Galatians 3:6 - Why are you righteous?

The last few podcasts we looked at Galatians 3:1-5. Paul has been making his case that we are saved by grace and not by works. People had come into the churches after Paul had left and said you need to observe certain Jewish rituals to be a true Christian. Paul asks several questions.

Are you foolish?

Who has bewitched you?

Was your suffering in vain?

Did you receive the Holy Spirit by the works of the law or by faith?

You can listen to the past lessons to understand the background. Paul then turned his attention to Abraham and pointed out that Abraham had faith in the Lord. What is faith? It is taking the Lord at his word and acting on it. Abraham believed the promises of God and acted on those promises. He was promised a son. He was over 75 years old and his wife Sarah had not had a child.

Today we will look at verse 6 again.

Let’s read Galatians 3:6

6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

So we know that Abraham believed God, but what was the response from the Lord? What did the Lord do in return.

God accounted or reckoned Abraham righteous. It wasn’t because of anything other than his faith in the promise of God. Now it would take more than the time I have in this podcast to explain what Abraham actually placed his faith in. So let me tell you the bottom line. Abraham is not only believing the Lord for a son, but the promise of the son who would come and save the world. Abraham actually placed his faith in Jesus, his savior. Although Abraham couldn’t see or understand what would come, he trusted the Lord.

Some say that Abraham was counted righteous because he was circumcised. In other words because of something Abraham did. Put Paul makes it crystal clear that isn’t the case.

Let’s read Romans 4:1-10

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.

10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

We need to make a distinction

He is not righteous because of his faith

He is accounted righteous by God (God made him to be in right standing) whom Abraham’s faith was placed in

It is God’s righteousness that matters

The same is true for us.

We are not righteous because of something we do

God accounts or recons us righteous because of what Jesus did for us … as we receive what he did for us by faith

Jesus is the object of our faith

Jesus, being God, is righteous, but he also lived on this earth

Jesus lived the perfect life in thought, word, and deed

2 Corinthians 5:21

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

1 Peter 2:22

22 Who did no sin,

Galatians 3:6 - What kind of faith do you have?

The last few podcasts we looked at Galatians 3:1-5. Paul has been making his case that we are saved by grace and not by works. People had come into the churches after Paul had left and said you need to observe certain Jewish rituals to be a true Christian. Paul asks several questions.

Are you foolish?

Who has bewitched you?

Was your suffering in vain?

Did you receive the Holy Spirit by the works of the law or by faith?

You can listen to the past lessons to understand the background.

So why is Paul spending so much time on this problem. Well, because it is an essential teaching of Christianity. We are saved by grace and not by works. Paul had the problem then, and we still have the problem today.

Paul now changes his line of argument, and brings Abraham into the courtroom. All Jews would be familiar with father Abraham. So Paul draws their attention to Abraham to make his case.

In order to understand verse 6 we need to spend some time looking back in the old testament. Normally these podcasts are only 8 minutes long. In order to do this verse justice we will need to spread this over two podcasts to explain the argument Paul is making.

Let’s read Galatians 3:6

6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

He continues his argument

If they won’t give in to Paul’s authority then he will use another line of logic. He points to father Abraham.

These Jews would definitely care about what Abraham had to say about the matter of faith and works. So Paul says let’s go back to the old testament and see what God’s word says.

So he takes them to Genesis 15 but first let’s turn to Genesis 12. Here we have the promises made by God to Abraham from the beginning of Abraham’s story.

Genesis 12:1-3

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

So the Lord made these promises to Abraham and Abraham packed up his family and trusted God and his promises. Keep in mind that Abraham was around 75 years old when he started his journey with the Lord.

After some time passed, Abraham still hadn’t had a son as promised by God. He and his nephew Lot, had parted ways and Lot went to Sodom. The city of Sodom was captured by some kings and Lot and his family were taken. Abraham then got some guys together and went after him. Abraham was successful at freeing Lot but then started to wonder about if God would still give him the son that he was promised.

