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Right Behavior, Wrong Belief (Galatians 2:1-10)
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Right Behavior, Wrong Belief (Galatians 2:1-10)
Galatians: The Truth of the Gospel :: A Study of Galatians
Sunday Message recorded 05 September 2021
by Associate Pastor Josh Shell
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
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Transcript
Introduction to Galatians
00:00:00
Speaker
Well, good morning, everyone. How are we doing?
00:00:04
Speaker
Well, hey, it is good to be with you all this morning. I hope you guys have all had a great week. And for those of you guys who are visiting with us, we are so very thankful you are here. I hope you've been blessed. And I am really looking forward to today's message. I hope you guys are, too, as we continue to walk through the book of Galatians, this letter in which Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia. So if you guys have your Bibles, go ahead and open those up to the book of Galatians. We're going to be in Galatians chapter 2.
Core Issues in Galatia and Modern Parallels
00:00:30
Speaker
And I want to bring to light the true issue at the heart of these churches. And that is ultimately what many churches today are still struggling with. Y'all ready for this? And it's the title of the sermon, that we might have the right behavior, but we are founded upon the wrong belief.
00:00:55
Speaker
before I lose you, before you think I'm crazy, just hear me out with this as we look at these verses, okay? So let's read these verses together beginning in verse one of chapter two. Would you guys stand with me please as we read this? That's right.
00:01:13
Speaker
All right, so picking up here in verse one, chapter two, it says this.
Paul's Journey to Jerusalem
00:01:16
Speaker
Then after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. This is Paul talking. I went up because of a revelation, and set before them, though privately before those who seemed influential, the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.
00:01:43
Speaker
Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus so that they might bring us into slavery, to them we do not yield in submission, even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
00:02:03
Speaker
And from those who seem to be influential, what they were makes no difference to me, for God shows no partiality. Those I say who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted to the gospel to the circumcised, for he who has worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles,
00:02:31
Speaker
And when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave me the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."
00:02:52
Speaker
Will you guys pray with me one more time? Lord God, we thank you for these verses and I pray, God, that as we work through them, that you will just truly reveal in each and every one of our hearts the things in which we need to cast out, Lord, that we need to surrender to you, that we need to lift to you so that you can come and fill our hearts, so that we might be on the right track, Lord, that we will be focused on the true gospel and not a false gospel.
00:03:18
Speaker
So Lord, please be with us during this time and lead us through this text. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. All right, you guys may be seated. Thank you.
Mistaking Tradition for the True Gospel
00:03:29
Speaker
So again, I'm super excited about these verses because this really does speak to an issue that is still around today in our churches here in America and around the world. And it's talking about a false gospel, right?
00:03:43
Speaker
And the reason why I labeled this sermon right behavior, wrong belief is because many of us are convinced that by tradition, we are behaving correctly. We are behaving and we are worshiping the way that God intended us to worship. But really, we're not founded upon the right belief. Instead of being founded on the gospel, we walk in man's tradition. We walk in the traditions of our ancestors.
00:04:12
Speaker
which what we're gonna see here today is very much like what was going on in the churches of Galatia with the Judaizers. So let's look at this together, okay? So picking up here in verses one and two, I'm gonna ask us three questions that I really hope are thought-provoking and that are gonna challenge us as we look at if our beliefs are truly lined up with the gospel. And the first one is this, are you listening to the right voice? And the important thing I want us to see here in these verses is how Paul was called to go to Jerusalem.
Paul's Divine Calling and True Gospel
00:04:41
Speaker
Okay? At first glance, it seems like he was called by the apostles, right? When you read through that in verse two, he says, I want it because of revelation and set before them the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles. But if you look more carefully and more intently at how he was called, he was called again by a revelation, by God. Just like he was in chapter one, when God called him to go and preach the gospel to the Gentiles initially, he is now being called once again by God to go up to Jerusalem.
00:05:12
Speaker
So again, he wasn't called by the apostles. He was called by God, which makes me believe that this was a separate account. But why is it important for us to recognize this? Well, it's important because Paul is demonstrating for us here as the church, the spiritual position our hearts must be in at all times when we walk with the Lord.
