In chapter 2, verse number 1, the Bible reads,
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 preached among the Gentiles,
but privately to them which 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, and came in privily to spy out our liberty,
which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.
Now, as we get into chapter 2, I want to remind you of the major themes of the book of Galatians
that we talked about when we went over chapter 1.
And I think one of the best ways to understand Galatians
is to understand that this book is a stern rebuke being sent to the Galatians.
If you remember, he starts out in chapter 1 just very strongly saying,
you know, I marvel that you're so soon removed from him that called you
into the grace of life into another gospel.
And so he's right away just blown away.
And then in a few verses, he's going to be saying to them,
you foolish Galatians, who have bewitched you?
And over and over again in this book, it's obvious that this is a very stern rebuke
to the churches of Galatia that have been infected with false teaching and false doctrine.
And if you remember, there are three things that Paul really hammered in chapter 1.
And those three things are going to be hammered all throughout this book.
And it'll help you to understand
because there are people who misunderstand some things in chapter 2
because they don't get the context of chapter 2 within the book of Galatians
where he's rebuking them for these three things.
And all the way through the book, those three things keep coming up.
Number one, he's rebuking works-based salvation.
And he's just nailing the fact that it's by grace through faith,
which again comes up in this chapter.
The other thing, number two, is that he's going after the Judaizers in virtually every chapter,
the ones who are trying to basically get the Christians to follow the Jewish customs
and the parts of the law that are done away in Christ,
the circumcision, the feast days, all those different type of things.
He's really going after them.
And then the third thing is this idea of trying to please people instead of pleasing God.
Those three things he harps on in chapter 1
and those go for the whole book of Galatians in every chapter.
He's going to hammer those things.
And so you got to keep that in mind as you read chapter 2,
get the context of chapter 1's intro and what we see in 3, 4, 5, and 6.
So look down here.
He says in verse 1,
14 years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas
and took Titus with me also.
And I went out by revelation and communicated under that gospel,
which I preach among the Gentiles.
Now stop right there.
Remember, he just finished saying in chapter 1,
there is no other gospel.
And if anybody tries to preach you another gospel, let it be a curse.
So this isn't just some special Pauline gospel.
No, this is
That's right.
And it says that he spoke it privately to them which were a reputation
lest by any means I should run or had run in vain.
Now you have to understand there's a lot of stuff in this chapter
that he's saying a little bit tongue-in-cheek,
that he's saying a little bit jokingly,
kind of like when he talks to Peter and says,
you know, we who, you know, by nature, we're Jews, by nature,
we're not sinners of the Gentiles.
You know, you have to get the context here
that he's speaking tongue-in-cheek and a lot of it.
And so he's saying, you know,
I just wanted to make sure I haven't been wasting the last 14 years
that I've been preaching the gospel.
That's what he's saying.
When he says that he went and communicated the gospel
to those that were a reputation, lest by any means
that he should run or had run in vain.
Saying, I just want to make sure I've been preaching
lies for the last 17 years.
He knew he was preaching the truth,
but he's saying it tongue-in-cheek.
Let's keep reading.
He says in verse three, but neither Titus who was with me
being a Greek was compelled to be circumcised
and that because a false brethren unawares brought in
who came in privily to spy out our Liberty,
which we have in Christ Jesus that they might bring us into bondage.
He say, well Pastor Anshin,
I don't believe you that it's tongue-in-cheek.
We're just thinking if we go back and look up this story
and ask it'll be real obvious to you
where Paul stood on this issue
because this is making reference to a story
about false brethren coming in to spy out their Liberty
in Christ Jesus and bring them back into bondage
and this question of whether Titus is going to be compelled
to be circumcised.
We can actually look that up back in the book of Acts
because found chapter 15, let's go there
and that'll help us to understand
when we go to the story that he's actually alluding to here.
He's talking about when they went up to Jerusalem
and he explains that the reason that they went up to Jerusalem
was because of false brethren, unawares, brought in,
who came in privily to spy out our Liberty,
which we have in Christ Jesus that they might bring us into bondage.
...from the Bible that those people
who were bringing them back into bondage
were the ones that were teaching
that they had to do the commandments to be saved,
be circumcised to be saved,
we said that in chapter 5,
and also just trying to get them to partake of the Jewish customs in general.
Those are the people that are being referred to.
Well, let's go back to chapter 15 of Acts verse 1, the Bible reads,
and certain men which came down from Judea
taught the brethren and said,
except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses,
you cannot be saved.
That these are those false brethren that Paul is referring to.
When he says false brethren,
he's basically saying these people are pretending to be Christians
and they're not really saved, not really believers.
They're frauds, okay?
They're a Judas Iscariot, if you will.
And so he says that these people came down and said
that if you are not circumcised, you cannot be saved.
Verse 2, when therefore Paul and Barnabas
had no small dissension and disputation with them,
they determined that Paul and Barnabas
and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem
unto the apostles and elders about this question.
Now let me stop right here and tell you
that this was not questionable to Paul at all.
He said we had no small disputation with these people.
And back in Galatians chapter 2,
you don't have to turn back there if you're not there already,
but in verse 5, about these same people it says,
to whom we gave place by subjection,
know not for an hour
that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
So Paul makes it real clear
that he was never sucked in by these people.
He didn't give these people the time of day,
know not for an hour.
He knew that it was lies, he knew that it was false.
He had no small disputation with them,
meaning he had a big disputation with them.
And other people in the church, the elders and so forth,
they decided that they would go down to Jerusalem
to resolve this question.
Not that it was questionable in the minds of Paul or Barnabas,
but that it was questionable in their minds.
