Galatians Lesson 4 - Fairhaven Baptist Church

Galatians

Lesson 4

Text: Galatians 2:1-10

Intro:Paul is going to continue his letter to the Galatians by recounting an event that happened shortly after he left them at the beginning of their Christian walk, and their establishment.

Paul’s Fight for Liberty,
1. The Team,
  1. Paul,
    1. We do not have to say anything about Paul, we covered that in Lesson one and Two.
  2. Barnabas, (The Encourager)
    1. His name says all about Barnabas we really need to know,
      - “the son of encouragement.
      - It seems that every time we see him, he is encouraging someone,
    2. Acts 11:19-24, when the Gospel went to the gentiles in Antioch, it was Barnabas that sent to encourage them,
    3. Acts 11:25&26, it was Barnabas that enlisted Paul to minister to the Gentiles at Antioch,
    4. Acts 11:27-30, it was Barnabas that helped the poor,
    5. It was Barnabas that went with Paul on his first mission trip,
    6. It was Barnabas that took John Mark under his wings after he dropped out of the first trip,
    7. we all need someone like Barnabas in our lives, as well as being like Barnabas for others.
  3. Titus (The Gentile)
    1. Titus 1:4 Paul calls him “my own son”
      - this may just be a term of endearment, but more likely it was reference that Titus was saved under the ministry of Paul,
      - Titus would be useful to Paul in Jerusalem, almost as a picture of the gentiles that were being saved. (Exhibit A)
2. The Place,
  1. Jerusalem,
    1. “By Revelation”
      - this is simply saying he was lead of God to go,
        
        some things need to be handled face to face, and not by a letter.
        
        This is one of the reasons Titus would be useful in this situation,
        
        the same reason missionaries bring pictures:
      - Lamentations 3:51a “…Mine eye affecteth mine heart”
    2. OK, here is a question. Why does this letter seem to take a turn from ch 1 to ch 2?
      - I hear some people say when they read Paul’s letter, that he tends to jump from one topic to another.
      - But in reality he is very systematic in his approach.
      - What is the majors question Paul is addressing?
        
        Ch 1, vs.6 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the Grace of Christ…”
        
        So the Questions are: Why have you left from the gospel of grace?
        
        And, Who has taken you from it?
      - So that being said, why did Paul start talking about going to Jerusalem?
  2. Jerusalem faced the same problem,
    1. Acts 15:1&2 “ And 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. 2 When 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. ”
      - So what were the Jews teaching? Except you be circumcised, you cannot be saved.
        
        Grace plus anything is no longer grace.
        
        Paul saw this (at Jerusalem) as a threat to the gospel.
        
        So Paul, Barnabas, and Titus went to talk about it.
    2. If this had went on unchecked, then the Jerusalem church would have become simply a sub-sect of Judaism.
      - They would have been an off shoot of the Jews religion.
        
        Remember in Ch. 1, Paul was quick to distance himself from “The Jews Religion” (Vs.13&14)
      - Paul went to tell them, the gospel he taught to the gentiles (vs.2) is very different that what they are teaching at Jerusalem.
    3. Paul also had the foresight to speak to the ones of “Reputation” in private.
      - That is to say the leaders, and well know teachers.
        
        What would have happened if Paul would have went to Jerusalem, got an audience with the congregation, and then lit into the teaching?
        
        The Leaders may have doubled down, and went on the defensive.
  3. His Defense at Jerusalem,
    1. Titus,
      - he is a gentile, but the Lord has not compelled him to be circumcised.
      - But, this according to vs.2 caused an argument.
    2. The Historical account:
      - Acts 15:7-11 “And 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. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now 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? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
      - Vs. 12-21 James stands to give his voice on the matter:
        
        He declares, that what Paul is saying is consistent with what the prophets of Old Testament have taught.
        
        And that “we” (the church) trouble them not, only that they should “ abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. ” vs.20
    3. After all of this, Vs.9 of Galatians 2,
      - James, Peter, and John gave the right hand of fellowship.
        
        So they said, you preach to the Gentiles, and we will preach to the Jews, and let us all remember the poor.
    4. So before we close, an move on to Paul Vs. Peter, we still have the question on the table, Why switch form talking to the Galatians about the grace they departed from, and what happened in Jerusalem?
      - It’s simple, it is to tell the Gentiles, you are not experiencing something new, this is something that even the church in Jerusalem faced.
      - But we dealt with it head on, and you need to as well.
3. How The Jerusalem Counsel dealt with the crises: Acts 15:7-20
  1. Turned their Attention to God,
    1. take notice that in the first few verses, there was debate, and dispute.
      - Then Paul stood and stated that “God made a choice among us” that I (Paul) should go and teach the gentiles,
        
        this was god’s choice, and we all agreed on it. We all felt it was God’s will then.
      - Then, God, saved them, and filled them with the Holy Ghost, just as he did us, Vs.8
      - God made no difference, but purified their hearts by “Faith” vs.9 not of works.
    2. Paul points out, the decision to add to grace was made by man, not by God.
      - That even the fathers couldn’t live according to adding to grace.
    3. Acts 15:11 “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as ”
    4. Vs.12, everyone turns their attention to God,
  2. Turned their Attention to the Word of God,
    1. After everyone was paying attention, then James stood, and directed them to the words of the Old Testament Prophets,
      - saying, this is exactly what God was saying then.
      - This is consistent with the word of God.
        
        When there is a disagreement, first we need to switch the attention to God, then turn to the scripture to see if either of the points line up with scripture.
  3. Turn their Attention to Unity,
    1. a little insight of the events here, is in Galatians 2:9, the right hand of fellowship
      - once we turn to God, abide by His word, then we will by default be in unity.
      - Also look at vs:22 of Acts 15, “Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barnabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren”

Points for Home:

We are not the first to fight the battles we are facing right now.
- God has helped others through it, and He will help us.
When we have differences with others:
- first, turn the attention to God,
- Then, turn the attention to the Scriptures.
  - By doing this, we take away self, pride, or our own motives, or preconceptions.
Finally, in the end, We should strive to maintain Unity.
- God is pleased when we dwell together in unity: See Psalm 133.