00:05:35
Speaker
Like I said, and some may seem like this is an insignificant detail and that it's easy to look past, but this should not be something that we look past. This would be something that we should stop and ponder on and address because it hits hard to the obedience that we have to God and not to man. This one statement is the heartbeat of Paul's life and ministry and it should be ours as well. What I mean by that is that ever since God called Paul,
00:06:06
Speaker
His heart has been open and listening to God the entire time. Wherever Paul went, it's because the Holy Spirit led him. Whatever Paul said, it's because that's what the Holy Spirit told him to say. Not what Paul, or not what Peter said, not what James said, not what John said, not what any of the other teachers said, but rather what the Spirit said.
00:06:25
Speaker
And ultimately this confirms the calling of Paul that we found in verses 15 through 17 of chapter one and his complete submission and obedience to Christ. He went up because of a revelation given by God, not by man. And so he is in tune with the spirit. He's in tune with the right voice. So again, what voice are we listening to?
00:06:47
Speaker
And as a result of this heart condition, it allowed Paul, Barnabas, and Titus, as we see here in the next few verses, to go and to speak to those who seemed influential, right, to the leaders of the church, the pillars of the church at that time, and to set before them the gospel that they had been preaching to the Gentiles. Now, what Paul is doing here, this is not Paul going to these apostles and trying to get their affirmation of the gospel in which he's preaching, okay?
00:07:14
Speaker
What Paul is doing here, he's not seeking their approval. He's not worried about the gospel message in which he's been preaching as the wrong gospel. He's not worried that his gospel is wrong, but rather he's going to make sure that his gospel is not being hindered by another false gospel. He's going and he's conferring with these other apostles to make sure that they're preaching the same gospel that he is and that the gospel message in which they're preaching is not hindering what he has already done and what he's going to continue to do.
Upholding True Beliefs
00:07:42
Speaker
AKA, he is holding them accountable. God called him to go and to make sure that their gospel is not being defiled. Which leads me to the second question that I want us to look at. And we've seen this in verses three through five. It says, are your beliefs upheld by the word of God? So are you listening to the right voice? Are you listening to the Holy Spirit?
00:08:08
Speaker
And then now, are your beliefs being held up by the word of God and not by man? Verse three here, we see that Paul is addressing this very question here, not only to the apostles, but to those who are being led astray by the false brothers, to the church. He's challenging the church. He's saying, hey, are you listening, are your beliefs being held up by the word of God?
00:08:36
Speaker
Because in verse three there it says this, it says, But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. This is not by coincidence that Paul brought Titus. This is actually a test for the church, for those apostles.
00:08:54
Speaker
Because as it says there, Titus was a Greek, which means he was a Gentile. So if the apostles were falling away from the gospel to a false gospel, they would have forced Titus into circumcision by the law, because that's what the Judaizers were teaching, right? Those false brothers that were coming into church. They were distorting the gospel to think that it was not by grace and grace alone, but rather it was grace plus the law that you are able to be saved.
00:09:23
Speaker
So Paul is no coincidence that he brought Titus because he wanted to test the apostles to make sure that they were not challenged him to be circumcised. And they didn't do that, which is huge. That's a huge praise in this chapter.
00:09:34
Speaker
But there were others in the church, though, that did. And that's exactly what we see in verse four. It says, yet because of false brothers secretly brought in who slipped into spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus so that we, or that they might bring us into slavery, to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
00:09:58
Speaker
So we see Paul and Barnabas here in Titus opposing the false brothers. And though the apostles did not force circumcision upon Titus, there were, again, those false brothers in the church who did try to, and those were the Judaizers, okay? And if you guys remember, the Judaizers were Jewish converts to Christianity, okay? So they were Jews who now follow Christ.
00:10:22
Speaker
But what they are doing is that there are Jewish converts who are insisting that the Gentile believers, those who are not Jews, that they must adopt Jewish customs and Jewish law as a condition for salvation. That's what their goal was. And guys, praise the Lord that this isn't an issue for us today because we're all Gentiles, okay?
00:10:47
Speaker
So if this was still the case, we would have to be forced into following the Jewish culture, okay? So, okay, they were stuck on salvation through works of the law and not by unconditional grace. And this is where the true issue lies within the church of Galatia, because they were being deceived and they were falling after this false gospel. A gospel gained through works and not through grace and grace alone. And Paul addresses them here, and it says this, that he did not give in or waver even for a moment to their deception or false teaching.
00:11:19
Speaker
so that he might preserve the true gospel message for us today. That is so huge for us. The fact that Paul was so confident, so bold that he, Barnabas and Titus were willing to stand against this false gospel because if they did not do that, we would not have the gospel today. We would have a false gospel. Y'all feeling me?