Let’s read Genesis 15:1-6

After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

So after the skirmish to get Lot back,

Galatians 3:5 - Do you need help?

Last time we looked at Galatians 3:4 and asked the question, “was your suffering in vain?”. We know that suffering, if we let it, will bring us closer to the Lord and let us experience Him more. Ultimately good comes from the suffering. The lesson before that we asked the question, “are you trying to go it alone?” In other words why would you not use the power of God in your life to help you vs trying to do things on your own.

Today we are looking at Galatians 3:5. Let’s read it together.

5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Once again Paul asks a question. He is building an argument. He is trying to get us to think.

People had come into the church and said you need to observe certain Jewish rituals in order to be a true Christian. People still say these things today. Paul’s argument has been that you received the Holy Spirit not by your works or good deeds, but because you trusted Jesus Christ as your saviour and relied on Him and Him alone for your salvation.

Paul is now saying basically the same thing. The word minister means to supply. So he is saying that the Lord supplied the Holy Spirit and it is He that does the miracles in your life and it is He that comforts you.

The question again is did he do this because of your works or because of your faith in Jesus. Well of course the answer is because of our faith in Jesus.

Jesus, hours before He went to the cross had a meeting with His closest disciples. He told them many things. One of the most important things he told them was that he was going away. I don’t think the disciples understood what was about to happen.

But Jesus also told them something very special. Let’s look in

John 14:16-18

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Jesus promises that the Father will send the Holy Spirit and the Lord will be with us. He will not leave us alone.

At this very time, I am going thru the worst time in my life. I have lost the ministries that I love, because of circumstances outside of my control. I began to fall deeper and deeper into despair. I began to cry myself to sleep at night, or break down on the way to work. I felt like I had no one to turn to. Those that I had ministered to before, or Christians that had thought so highly of me, now thought I had failed. I felt so alone. The despair then turned to anger, to the point I have hurt those that are so dear to me. The people who love me and care for me, I have hurt deeply to the point I have driven them away from me.

What I have found in ministry is that when things go wrong for the minister, most people aren’t going to reach out to him or her and build them back up. When the preacher, teacher or deacon falls hard, many times people won’t come help them get back up.

Sometimes that minister feels like others don’t care for them and the minister doesn’t reach out for help.

At those times in life the most mature Christian man or woman can fall into despair. I turned bitter towards others and hurt my family as a result. I have done the unspeakable since the fall.

After all of this, what has the Lord reminded me of. Well it took awhile, but this verse in Galatians helped me to remember that the Lord will always be with me. No matter what I have done in my life,

Today we continue our study in Galatians chapter 3. Last time we looked at chapter 3 verse 2 and 3 and asked the question “are you going it alone?”. Paul had asked the question … now that you are saved and have received the Holy Spirit, are you now going to try to do things in the flesh or your natural self. Why would you try to do things on your own, when God himself lives within you.

Today Paul continues the argument against those that were trying to get the churches to observe certain Jewish rituals in order to be true Christians. He has asked several questions and now he asked another. Let’s read Galatians 3:4

4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

The question is what suffering?

What suffering have these churches suffered. Well we aren’t sure exactly but we do have a few clues. We know that Paul was persecuted many times in this region. We know that in one city he had been stoned and left for dead.

Perhaps the same people who gave Paul a problem are now giving the new Christians a problem. It would be very easy in that day to make someone’s life miserable. Perhaps some were losing their jobs, friends and even family.

Perhaps the suffering refers to how they were treated within the church. The people who were saying they needed to observe certain rituals, might have been giving people problems. Believe this way or your out.

Regardless of the type of suffering, we know that Paul is making a simple point.

Since you trusted Christ and received the Holy Spirit, since you experienced Him, since he helped you thru this persecution and difficult times, are you going to ignore Him and allow the persecution to be in vain.

