1 Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, accompanied by Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

4 This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Elise Le

I work among people who have all sorts of religious beliefs, and one of the more prominent religions in my workplace is Islam. Each year, many of my work colleagues observe Ramadan.

After work one night as I drove my friend home, I asked her a question about Ramadan. I asked, “Why do you fast? What does it all mean to you?”. She responded, “I’m not sure, I just do it because it’s a good thing to do and it pleases Allah. Allah sees my good deeds, and one day there is the hope that I can be in paradise because of it.” I then asked her, “How do you know that you’ll get to be in paradise?”, and she responded by saying, “You know what? I don’t actually know if I’ll really get to be in paradise, but I can try really hard to.” It was a conversation that made me quite sad. I was sad knowing that despite all her efforts in fasting and her prayers, she had no true hope that any of her efforts would earn her a place in paradise.

This passage reminded me of the great gospel message of grace, which so many people have not heard or don’t understand. We see in these few verses that Paul had met with the key leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem to discuss the gospel that he was preaching. It seems some people within the church were saying that to be a Christian, you must be circumcised and follow the Old Testament law. Paul however wants to affirm the true gospel message, that we are freed because of Christ (vs 4), and are not required to keep the law to be saved.

How great is it that our salvation is found through faith in Christ and by God’s grace and mercy alone. After my conversation with my colleague, God opened the door for me to share about this grace that I have received through Christ. This idea of grace was foreign to her, since we live in a culture of needing to work or do things to receive a good reward. I wonder if you sometimes think in the same way, even as a Christian? Do you sometimes say to yourself, “God will only be pleased with me if I…”. It is so important to keep reminding ourselves that we can never add to our salvation, that we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elise is a member of our Fairfield Evening congregation.