The Jerusalem Conference: Part 1
Galatians 2:1-7 · Bob Eckel · Feb 28, 2010
Galatians (2010), No. 09
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926155563468

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

There's kind of an interesting aspect to today's lesson. I'm kind of responsible for this, but anyway, you'll see as we get into this. There's been a bit of scripture that's been omitted from our teaching here, and I'm going to cover that very briefly as we go into today's lesson. Let's turn our Bibles to Galatians chapter 1, and the verses that have been omitted but will be covered this morning as part of today's lesson is Galatians 1, 21-24, and then we're going to proceed down through verse 7 in a two-lesson series that I'll be teaching next week, part two, and that's the Jerusalem Conference. So this is kind of Paul going to Jerusalem ultimately for dealing with issues that relate to law and grace. So let's begin reading in chapter 1, verse 21.

Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they had heard only, He who persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed, and they glorify God in me. Chapter 2 Then fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them, who were of reputation, lest by any means I should run or had run in vain.

But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. and that because of false brethren, unawares brought in, who came in secretly to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage. In whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But of these who seem to be somewhat whatever they were, it maketh no matter to me. For God accepteth no man's person, for they who seem to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me as the gospel of the circumcisions was under Peter, for he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles."

So in a sense the text continues in the 8 and the verses that follow, but ultimately the text that relates to verses 8 through 14 really are the Peter and Paul controversy and kind of ultimately decision-making process that relates to the division of the two in terms of the truth of the gospel is shared with those that would be ultimately exposed to it in the future. So we're going to look today at 2, 1 through 3 and actually precede that by chapter 1, verses 21 through 24. So in Galatians 2, 1 and 2, it says, Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me, and I went up by revelation and communicated to them that gospel which I preached among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run or had run in vain. So when I kind of got into this, they said, Well, who taught 21 through 24? And I looked at the schedule. Nobody taught 21 through 24.

For some reason, I make the schedule. So those verses simply got omitted from our class schedule. So we're going to look at those fairly quickly this morning to get us into the verses that were assigned for the day. So quick summary. In chapter 1, verse 21, it says that afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

So here's the map. And ultimately, the two areas of interest are shown here on the map. So Syria is just north of Israel. That geographic location hasn't changed since Old Testament times. So here we are just north of the Sea of Galilee, actually. And up here is Cilicia. So that's further north, up in the area we would call Turkey today.

So that's where Paul went after, you know, the text that had preceded this up into this region. And it says he was unknown in Judea. Now, that's verse 22. So the question is there, you know, what's Judea geographically? So it's kind of the land of Israel, I think, is importantly to our understanding, divided into kind of three parts. It's Judea, Perea, and Galilee. And Judea itself was divided into the three parts, the hill country, the plain, and the valley. So here's Judea down here in the lower part. Here's the Dead Sea. And Margaret and I had the privilege of being down there here this last fall, and there is a mountainous area around the Dead Sea.

This is really part of Judea that I think is referred to when we divide Israel into these three areas. So here in fact is Judea and here is Perea and Galilee is up here by the Sea of Galilee. So that is Israel divided in this area. Samaria is really not contained within the nation of Israel proper according to the definition given at that time. So there's Israel and here's Judea.

When Paul says he wasn't known in Judea, isn't that kind of confusing? He wasn't known by face, he says. Yeah, by faith. What do you mean? By face, okay. So they had never physically seen him. No, but the reputation it says, he was known. And what was the reputation that he carried? Prosecutor. had become the propagator Paul, right? So we've got kind of, you know, a bipolar situation here, don't we?

I mean, so if we look at Galatians 1.23, we see in fact that they had heard only, he who persecuted us in times past, he now preaches the faith which he once had destroyed.

Yeah, Tom. Probably the phrase came into their mind, I'm sure, even if it wasn't in that language. I deny the allegation, I defy the allegator. They didn't want to trust Paul. Okay. So his reputation preceded him, correct? Okay. Plus what he was preaching was so contrary to what they grew up with. How could they trust him? I mean, where is he coming from? Very much true.