Okay, so I just want to make that clear.
Paul knew that the gospel was by grace or faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and that it didn't have anything to do with works,
including being circumcised or anything else.
So, in verse 2 of chapter 15, it ends on that question, verse 3.
And being brought on their way by the church,
they passed through Phoenice and Samaria,
declaring the conversion of the Gentiles,
and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
And when they were come to Jerusalem,
they were received of the elders of the church
and of the apostles and elders,
and they declared all things that God had done with them.
And that's that conversation privately
with them that are of reputation
that he's referring to in Galatians 2.
Then it says in verse 5,
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees,
which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them
and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Now, just so you don't get lost in the story here,
I want to make this real clear.
The thing that Paul is dealing with
at the beginning of chapter 15,
an unsaved people are coming in and saying
that they have to be circumcised to keep the law to be saved.
This is a salvation issue, okay?
Paul knew that wasn't true,
but they said,
Well, go check with the apostles in Jerusalem
just to make sure.
Okay, whatever.
He just took it as a trick to go
and tell all the great things that God had been doing
and look up with the brethren there.
Well, when he gets there,
he tells them all these things, right?
And they agreed with them, of course.
And in Galatians chapter 2,
he says that they added nothing unto him,
meaning that they affirm,
Yes, you're right, Paul.
Yes, you're preaching the true gospel
that it's by faith in Jesus, okay?
But then what happens in Acts chapter 15 verse 5
is that this other issue comes up.
This is a separate issue
because it says,
Then there arose, or I'm sorry, with them,
but there arose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees
which believed, saying
that it was needful to circumcise them
and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
So now these Pharisees who had believed,
these people are actually saved,
so they're not trying to mix this in with salvation,
but what they're saying is just that,
well, okay, it's not part of their salvation,
but they should still get circumcised.
They should still follow the customs of Moses
and keep the law of Moses and so forth.
So that becomes the new topic of discussion, okay?
Whether or not they should be circumcised in general
or whether or not they should keep the law of Moses in general
versus, you know, being about salvation.
That was just instantly resolved.
Paul and Barnabas never gave place to that,
and when they showed up and talked to the apostles,
the apostles agreed with them, okay?
Read that in the Bible.
It says in verse 6,
And the apostles and elders came together
for to consider of this matter.
They're not considering how to be saved.
They're considering this matter
of whether they should even be circumcised
and keep the law in general.
It said in verse 7,
When there had been much disputing,
Peter rose up and said unto them,
Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago
God made choice among us
that the Gentiles by my mouth
should hear the word of the Gospel and believe.
Now, this is gonna be important in a minute,
so I want you to pay attention to that.
Peter gets up and says,
Hey, you remember how God wanted me
to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles?
This is that story back in chapter 10
where God specifically told Peter
to preach the Gospel to Cornelius,
who was an Italian, okay?
That was God's working and God's will
that God directed him to preach to that Italian guy.
Okay, let's keep going.
It says in verse 8,
And God, which knoweth the hearts,
bare them witness,
giving them the Holy Ghost,
even as he did unto us.
He put no difference between us and them,
purifying their hearts by faith.
Now therefore, why tempt he God
to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples,
which neither our fathers nor we are able to bear?
For we believe that through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ,
we should be saved, even as they.
Then all the multitude kept silence
and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul,
declaring what miracles and wonders
God had brought among the Gentiles by him.
And after they had held their peace,
James answered, saying,
Then, brethren, hearken unto me.
Simeon had declared how God the first
did visit the Gentiles,
to take out of them a people for his name,
and to this agree the words of the prophets
as it is written.
After this I will return and will build again
the tabernacle of David which is fallen down,
and I will build again the ruins thereof
that I have set up.
And I will set it up.
That the residue of men might seek after the Lord
and all the Gentiles,
upon whom my name is called,
saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning of the world.
Wherefore, my sentence is,
that we trouble not them
which from among the Gentiles return to God,
but that we write unto them
that they abstain from pollutions of idols,
and from fornication,
and from things strangled, and from blood.
For most of old time happened every city
done that preached and being read
in the synagogues every Sabbath day.
Then it pleased the apostles and elders
with the whole church
to send chosen men of their own company
to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas,
namely Judas,
surnamed Varcivus and Silas,
chief men among the brethren.
And they wrote letters by them after this manner,
the apostles and elders and brethren
sending, sending greetings unto the brethren
which are of the Gentiles in Antioch
and Syria and Cilicia.
For as much as we have heard that certain
which went out from us
and troubled you with words,
subverting your souls,
saying ye must be circumcised and keep the law,
to whom we gave no such commandment,
it seems good unto us,
being assembled upon a court
to send chosen men unto you
with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
men that have hazarded their lives
for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have said therefore,
Judas and Silas,
who shall tell you the same things by mouth,
for it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us
to lay upon you no greater burden
than these necessary things,
that you abstain from need to offer to idols,
and from blood, and from strangle,
and from fornication,
from which, if you keep yourselves,
you shall do well,
fare you well, and so on and so forth.
You know, we keep reading and reading.
But the bottom line is that
there was confusion in the early church
about this issue.
Paul was not a part of that confusion.
Paul knew where he stood on this issue.
He was right about this issue.
Peter is backing him up on this issue.
But when they all get together and talk about it,
there was confusion where there were people
who were saying,
no, we need to be circumcised.
No, we need to keep these cousins.
But the question is,
who was right and who was wrong?
Well, God is telling us
who was right and who was wrong,
because the book of Galatians
is inspired by God,
and it's calling the people
who had it work salvation.
He's calling them out as false brethren.
