And so here I am this week, and I will tell you that I'm gonna try to do something that I have never ever done before, so I'm not sure that I would ever accomplish it today. But I'm gonna try to push through chapter number two. And so we're gonna look at it. It is a narrative in its flow, but it is also with great, great depth and wonderful meat to pick from these good bones of chapter number two within Galatians. If you can remember what we said is that sometimes it is so very important that we understand where we take the hill and we hold the hill. And on that hill, we need to be prepared to die upon it. I would tell you that in the 21st century, for the believer, as it has been in the past, we must, in fact, carry the light of the gospel. And we must persevere, and we must come to a point in time where we understand that not only do we need to hear the gospel and live the gospel, but for those that would distort it, we must confront face to face. for the gospel, the purity of the gospel, is that which enriches our lives, but in fact brings us into a right relationship within our God. So here we are, teaching period number 5, Galatians 2, verses 1 through 21. 19 verses are kind of hard to get through, but when you put 220 and 221, as you will see, such a bite to chew that is there. A reminder to you that we're talking about the book of Galatians written by the Apostle Paul to the Galatian church, the believers that were there. A group of four churches that were probably unified together. They were almost like a small enclave though that had been worked by the apostle Paul, and there the gospel was preached unto them. And so Paul, coming to a situation where he receives the word that false teachers are coming into these churches, Judaizers from Jerusalem who say that yes, Paul preached the gospel, but he left some things out. And so we come to you to tell you the fullness of the gospel that was there. Paul will pick up his pen and unlike some of the letters that he will write where he dictates, he will pick up the pen in his hand and he will write with bold letters this harsh very difficult to hear, letter to the Galatian believers that are there. You will remember, in fact, as we look at verses 1 through 5. We finished 1 through 5 in chapter 1, establishing Paul, knowing that Titus and Barnabas was with him. It ended in verse 5 with a doxology as he reflected of what God has done through the gospel. And then in verse 6 he says, Galatian believers, I am so perplexed. I am so agitated that you so quickly could move from the gospel. And so they face a number of things. Among a variety of religious authorities espousing different teachings, how were they to know who was right? How were men and women to be put right with God? How could Christians in the midst of a pagan culture live lives that were truly to God? And so we got through that, and in teaching lesson number four, we started looking in terms of chapter one, verses 11 through 24. These were opportunities to look now and to understand just exactly what we call an audio biography. It would be one that Paul would speak for himself. Now, Paul is not one who by habit says, it's about me. And in 11 through 24, we saw that he really wasn't speaking, it was about me. He was speaking in terms of the fact of this is who I am, and this is whose I am. And inside of this gospel, I give to you the truth of my experience. This biographical opportunity and representation of him takes the major section of chapter number one and carries us through then chapter number two. It runs and divides itself, if you remember, in three discrete points. His early Christian experience and his first encounter with the leaders in Jerusalem. Then as we come into chapter number two, this dialogue, this narrative that he is running in defense of his apostleship in the gospel, he is going to have a meeting with Jerusalem leaders over the scope and the sphere of his missionary work. And that is in the first 10 verses of chapter 2. And then in the last section, 11 through 21, there will be this confrontation at Antioch, leading to the central pronouncement of justification by faith. For you remember the Galatian believers are coming and now hearing. From these, it would be false teachers that sneak in, that have integrated themselves within the church. They say it is Christ, but it is more than just Christ by His grace through our faith. There also must be an understanding and a linkage to the law, especially when it comes to the right of circumcision. So, Nowhere in this section, if you remember, Paul is going to speak about his feelings. You know, there is no doubt in my mind as the believers that are in this area and those that have not yet seen him face to face are surprised that this man would have such a conversion experience and he who had persecuted the church, desire was to destroy the church, would in fact now be preaching the gospel of Christ. And so, as we come to the narrative, we begin to see some things. We know that as we look at 111 through 221, we put it in the context of this larger outline, if you will, or flow of logic of this book. We find in Galatians 1 and 2 that we're in now the historical context. It's going to speak in terms of what God has done in the life of Paul. How he who had desired to murder Christians, now loves Christians in the desire of his heart, is that they would come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. And so we see that in 1 and 2. But it flows to what we should believe. And here he's going to speak very specifically in regards to the gospel. He'll take us back into the Old Testament. He'll give us some distinctives associated