Stan, why don't you pull Acts 9, 26 through 30 and read that for us, could you, please? So here's a guy whose reputation, I mean, we can think of maybe people in our own age, their reputation precedes them, but nobody's ever really seen them. I don't know if I have anybody exactly in mind there. They didn't have the interview. That's true. It's a different age for sure. Which reference?

Acts 9, 26-30. Those verses I think are relevant. Keep in mind, I think Randy dealt with this last week, that this back and forth between Acts and Galatia time-wise is something that is perplexing and challenging, but you can put it together chronologically, and I'm not going to do that again today, but kind of outline briefly Paul's various trips to Jerusalem. But the Acts 9, 26-30 passage is relevant to what we're studying.

When he came up to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord, and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Paul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. Okay, good. Thanks, Stan. So I think that gives you a flavor that you already clearly indicated in terms of this not being known by face but by reputation. Bob? Yes.

Personal question. Why do you think, I mean, the Lord can do anything that he wants, obviously, he's sovereign, but why would there be so many, or two, almost distinct messages? One going to the apostles in Jerusalem and the disciples there in Judea, and then this other message that Paul was expounding to the Gentiles. Don't understand that, you know, personally. Do you want to hang in here to the end of the lesson today? Yeah. Oh, OK. Is that where it's at? Yeah. We're going to at least we're going to be getting into that today to some extent. We're going to be finishing up next week.

And actually, that whole scenario is going to progress as we get into the verses in 8 through 14 to follow. Very, very relevant. And I think this is so, so important. And that's why the book of Galatians is so relevant in terms of this law versus grace issue. But we're going to touch it today, Stan. Thanks for asking that question.

So it says in verse 24 that God was glorified in me. And isn't that really kind of the path we all walk? It's not about us. is that the glory of God is seen in us. So despite Paul's reputation, which was anything but favorable, Paul is comfortable with the fact, and this is not an atmosphere of cockiness here, he just knows what the true gospel is all about, about not only his sins being forgiven, but his sin nature being crucified and him having a new life in Christ. God's glorified through that new life, not by works of the flesh. And that really kind of sets the stage for what follows, right?

Maybe this is not important, but doesn't the text say that they glorified God because of him, now preaching the gospel, rather than God was glorified, which would be passive. They actually took heart in that, thanking God for him at this point. So they did believe that he had changed. Right, so it was his message that ultimately impacted them that God's glory was seen, correct? Well, and they were glorifying God because he had been turned around. They glorified God through him, correct? In me? Yeah, in other words, they thanked God the way God had done his work in him.

It wasn't that they were doubtful about him at this point in his history. They were acknowledging that God had done a work in him. That's the flavor of the text, isn't it? Three parties involved here, God, Paul, in the new man, by the power of the Spirit, and them. Right? You've got it here on the board, just as an indication.

God was glorified in Paul. It's certainly true. But God was glorified by these people in Judea. The Judeans were saying, thank you God for working in Paul's heart. It's basically the way I understand that. But it was in Paul, correct, where the glory was seen, right? Because of him. I think we're okay. You understand that the flavor there was that he wasn't accepted in Judea. They didn't believe him.

But they did it. After a while, it gave them a chance to catch up on the later stuff. I think the fact that they came to the understanding that Paul was preaching and teaching ultimately allowed God to be glorified in Paul, in me, in him. So I think everybody's on the same page here in terms of God's glory being seen through these. Yeah, okay. Thank you.

All right, we're going to move now into the next section, chapter two. I think it's important now, it was important for me to kind of reflect on the number of trips that Paul makes to Jerusalem and how this fits in kind of chronologically. So this is the third of four trips to Jerusalem. And here we're back and forth between Acts and Galatians and other sections of scripture.

So the first trip was identified in Galatians 1.18-20, that's what Randy taught last week, and also what you just read in Acts 9.26-30 that sets the stage for what we're talking about today.