And he's allowing Paul
to have the last word here,
and to explain that these people are wrong.
Because if you look back, if you would,
keep your finger in Acts 15,
but go to Galatians 2, where we were.
Look what it says in verse 3.
of Galatians chapter 2.
It says,
But neither Titus, who was with me,
being a Greek,
was compelled to be circumcised.
And that, because of false brethren,
unaware, is brought in.
So here's what he's saying.
These false brethren came in
preaching all this circumcision,
circumcision, circumcision.
And because of that,
there was a question of whether Titus
should be compelled to be circumcised.
This is an adult man,
who's a Greek man.
But he's saying,
he's a believer in Christ,
and they're trying to circumcise this guy.
And in the end,
Titus ends up not being circumcised.
And basically,
Paul is blaming a lot of this false doctrine
on the unbelievers who come in.
So, to make it simple,
these unsaved people,
that were the Judaizers,
come in,
and they're teaching work,
salvation, and all this garbage, right?
But then what happens is,
people that are actually saved,
get caught up in some of their false doctrine.
And it's the same thing that we see today,
with this Judaizing movement.
Today it's known as the Hebrew Roots movement.
And it's a movement that started by total unbelievers.
Totally unsaved people.
If you look at the architects of this movement,
if you look at the people
who are the main teachers,
you know, they're works-based,
salvation-type teachers.
But what happens is,
a lot of people that are saved,
they get caught up in it,
because they start listening to all these rabbis,
and all these Hebrew Roots-type teachers,
because it's possible for a saved Christian,
not to start going around preaching work,
salvation, and all that.
And I don't believe that's going to happen,
because once you're saved,
you know it's by grace and faith.
But it's easy for them to just get caught up
in this whole thing of,
well, hey, we should be circumcised.
Hey, we should circumcise our children.
We should follow these feast days,
and the Feast of Tabernacles,
and the Feast of Trumpets,
and we should do all these carnal ordinances,
which the New Testament tells us
are specifically done away in Christ.
It says that those things
were a shadow of things to come,
that they were a figure
for the time then present,
but that Christ being come,
there's a necessity, a change in the law.
The Bible says, repeat the roots, okay?
He said, I've come not to destroy
the law of the prophets,
but to fulfill.
Some of those things are fulfilled in Christ.
You say, well, how do I know which things?
The Bible specifically tells us in Hebrews,
in Colossians, in Galatians,
books like that,
it specifically tells us
what has been done away in Christ.
Obviously, none of the moral laws
have been done away.
You know, it's still wrong to kill,
steal, obviously all those things,
but when it comes to some of the ceremonial law,
the carnal ordinances,
the meats, the drinks,
the divers washing,
those things have been done away in Christ,
and just as in Paul's day,
there were false teachers
trying to bring those things back in,
we have the same thing going on today.
Now, look at Acts chapter 16,
if you're still there in Acts 16.
Look at chapter 16
and remember the context.
This is right after this big discussion.
Don't have to be circumcised.
That was the resolution of chapter 15.
Look at chapter 16, verse 1.
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra,
and behold, a certain disciple
was there named Timotheus,
the son of a certain woman
which was a Jewess and believed,
but his father was a Greek,
which was well reported of
by the brethren
that were at Lystra and Iconium.
Him would Paul have to go forth with him
and took and circumcised him
because of the Jews
which were in those quarters
for they all knew that his father was Greek.
Now, does he say here
that he circumcised Timotheus
because it was the right thing to do?
Because that's what God wanted him to do,
because that's what God had commanded.
No, what's he doing it for?
To please man.
Okay, because remember,
that was one of the other things in Galatians.
All these three things keep coming up
in every chapter.
This thing of pleasing man versus pleasing God,
the Judaizers, and the work of salvation.
These are three things that he's attacking.
Now, Paul's not a perfect person.
And what we see in Acts 16
is Paul making a mistake
where he circumcises Timotheus
to please man.
He just kind of wants to shut the Jews up
so he just gets them circumcised
just so that they can say he's circumcised
just so that they won't give him any trouble, okay?
Now, let's go back to Galatians 2.
And the reason I took a lot of time
to give you all that background
is because it's important
for understanding the rest of this chapter,
to understand the beginning part of the chapter.
So he starts out by telling the story
about how Titus almost got circumcised,
but he didn't.
But then we know from Acts
that he did compel Timothy to be circumcised.
We know that there were false brethren
bringing in work salvation.
There were people bringing in
this Judaizing doctrine and so forth.
But look what the Bible says
in verse 6 of Galatians chapter 2.
It says,
But of these who seem to be somewhat,
whatsoever they were,
it maketh no matter to me,
God except no man's person.
For they who seemed to be somewhat
in conference added nothing to me.
But contrary wise,
when they saw that the gospel
of the uncircumcision was committed unto me,
remember this is the same story
as Acts 15 that we just read,
that the gospel of the uncircumcision
was committed unto me,
as the gospel of the circumcision
was unto Peter.
For he that wrought effectually in Peter
to the apostleship of the circumcision,
the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles.
And when James, Cephas, and John,
who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that was given unto me,
they gave to me in Barnabas
the right hands of fellowship,
that we should go unto the heathen
and they unto the circumcision.
Only they would,
that we should remember the poor,
the same which I also was forward to do.
Okay, here's where people get confused.
People read this and they just kind of stop right there.
They just take the scripture out of context
and say, oh see,
Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles,
all the other apostles
were sent to the circumcision.
That is a lie, that is false doctrine, okay?