00:11:50
Speaker
But how unfortunate is it today that many churches still fall after this false gospel? Many churches and many people still fall after this false gospel, after Paul and so many other heroes of the faith fought and died to preserve the gospel for us. And we have brothers and sisters overseas right now who are literally dying today for the gospel message.
00:12:23
Speaker
But yet here we are giving into a false gospel. Lord forbid if we go out and we share the truth of Jesus here in our community with no chance of persecution or no chance of people coming against us. But yet Paul does it for us so that way he can preserve the gospel message for us.
00:12:49
Speaker
So what's happening is that in our churches today, instead of allowing the word of God to be our filter for our beliefs, we are choosing to allow man's tradition to deceive us and to lead us astray. If you don't believe me, it doesn't take very much. You don't have to look very far to see that in the churches today.
00:13:10
Speaker
There's so many traditions that we choose to follow that are not biblical. And I feel like I'm stepping on toes right now and I'm sorry, but actually, I'm not sorry. Because we've gotten away from this. And it's time for us to wake up. It's time for us to make sure that our beliefs are being upheld by the word of God and not by man's tradition. Because if Paul were here today writing this letter, he'd be saying the same exact thing that I'm saying to you right now.
00:13:45
Speaker
Because what this does, if we fall after man's tradition, it leads us to legalism, which is the same thing that the Judaizers were doing to the church there in Galatia. But let me make something very clear for all of us today this morning. Y'all ready for this? The gospel message, which the true gospel message which Paul defended is sufficient.
00:14:08
Speaker
It is sufficient in every way and all things. It is perfect. We don't need to add anything to it. We don't need to take anything away from it. It is all inclusive and it is sufficient for everything that we need to face each day. It is complete and right. That word sufficient here in the Greek is archaeo, meaning to be possessed of unfailing strength, to be strong, to be enough, to be satisfied.
00:14:39
Speaker
It is sufficient. The gospel message of God's grace is sufficient for you and I. And that's exactly what we see again from Paul as he writes to a letter to the churches in Corinthians in second Corinthians chapter 12 verse nine says, but he said to me, talking about Jesus to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you for my power is what made perfect in your weakness.
00:15:06
Speaker
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest upon me, is what Paul is saying. And that's exactly where we all need to be today. We don't need to be ashamed of our weaknesses. We don't need to be ashamed of our failures, but rather that's where Christ is most glorified. That's where his strength is, is in our weakness.
00:15:31
Speaker
So again, my question to us this morning is, are you upholding your beliefs to the word of God? Because if you're not, you're just like the churches in Galatia. You're being led astray, you're being deceived. Which leads me to the third and final question I want us to look at. It is, are you surrounding yourself with true spiritual warriors of the faith? What does your accountability look like? What does your community look like? What do your friend groups look like?
00:16:03
Speaker
What are you watching on TV? What are you listening to on the radio? Is it an example of the gospel or is it an example of your flesh?
Unity Among Believers
00:16:20
Speaker
Ultimately, what we're seeing here in these last few verses of six through 10 is Paul communicating that there is no distinction among believers in Christ. Even among those who seemed influential
00:16:32
Speaker
those who seem to be pillars, but rather we are all unified under the gospel. And we see that here in verses six through 10. It says, and from those who seemed influential, though they were, makes no different, or what they were makes no difference to me, but God shows no partiality. Those I say who seemed influential added nothing to me.
00:16:57
Speaker
Okay, so this sounds like it's contradicting my question here because Paul is saying, I don't need these guys. It's what it's coming across as, but really it's the other way around. What we're gonna see here in the verses to follow is that Paul is actually creating a sense of unity and accountability among the believers here. Because what was happening here is that the Judaizers were lofting up the apostles in Jerusalem.
00:17:23
Speaker
They were lifting them up to make it seem like they were way more influential than anybody else in the church because they were trying to use them for their own benefit to preach their own gospel. They're like, hey, look at those guys. You need to follow after these guys because they're the ones who Christ called out to be apostles. They are so much greater than we are and they follow the law.
00:17:49
Speaker
But that's not the gospel message. And that's what Paul is addressing here. He says, it doesn't matter what they were, because that means no difference to me. Because they're no greater than I, but rather than my brothers in Christ. I'm going to hold them accountable. Just like Pastor Victor and I, we're no greater than any of you.