This occurred approximately three years after his Damascus Road experience. The second trip was identified in Acts 11, which was about seven years after his conversion, and this was really to kind of meet the needs of the people in Jerusalem. The third is the current one described in Galatians and also in Acts chapter 15, really nearly the entire chapter, verses 1 through 29. That's approximately 17 years after his conversion, so now we're looking Remember this 14 years of absence is really dividing the trip that was carried out, you know, probably the first trip at three years after his conversion. And it's interesting, they know 14 years, whereas that second trip was probably somewhere in between this one and the first trip. And the final one was described in Acts 21, 15 to 19.

We'll not look at that today, but that was approximately 24 years after his conversion. So these are the four trips outlined in scripture of Paul to Jerusalem. Now, this is kind of the first encounter in the scriptures that we have noted. Well, actually in Galatians 1, you know, he talks about this other gospel. But now we're dealing with this kind of in a confrontational manner with this trip to Jerusalem because this Jerusalem conference is really critical to what follows in terms of the messages that go out to the world abounding them.

So in Acts 15.1, it says, and certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, and this is, Stan, kind of what you were referring to, unless you're circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. I mean, what's that sound like in terms of today's gospel message projected by some? I know after I got saved, I heard a message very similar to this, not that I'd be circumcised, no further comment there, but that ultimately there was some other thing that needed to happen. Got to be baptized our way.

And who was the great proponent of that particular truth? I was thinking of maybe Charles Stanley. Well, maybe him. Pat Robertson? 30 years ago? Absolutely. Unless you had the second blessing and spoke in tongues, you really had to doubt your salvation. I heard that, Dick, right after I got saved. Yes, Stan?

Well, it's the whole body of the Church of Christ as well. It's not even good enough to be baptized in another church. You have to be baptized in their church. And the Church of Christ, Church of Nazarene, etc. has its kind of works kind of thing too, right?

There has to be some evidence by measurable metrics that you're really saved. Well, here it was circumcision in the Jewish tradition, right? It's interesting that the Catholics and others sometimes put off being baptized until just before they die because they don't want to lose their salvation. I mean, it's pretty common. that they know they're sinners and so they can lose their salvation so they get baptized just before they die to ensure that they're safe.

It's a legalistic thing. And this is why I went to Jerusalem, really. I mean, this whole issue of legalism versus grace was the concept that I think brought Paul to Jerusalem and ultimately why this book is written. Acts 15.2, which is the next verse after the one I just read, of course. Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension, and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. So this became the focus of this gathering in Jerusalem now, this issue of circumcision.

The Jewish tradition, the Judaizers, if you will, bringing more to the gospel than what Paul was preaching. And Stan, that gets us into what he's preaching to the Gentiles versus what's going on in the minds of the Judaizers. And the question is, are the Judaizers really saved? We have to believe they were, right? I mean, presumably Christ's death and resurrection ultimately relates to their salvation, but they're still bringing law into it. And maybe some weren't saved.

I mean, yes. Where's that passage that it talks about God revealing to Peter with the sheet and the animals and you know, the director in relation to Peter. Where's that? Do you know what it is? I don't have it by heart. Maybe we could find that while I'm going ahead with the lesson. We can answer Stan's question more directly. I don't know exactly where that is.

Now according to Macaulay, which I think is a good source of information on Galatians, Mike in fact gave me the book by Macaulay, it's a commentary on the book of Galatians. claims that on three critical occasions Paul took a stand for the purity of the gospel according to the grace of God. So this clearly is one. So the Jerusalem conference is what we're studying is one, where Paul took a stand on this issue of the grace of God. The second was before Peter at Antioch, and we'll be coming to that fairly soon. And the third as he wrote the epistle to the Galatians. So this whole book really, I think, Roy, do you have that? Yeah, chapter 10. Do you want to read that? You want to read that, Roy? Is that simple to read or is it lengthy? Well, yeah, it's pretty lengthy, but it just begins.