Because if you remember very clearly,
Jesus Christ himself
said to the 11 apostles,
of whom Peter and John were two of them,
two of the three guys that are mentioned here,
he specifically looked at them and said,
go ye therefore and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
and teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you,
and lo, I am with you always,
even at the end of the world.
He said, go teach all nations.
Did he say, go only to one nation?
And later, I'm going to call a different guy
that you guys have never met or heard of.
Later, I'm going to go get a different guy
and he's going to do all nations all by himself.
And you 11 guys are all going to go to one nation
and it's the nation that we've already been talking to
for the last three and a half years
and we've already gone to every nation in the world.
But I want you 11 guys
to keep doing that for the rest of your life
because I'm going to call another guy later
that you don't even know
and he's going to do all nations.
Is that what he said?
No, he looked at those 11 guys,
he said, you 11 guys, go teach all nations, right?
But what are they saying here?
Oh, God's given us the ministry to the circumcision
and he's given you the ministry to the uncircumcision
and given them the right hand of fellowship.
All right, you got a deal.
You guys go to the Gentiles.
We're going to stay here with the Jews, right?
All right.
That's all man's reasoning.
That didn't come from God.
Even in the story itself in Acts 15,
when God got involved,
who's he telling Peter to go talk to?
The Italian.
He's telling him, you know,
and Peter even gets up in that exact meeting
and says, you remember how God wanted me to preach
to the uncircumcision
and God appeared to me in a vision
and then they're like, okay, so it settles,
we're going to the circumcision.
What?
You just finished saying how God told you
to go talk to the Eden.
And now you're like, hold on, Paul's going to do that.
You got that covered?
We're going to stay here in Jerusalem
and keep beating our heads against the wall
with five or seven good people.
It makes no sense, my friend.
But it does make sense when you understand
that they're just disobeying.
They're disobeying God.
And here's why it becomes obvious.
And this is why you have to read the whole chapter
and not just take a couple of verses
because when you get to verse 11,
there's a but there, okay?
It says, but when Peter was come to Antioch,
I would stood him to the face
because he was to be blamed.
You see, Peter's wrong a minute ago
and Peter's wrong again here.
The but is, well, but this time I stood up to him.
Because basically Paul didn't really stand up to him
in Acts 15
because remember at the beginning of chapter 16,
he's slinking away and circumcising his buddy, okay?
Whereas here, he stands up to him in Antioch.
He says, but when he's in Antioch,
I would stood him to the face.
You see, Peter was just as wrong to say,
well, I'm going to the circumcision
and you're going to the uncircumcision
as he was in Antioch.
It's just this is where he's being confronted for it.
Okay, he's being confronted by Paul.
You see, it's a classic case of
when we study the Bible,
we have to go with what God says
over what man says.
See, a lot of times in the Bible,
it records what people say
and it records what people do.
And a lot of times people will look at what people do
and just take it as gospel.
For example, they'll say,
oh, well, it's okay to have more than one wife
because here's a person in the Bible
who had more than one wife.
But wait a minute,
just because someone in the Bible had more than one wife,
that doesn't mean God told them to do that.
Or you can say, oh, well, you know,
Peter here said that they go to the circumcision,
but that doesn't mean God said that.
This is Peter saying that and he's wrong.
That's why Paul has to rebuke him and correct him
because Peter has come under this Judaizing effect here
and this foolishness of neglecting
the whole rest of the world
so we can just keep giving the gospel the circumcision
over and over again.
And there are people today that are like that.
They're just on this mission to win Jews to the Lord.
Okay?
And look, I'm all for winning everybody to the Lord,
but I'm against targeting Jews for the gospel.
I'm against it.
Oh, I can't believe this is so good.
I'm against it, I said.
Why?
Because God never told us to do this.
To preach the gospel to every creature
and he said that he sent prophets and prophets to Israel.
Last of all, he sent his son
and when they rejected the son,
he told them go preach and teach all nations.
So look, if we go out knocking doors
and we knock on the door of a Jew,
we're going to give him the gospel.
If we knock on the door of red, yellow, black, white,
we're going to give him the gospel.
But you know, to go out and seek out Jews
and say, well, I'm a Jew,
you know, we're going to go on a ministry
just to reach Jews.
You know what?
That's not what the New Testament told you to do.
The New Testament just told you to go out
and preach to every creature
and to understand there's no difference
between the Jew and the Greek
and it's not like you get one point
for getting a Gentile.
Say, if you get 10 points, you know,
extra rewards in heaven.
You know, and well Paul said,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
is that they might be saved.
You know, that's his heart.
That's his idea.
But God keeps telling him,
go to the Gentiles, go to the Gentiles,
go to the Gentiles, you know,
and then in Acts,
Paul is trying to go back to Jerusalem
for some feast and he's going to preach them
and the Holy Ghost is sending prophets to him,
tell him, no, you're going to be bound and whatever.
And he's like, oh, I'm willing to be bound.
It's like, no, he's called to the Gentiles.
God's calling Peter to the Gentiles.
God's telling the 11 disciples,
teach all nations.
Look, there's all these nations,
11 guys, spread out, go do it.
Instead, it's just a bunch of guys in Jerusalem.
And then Paul has to be called and sent.
And you know why half the New Testament's
written by Paul?
You know why half the book of Acts is about Paul?
Because I guess the Bible just got tired
of just telling us about them in Jerusalem.
You know, the book of Acts starts out
with those of the disciples.
You know, it starts out with Peter, James, John.
That's how it starts.
But halfway through the book,
those guys are just out of the picture.
Why does God not just get to keep telling us
and they were still in Jerusalem
and then three years later,
they were still in Jerusalem
and then eight years later,
they were still in Jerusalem
and then 20 years later,
they were still in, no, no, no.
