Fighting For Freedom Part I

Third Sermon on Galatians

Background Passage Galatians Chapter 2

Focal Passage Galatians 2:1-10

May 21, 2000

 

Rev. Charles S. Mims

 

 

Galatians 2:1 through Galatians 2:10 (KJV)
¹Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. ²And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. ³But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: ⁴And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: ⁵To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. ⁶But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: ⁷But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; ⁸(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) ⁹And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. ¹⁰Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

 

A man's worst difficulties begin when he is able to do as he likes.

Thoman Huxley, "Address on University Education," Collected Essays, 1902, III, 236

 

These are certainly words that have the ring of truth behind them.  Freedom is a wonderful thing to have, but one must do well to remember that with any freedom comes a price.

 

No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude. There is no such thing as an entirely free man conceivable.

Phillips Brooks (1835- 1893), Perennials

 

Paul went to the church at Jerusalem to fight for Christian freedom.  Throughout chapter one of the book of Galatians we saw Paul clearly establishing his freedom from the established church at Jerusalem.  Now we see him going before the leadership of the church to fight for the right of Christians (specifically gentiles) to be free from the strictures of Jewish ceremonial law. 

 

While chapter 2 continues Paul’s defense of his apostolic authority and the gospel he preached, he focused not on the source of his message but on its content. Further, whereas in chapter 1 he emphasized his independence from the other apostles, he now demonstrated that there was a basic unity between himself and them.

 

There is much disagreement about when this visit to Jerusalem recorded in Chapter 2 took place. The Book of Acts mentions five Jerusalem visits made by Paul after his conversion: (1) the visit after he left Damascus (Acts 9:26-30; Gal. 1:18-20); (2) the famine visit (Acts 11:27-30); (3) the visit to attend the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1-30); (4) the visit at the end of the second missionary journey (Acts 18:22); (5) the final visit which resulted in Paul’s Caesarean imprisonment (Acts 21:15-23:35).

 

The controversy stems from Paul’s writing in verse 1, “¹Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also”  We have to discern where Paul is counting from to determine the fourteen years.  Some scholars contend that he is referring to fourteen years after his conversion, and others believe he is referring to fourteen years after his first visit to Jerusalem. 

 

The two visits to Jerusalem that are possibilities are the famine visit in Acts 11 and the Jerusalem Council visit of Acts 15. 

 

Title:   New Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Testament Volume

 

 

The view that this visit was connected with the Jerusalem council, however,
has some difficulty because it can be argued that Paul would have mentioned the
decision of the council regarding the topic of circumcision, which was one of the
main reasons he wrote to the Galatians. But in support of the view that this visit
was the occasion of the council, it may be stated first that Paul had a desire to
show the Galatians that his authority was independent of the other apostles—so
the decision of the council was not to be taken into consideration by the
Galatians when they were to obey his teaching. His authority was above that of a
council, because he was an accredited apostle. Second, Paul was arguing his
point on the grounds of principle rather than authoritative decisions. It would
have been pointless for the Galatians to disregard one set of laws only to be
bound by another. Third, the decree of the council of Jerusalem did not go as far
as Paul did in this instance. All that was decided at Jerusalem was that the mosaic
law would not be imposed on Gentiles, while Paul here asserts that the mosaic
law has to be transcended. Finally, the Galatians were obeying the mosaic law of
circumcision not merely as a means of salvation but as a means of furthering the
perfection of their spiritual lives (3:3; 4:21). This view would have been
supported by the Jerusalem council’s decree and thus be of no value to Paul in
his presentation. Paul dealt with the Galatians much more directly, stating that
Christ would be useless to them if they tried to be justified by the law

 

 

Regardless of where you place the visit, we can still look at what took place in the visit.  In this passage we see Paul having a private consultation with the elders of the Jerusalem church, followed by a public discussion (perhaps with the entire Jerusalem Council), and ending with a personal commitment to continue the ministry.

 

Private Consultation (V 1-2)

 

Paul and Barnabas had been ministering among the Gentiles for quite some time, and their reputations had grown.  The body of believers from the Gentile lands was growing as well and many were saved.  It would appear however that many in the Jewish church were a bit upset that the new Gentile coverts were not following through with circumcision in order to become Jews.  Basically, what was being taught as we see in Acts 15:1 is that a person must first become a Jew before they can become a Christian. 

Acts 15:1 (KJV)
¹And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

 

This was contrary to the message of grace that Paul had been preaching.  Submitting to circumcision was in effect covenanting, or agreeing, to fully accept Mosaic law handed down for generations.  Paul however would have contended that our “circumcision” was a circumcision of the heart.

 

Colossians 2:8 through Colossians 2:11 (KJV)
⁸Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. ⁹For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. ¹⁰And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: ¹¹In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

 

If we are to accept that this meeting Paul is relating in Galatians 2 is the Jerusalem Council meeting of Acts 15 we then may see that Paul and Barnabas confronted the Judaizers about their false teachings.  This resulted in a spirited debate (or perhaps we might even say a heated argument) which cried out for resolution. 