There was a man of Caesarea named Cornelius the Centurion. He was devoted and he saw an angel and the story goes on. He wants you to send somebody to get Peter. So he sent somebody, and in the meantime, Peter's having this vision on the rooftop, and he comes down from the rooftop, to make the long story short, meets the men, goes with them, with other Jewish men, to the centurion's house, and as he opens his mouth to explain the gospel to them, the Holy Spirit comes on them, and these other Jewish men, with Peter, all witness this. They go back, they get accused of being in the Holy Spirit, because He was given to them just like us at the first.

And that's John, that story. So Stan, your point about bringing up that section of scripture here was what? I just think it's interesting that God reveals Himself for a purpose obviously to called out individuals, and there was a purpose in revealing this to Peter, because Peter was kind of, I don't know if you'd call him the head disciple or not, but they kind of had groups, and there was Peter, James, and John, and Peter was kind of one of the top disciples. So here God reveals to him that there's a further message coming. That's the way I see it. And he's saying, be aware, Peter, behold, because there's another message. And then now here comes Paul, Yeah, and you know that's an important point because that preceded what we're studying here temporally, right? Yeah, so this is relevant.

Okay, so this epistle of the Galatians is really probably the most evident critical occasion where Paul stood for the gospel for what it really is. So after 14 years, so that's a long interval, isn't it? I mean why there'd be so much time going on here. And what I try to denote here is this really is a call from God directly, not of the apostles themselves. I mean, Paul had to be prepared. This is such a critical point in the history of New Testament scripture, this issue of law and grace. So critical.

And presumably that 14 years was necessary for God to have Paul where he needed to be to really have the influence at this conference that ultimately would affect the gospel till today, really. I also think that it's not only for Paul's benefit, but I think the Lord was working, as we said earlier, through Peter, and he's working through James, and he's working through Jerusalem, and he's working through the other disciples. We don't know the missionary journeys that they had as well, but God's at work here, is the point. And he's not just at work in Paul in some isolated community in the desert where he's being taught, but he's at work in this whole area, I mean, and that's what Christ said, to preach to Jerusalem, you know, and this, that's where the gospel is supposed to go out to first, you know, and so he's at work there, doing this, you know, through the people.

Well, I think another thing it relates to, I can identify with this maybe more than most of you, this fleshly impatience we have for growth too, right? I mean, grow me quicker, Lord. You know, it reflects my flesh and other areas of my life being impatient. But anyway, Paul, for 14 years of being matured by grace to understand what his role was going to be to further the truth of the gospel. So that's what I really tried to clearly indicate here. It took time for him to grow in grace and preparation for the past that was before him. I mean, this is really crucial. Any other thoughts about this 14 year interval?

Because we have very little detail about exactly how God prepared him for this, but clearly what follows is evidence that he was prepared. Keep in mind that this is one of the first books that he wrote, if not the first book too. So Ephesians had been written, and apparently James, the Lord's brother, had been written maybe a little bit ahead of this, but not much ahead of this.

So there wasn't much in the way of the New Testament at that time. You know, it's kind of interesting now as we reflect back on the timing of the New Testament in terms of the books and when they were written, because at that time there was very little information that was able to be written or shared or discussed in terms of this whole temporal sequence we now have. We can put it into perspective now, but at the time it must have been very difficult for people to understand really the truth we have today, the way we understand it. also getting the information out. I mean, obviously they didn't have email, they didn't have, you know, a cell phone that they carried around. So God reveals himself to somebody a thousand miles away, and this information's got to be passed by word of mouth through, you know, it takes time.

Yeah, I mean if Bin Laden would get saved today, I guess his reputation would precede him, right? Even though we're kind of a similar circumstance with Paul. Bin Laden gets saved. Anyway, okay. So, yeah, Dawn. Well, you know, you asked for comments. It's kind of encouraging, too, that Paul, who was the ambassador of grace, 14 years the Lord works with him.