God says, well, let's follow the story
of somebody who's actually obeying me.
Yeah. Yeah.
You know what I mean?
And then he basically is following the life of Paul
as he goes off the road.
I'm going to Spain and I'm going into Italy
and I'm going in to all these different places.
Why?
He's obeying.
So that's why we hear so much about him.
That's why he writes half the New Testament.
Why?
Because God said,
I need somebody to write to the Thessalonians.
You know, I need somebody to write to the Galatians.
I need somebody to write to the Corinthians.
I need somebody to write to the Ephesians.
Well, he can't use a bunch of guys
that are just hanging in Jerusalem all the time.
You know, they're all like,
ooh, let me write the book of Hebrews.
Yeah.
Paul's writing it.
What?
What are you talking about?
Paul's writing it.
It's our one book, you know, to write.
That's a good pistol.
But anyway, I'm joking.
But the point is though,
you see this though
and I think what it is
is people just like to stick with what they're comfortable.
Yeah.
It'd be like if God told us here at Faithful Word,
all right guys,
you guys are going to go throughout the whole world
preaching the gospel
and everybody's like,
well, I'm pretty comfortable here.
You know, nobody necessarily wants to hop on the ship
to Africa or India or Asia or South America.
You know,
I think these guys,
a lot of them are just comfortable in Jerusalem
and they're comfortable talking to the people that they know.
They don't want to get out of their comfort zone.
They don't want to get out of their shell
and talk to some people.
It's sort of like when you go soul-biting with somebody
where they only want to talk to somebody
who already goes to a Christian church
but they're just not saved
and then they get to an atheist
and they're like, I don't see you.
I mean, I've been out soul-biting
and somebody says they're an atheist
and they're like, oh, okay, bye.
Or they're Muslim.
Why?
I can't do it.
You know, it's like they want to talk to somebody
who already knows the basics.
They just want to kind of be there to finish it off.
But you know what?
We ought to be ready to go to preach Christ
where he's never been named.
The Bible says.
Where we're not even building on another man's foundation.
You know, I mean, if you walk up to the door
and somebody's an atheist,
great, give them the gospel.
If they're a Muslim,
if they're a Jew,
if they're whatever,
just give them the gospel, you know.
Yeah.
These people are just looking
for the low-hanging fruit apparently
where they already know the Old Testament or something.
So they're going to come in
and they are misguided to think
that those people are more likely to get saved,
when in reality they're less likely to get saved.
Right.
Paul had more success
because of the fact that the Gentiles
turned out to be more receptive.
And throughout Acts,
you'll see Paul slip into this sometimes
where he'll start just talking to the Jews.
And then he gets real mad.
He's like, that's it.
I'm going to the Gentiles from now on.
And then a few chapters later,
he's still talking to the Jews again.
And then he gets real mad again.
He's like, I don't know why I'm talking to you guys.
I'm going to the Gentiles.
He does it three times in the book of Acts.
So when you understand the whole context of Galatians
and the context of Acts,
it's real obvious what this chapter is about here.
You know,
now if you just isolate a little verse here,
a little verse there,
you can teach these twisted doctrines
like the dispensationalists where they teach them.
Oh, well, Paul is our apostle.
All the other apostles are sent to Israel.
You know, this is all nonsense.
None of this came out of the mouth of Jesus Christ.
This is just what man's logic
and man justifying not doing the will of God came out.
Okay, let's keep reading here.
You know, he says,
oh, yeah, you know, verse nine,
when James, Cephas, and John, Cephas, and Peter,
who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that was given unto me,
they gave to me and Barnabas
the right hands of fellowship
that we should go into the heathen.
And they understood the decision.
Just total disregard the fact
that Jesus told them to go to the heathen.
They're just not doing it, okay?
Look at verse 11,
but when Peter was come to Antioch,
I would have stood him to the face
because he was to be blamed.
For before that certain came from James,
James is the head honcho in Acts chapter 15.
It says, before certain came from James,
he did eat with the Gentiles.
He withdrew and separated himself,
fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Now remember, this is the same Peter
who received a special vision
where God specifically told him
that he should not call any man unclean.
And he told him to go in with Gentiles
and eat with them.
Those specific things were told to him.
Now we see him here in his human weakness.
He's sitting and eating with the Gentiles
as he was told to do.
And then as soon as them from James come,
all of a sudden he gets up
and goes to a different table in the lunchroom, right?
Because he doesn't want them from James seeing him.
He's embarrassed of being with the Gentiles.
Now does this make Peter a horrible person?
No, but it makes Peter wrong here.
And so the Bible is showing us
that even great men of God
can sometimes be wrong.
And they can sometimes do things wrong.
And that's why we don't look at what they do.
We look at what God says.
And there's no doubt of what God says about salvation.
There's no doubt about what God says
about whether or not we should be circumcised
in the New Testament.
There's no doubt about, you know,
who the apostles were supposed to be preaching to.
All nations, period.
No exception.
Okay, so then it says here, verse 13,
And the other Jews dissembled likewise with them.
So basically when Peter gets up with his tray
in the cafeteria and goes and sits somewhere else,
all the other Jews, they look at that
and they say, oh, well, Peter's getting out and moving?
Well, we're gonna move too.
They all pick up their lunch tray
and go sit over there at the Jew table.
Now look, this shows you how false doctrine
can be infectious.
And this is why Paul had to deal with it.
Because it's just spreading.
And these people should have known better.
And then you literally see this.
It says in verse 13, halfway through,
It's so much that Barnabas also was carried away
with their dissembulation.
I mean, Barnabas is a guy that's right there with Paul
preaching against this stuff.