with the covenant relationships. And then in 5 and 6, he will speak to the Galatian believers in regards to how they should live. Timothy George will say this, Paul was defending the very heart of the Christian faith against a sinister and subversive attack upon it. On this issue, the nature of the gospel, there is not room for equivocation or doubt. Nothing less than the reality of the salvation secured by Jesus Christ is at stake in this unyielding assertion. But of course, I'm hoping that as a teacher, that you are seeing that though this speaks to Galatian believers, the inspired word of God is used by him to help sanctify us and mature us and to help us to understand what the gospel is. It is more than just simply being able to recite what a gospel is, what the gospel is. It is entangling you with truths that cause you to stop for a moment and to consider your life within the gospel. Now, it's imperative that people believe Paul. He's an apostle of the gospel and he said that. But he's facing this dynamic that says there are those, these Judaizers, these false teachers who are saying, I don't remember Paul, part of the twelve. Did he walk with Jesus for three years within the ministry? Just where did he get his gospel? By whose authority does he even dare go out? And, oh, by the way, where are the rest of the apostles at? Has he had any time with the apostles at all? Has he walked with them? Does he even understand the gospel? Or is he simply making it up as he goes? Is it the opportunity for him to establish himself? But we know this, that Paul comes and he's going to refute this. And he's going to be able to reveal to them that which happened within his life firsthand. and the preaching that now is given to him. Now the New Testament is not in place. The writing of the Galatians epistle, we believe is the first epistle that Paul wrote. It is one of the oldest, or the oldest, of the New Testament writings. Perhaps the only one that might predate it is the book of James. It's imperative that people believe Paul. The false teachers come, and as always, they followed him, and they brought in the false gospel. The true gospel was clear, and he had said to them, listen, I came to you and as I preached the gospel, not only did you listen to me, but you embraced it. You believed it. As we talked with understanding with one another, it was clear to you that Jesus Christ had lived and that he had died. He was buried after a crucifixion on a cross for your sins, that he was raised up again in newness of life. And so as he has done, so are you. And that's why as he pulls toward the end of chapter number two, he's going to say, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, not yet I, but Christ, he lives in me. He speaks to them and says, Christ in you is your hope of glory. Yet you choose to listen. and have your ears tickled by those that not speak the truth of the gospel. So, in chapters 1 and 2, he defends his apostleship because if they don't believe him, there's no source for the true gospel. They turn And they look at him and they say, isn't it wonderful we're going to put Paul off guard? But Paul is not off guard. He will never doubt the assurance that he has of that which has been given to him by the gospel. And he's going to stand strong. How about us? So he writes, he defends the gospel, and then he moves in this fascinating autobiography. And as he does that, it is in defense of the apostolic authority, his message to be believed, because he is an apostle of Jesus Christ. For if he does not win this argument, then he is not an apostle. And if he is a non-apostle, then whose gospel does he speak? But he will speak of only one gospel. Now, in Galatians chapter 1, these are verses 11 through 24 that we went through. And toward the end of it, we went very fast through them. But I want to read them together because this is the flow of the narrative. Let's read. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism before many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral transitions. But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, which we know is Peter, and stayed with him 15 days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother. Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying. Then I went into the regions of Syria and Silesia. I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea, which were in Christ. But only they kept hearing, he who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy, and we're glorifying God because of me." So the bane of Paul's ministry to defend the gospel is met by these insidious false teachers with their activity. Wherever they went, they dogged them. No sooner had he planned the gospel in some places, then these false teachers would come in again to trouble the church by perverting it. Furthermore, in order to discredit Paul's message, they also challenged his authority. So, we saw that in verses 11 and 12 of verse 1, Paul says, I did not get my gospel from man, but from Jesus Christ. Now, one of the ways in which some false teachers in Paul's day tried to undermine his authority was to insinuate that Peter's gospel is different from yours. They were trying to create, there are two gospels that are out there. Which one of these gospels are right? Who should, in fact, you believe? Their intent, among other things, was to demonstrate that within what Paul considered a circle of apostles that were in unity, in fact, they were not at all. They were infighting, and they were speaking in terms that agreement did not occur, even in the most essentials of the gospel. So in the first part of chapter two of Galatians, Paul shows