Grace Not Law
Galatians 2:1-9

Paul talks about his second trip to Jerusalem. Fourteen years have elapsed and he still finds himself defending his call to preach the gospel as an Apostle of Christ. God gave him a burden to minister to the Gentiles. God doesn’t call all of us to do the same thing. That’s why some of you are gifted to sing. Some are gifted to teach. All kinds of ministries are developed because of the variety of gifts that God has bestowed upon the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us, “And He gave some, apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” And these are only some of the gifts with which God has blessed the body of Christ.

Most importantly, the gifts were given to edify, which means to lift up, the Church. Paul compares the church to the human body. In 1 Corinthians 12:4, Paul points out, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” In verse 12, he further states, “For as the body is one and hath many members; and all the members of that body, being many are one body so also in Christ.” In Galatians chapter 2, Paul begins by explaining that salvation is by grace and not by works of the Law.

We may all have different religious experiences, but what is most important is that we realize there is only one way to come to God and that’s through His Son, Jesus!

When Paul went to Jerusalem, he took Barnabas and Titus, two co-workers, with him. Barnabas was a Jew who had been converted in Jerusalem. He was well-known by most believers, for he was one of the very first missionaries. He had experienced great movements of God wherever he carried the gospel. But there were some problems with Titus:
     (1) He was a heathen (Gentile) convert.
     (2) He was not a Jew.
     (3) He had never undergone the ritual of circumcision.
     (4) He had not committed himself to keep the Law of Moses and the rituals of religion.

For many during Paul's day, salvation was all about doing certain works. And even in the 21st century, there are members of the body of Christ who still will attempt to place others in spiritual bondage that do not imitate them. That is dangerous because we are to be imitators of Christ, and not of men!

The question is asked, "Can there be people saved that do not go to my Church, or do all of the things I do?" The answer is yes. Titus was a perfect example of salvation by grace alone, for he had been saved and called by Christ to preach without ever having been circumcised and without submitting to the Law of Moses. This is more than likely the point that Paul was making by bringing Titus with him to Jerusalem.  The Judaizers wanted all non-Jewish converts to be like Jews before they would recognize them as brothers and sisters in the Faith.

When the Judaizers heard about Titus, they automatically planted several of their followers in the Galatians church who attempted to cause confusion by demanding that Titus undergo the ritual of circumcision and make the Law of Moses the focus of his life. They were the false brethren Paul spoke about in Verse 4. They pretended they were with the group by sitting among the brethren. They did this not to grow spiritually but to spy out their freedom in Christ.

The Judaizers wanted to bring those who experienced God's grace through Jesus Christ into legalistic bondage. In their minds, it was not sufficient to have faith in Christ alone for salvation. They believed in error that in addition to Christ, there was a requirement for the Gentiles to become circumcised. They had a problem with Paul. Paul preached the gospel of grace and grace alone!  But some Jews who received the gospel refused to forsake their Judaistic religion. For them, Christianity was just an extension of their Jewish Faith. As a result, they believed that if a person wanted to accept Christ, such a person would still have to:
     (1) Be circumcised
     (2) Commit to the Mosaic Law
     (3) Observe all the ceremonies and rituals of Jewish religion

Paul said, “No. Salvation is by grace!” Since Paul was preaching this kind of gospel, the Judaizers accused him of not being a true minister of God. Too many times, we will not witness to people because they do not look like us, speak like us, and the list goes on. We write them off. This is not the plan of God. John 3:16 clearly states that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him, would have everlasting life.

The minister of God must preach the gospel and only the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is, Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again! He must not allow ritual or rule, ceremony or law to be added as a requirement to the gospel.

Paul, of course, had gone against these beliefs and practices. He had:
     (1) Allowed people to receive Christ by grace through faith alone without undergoing the
     ritual of circumcision.
     (2) Allowed people to follow and focus upon Christ instead of the Law of Moses.

Shame on Paul! He didn’t listen to the Judaizers' complaints. Often if we are not intimidated by their criticism, people will try to turn others against us:
     (1) They set out to discredit and destroy Paul.
     (2) They questioned his salvation and call.
     (3) They even tried to deny that his apostleship and ministry were of God.
     (4) By planting their own teachers in the churches where Paul had ministered, they thought      that they could indoctrinate the churches with their own false teaching.
     (5) They  thought that they could send their own emissaries to follow and hound Paul by          stirring up the people against him—stirring them to likewise question his message and call.

Paul would not turn away from the true gospel. In Verse 7 we find that just as Peter was called and committed to minister to the circumcision (the Jews), Paul was called and committed to minister to the Gentiles (non-Jews). They ministered to different groups. But it was not one gospel for the Gentiles and another gospel for the Jews. It was the same gospel of Jesus Christ.

Peter's and Paul's distinct ministries did not mean their outreach was limited to a particular group. It meant that God had placed in their hearts a special burden to minister to these groups of people. Every one of you has been given a gift of ministry and you are called to honor God with that gift so that others might be reached for His glory.

Our biggest problem today is churches, even in the same domination, which preach a different gospel. But it is clear that the Early Church and its leaders were in unity about the importance of the gospel. In verse 9, Paul said the Church pillars, James, John and Peter were in agreement with the message of salvation by grace. They agreed that the atoning sacrifice of Christ was enough for salvation.

When Christ died on Calvary, the invitation to become a part of the family of God was extended to both Jew and Gentile, bond or free. This is why Romans 2:11 explains, “There is no respect of persons with God.”Romans 10:12, tells us, "There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.”

And so Paul points out in verse 8-9 that the same God Who had worked effectively in Peter to preach to those who were circumcised also worked in him to preach to the uncircumcised. As a result, Peter, James and John extended to Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship.