Sermon notes: Galatians Series, Number 11...

How good it is that neither the Apostle to the Gentiles, nor the Apostles to the Jews there in the Jerusalem church, sought to issue a compromise in order to allow the false prophets (or the more rigorous among the believers) to save face. No, instead it was a clean break with the past:

Verse 9: and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

* G. K. Chesterton On Arguments:

People generally quarrel because they cannot argue.

* * *

There are two kinds of peacemakers in the modern world; and they are both, though in various ways, a nuisance. The first peacemaker is the man who goes about saying that he agrees with everybody. He confuses everybody. The second peacemaker is the man who goes about saying that everybody agrees with him. He enrages everybody. Between the two of them they produce a hundred times more disputes and distractions than we poor pugnacious people would ever have thought of in our lives.

NOTE: This is number 11 in a series on Galatians. If this is your first time reading sermon notes here, please take time to read a helpful explanation at the bottom of this post.

This Lord’s Day, we turn to our eleventh in a series of sermons on the New Testament book of Galatians...

And this week we return to chapter two, the first ten verses.

* Galatians 2:1-10 This is the Word of God, eternally true.

Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. 3 But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. 6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)--well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They only asked us to remember the poor--the very thing I also was eager to do.”

The Apostle Paul is led by the Holy Spirit to go up to Jerusalem, and there he submits the Gospel doctrine he has been preaching to the Apostles privately, to be reviewed or tested by them. And what is at stake?

We gather from everything Paul has said so far, concerning his unwillingness to have any of the Apostles interfere with his preaching to the Gentiles the Gospel exactly as he received it from God, that his submission of that Gospel to the Jerusalem Apostles is not the submission of a man looking for approval from his superiors, but rather the submission of a man seeking to know how others do or do not agree? And on what seems to be a take-it-or-leave-it basis.

In other words, the Apostle Paul is submitting His Gospel preaching to those holding the office of apostle, but it’s clearly his, Paul’s, commitment that if they don’t agree (or even if they disapprove), he will not cease the work to which God called him. On this matter, the Apostle Paul has a forehead like flint. He will not yield to the false shepherds who are seeking to force the Gentiles back into the bondage of the Old Covenant through circumcision:

4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

And what was the conclusion of the apostles at the home church in Jerusalem? Did they divide Christ between the Jews and Gentiles, or did they become one in Christ, slave and free, Jew and Greek, male and female?

It has become fashionable in our post-Holocaust world to declare that there are two continuing covenants of redemption, one for the Gentiles and another for the Jews. It is said there is a Peter-Gospel (for the Jews) and a Paul-Gospel (for the Gentiles). The Peter-Gospel observes the law whereas the Paul-Gospel does not observe the law.

Or, lately, it is put more in terms of Jews getting to bypass Jesus the Messiah while Gentiles must pass through Jesus the Messiah.

But what of our Lord’s Great Commission?

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Galatians 2:16 …a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

Galatians 3:27-29 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

Here is their conclusion:

6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)--well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

This was the victory that the Apostle Paul had hoped and prayed for—that the pillars of the home church in Jerusalem would agree with the Holy Spirit that there is one Gospel, the same for Jews as for Gentiles; but that it is fitting that Peter and Paul have different emphases.

This is not to say that Paul was forbidden to go to the Jews nor that Peter was barred from the Gentiles; only that they both focussed their work on one of those two groups.

Was Paul, then, being subject to these pillars? Partly yes and Partly no.

At times, this is how we must live the Christian life—trusting the Spirit of God for the future, knowing that He is the One Who has led us to this point, but not knowing at all what tomorrow brings. Defeat or victory, it is all in God’s hands.

The “right hand of fellowship” is the agreement of the pillars of the Jerusalem church that the Apostle Paul is their co-worker, and able to be trusted. Also that they (James and Cephas/Peter and John on one side, Paul and Barnabas on the other) have agreed on the true doctrine of the Gospel; specifically that the Gentiles are not to be circumcised.

How good it is that neither the Apostle to the Gentiles, nor the Apostles to the Jews there in the Jerusalem church sought to issue a compromise in order to allow the false prophets (or the more rigorous among the believers within the home church there in Jerusalem), to save face.