that his gospel was precisely the same of the other apostles. It was not different. So let's read together the latter part, excuse me, the first part of chapter number two. Then after an interval of 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up and I submitted to them the gospel, which I preached among the Gentiles. But I did so in private, to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running or had run in vain. But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in and spied our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. But from those who were of high reputation, what they were makes no difference to me. God shows no partiality. Well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised, for he who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship, to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles. And recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me, the Barnabas, the right hand of fellowship so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They only ask us to remember the poor. And so as we go into verse two, there's some things that I want us to see. One is, why did he go there? He says to us and gives us the answer, it was because of a revelation that I went up. In other words, he didn't go on his own. He was propelled by the Holy Spirit, God carrying him there so that he might be able to speak. That word, revelation, simply means to uncover something, to reveal something. And in this particular context, it reveals an instruction to do something. This was not His idea. This was God's idea. It had to come from God. And then what happens next, God could only have set this up. Now, in the reading of this, if we're not careful in verse number 2, when we get toward the end and he says, you know, I met with them, I did it in private, they were the ones of reputation for the fear that I might be running or had run in vain. This is not that Paul is saying, man, If I get to them and they don't agree with me, then I haven't had the gospel. It wasn't the true gospel. I must have misunderstood in terms of that. I'm a failure. That is not what this is saying. It is saying, When we meet and we dialogue together, if in fact my fellow apostles say to me that, yes, you have to consider the law. Yes, circumcision is most important. It is for the application both to the Jew and to the Gentile who would be in Christ. He said, how difficult this is going to be. hard enough, but now I carry forth a gospel that is not consistent with that which the apostles did in Jerusalem give unto me." Now, Paul brings with him a companion. And the difficulty of this autobiography is that the verses indeed have far too much meat for the bone. When we consider Titus, we look, and first we know that this is a tense and crucial situation, an occasion fraught with a great peril and equally great possibility for the substantive history of the Christian church. This conversation is crucial. Now, he brings along Titus with him. As he brings him along, he knows that he is a Gentile companion who has been brought to Christ, not circumcised. And he believes consistent with that which God has given to him. Now there are probably some questions he has. What would be the reaction of the apostles in Jerusalem to Paul's Gentile companion and Gentile mission? Would they receive Titus as a brother or repudiate him because he was uncircumcised? Would they endorse Paul's gospel or attempt to modify it in some way? Would the liberty with which Christ has made us free be maintained? Or would the church be condemned to bondage Sterility had the Judaizers any ground for their rumors that there was a rift in the ranks of the Apostle He was walking on ground that he knew was firm based on the teachings that he received in the three-year period of time after the Damascus Road experience where he was taught by Christ and Some like to take and say, remember of the disciples having walked for three years in the ministry with him, the other apostles. Here, Paul would be taking off from three years and directly receive the instruction from our God, the Son, Jesus Christ. So Titus is Gentile. And here we see that he's not been circumcised. And so it's a test case to see where they are. And this is a wonderful thing. You almost can smile greatly upon your heart because Paul brings them in and says, OK, how are they going to receive Titus? And they receive him with open arms. They don't even compel him. They don't try to Use him as an example of one that says, see, Paul came with Titus. Titus was a Gentile, not circumcised. He must be circumcised. Here's the grief. They did not make him to be circumcised. They did not make him do that in order to be saved. They said, Jesus is enough. Now, over on that right-hand slide, again, reinforces to us the criticality of this conversation. If these three apostles would have said he needs to be circumcised, then Paul would have said, well, I need to pack up and go home. It is going to be even tougher now preaching the message that God has given me, but the beautiful thing is they did not. And that's awesome. Now, Paul's motive was not provocative. He did not go into this conversation to stir the pot, but to establish the truth of the gospel. And that truth manifested by their acceptance of Titus, would be this Jews and Gentiles are accepted by God on the same terms. Namely through Jesus Christ and must therefore be accepted by the church without any discrimination between them. However, the victory was not won without a battle because what happened as soon as In this private conversation, this audience of a select few coming together, the pillars of the church