Defend the Gospel – Galatians 2:1-16
2 Then, after an interval of fourteen years, I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. (2) I went up in response to a revelation, and I laid out before them the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles. But I did so privately before those who were esteemed as leaders, so that by no means would I be running, or had I been running, in vain. (3) But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
(4) This whole matter arose because of the false brothers who entered the church undetected, having sneaked into our fellowship in order to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might makes us “slaves.” (5) But not even for a moment did we submit to them; we resisted them so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.
(6) But from those who were held in esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me, God does not accept a man’s status—I received nothing. I say, those who were held in esteem did not contribute anything to me. (7) On the contrary, seeing that I have been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised Gentiles, just as Peter was entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the circumcised Jews—(8) for God, who was at work in Peter’s ministry as an apostle to the circumcised Jews, was also at work in my ministry to the Gentiles—(9) and recognizing the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, those who were esteemed as pillars of the church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised Jews. (10) Only they requested that we remember the poor—the very thing I, also, was eager to do.
(11) But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him directly to his face, because his actions deserved to be condemned. (12) Before certain men came from James, Cephas had been eating with the Gentile believers. But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself from the Gentiles, because he was afraid of those who belonged to the faction who advocated circumcision. (13) The rest of the believing Jews joined with him in his hypocrisy, so much so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. (14) But when I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles, and no longer like the Jews, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? (15) We who are Jews by birth, and not sinners from among the Gentiles—(16) knowing that a man is not justified by his observance of the law,* but through faith in Jesus Christ—even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by our observance of the law,* because no sinful man** shall be justified by his observance of the law.*
*Literally, “by works of the law”
**Literally, “no flesh”
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