Empty?

Of no value?

The fact is most of us hate difficult times in our life. We don’t like the storms. We don’t like the valleys. We would rather be on top of the world all the time.

Now think back to the tuff times in life and then remember what the Lord did for you in those times. What he taught you about Him, and what you learned about yourself. Think about the tears of sorrow, and then the tears of joy. Think about the weight of the world being on you and then how the Lord lifted that weight and you could breathe again. Think about those very close moments that you had with the Lord in those very difficult times.

Now ask yourself… Was getting to know the Lord in a real way during those times worth anything to you?

Do you remember in those dark times when the Lord was was so close to you, you felt like you could reach out and touch Him?

That moment, that closeness, that joy might not have been experienced had it not been for the storm.

Now we know we don’t like storms and we don’t want to go thru them, but knowing what you know now… would you rather go alone thru the storm, or with the Lord.

So my question to you is… was the suffering in vain?

Galatians 3:2-3 - Are you trying to go it alone?

Last time we looked at Galatians 3:1 and Paul asked the question who has bewitched you? Who has confused you with lies. The Galatians had heard and seen the truth of Jesus Christ, but had started believing a lie. What was the lie. Well people had come in after Paul left, and said these people needed to get circumcised in order to be a real Christian. Of course that isn’t true.

Paul continues the defense against this false teaching. Let’s read Galatians 3:2

2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Paul asks a simple question. He said this is the only thing I need to know about you. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by doing good works or by hearing the Gospel and trusting Jesus as savior?

In other words before I came to town, before you heard the Gospel, before you trusted Jesus, did you know the Holy Spirit? Did He live within you? Did you experience His power? Did you experience His leading? Did you experience His peace? Did any of this happen to you before you heard the Gospel? Surely you had done something good in your life before I told you the Gospel, but had you ever experienced the Holy Spirit before?

Of course the answer is no. Just because they had done good works didn’t mean that the Holy Spirit lived within them. Just because a man is circumcised and observes certain rituals doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit lives within them.

So how did they experience the Holy Spirit?

By hearing the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and trusting Christ as saviour.

When we trust Christ we are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. Permanently. There is no going back. Once you are in the family of God you are in.

1 Corinthians 12:13

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Notice the reference to Jews or Gentiles. It didn’t matter who you were when you got saved. The real question is who are you now, and why wouldn’t you want to go forward with what Christ has for you vs. what man has for you.

Men were trying to convince these people that what Christ had done for them wasn’t enough. They needed to do something else. The truth is what Jesus did for us on the cross is enough. When you trust Him for your salvation you are in the family and the Holy Spirit made sure of that.

Ask yourself the question.

Did you receive the Holy Spirit by doing good works, by observing some laws, by going to church, by being a good person.

OR…

Did you receive the Holy Spirit because you have trusted Jesus as saviour?

Paul now asks a follow up question.

3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Remember in verse one, Paul called the Galatians foolish. Now he asks the question ….

“Are you so foolish?”

· You got saved by faith

· You received the Holy Spirit (God himself)

· Now you want to live and grow on your own

· You want to ignore the blessing

· You want to go it alone

· You want to give up the power that God gives you

· You want to put yourself back in bondage by putting yourself back under the law

Instead of letting God mature, perfect or complete you, you want to do it on your own.

Are you crazy?

We are foolish if we try to go it alone.

The truth is Satan wants us to be foolish.

If he can’t stop you from being saved, he wants you to be foolish and

· ignore the help that God wants to give us

· ignore the blessings

· ignore the teaching

· and ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit

Last time we asked the question “Why did Jesus die for you?”. Paul has been dealing with people who don’t believe that you are saved by grace alone. These people wanted the church members to observe certain Jewish rituals, but Paul said this was wrong. We are saved by grace and not our own works.

So let’s read today’s passage

Galatians 3:1

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Paul continues his argument that we are saved by grace and now addresses the Galatians personal experience with Jesus.