For us, growing in grace, there is a time factor involved in that, and that you can relax in that time. It's not just that it's all going to be instantaneous. You know, as part of that growth is the fact that as we grow in grace and the light becomes brighter, that perceives the darkness as being darker, too. I mean, God's grace in each one of us allows our sinful nature and our inadequacy to be more clearly shown for what it is, nothing. member impotency is total weakness, not a little bit of strength. It's part of the growth process.

Jeremy, could you look at Acts 11.24 and Donna, could you look at 2 Corinthians 8.23?

These are verses that kind of describe Barnabas and Titus. These are two different kinds of individuals. And I think it reflects this contrast of the historic Judaizers steeped in Jewish tradition to the Gentile who, I mean, Barnabas circumcised, Titus not circumcised, Jew, Gentile. So these verses just are, there are many verses about these two guys, by the way, I'm just picking two that kind of really reflect on who they are.

Jeremy? For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, people were added to the Lord. Okay, so a brief description and Titus? For 2 Corinthians? Yeah. Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you. For our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of the churches and the glory of Christ. Okay, thanks Jim.

All right, so what did he preach? What was Paul preaching to Titus that was different than what presumably had been taught to some of the apostles? Remember, Paul, to a large extent, was separate from the apostles. I mean, he was not with them, closely with the teaching. Stan?

First of all, he taught the death, burial, resurrection of Christ. That was the primary That was his heart. That was the message that he wanted everybody to understand. That's where he began. And verified it with Old Testament scripture. Okay. What else was being taught to the Gentiles that ultimately maybe was a little different than what was being taught to the apostles? Not by Paul directly, but... That God had extended his grace with him. He usually taught doctrine first and then the application of it. But the Jews didn't need that. They knew their position by and large. And so James doesn't even center on it. He skips right over that and starts applying it.

So there would be a contrast in his good news that he was presenting. All right, notice here that this term communicated, which is new using new King James, what do you have in your versions? Anybody have something other than communicated? I mean if you look at the Greek, laid before them is probably, it's a stronger and better translation, laid before them, communicated sounds pretty diplomatic. Laid before them, hey look, this is the way it is. So it's a stronger term and I think the new King James doesn't do justice using the term communicated. For at least ten years, Paul had been preaching among the Gentiles with great success, calling upon them to obey the gospel. What does it mean to obey the gospel? That sounds kind of legal, doesn't it? Obeying the gospel?

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Okay, so what is that an act of, Tom? His death, burial, and resurrection. Okay, but how do we respond to that truth? by receiving him as Savior. You're saying the same. Don is saying it in one word, by faith, right?

So obeying the gospel is receiving it by faith. That there's nothing more to the gospel account than who is the Lord Jesus Christ and what has been done on your behalf. There's nothing more to it. So obeying the gospel isn't a set of metrics, including circumcision. Obeying the gospel is seeing ourselves and our sins crucified with Christ and we're risen with him in newness of life. Boy, simple. And the difference would be no law, right? No law. And he was not teaching them the Ten Commandments. All grace.

Yeah. Boy, that is a different message, particularly for the apostles who were used to a different kind of message. Let's look at Acts 15, 5 through 11. Tom, could you read that for us, please? But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. So the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. Can you speak up a little bit more Tom? So the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter and when there had been much dispute Peter rose up and said to them, Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit just Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they." That sets the stage very nicely for this Jerusalem conference or meeting or gathering that ultimately circumcisions a major deal here because it's reflective of the history of the law applied to the gospel and unnecessarily so. Alright, so the next part of this, of verse 2, is that he preached it privately to those of reputation. Why? He didn't want to act like he was trying to upstage them since they had their own commission to the Jews. Okay, other thoughts on that one? Yes, Dan?

I just think this is totally amazing and it took a really bold and courageous person like Paul to be able to do this, because what he's doing, in my, what I see, he's communicating what God communicated to him, to the disciples that walked with Christ. Okay.

