成績單

Henry Clay was an American congressman, senator, and secretary of state. His negotiating abilities earned him the nickname, the “Great Compromiser.” He was able to bring opposing parties together to find common ground. Frankly, we could use more politicians like that in our world today.

But when it comes to the truth of the gospel of Christ, there can never be any compromise. And as it related to faith in Christ alone for salvation, the apostle Paul would never have earned the nickname, the “Great Compromiser.” He stood firm on the truth of Scripture. Frankly, we could use more people like that in the church today.

As we set sail into Galatians 2, it becomes apparent that the opponents of Paul were the Judaizers. These were Jewish teachers who insisted that followers of Christ must also follow the Mosaic law.

The issue centered around Gentiles who believed in Christ. The Judaizers were teaching, among other things, that these Gentile converts had to receive the rite of circumcision. In fact, Acts 15 fills in the backstory that the Judaizers were going so far as to make circumcision a requirement for salvation. This was not the gospel of grace that Paul was preaching. 

Back in chapter 1, Paul made it clear that his message had been given to him directly from the Lord. Now, here in chapter 2, Paul makes it clear that his message has been approved by the other apostles.

Paul refers to a meeting as he writes in verse 1: “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.” This tells us that Paul has been ministering independently from the Jerusalem church, but his message was no different from theirs. And this visit affirmed that.

It is not clear when this visit took place. It could have been when Paul and Barnabas brought the relief offering in Acts 11, or perhaps when they visited Jerusalem for the great council meeting of Acts 15, which dealt with the issue of Gentiles being added to the church.

Whenever it occurred, Paul’s point is that his visit achieved the support of the other apostles. It was the Judaizers who were preaching a corrupted message.

Paul did not doubt his message, but he brought Titus along as an illustration. Paul writes here in verse 3 that Titus “was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek [Gentile].” In other words, the Jerusalem church—the very center of Jewish Christianity—did not insist that Titus experience the rite of circumcision, nor did they require it of any other Gentile converts.

Paul cuts to the chase in verse 4, declaring that the Judaizers are “false brothers [who] slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery.”  

Returning to slavery to the law is essentially rejecting Christ’s work on the cross. This is a serious matter, and this is why Paul writes in verse 5 that he did not “yield in submission [to them] even for a moment.” Paul was no great compromiser here; he was digging in his heels. Why? He explains: “So that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.”

The Jerusalem church leaders were in agreement. Paul states in verse 9 that James, Peter, and John gave him and Barnabas “the right hand of fellowship.”

Here is the point: If the Galatian churches rejected Paul’s message, they were rejecting the teaching of the apostles.

Beginning in verse 11, Paul refers to a confrontation. And let me tell you ahead of time, this incident is disappointing and unfortunate, but it is also instructive. In fact, one of the evidences that Scripture is inspired is that the Bible does not polish the halo of leading Christians—even the apostle Peter.

Here is what happened. When Paul and Barnabas were ministering in the Antioch church, consisting of both Jews and Gentiles, Peter came to visit. And Paul writes in verse 11, “I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.” Wow! That is pretty strong language! Here are the two most prominent apostles in the New Testament, and one of them is rebuking the other one for making a big mistake.

What did Peter do? Paul explains in verses 12-13:

For before certain men came from James, he [Peter] was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

In other words, Peter was hanging out with Gentiles, enjoying non-kosher meals and fellowshipping with uncircumcised converts to Christ. But then some Jewish leaders arrived from Jerusalem, and Peter turned his back on the Gentiles. He did not want to offend the Jews. Peter was earning the nickname, “The Great Compromiser”—and that was not a good thing at all. So, Paul confronted Peter’s hypocrisy.

Apparently, the matter was settled quickly, and to Peter’s credit, he evidently apologized and made things right again with his Gentile brothers in Christ.

So much hypocrisy today is driven by the fear of man, by the pressure to conform to some institutional idea of holiness or some popular idea of what a Christian should or should not do. Frankly, we should be more concerned with conforming to the teaching of Scripture, regardless of what others say and do. And just like the apostle Peter, sometimes we need somebody in our lives like the apostle Paul who is concerned enough about us to confront us and help us recognize the hypocrisy in our lives.

Now with that, Paul recites a central truth of the gospel in verse 16: “A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”

For Jews and Gentiles, being justified—declared right with God through faith in Christ—frees us from trying to perfectly keep the law. But, as Paul says, “If I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor” (verse 18). In other words, “If I lead people back into the law, and away from grace, I am building back up the false teaching that justification comes through works.”

Paul then writes this in verse 20:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

What a powerful verse! Through faith we are identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. We died to sin and its power; we were heading in the wrong direction, but now, through Christ we are heading in the right direction.

I remember reading of an event in college football history. It was the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football game when a player picked up a fumble and began running for a touchdown. The fans were screaming and cheering. The problem was, this football player, Roy Riegels, was running toward the wrong goal line. Finally, just before crossing the goal line, he was stopped by one of his own teammates, only to be immediately tackled. Until his death, in 1993, he was known as “Wrong Way Riegels.” He ran as fast as he could—for 65 yards—but he was running in the wrong direction.

Well, the same thing can happen to an apostle, to devout believers, to entire churches. We can get confused by the pressure and the noise around us.

Paul effectively says here, “Let us keep heading in the right direction. Let us not run back to the law but toward grace and the freedom in Christ that comes by faith in Him alone.”