He starts off by calling them foolish. Seems very harsh. Today if a preacher started his sermon like that, most people wouldn’t come back. Paul is concerned for these people and thus speaks the truth even if it may hurt.

The word foolish means that this person is able to think but fails to see things clearly. Paul had given these people truth, knowledge and wisdom about the Lord but they failed to use what Paul had given them.

The truth is we do the same. We read our Bibles, we study God’s word, we listen to teachers and preachers. We receive truth, we gain knowledge, but we fail to use what God has given us. We fail to apply it in our lives. We fail to take what God has given us and put it to good use. We squander the precious gifts God has bestowed on us.

Sometimes we allow others to twist what God has given us. Paul asks the question to the Galatians, “Who has bewitched you?”. This word bewitched means to give the evil eye or be charmed like charming a snake. Do you remember the Jungle Book story? When Kaa the snake charms others into a trance so they are confused or dazed? That is the idea behind this question. Who came into the church after Paul left and was able to daze and confuse you? How were you so easily beguiled? How could you hear the truth that I delivered to you and then so easily follow a lie?

Many times, we buy into what someone says without thinking it thru.

· Theology

· Advice

· Philosophy

A baby will put anything into its mouth. As you mature as a Christian hopefully you aren’t doing that. Paul said things were evidently set forth or clearly portrayed before you. Paul preached Christ crucified to them. He pointed the way to Jesus. He made the gospel clear to the Galatians as if they were at the actual crucifixion of Jesus.

Our family made many trips to Disney world. On the way to Disney, as you get closer, you will see billboard after billboard inviting you to the parks. You can’t miss the message. It is clearly presented before you.

Paul is contrasting the bewitched and evil eye idea vs being able to see Jesus and what he did for you clearly. You saw Christ crucified clearly, yet you took your eyes off of what was clear and allowed others to distract you and believe a lie.

If people can’t see clearly what Jesus has done for them, then it will be easy to deceive them.

We might ask the same thing Paul asked about these people. How could they hear the truth from Paul and so quickly turn from it?

Well I think we should ask ourselves the same question. How can we read God’s word, study it and listen to good solid preaching and teaching but then so quickly turn from it or believe something that is not Biblical? We let people into our lives who beguile us. We listen to unsound doctrine because it sounds good to us. We twist God’s word so that it is more appealing to us. We let the world tell us that God’s word is just a lie, and then we act as if God’s word isn’t true and real in our lives.

Who has bewitched us?

Can you clearly see what Jesus has done for you?

Galatians 2:17-21

Last time Paul told Peter and the others that they were hypocrites for saying they were saved by grace but separating from the gentiles because they weren’t keeping the law. Paul confronted Peter to his face concerning justification by faith alone. Today Paul continues his argument.

Questions:

Why did Jesus die for you?

17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Paul starts off responding to a certain objection many people have to being saved by grace alone. The Jews that thought you must trust Jesus as savior but also keep the law could ask the following question. If Jesus justifies us but we still sin, isn’t Jesus a minister of sin. In other words how could we be right before God and still sin? Many people still struggle with this question. Paul’s answer is powerful. God forbid. In other words Jesus isn’t the minister of sin, and he certainly doesn’t want anyone to sin.

We do seek to be justified by God and after we are saved we do sin. Paul is saying in verse 18 that if I try to build a right relationship with God by keeping the law I sin even more. But if I trust what Christ has done for me at the cross as being sufficient to justify me before God, then I am free to live for God. What is worse, not keeping the law or saying that what Jesus did for us on the cross wasn’t enough to make us right before God?

Some would say that this gives us a license to sin. I would say a true Christian doesn’t want to sin. A true Christian realizes that Christ paid for our sins past, present and future and that he suffered for our sins. A Christian also realizes that Christ set us free from the bondage of sin. Paul said he was dead to the law. Meaning you and I don’t have to sin or make the wrong choices. We are free to serve God and righteousness now that he lives within us and we are free from Satan’s bondage.