These are people who are tuned in, right? These are the elite, well, we talk about elitists today, and if there was such a thing back then, in Christianity, they were it. And they should have been the ones who, you would think, that they would have been the ones who got the message from God. Right. Paul's bringing it. Okay. Wow.

And there was also a qualification that if in fact he didn't go to them privately who had reputation, meaning who should be responsive and receptive to the truth, ultimately he might run in vain. So how do we interpret that? Running in vain? Yeah, Jeremy.

I don't know if it has to do with the the Jewish culture where the leaders, the rabbis, had so much authority that the people would only listen to them. If he's contradicting the leaders, at least in the Jewish culture, they're going to follow the leader. They're not going to listen to him, and it's going to be much harder for him. If he can go to them with a reputation and say, look, this is what God has said, and get them to start understanding this is what God has given, it's going to have of broader effect on the people.

Good point. I think that's really a relevant point. Is this something we should consider? In our day-to-day lives as New Testament believers who who are looking for the truth of the gospel as applied to our day-to-day life. And remember, the Christian life is an act of faith, but it's a lack of faith in a life. It's not in a set of works. It's in a life.

I mean, how many times have you shared with people who at least, I mean, I think, I'll share this personally, but I think something about a hungry heart is coming to the end of yourself, right? And it's not until you come to the end of yourself that you're really able to see who you are in Christ.

I think of the communion where, in fact, we eat the bread and we drink the wine or the juice. And ultimately, I think eating the bread first is the fact that our Adam nature has been crucified, right? And the wine is the fact, oh, thanks. Now that the sin nature is gone, the sins have been forgiven. I mean, it's the life we put on by faith. And ultimately, that, I think, is what Paul is trying to get across.

And when we share with other believers who are argumentative, or they are polishing up Adam to live for the Lord and pay him back, there just is an inability to communicate. It's almost harder to share with a believer these truths sometimes than it is to share the Gospel with someone who's not saved.

Do you agree with that? And some people think that that's kind of – you're kind of cliquish and you're kind of thinking you have almost a – What's the term I'm looking for? No, there's another term which is borderline Christianity. Yeah, cult's the term I'm looking for. It's almost cultish, some people would say, in terms of this life we have in Christ, of this Christ life that we live. So in a sense of sharing with people a reputation, Paul's got, Jeremy, the attention of people who are kind of tuned in a little bit, but maybe not quite on the same page, but they're willing to listen and they're willing to be spirit led. Yes, Dan.

I think it's also, you know, it goes back to that passage again. I'm not very good at remembering where they are, but he talks about the tearing down of the walls between the Jews and the Gentiles. And that's in Isaiah. I mean, that was predicted, you know, hundreds of years prior to all this. And so Paul, obviously a scholar of the Old Testament, can see that now. And he knows that his message is valid because he got it from God.

And now it's a matter of, just like Jeremy said, it's a matter of convincing the Jews, because you can't tear down this wall. There's no way you're going to tear down this wall between the Jews and the Gentiles with this new message unless you convince, like Jeremy said, the leaders of the Jewish people. There's no way it's going to happen. This is a really, really important meeting.

And as we skip ahead here, we see who those of reputation are. They're defined in verse nine in chapter two of Galatians. And I think, Roy, you mentioned them or maybe Stan did. James, Peter and John are those of the reputation. And we look at the influence those three guys had in terms of the gospel account. Yeah, Jeremy.

Paul and Jesus in particular understood the group he was addressing, and they understood how to communicate to that group. We see Jesus talk to the Gentiles differently than he talked to the Jews, and in different areas. And we see Paul too, he addressed the Greeks differently than he did. So I think a part of this is communicating the gospel. if I'm preaching this, but I'm not.

I think, you know, that same truth runs in the bloodstream, right? The blood is the same truth, that the way it gets ultimately portrayed may be different for different people. Yeah, Tom. This may be a little bit of a stretch, but probably not too far.

When he was a persecutor, he was looking for any and all means to subvert the Christian faith. And it's quite likely that he might have even sent people to fake conversion among him further than he even wrote about later on. So having that knowledge and knowing that it's no further use to him because he's one of them now, he still knew that this sort of tendency could take place.

