Galatians 2.18-21

¹⁸ If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

¹⁹ "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

There is only one way to heaven. That is the purpose for Christ dying on the cross for us. If there were any other way then what would be the point of striving to be like Christ. We have to live by faith not knowing what will happen next but knowing that if we trust in Christ, He will always lead us in the right direction. Making sure we are always striving and not going back to the way we were before Christ came into our life is important because we need to show Christ that we are faithful to him always.

Galatians 2.14–17

¹⁴ When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

¹⁵ "We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles ¹⁶ know that a person is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷ "But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn't that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!

Have you ever read through some of the rules and regulations in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy? It’s kind of interesting to read through it. Some of the rules in there you are quite aware of (such as do not lie, and do not steal). Others you probably aren’t aware of (such as do not lend money with interest or that land that is sold has to be returned to it’s original owner every 50 years).

Have you ever wondered why we follow some laws and ignore others? Paul, in this passage, is wondering the same thing. If you look back in Acts Chapter 10, Peter has a vision from God about Gentile converts. In it, God tells him that he can eat any animal, regardless of whether or not that animal is considered ceremonially clean or unclean (some more of the obscure laws from Leviticus that we have put into the “ignore” category). In Acts 15, Peter, on the basis of this vision, claims that Gentiles can become Christians without circumcision (yet another law from the OT).

Now, it seems, Peter has decided that circumcision is mandatory for salvation. But, he seems to be content to continue eating “unclean food. Paul reminds us that it’s not any of the old laws that save us, but faith in Christ.

What laws are you using to gauge the “Christianity” of others?

Galatians 2.11-13

¹¹ When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² For before certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. ¹³ The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

In this passage, Peter is eating and hanging out with the Gentiles but separates himself from them when friends of James arrive. If you have to hide your actions from other people like Peter in this passage, you probably shouldn’t be doing them at all! If you read on in verse 13, Peter’s hypocrisy even causes Barnabas to sin as well. Leading a double life like Peter did might work at first, but it will always catch up to you and someone will eventually find out. If you know of someone who is doing something similar to Peter, perhaps hiding something from their parents or living differently on Friday night then they do on Sunday morning, I encourage you to confront them much like Paul did in our passage. If this person is you, pray that God will forgive you and make a conscious effort to change.

Galatians 2.1–10

¹ Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. ² I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. ³ Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. ⁴ This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. ⁵ We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

⁶ As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. ⁷ On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. ⁸ For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. ⁹ James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. ¹⁰ All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

In this passage Paul secretly visits the leaders in Jerusalem to reveal the revelation he has received from God concerning the freedom we have in Christ. Recognizing the grace bestowed upon Paul, the Jewish leadership extended fellowship to Paul and blessed him to continue his mission to the Gentiles. What was this freedom that Paul felt so important to express to the Jewish leaders? Given in this passage as an example of Old Testament law was circumcision. To be a part of God’s people circumcision was required to show that one was set apart to God. But Paul wanted to let everyone know that Christ’s death had changed everything. No longer is anyone subject to living to the letter of the law to be considered God’s people. In fact, it was now the acceptance of Christ’s death, the one perfect sacrifice, for the spiritual “circumcision” of our hearts that allows us to be called God’s children.