When did this happen? Paul said when he was crucified with Christ. Paul is saying that Jesus died in his place and fulfilled the law. There is no need now for Paul to try to do this on his own. At the cross there was a great exchange. Paul died to the law and Jesus gave him new life.

Paul knows that his new life in Christ must be lived by faith. Paul is now in a sense one with Christ. Paul can walk around knowing that he is justified and forgiven. Paul’s faith is not in himself, but instead the object of his faith is Christ.

Paul also explains that his faith is in the one who loved him and gave himself for him. Paul could ask the question, when did the law ever love me? When did the law ever give itself for me? The law showed Paul who he really was before God. Jesus loved and gave himself to prove his love for Paul and for you.

Paul finishes by saying that if we could be justified by the law then Christ died in vain. I have said this to many people who think they can work their way to heaven or think they must do something in addition to what Christ has already done for us.

When I ask people why they believe they are going to heaven. Many times people will say because Jesus is my savior and because I am a good person. If being a good person influences your chances of ...

Last time we looked at how Paul was disappointed with Peter because he acted like a hypocrite. Peter had been eating with gentiles and then when some important Jews came to visit, Peter ditched the gentiles. Paul is going to explain the problem with this issue today.

Questions:

Do we live what we believe?

14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Paul starts off by saying that Peter and the other saved Jews were not acting according to the truth of the Gospel. In other words by not eating with the gentiles and excluding them from fellowship they were saying that they weren’t saved. Peter and the others were ignorning the truth of the Gospel, and adding to the gospel or taking away from it. This wasn’t a matter of bad table manners but instead a matter of truth and what is right. If the gentiles needed to follow the Jews in circumcision or diet in order to be saved, then this isn’t the Gospel of Christ.

So what does Paul do about it? He confronts Peter to his face and asks a simple question. Peter if you are a Jew and live like gentiles, and not like a Jew (when no one is looking), then why are you compelling the gentiles to live like Jews?

This must have been hard for Paul to do. After all Peter was a pillar of the faith. These Jews were of some stature. But Paul had to do it. What Peter was doing was public and it was ultimately going to hurt the true message of Jesus Christ. Sometimes telling people the truth isn’t easy. Sometimes telling people they are hurting the church and the message of Christ isn’t easy, but it must be done.

Paul said to Peter, Peter we are Jews and we know the truth. The truth is that we aren’t justified by the law, but instead we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to say that no person is justified by the law. No man is justified before God based on what that man did. Paul is not telling Peter anything that he doesn’t already know. The problem is that Peter is not living what he knows in front of others. Peter knows that what Jesus did for us on the cross is the only way we could be justified. Hopefully you know this as well.

What Peter and Barnabas were doing is not living the truth but instead caving in to what others wanted them to do or they were ashamed to live their beliefs. I would say that we have that same problem from time to time. Sometimes we don’t act the way we should before others and when we don’t we deny the truth. For example if you say you that you believe God created everything on earth in 6 literal days, yet you deny this with your friends or are afraid to let others know what you believe, then in reality you are denying the truth.

Sometimes we even deny in many ways that we know Jesus. Peter did this when Jesus was on trial the day he was crucified. He denied knowing Jesus. We deny Jesus if we say to our friends there is more than one way to get to heaven. We deny Jesus if we say that there isn’t a literal hell. We deny Jesus when we say that a sinful lifestyle is okay. We deny Jesus when we are afraid to give God thanks for our food in front of others.

It is easy to say you believe something. It is much harder to live it.

I think Peter struggled like we do,

Galatians 2:11-13

So last time we found Paul, Barnabas and Titus in Jerusalem. It was determined that Paul would primarily go to the gentiles with the gospel, and Peter would go to the Jews. Both would preach that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and not the law.

Questions:

Are your actions leading others in the right direction?