But it's just so many people got out and moved their tray,
he just looked around and said,
what do you want to let us?
So here's what Peter says when he confronts him.
Verse 14, But when I saw that they walked
not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel,
I said unto Peter before them all,
If thou being a Jew liveth after the manner of Gentiles,
and not as do the Jews,
why compel us not the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
I'll say that five times fast.
But he's rebuking him and saying,
you know what, you're a hypocrite, right?
You don't believe in following all this Jewish stuff,
but yet you're trying to compel other people
to do something that you don't even do, right?
That you don't even follow.
And then it says in verse 15,
We who are Jews by nature,
and not sinners of the Gentiles,
again, tongue in cheek here.
Okay, because remember, in Romans,
he makes it clear that the Jew
is just as much of a sinner as the Gentile.
There's no difference.
We've all sinned and come short of it.
It says there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek
for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,
being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus.
So he's saying tongue in cheek,
you know, we who are Jews by nature,
again, tongue in cheek,
avoid genealogies.
In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile,
but he's just we who are Jews by nature
and not sinners of the Gentiles,
knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law,
but by the faith of Jesus Christ.
Even we have believed in Jesus Christ
that we might be justified by the faith of Christ
and not by the works of the law,
for by the works of the law
shall no flesh be justified.
So obviously, he doesn't think he's not a sinner.
He knows he's a sinner.
They're all sinners.
Everybody's a sinner.
Amen. It's very clear.
But he's just saying here
that these people act as if the Gentiles are so bad
and the Jews are so good
and really there's no difference.
That's what the Bible's saying.
But verse 16 is a very powerful verse
affirming that salvation is by faith
and not by the deeds of the law.
Very strong verse for that.
Galatians 2 16 is a verse
that you should have underlined or memorized
and it's very useful for soul winning too.
But if while we seek to be justified by Christ,
we ourselves are found sinners,
is therefore Christ the minister of sin?
So again,
and I'm going slowly and breaking this down
because you got to get the whole context.
People just quote literally verse 15 all by itself
and just say, see, they're Jews by nature.
They're not sinners of the Gentiles
and not understand that he's being sarcastic
because two verses later he's like,
well, what if it turns out that we're sinners too?
Why?
Because he's being sarcastic.
He's being tongue-in-cheek when he says,
oh, we're Jews by nature.
We're not sinners of the Gentiles.
Two verses later, he says,
well, what if, you know,
but if while we seek to be justified by Christ,
we ourselves also are found sinners,
is therefore Christ the minister of sin?
God forbid.
Okay.
He says,
for if I build again the things which I destroyed,
I make myself a transgressor.
For I through the law am dead to the law
that I might live under God.
I'm crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live, yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me
and the life which I now live in the flesh,
I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me and gave himself for me.
So basically what he's explaining here is,
look, we're still sinners,
but that doesn't make salvation of no effect.
That doesn't make the word of God void.
It doesn't make God the minister of sin
because of the fact that when we commit sin,
it's the old man that's sinning,
it's not the new creature that's sinning.
Go to Romans chapter 7,
and I'll show you that real quickly.
Romans chapter number 7.
Romans chapter number 7, the Bible reads,
and this is a really famous passage,
very important passage.
The Bible says in verse number 14,
it says, but we know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Verse 15.
For that which I do, I allow not.
For what I would, that do I not.
But what I hate, that do I.
So in verse 15, he's saying
that he does things that he hates.
And then there are things that he really wants to do
that he ends up not doing.
What's he referring to?
He's saying that he wants to do right,
but he ends up doing wrong.
And this is what Jesus said to the apostles
when he said, the spirit truly is willing,
but the flesh is weak, right?
And this is our Christian life.
None of us is perfect, right?
We all do wrong things.
Now sometimes if the world will see a Christian
do something wrong, they'll say,
see, right there, that proves that this person
is a complete fraud because they sinned.
Well, no, it doesn't mean that they're a complete fraud.
It doesn't mean that what they believe
is of no effect.
It doesn't mean that they're not really saved.
It doesn't mean that they're just a complete
hypocrite, rotten person living a double life.
No, what it means is
that every human being is a sinner
and even after you're saved,
the sinful flesh is still with you.
And sometimes you end up doing things
that you don't want to do
or not doing things that you should be doing
because you're human, because you're a sinner.
And sometimes the spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak.
None of us is perfect.
None of us is without sin.
And again, obviously if somebody is married
and then they're just committing adultery on the side,
okay, yeah, that person is a major hypocrite.
That person is living a double life.
That's not what I'm talking about.
Obviously at that point, and they still might be saved,
but that's a major, major sin and so forth.
But I'm talking about it seems like some people,
they just want to jump on any mistake
that anybody makes and just declare them
to be a complete phony or fraud or hypocrite.
This is not true because everybody should know
that we as Christians are sinners
and make mistakes and do things that are wrong.
And a lot of times we want to do what's right
and we do something stupid.
We're like, man, why did I do that?
And every single person in this room
has felt that way.
I mean, how many people that want to quit smoking
and then they smoke another cigarette
and then it's just another,
man, why am I smoking that cigarette?
I'm an idiot, you know, what am I doing?
Or whether it's drinking or whatever, okay?
It's just, we're human, okay?
And obviously the goal is to crucify the flesh
that we be crucified with Christ
and that we would walk in the Spirit,
that we would walk in newness of life.
And as we grow in our Christian life,
hopefully we're doing more and more walking in the Spirit
and less and less walking in the flesh.
That's our growth, that's the progress that we make.
Let's keep reading here in Romans 7.