that Paul would say would occur. It was an issue in regards to others would come in. So Paul's issue was not just a question of circumcision and uncircumcision. It was a matter of fundamental importance regarding the truth of the gospel, namely of Christian freedom. To introduce the work of the law and make our acceptance depend on our obedience to rules and regulations was to bring a free man into bondage. Titus having believed in Jesus had been accepted by God in Christ and that was enough Now the Judaizers come in When the Judaizers come in listen to how they came in but it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in Who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus in order to bring us what? into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour so that the truth of the gospel would remain with them. Their intent was hostile. Their whole purpose was to make Christian slaves to the law. They wanted to bring them under bondage and would say, Hey, we're not talking about taking away your salvation. We're talking about getting you while you are saved back up under the law. Your desire was to cripple them. But from those who were of high reputation, makes no difference to me, Paul would say. Well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. Now, perhaps the Judaizers were calling attention that they believed that Peter and James and John were superior, as we've spoken about. Paul's intent was not to disrespect any of them. He just said this, You asked where my gospel came from, and I said, it did not come from man. It was not of men. It came directly from God, my instructor, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit working and instructing and illuminating the gospel unto me. I didn't learn from them. In fact, in the conversation that we had, they did not contribute. But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised, for he who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles. You see, as he speaks these words, part of what Paul's motive is, is not just to affirm himself, It was really to test them. But God threw in this extra blessing, the wonderful blessing. It gave them sight. And when you look at this word seeing, it means to come into a clear perception of something. It's something that says, I was looking and there were shadows there, and it was not distinct, and I couldn't see the edges of them. But they saw the gospel, and they saw that the gospel that we spoke, we preached, that we were committed to live for was indeed one gospel. Now, having the opportunity to read more than I can consider I have ever read in a very long time, There is one reoccurring thing that happens, and to those that will write about the Galatians, they will stop for a moment and will pose this question. How tragic it is within the 20th and the 21st century that so many believers do not see clearly the gospel. We are a gospel-believing church. We are fortunate to have a pastor teacher who presents the gospel to us and gives us application of that gospel. But do you see it so clearly that you understand that the gospel is life or death? It is that which we stand upon. And so God sent him up there not to affirm him, to test him, He got affirmed, but they said they knew it, the gospel. And so then as it flows in verse nine, in recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do. So what happened here? They recognized that they and Paul had been entrusted with the same gospel. They were unified in the presentation of the gospel that would be preached to the Jew and to the Gentile. The only difference is that Peter and others focusing upon the Jewish believers in Christ Paul to those that were called the Gentiles. What the apostles realized was that God was at work in His grace, both through Peter and Paul. It is a wonderful story within itself to look inside of the book of Acts, inside of the book of Acts you'll find that in the first 12 chapters there will be great presence of Peter, the power of the Holy Spirit that will come down to him, the defense that he will make of the gospel in Jesus Christ. And then from about chapter 12 to the end of the book of Acts will be the story, the journey of Paul. These two men preaching the gospel in unity with one another, and he said, remember the poor. So two principles for today I want you to think about. The truth of the gospel is one, and it's unchanging. I don't think any of us have the luxury today, when we hear distortions of the gospel, just to walk past it and have a prayer and say, Lord, be with that individual that just spoke untruth, help that they may see. Well, duh, wait a minute. Why did God bring himself inside of us? Why has the Holy Spirit empowered us? Why has the Holy Spirit given us the ability to take an introvert and put them and say, wait a minute, do you really believe that? For it's a correction one step at a time. How many steps do you make toward ensuring that the gospel is one and unchanging? Only one New Testament gospel, only one Christianity. There are not several different legitimate alternatives. But go on the internet and within five minutes you can find about 75. