Paul

says

sounds

like

these

false

brothers

try to

make

a

case

against

Titus

sounds

like

they

wanted

to

cross

examine

him

say

no

no

no

no

no

no

you

need

to

be

circumcised

too

buddy

and

Paul

says