 

Acts 15:2 (KJV)
²When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

 

We see in our passage tonight where Paul desired a private meeting with “them which were of reputation,” to discuss what Paul was teaching.  Paul recognized that his ministry was in jeopardy because of the actions of emissaries (official or not) of the Jerusalem Church. 

 

Title:   IVP New Testament Commentary: Galatians

Author:   Hansen, G. Walter

 

Paul’s references to the original apostles as those who seemed to be leaders
(v. 2), those who seemed to be important (v. 6) and those reputed to be pillars (v.
9) do not indicate that he was rejecting their apostolic authority but that he was
calling into question an exaggerated importance that had evidently been given to
them in the early church, an importance that threatened to place their personal
authority above the absolute authority of the truth of the gospel. As Holmberg
notes, “According to Paul every apostle is subordinated to the Gospel and is
authoritative because and insofar as he is a faithful preacher of this one and only
Gospel—not because he knew the historical Jesus or has access to old and
reliable traditions about him” (1978:29).

 

Paul had a problem with someone within the fellowship.  We see that Paul did what was proper by discussing the situation.  The outcome of this meeting was victorious for Paul.  The apostles affirmed Paul’s teachings as being valid representations of the faith.  It wasn’t so much that Paul was unsure of his message, but rather that he wanted the leaders in Jerusalem to understand it and affirm it.

 

Public Discussion (V 2-5)

 

It would seem in verse 5 that the same Jews who were opposing him in Antioch had followed him to Jerusalem.  Paul and Barnabas made no effort to compromise with them, or to change their stance.  They continued to preach that there was only one way to salvation and that was through Christ in grace. 

 

An important point to remember is that it was Peter who spoke on behalf of the missionaries.  We will need to remember that as we see a different confrontation between Peter and Paul at a later date.

 

Acts 15:7 through Acts 15:11 (KJV)
⁷And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. ⁸And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; ⁹And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. ¹⁰Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

 

The decisions that were made in the private group were made publicly before the multitude.  This is important because the whole crowd needed to see that the different “factions” of the church were working together rather than against each other.

 

In his early years, American landscape photographer Ansel

Adams studied piano and showed some talent. At one party,

however, as Adams played Chopin's F Major Nocturne he recalled

that "In some strange way my right had started off in F-sharp

major while my left had behaved well in F-major. I could not

bring them together. I went through the entire nocturne with the

hands separated by a half-step."

 

The next day a fellow guest gave Adams a no-nonsense review

of his performance: "You never missed a wrong note!"

·        DailyWalk, May 14, 1992

 

We too must remember the stand that Paul was taking.  Paul’s concern was for the truth of the Gospel, not the peace in the church.  He knew full well that his views were contentious among the brethren, but he correctly pointed out that truth took precedence over harmony.  Paul never missed a wrong note either!

 

People have always tried to insist upon being saved by faith in Christ PLUS something—Good works, the Ten Commandments, whatever—but that is not what Christ taught, and it isn’t what Paul taught. 

 

Personal Commitment  (v 6-10)

 

It was the hope of those who opposed Paul that he would have been “taken to task” by the Jerusalem church when he made his appearance there.  Paul makes it clear in verse 6 that he really didn’t care much about what the other apostles thought.

 

Galatians 2:6 (KJV)
⁶But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:

 

It’s as if Paul is saying he didn’t need their affirmation, he had the affirmation of one who is greater.  All he really wanted them to do was to acknowledge the fruits of his labor.

 

Not only did the assembly approve Paul’s Gospel, and oppose Paul’s enemies, but they encouraged Paul’s ministry and recognized publicly that God had committed the Gentile aspect of His work into Paul’s hands. They could add nothing to Paul’s message or ministry, and they dared not take anything away. There was agreement and unity: one Gospel would be preached to Jews and to Gentiles.

 

Paul was committed to evangelizing the Gentiles.  He took on this commitment and did his best to stick to it, even in the face of adversity. 

 

We see Paul giving meaning to his theological commitments by offering a personal commitment to take care of the poor in verses 9 & 10. 

 

 ⁹And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. ¹⁰Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

Paul, along with the church, recognized that everyone had different jobs within the body, but the final mission was the same.

 

The Judaizers continued to dog Paul as he went from city to city spreading God’s word.  We will see next week as we look at the remainder of chapter 2 where they cause him grief once again.  There is little question that the Judaizers went to the churches of Galatia to sow their seeds of discord, and for this reason Paul had to write the letter we are now studying.

 

A fortune-teller studied the hand of a young man and said, “You will be poor and very unhappy until you are thirty-seven years old.”

The young man responded, “Well, after that, what will happen? Will I be rich and happy?”

The fortune-teller said, “No, you’ll still be poor, but you’ll be used to it after that.”

 

Paul never got used to false teachings in church.  Neither should we.