00:18:12
Speaker
Just like our church staff, none of them are greater than you. Neither are our deacons or anybody else in this church. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all unified in Christ. We are all going through the process of sanctification together. And we are called to go through this life together as one body of many members. So you guys need to hold us accountable just as much as we hold y'all accountable.
00:18:41
Speaker
I give you permission to call me out. Cool? Don't be afraid.
00:18:54
Speaker
So again, in verse 6 here, we see that Paul very sarcastically speaks of the apostles in what can be seen as a derogatory manner to eliminate a separation between them and their positions of the gospel. For that separation, again, like I said, was brought about by the Judaizers trying to make much of the apostles to make them seem more influential for the gospel because they were Jews. But what we see here in verses 7 and 8,
00:19:18
Speaker
is that the apostles don't let the Judaizers influence their beliefs, but rather they recognize the calling that has been placed on Paul and the gospel in which has been revealed to him and that he has been preaching. So the apostles withstand the false teaching, and they see the good work that's been going on in Paul's life.
00:19:39
Speaker
And so they see that the gospel in which Paul was called to go to the Gentiles is the same message in which Paul, well, Potter, wow, which is Peter was called to go give to the Jews. Now, this doesn't mean that there's two different gospels, okay? Some people may read this and see, well, there's a gospel for the Jews and there's a gospel for the Gentiles. Nope, this is not true. It's one gospel, just two different men going and sharing the same gospel to do different groups of people.
00:20:06
Speaker
Again, one body, many members sharing the same gospel. That's what's happening here. In verse nine, we see the result of the effectiveness and success of Paul's ministry to the Gentiles, and the apostles are eager to give Paul the right hand of fellowship to he and Barnabas. They see what's going on in the ministry in which it was going on throughout the region where Paul's been, and they're saying, okay, this is awesome.
00:20:32
Speaker
The same work that's going on here in Jerusalem among the believers is happening among the Gentiles, those whom we once hated. Y'all remember back in the gospels when James and John wanted to cast down fire upon the Samaritans? Yeah, those Gentiles, now they're saying, hey, no, this is good.
00:20:55
Speaker
Of course, you still see a little bit of that. They don't really wanna deal with the Gentiles, you know? So that's why they're saying, Paul, I wanna let you go to the Gentiles. I'll stay here with the Jews. But they're seeing the good work that's happening here and they're saying, hey, I'm gonna give you my right hand of fellowship to go to those Gentiles.
00:21:14
Speaker
I want to be in your sense of, I want to be in your corner. I want to be your accountability partner. I want to be there to make sure that you are staying on the right path as you are challenging us to stay on the right path. So again, who are you surrounding yourself with? To make sure that your beliefs are being upheld by the word of God so that you are listening to the right voice.
Accountability in Faith
00:21:39
Speaker
It's a biblical thing for us to walk in fellowship and community with one another to make sure that we are calling each other out in our sins. As long as we are doing it in true humility in the gospel.
00:21:53
Speaker
So this was a sign in an agreement of trust that they were listening, talking about the apostles in Jerusalem, that they were listening to the right voice and that they were upholding their beliefs by the very word of God. And now they're holding each other accountable as spiritual warriors of the faith.
00:22:11
Speaker
And this chapter, or these verses end with verse 10, which is really funny. It says that the only request that they asked was that Paul would remember the poor, which is the very thing Paul had already been doing this entire time. So Paul is like, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord that we're all on the right page here. That we all have the right behavior with the right belief and understanding of the gospel.
00:22:38
Speaker
This is Paul's affirmation here. For them to say, hey, the only thing that we ask of you is to go remember the poor. Paul's saying, yes, you got it. You better believe I'm gonna do that because that's what Jesus calls me to do, to go to the poor and to the widows. This is Paul's affirmation that they're in the right mind. Because if they would have looked at him and said, hey, all that we ask is that you go sacrifice. Go to the temple and preach.
00:23:07
Speaker
Go do this according to the law. That would have been a huge red flag for Paul, right? But what he's seeing here is that they say, go remember the poor, the very thing that he was eager to do. This is a beautiful picture here. So as we start wrapping up there, as we start concluding our time together in this context or in this text,
00:23:34
Speaker
I want us to really process through these questions on whether or not our behaviors, the way that we live our life daily is based upon the true gospel and not upon a false gospel. So again, the three questions, are you listening to the right voice? Are you listening to the voice of God? Are you listening to the voice of man?