No, instead it was a clean break with the past:

9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

* G. K. Chesterton On Arguments:

People generally quarrel because they cannot argue.

And also:

There are two kinds of peacemakers in the modern world; and they are both, though in various ways, a nuisance. The first peacemaker is the man who goes about saying that he agrees with everybody. He confuses everybody. The second peacemaker is the man who goes about saying that everybody agrees with him. He enrages everybody. Between the two of them they produce a hundred times more disputes and distractions than we poor pugnacious people would ever have thought of in our lives.

But then we have one last statement coming out of this consultation in Jerusalem:

Verse 10 They only asked us to remember the poor--the very thing I also was eager to do.

It’s curious that this is how the section ends, with an ethical commitment. Why do we find this agreement between the pillars of the Jerusalem church and the Apostle to the Gentiles working on the road, traveling all the time with congregations he had been instrumental in planting in cities across the Roman Empire?

The Jerusalem church was poor, being in a poor nation that, lately, had been hit by famine and war; but beyond that, the church in Jerusalem had been subject to harsh persecution—you remember that the Apostle Paul had been one of the principle leaders of that persecution for a while—so its needs were well-known, and real:

Romans 15:25-27 …but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.”

1 Corinthians 16:1-3 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 3 When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem;

But then again, even while allowing for the financial need of Jerusalem and a debt of gratitude to those who had preceded the Gentiles in faith, why would there be a command concerning righteousness and holiness, a command in danger of being interpreted as legalism, so closely associated with this section of Galatians which has been dealing with the battle against legalism in the church? If the followers of Christ were in danger of doing works (circumcision) so that they could prove themselves zealous Christians and boast somewhat of their own salvation; and if Paul hit that issue head on, absolutely demanding that all acknowledge that such human merit was accursed and that it had not been a part of the Gospel God had revealed to him when he was first called, nor had the pillars of the church in Jerusalem told him he was missing anything in the Gospel he was preaching; but rather, they had extended to him and his Gospel the right hand of Christian fellowship; why not leave well enough alone? He’s worked so hard to rid the Galatian church of works-righteousness; why insert it here at the end of this magnificent autobiographical defense of the Gospel of free grace—not free grace plus works, even such compassionate works as “remembering the poor?”

But of course, there is no conflict between grace and holiness—holiness which has real flesh and blood actions and duties and disciplines, one of wich is always a heart for the poor. How can those who love Jesus, and remember his compassionate teaching and preaching and healing—particularly his account of the sheep and the goats—not give themselves to remembering the poor, remembering that He, their Lord, had warned them:

Matthew 25:32-40 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

We must recognize that we have not been saved to hedonism, but to taking up our cross with our Master, doing the works He has done. We have been saved with a purpose behind our salvation, and that purpose is always to remember the poor. We have been saved from works-righteousness to the gratitude and love-righteousness that is at the center of our hearts due to our union with Christ, our becoming one with and in Christ.

There is no conflict between holiness—the sort of holiness that exposes evil and devotes itself to the good—and exhortations to that holiness that come from our shepherds whether they be Peter and James and John, the pillars of the church in Jerusalem; or Paul, the pillar of the church across the Gentile world.

Thus it is that the recording of the conclusions of the Council of Jerusalem found in Acts 15 and here, both of which make it clear that circumcision is to be denied any place in the Gospel (because “by works of righteousness will no man be saved”), we find seamlessly woven into the text commands for specific acts of holiness:

Acts 15:19-21 (Peter said, in the context of the decision of the Jerusalem church, that the Antiochan Gentiles were not to be expected to be circumcised, summed up the council’s deliberations as follows) Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. 21 “For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.””

Similarly, Paul writes in Romans 3:

Romans 3:28-31 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. 31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.”

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

And so our text concludes with this agreement being recorded, between the pillars of the home church in Jerusalem and the pillar of the church scattered across the Roman Empire, the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul:

Verse 10 They only asked us to remember the poor--the very thing I also was eager to do.

He, Paul, was eager to do it.

Are we eager to do it, also?

* * *

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