Great. That's a great point. Thanks, Tom. Gail? It seems to me that the people, the Gentiles with hungry hearts, they had to come to the system. in the past. They had to join Judaism. And now they're coming to the person and they're bypassing that. And it seems to me that that would be a real sore point for people who are evangelistic and would have been for Paul, I think, if he hadn't had the training from the Lord. And if they hadn't come together in unity.

What kind of confusion would that have caused for us, as Gentiles, if we had lived then, to know, had we indeed come properly to the living God, maybe we should have went through the system. Or should we have gone by faith? Which should it have been? I think it would have been very confusing to live then and not have them come together.

Great point. You know, as we said on Friday night in our Bible study on the book of Daniel, you know, all the Bible is for us, but it's not all about us. I mean, thinking of Daniel praying three times a day was clearly a legal deal. I'm sure he prayed by faith and the Scripture doesn't indicate anything other than that. But that is a barrier that the Gentile would have perceived would have made it impossible for him or her to come to the Lord.

And then conversely, on the other side, from the Jewish, like Romans 11, You know, I say, then have God cast away his people. I mean, here again, there's a trying to understand what has happened. Yes. With this grace being introduced, that it all fits. But the understanding on both camps was different. Grace is such a foreign concept to people. It's a foreign concept to the world system, and it's actually a foreign concept to the church to a large extent, unfortunately. Boy, if it weren't for grace, none of us would be here today.

Galatians 2.3, Yet not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Important point. Extremely important point. Paul brought Titus about with him as a living example of the power of the gospel under the uncircumcised heathen. That plays right into what Gail had just said.

Acts 15, 23-24, I put this down in your handout for you. They wrote this letter by them, the apostles, the elders, and the brethren, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles and Antioch, Syria, and Sicilia. Actually, that's what we looked at the first part in chapter one, greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your soul, saying you must be circumcised and keep the law, to whom we gave no such commandment."

Yeah, Tom. For the benefit of those on the internet, it was Cecilia, not Cecilicia. Cecilia. Or Cilicia. Cilicia. Yeah, Cilicia, not Cecilia. Right. Cilicia. We're not talking about Cecilia. I work with a woman named Cecilia. So anyway, it's Cilicia.

Correct. Good. All right. So what does this say about the depths of Titus's Christianity? I mean, just speculate a little bit. I mean, and Gail, you kind of touched on this a little bit. Yeah. Because since he was a Greek and he didn't come through the Jewish mechanism, It was a totally different thing. He did bypass that whole part. And so I think, you know, obviously Paul is using that as an example of the heathens and the Gentiles and how they don't have to go that route. Pre-cleared.

In a sense, it was somewhat risky for Titus, I mean, just maybe from a human fleshly perspective to come with Paul to Jerusalem for this meeting on this issue. But yet Titus is a living example that someone not raised under law, who understands the gospel for really what it is, can accompany Paul to be exemplary of this message. So critically important. What about the new Jewish believers who expected one of their own to be circumcised? Let's look at these couple of examples. Randy, could you do Acts 16, 1 through 5, and Margaret, 1 Corinthians 9, 19 through 21, please?

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra, and a disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer. But his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. a Greek. Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem for them to observe. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number.

So Randy, what do you make of that then? This idea that Paul actually circumcised them? I think the text reflects a witnessing opportunity, not a legalistic reflection of law. Okay, it's kind of like, it's okay to be circumcised, but you don't have to be, right? Yeah. And so, in a sense, that may have been a witness to the Jewish believers, not to say you have to be, but simply that that's an option that you can continue to be circumcised.

Well, you reduce the stumbling block. If you won't listen to my words because of my anatomy, then let's get rid of that problem, and this is the gospel. Now there's no argument. And he's actually quoted and I've become all things to all people more than I might say. OK, great. That's it worked out in that area. Good. Thanks, Tom. OK, Margaret. Yeah. First Corinthians nine, 19 through 21.