00:24:00
Speaker
Again, as Paul says back in chapter one, for if I'm listening to man, I am no servant of Christ. Second question is, are your beliefs upheld by the word of God? Are you allowing the word of God to preserve the gospel of grace and grace alone in your heart? Or are you allowing other things to come in and to infiltrate
00:24:24
Speaker
Your beliefs. Are you allowing grace plus the law, grace plus tradition? Because if you're doing that, you are no better than the Galatians and you are being deceived. And you need to confess that and repent. Because you're not leading anybody to Christ that way. Third question, are you surrounding yourself with true spiritual worries of the faith? What does your community look like? What does your friend groups look like?
00:24:52
Speaker
I'm not saying that you shouldn't go and talk to unbelievers. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go and minister to those who don't know Christ. That's not what I'm saying, but rather what I'm saying is that you need to make sure that you have a solid group of individuals that are upon the foundation of Christ and Christ alone to hold you accountable when you do go and share your faith to those who don't know Christ. It is a very dangerous position to be in if you try to go and evangelize and you are by yourself.
00:25:23
Speaker
It's easy to think like, God, I was there in high school. I thought, again, I was a skateboarder. Okay, that group, it was kind of rough back then. And I thought, man, I'm a believer in Jesus. I'm gonna evangelize these people and I wanna bring them to Jesus. Nope. I got brought down so fast. Satan desires for us to work alone so that way he can ensnare us.
00:25:49
Speaker
But when you have a huge body and army of believers around you and you go into that, prayer warriors, whatever the case may be, you are stronger than ever, as long as you're faithful to the gospel. So again, what does your community look like? What does your fan groups look like? Do you have God-fearing accountability partners, mentors, or a small group that you can go to for questions when you're seeking?
00:26:18
Speaker
Who are you allowing to influence your thinking? Again, when Pastor Victor and I are up here giving you a message, you don't need to take that for gospel truth.
00:26:30
Speaker
We do our due diligence to study God's word. We do our due diligence to pray through it. And we pray every time that the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us through this message. But I challenge you, every time we give a message, you go home, you read this passage, you look over the notes and make sure that we are staying biblical. Because we are man, just like you. We are fallen. We are going through the process of sanctification as well.
00:27:02
Speaker
And there are so many pastors, ah, I cannot hit on this enough. There's so many pastors in our churches today who are leading so many thousands of stray from the gospel because we're not holding them accountable. Y'all got it? Y'all feeling me?
00:27:22
Speaker
These are questions that we must be asking ourselves on a routine basis to prevent us from deserting our faith as the Galatians did. It is time for us as the church to open our eyes and our hearts to the reality of the deception that is going on all around the world.
Commitment to the True Gospel
00:27:38
Speaker
But if any of us are here today, we're not sure how to answer these questions. Or if you know for certain that your answers don't line up with the word of God, I challenge you to make that right today.
00:27:52
Speaker
You can do it in your seat. You can come up here to the stage. You can come talk to Victor and I. Anybody who you think seems, who is a spiritual warrior of the faith, you need to get that fixed today. Because as we're seeing in our community and our world today, we're not promised tomorrow. Anything can happen. We need to make it right. Don't leave today until you are confident in your answers of if your behaviors are lining up with the right belief.
00:28:22
Speaker
And that is the belief in the gospel of Jesus, gospel of grace and grace alone. I'm gonna pray for us and we'll go into this time of invitation. And if you have any questions or anything, please don't hesitate to come down and talk to Victor or I. We would love to meet with you. We would love to answer any questions that you may have. But will you guys pray with me? Lord God, we come before you and we just thank you for your word.
00:28:44
Speaker
God, that again, that is living and active, that is sharper than any two-edged sword. Lord, there is things in your word that we don't wanna hear because it hurts us. It hits our pride, it hits our beliefs. But Lord, it is sharper than any two-edged sword, sharp enough to pierce the bone and the marrow.
00:29:06
Speaker
God, and I just pray that you will refine us, that you'll bring us back to the gospel of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and allow it to do a great work, innocent through us, so that your kingdom will be known among this earth. God, be with us throughout the rest of this day, and may we honor and glorify you in all that we do. So in Jesus' name we pray, amen.