In verse 16, he says,
if then I do that which I would not,
I consent under the law that it is good.
So in verse 16, he's saying here
that when he does the wrong thing,
he doesn't say, well, the commandment's wrong.
No, he's admitting, no, God's word stands,
but I made a mistake.
Meaning that he's not always trying
to justify the sin, okay?
Because sometimes when you catch someone
doing something wrong, they'll say,
well, what I did wasn't really wrong.
But Paul's saying, no, no, that's not the case here.
This is just a case of I knew what was right,
and I blew it, you know, I did something wrong.
Verse 16, if then I do that which I would not,
meaning the wrong things that he doesn't wanna do,
I consent under the law that it is good.
It says, now then it is no more I that do it
but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me that is in my flesh
dwelleth no good thing.
For to will is present with me,
to will means, you know, to wanna do what's right.
To will is present with me,
but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would, I do not.
But the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I would not,
it is no more I that do it,
but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law that when I would do good,
evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man,
but I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin
which is in my members.
Oh wretched man that I am,
who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
So he's just saying, man it just bugs me
because, you know, I just keep sinning
and I don't want to, I wanna do what's right
but I end up doing bad things.
Saying, oh wretched man that I am
and he's blaming his body, his members, his flesh.
Because of the fact that when we get saved
our spirit is regenerated.
And the Bible says, if any man be in Christ
he is a new creature.
Old things are passed away
beyond all things are becoming new.
A lot of people try to take that verse and say,
oh all things are becoming new
that means your life's gonna change.
But if that were a change of lifestyle
all things would mean all.
That'd mean you're living a perfect life.
But is that what the Bible teaches?
No.
See what that's teaching when it says
if any man be in Christ he's a new creature,
that's talking about the new man.
That's talking about the spirit.
Your spirit has been regenerating your soul.
That's why Paul said, I delight in the law of God
after the inward man.
Inside I wanna do what's right.
That's the real me he says.
But I find this other law warring in my members.
Basically the flesh is still there
and the flesh is constantly warring against the spirit
and it's causing him to commit sin.
And so that's why the Bible tells over and over again,
walk in the spirit and you'll not fulfill
the lust of the flesh
and that we need to mortify the members
of our uncleanness upon this earth
and so on and so forth.
So go back to Galatians chapter two with that in mind.
So notice twice in Romans seven, two times he said
that when he does that he would not.
He said, it's no longer I that do it
but sin that dwelleth in me.
So he's saying, I'm not even really the one
that's doing it in the sense of the new man
it's the old man that's responsible for that.
That's why the moment that we die as believers
when we die physically, we will never sin again
because the flesh will be dead, the flesh will be gone
and at the resurrection we're gonna get a brand new body.
But right now our soul and spirit have been regenerated
but we got the same old flesh
that we had before we got saved.
That's why if you walk in the flesh
you will be just like you were before you were saved.
You'll be the same way
because the flesh doesn't change
and it seems like modern Christianity,
this fact is lost on them, right?
They've completely lost sight of the fact
that you cannot reform the flesh, cannot be reformed.
The Bible says the carnal mind is enmity against God.
It says that it cannot be brought into subjection
of the laws of God.
You can't change the old man.
You can't fix it.
You can't reform him.
You can't make him obey God.
It just doesn't work that way.
The old man is incorrigible.
The new man, spiritual man, the new creature, okay,
that's the one who wants to do what's right.
The flesh is always gonna be there
and continue to wanna do that which is wrong
and you can never just completely eradicate that.
You can never just permanently kill the old man
and just be seamlessly purposed.
No, you will continue to sin until the day that you die
and the degree to which you will sin
is the degree to which you walk in the flesh.
That's why if a person gets saved,
if they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and they don't go to church, don't read the Bible,
don't pray, don't sing the hymns,
do you think they're walking in the flesh or the spirit?
Obviously they're walking in the flesh
so you know what, they're gonna be pretty much exact.
Yeah, the difference is that now they have
the Holy Spirit living inside them
so there's more of a conscience there
but the same flesh is gonna have the same cravings
and wanna do the same things as it did before.
Whereas when you see that same person get in church,
read their Bible, pray, sing hymns,
these are things that the Bible says
will cause them to be filled with the Spirit.
Well, then at that point you're gonna see
a dramatic change in that person
and say, wow, that person's really changing
but really it's not that a person is changing,
it's that now more of the new nature is shining through
and less of the old nature.
So a Christian who quote unquote hasn't changed
and is still the way they were before they were saved,
we're just seeing the old man in control all the time
and that's why we say that person hasn't changed at all.
And then as that person grows
and we start seeing more of the new man,
that's where we see from our perspective, quote, a change.
But it's really not as much of a change as an exchange.
You know what I mean?
It's not like we're changing the old man,
it's that there's a new nature,
there's a new guy that we're seeing
and that's a big difference and it matters,
a huge difference when we understand that.
Because people will sit there and look at somebody
who lives the same way and just say,
well, that guy's not saved
but you know what, it doesn't mean that he's not saved.
Because it just, yeah, I know the old man's not saved.
None of our old man is saved.
None of our flesh is saved.
And so it's a major importance to understand that
and in our own personal lives, we need to understand that
in order to understand how to overcome sin in our life.
See, some people that think that the old man
is just dead and gone and never to return,
then they feel like they can play around with sin
because they feel, oh, I'll never go back
to those places again.
I'll never go back to that life.
Oh, yes, you will if you don't take heed.
If you're not careful, you will.
Because there have been a lot of people who've said,
oh, I'm never going back to that life
who went back to that life.
That's right.
Why?
Because that door will always be open.