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I may gain them more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. To them that are under the law, as under the law, that I may gain them that are under the law. To them that are without the law, as without law, being not without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law, To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

So as Tom has said, and Mandy has said, and actually Jeremy said earlier, this is kind of the gospel is still the truth. And ultimately the Spirit leads us into how best to present it to each of the people across our paths on a day-to-day basis. This presents the apostles with a challenge, doesn't it? Their perception of the truth would have everything to do with the cause of the gospel. In this meeting in Jerusalem now, he's dealing with the leaders, those of reputation. But yet Paul's bringing an understanding to them that ultimately complements their history as Jews and now new converted believers. So the stage is set. And ultimately we know that God has done his thing here after we finish studying this particular section about the gospel and how it's propagated. All right, so we're coming to an end.

So always, whenever I teach, the Hungry Heart series seems to be kind of temporal. So the second volume by Miles has got 31 verses in it or 31 daily devotions in it, but February only has 28 days. So this is actually leap year, February 29th, but I read all four today because March 1st is tomorrow. Anyway, it sounds legal, but it's not. So this is what is written for tomorrow, the 29th of February.

One of the most subtle, tenacious, and all-pervasive errors amongst Christians is slavery to the legal principle, the so-called Galatian error. And in deliverance from the power of sin, there is no freedom of law apart from the death we shared in Christ on the cross. You too, in the body of Christ, have ended your relation to the law. Thought that was a nice benediction for this morning's lesson. Of course, we'll build on that next week.

And this is really Romans 7.4 by that translation. And my final comment is, isn't grace wonderful for all that it is? Thoughts, comments? Yeah, Randy. verses we're looking at just a few moments ago about if you look at Paul's writing to first and second or first and second letter that we have to Timothy and Titus you will see a comparison that is actually somewhat reflective of here's Titus who was strong in his confidence of grace in Gentiles and you get one letter to Titus at least that we have, at least recorded. And Paul just says, hey, do this. And it's like, OK, that's it. I've got it. With Timothy, he's got to write a follow-up letter. Like, hey, remember, I want to keep reminding you to do this.

Because I think Timothy was under a lot more confusion, despite why it's clear Paul did the circumcision, there seems to be some inconsistency with Timothy. He seems a little less confident in his position and role Well, if it's so simple for the Gentiles to know the truth of the gospel, why are so many people so confused about this issue? Well, rumor Titus was working with Paul. Okay, so we don't have any Pauls around anymore, is that right, Tom?

The other catch is so many people in Christendom are still dealing with stuff so-called the divine tradition picked up over the centuries that really wasn't part of what the gospel was ever. And they're still trying to shed that cherubism and it's still there with them until they recognize what the Scriptures say.

Good point, Tom. Stan? I think what Paul's trying to say is that circumcision is the wrong focus because it goes all the way back to Abraham and God called Abraham out and Abraham was called out through faith. And a sign of that calling or covenant was circumcision. Okay, so after Abraham... The bads of faith, right? Yeah, and the Jews picked up circumcision just like we could today, like you said. We can say baptism saves us, and a lot of people believe that.

But see, the focus is then on baptism and not on God's calling and the work of the Spirit. And so, you know, anytime you talk about grace, you have to get the focus in the right place. And that was the problem with the law because the law was through faith as well. But they lost that and they started going and focusing on works and legalism. They forgot to look at God and they looked at works. God's got to be the focus. And remember, grace is freeing. And the freedom we have by grace is to live a life that's glorifying to God by faith. It's a whole different agenda.

And praise God for that, right? Bud, were you closest in prayer, please? Our most gracious Heavenly Father, we do thank you, Lord, for your revelation from the Word. You give us all we need to know to be in practice. Christianity in our lives. And Lord, we just thank you for that. Thank you for the lesson today and for the amplification that points these things out. We thank you for that. May everyone here receives a blessing from this. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.