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. Paul would say, I do not speak a different gospel. I speak the gospel that God gave unto me. We but look inside of God's holy word and we have the gospel. Secondly, the truth of the gospel must be maintained. When the truth of the gospel is at stake, stand firm and do not bulge. Fight the good fight. If not us, who will fight it? So as we look in the 21st century and we see the distortions of the gospel on our television, you turn it off. You write the people that are there and to speak truth toward them. that you have had for years but never spoken the gospel because it was too sensitive an issue. I don't want to offend my friend. Oh, I don't have the fear of man. I just say, if I start talking this Jesus stuff, they're probably not going to want to talk to me anymore. the gospel. So we go to chapter 2. So in chapter 2 in the latter part, here is a situation where Peter and Paul are going to be opposed to one another. Paul is going to come and he is ready to in fact stand strong. His spoken word will be spoken words that will be condemning toward Peter. fellow Apostle it will not be done in private it will be done in public for just as he gives instructions later in life as he writes to Timothy he will remind in Timothy where an elder needs to be rebuked you rebuke him and you rebuke them in public So Peter has the potential of turning things upside down. Why? Well, Peter leaves Jerusalem and he goes to Antioch. Now, isn't that wonderful? Many of us will say, if I could just get away from this place for a couple of weeks. You know, if I could just kind of be me. You know, I don't have to put the mask on. I don't have to have the face. I don't have to look holy. People don't know me. I can just have the freedom to do that. Don't we do that sometimes? Maybe you don't. I have, you know, a breakaway. Peter's going to come. Peter's going to find he enjoys himself tremendously being with the Gentile believers. And he's not doing anything wrong, but something is going to occur that gives us some insight about Peter. But when Cephas came to Antioch, I posed him to his face. Man, I went face to face. I was right there. I was looking at him and saying, read my lips. I oppose him face to face because he stood condemned. He stood condemned because what? Why? Well, for prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. He sat down with the Jewish, the Gentile believers. They sat together. They ate. Their food was different. Their table setting was different. Within this context, this would also be where they had the Lord's Supper. He shared the Lord's Supper with them. He was together. But when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. What did he do? He withdrew. And when he withdrew and hold himself aloof, when you look at that, what does it literally mean? It is like there is a table in a room, and inside the table, You crawl up under the table so that you cannot be seen. You distance yourself. It was like when they came in, Peter made a beeline and got underneath that table, because he did not want to be seen. And he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof. Why? Fearing the party of the circumcision. Why in the world would he fear the party of the circumcision? For he had agreed in private conversation, when Paul had dialogued with them, that they had one gospel. That Titus was there and circumcision did not have to occur. And so he said, Ah, but I fear, we see the fear of man. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. The hypocrisy, that is a word that is used in drama when someone in fact places a mask upon themselves that is a smile or a frown and you don't see who they really are. And so there's a placement of a mass that goes on. And what happens when a leader goes right? Do you think his followers go left or right? Most majorities will go right. And so Peter who understood the gospel yet fearing those that of the circumcision would move away. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to see if it's in the presence of all. the following words. Now, straightforward, the truth of the gospel. When you look at this term straightforward, what it means is straight, along an edge. What Paul was reminding him is we are on the narrow way. You're on the narrow path. Not all chose... Peter, do you remember When Christ would come and say, come and follow me, you remember what happened? Many left him. They couldn't stand up to the truth of the gospel that was being taught and upon which we would believe in and be in Christ. You are walking a crooked path. You're not straight. And then he goes and he begins to talk through in terms of the fact of reminding Peter of what are you doing. I think at this point in the time, he moves from one that is talking and speaking in terms of giving pronouncement and judgment upon Peter to coming and saying. Peter, I just don't understand it. We were both Jews, both Jews. We were not Gentiles. We were brought up under the law, but yet we were set free in Christ, no longer a bondage to the law. Why would you go backwards? Well, next week we'll look at this more intimate but very direct conversation that Peter and Paul will have. And then an opportunity to look in terms of the fact of how Paul will end this chapter and he will end this chapter in regards to reminding that he has died to the law. but he is in life to God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day, the opportunity that you give us. How wonderful it is, Father, that you have set us free, not underneath the bondage of the law. That, Father, that we know that there is nothing that we can add to or subtract to the gospel which you have given to us within your holy word. We pray, Father, that you would give us clarity that you would give us a clear perception that moves to the reality of a gospel that transforms our life, makes us different, and compels us to go into the world and be lights shining for your glory because of what Christ has done for us and how you have allowed him to take the penalty of our sin And us father, the perfection of his life. That we might be with you for all of eternity. And in your name we pray, Amen.