11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.

13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.

So Peter makes a trip to Antioch and apparently was fellowshipping with the Jewish converts. As we see in the passage Paul was very upset with Peter. Paul even confronted Peter to his face concerning the issue. So the big question is why? What did Peter do that was so bad? Well it seems that in the past Peter had no problem fellowshipping with the gentile believers. He would sit down and eat a meal with them as brothers and sisters. He didn’t hold to some dietary restrictions but had liberty to eat what he wanted to eat with the gentiles.

The problem occurred when James and other Jews came from Jerusalem to the church in Antioch. When James showed up, Peter changed his ways. He didn’t want to be scene eating with the gentiles. In other words Peter was a hypocrite. Peter knew that in Christ he had liberty to eat what he wanted to eat, but his beliefs didn’t line up with his actions. Verse 12 said that Peter feared the Jews. Why would Peter fear the Jews? If Peter knows that what he was doing was not wrong, why would he care what the Jews thought?

I think we could ask ourselves the same question. If we know what is right and true, then why do we fear others or ignore our beliefs before them. Why do we care what man thinks? Shouldn’t we be more concerned with what God thinks?

Peter was told directly by God what to think. Let’s read

Acts 10:10-16

10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:

12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

Peter knew that it was okay to eat what the Jews believed was wrong to eat. The church in Jerusalem knew that salvation was by grace and not the law. The church in Jerusalem said you didn’t need to be circumcised.

Acts 15:23-28

23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.

24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Galatians 2:6-10

Last time Paul explained that he, Barnabas and Titus went to Jerusalem because God instructed him to. The Judaizers had questioned Paul’s authority, and tried to infiltrate the churches with their false doctrine. Paul went to Jerusalem, not to confirm his message, but to get agreement with the other apostles in Jerusalem so that the Judaizers will be discredited.

Questions:

What are you willing to tell others?

6 But 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:

7 But 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:)

9 And 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.

10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

So Paul continues his story concerning his visit to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus. Remember that the Judaizers had visited various churches and tried to convince people that they needed to be circumcised and observe the law in order to be a Christian. Apparently they acted like they had authority to do so from Jerusalem. So Paul goes to Jerusalem to solve this issue once and for all. Paul wants to make sure that everyone understands that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus and not by keeping the law.

Paul apparently met with some of the people who seemed to be a big deal and he said they added nothing to him. In other words, they didn’t give Paul the Gospel or the apostolic authority. God gave him both. They had nothing to add to what Paul had been doing or saying. Paul then confirmed that they understood how the mission to go to the gentiles was given to him by God. The mission to go to the Jews was given to Peter. This isn’t saying that they can’t cross lines, but this is simply saying this is their main mission.

Paul then mentions James, Peter and John met with him and they all agreed that Paul and Barnabas should go to the gentiles and the others go to the Jews. Remember Paul’s intent. He wasn’t looking for confirmation from these guys that he had been preaching and teaching the right message. He knew that he had been preaching the Gospel of Christ properly. He went to Jerusalem to make sure everyone was on the same page so that the Judaizers couldn’t say that they had authority to preach their false doctrine from those in Jerusalem.

So what can we learn from this passage. Well I think one major lesson is don’t compromise the Gospel. Paul knew that God gave him the Gospel, not man. Paul knew what had changed his life and what was changing other’s lives. He didn’t need an important person to confirm what he was doing. He wasn’t going to let anyone change his mind about what his mission was when he went to Jerusalem. His quest was to get everyone on the same page. We also have the truth. The truth of the Gospel of Christ is contained in God’s word. We shouldn’t ever compromise the message. We shouldn’t try to get man to approve the message or any church to approve the message. God approved the message and told us to proclaim it without compromise. When you water down the Gospel you are doing your friends, coworkers and family any good. When churches water down the Gospel and say that there are many ways to God and many ways to heaven they aren’t doing anyone any good.