Because the flesh is always there
and that's why the Apostle Paul said, I die daily.
It's not just a one time, this, oh yeah, I got saved
and then I just, you know, these preachers get up
and say, you know, I got saved
and I never, never craved a cigarette again.
From the moment I got saved, I never drank,
I never craved another drop of liquor.
I never, you know, craved it.
And they'll just get up and talk about this junk.
And you know what, it's lies.
Right, yeah.
There's no way to sugar coat it.
It's a lie, okay?
Well, their experience was different.
No, they're lying.
Because let me tell you, no one has the experience.
Okay, somebody might have had a great experience
when he's spoken or something, whatever.
But the point is, this experience of just,
oh, when I got saved, all of a sudden
they just don't have temptation anymore.
Statements like that and saying, you know,
bless God, when I got saved, I got all the way saved.
You're either saving that
or they'll get up and say things like,
well, you know, if you didn't have that kind of change,
you're not really saved.
It's garbage.
And then they'll misquote, you know,
oh, if any man be a Christ, he's a new creature.
All things are past.
They're totally twisting what that creature's saying.
And totally corrupt it.
And it makes people doubt their salvation.
Right, right.
You know, I have something to say.
That's not good right now.
Whatever, you know.
I mean, I talked to a guy who was a pastor.
And I was talking to him about, you know,
all these people that I know are struggling
to quit smoking and everything.
And he said, you know, the first three days is the worst.
But he said the craving never totally goes away.
And he said, I haven't smoked in 15 years,
but he said it sounds really good right now.
You know, there's a guy
who's actually telling you the truth.
Not just some prideful, arrogant guy
who's getting up and saying,
I'm above temptation.
No, you're not.
Everybody has temptation.
Everybody's human.
And the people who actually are humble enough
to acknowledge that and admit that,
that's why the Bible says,
let him that think if you stand,
take heed lest he fall.
Because if we realize that the old man is still there,
if we realize that the flesh is still there,
okay, then we're gonna take heed and be careful
and understand that every day
we need to walk in the Spirit.
Every day we need to read our Bibles.
Every day we need to pray.
We need to be in church every time the doors are open,
just to make sure
that we're taking care of the new man
and that we're feeding the Spirit
and that we're shedding out the sin nature
and the flesh.
And obviously, you know what,
there are people who get a lot more used to walking
in the Spirit than in the flesh.
And you know, that's where you see people living
a good, jolly Christian life.
But you know what,
that potential is always there
for the old man to rear up his ugly head
and take over.
As soon as they stop,
they can heed unto it.
As soon as they let down their guard.
And so this doctrine is lost
on so many people today.
They don't get it.
They think that when people get saved,
it's just like this button is pushed
and all these things change.
You know?
And it's just not the case.
I mean, the way that people are
before they got saved
is the same way
the old man is going to be after they're saved.
Period. There's zero change.
Zillish.
The change is that a new man has proven
the new man has been created in righteousness
and true holiness,
and now there's a war
between those two
and there's a potential to walk in the new man
that's there.
And people need to understand that.
It's very important.
Let me just close on this last verse.
This is a great verse.
I love this verse
in chapter 2 verse 21.
It says,
I do not frustrate the grace of God
for if righteousness come by the law
then Christ is dead in vain.
And that is such a profound statement.
That's an important statement.
Say, look, if righteousness
cometh by the law
then Christ is dead in vain.
Let me just give this to you
in the vernacular, okay?
If good people go to heaven
and bad people go to hell
then why would Jesus even have to die at the cross?
It doesn't even make sense.
He said, look, if righteousness come by the law
then Christ is dead in vain.
Basically he's saying
Jesus wasted his time dying for us
if you could just keep the law
and get to heaven.
Just keep the law and be righteousness.
But Paul said
be found in him not having my own righteousness
which is the law.
But that was through the faith of Christ
the righteousness which is of God
by faith.
And so it's amazing that people think
that you can be saved by works
and you ask me, but how do you know you're going to heaven?
Oh, because I do this, I mean, just today
we were just at home, but an hour ago
knocking on the door.
Do you know for sure
if you died in any good heaven
and this lady tells me
oh yeah, I know for sure, I'm going to heaven.
What do you think it takes to get there?
Oh, just doing good things.
Living a good life.
Okay, well if doing good things
and living a good life gets you to heaven
then Christ is dead in vain.
Why die on the cross?
Why not just send the good people to heaven
and send them back to hell?
No, here's why Jesus said die on the cross
because we're all bad people.
Because we all deserve hell.
Because we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God.
That's why we all need to be justified
freely by his grace
through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus.
None of us is worthy.
There's none righteous, no, not one.
That's why Christ died.
Here's what's funny.
Well, in the Old Testament
they were saved by works.
How did that work?
Why did Jesus come down on the cross
to mess that up?
If you could just work your way to heaven
by being good.
Why don't we just keep working our way to heaven?
Because guess what?
Nobody's ever worked their way to heaven.
Because you'll fail.
Because you're a sinner.
Because you're not good enough.
Jesus said your righteousness would have to exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
People who had dead paid their lives.
You know, to serve in God.
See, being righteous in our own goodness,
keeping God's law, is not enough.
And that's why this verse is so powerful
to just show people who think
they're justified by keeping the laws.
Keeping what laws?
Keeping laws like, you know,
thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal,
thou shalt not commit adultery,
thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor,
thou shalt not covet.
All the different commandments telling us not to lie,
telling us not to fornicate,
telling us not to do this, do that.
He says, look, if righteousness come by the law
that Christ is dead of faith.
You know, a lot of people mix in the deeds of the law
because they'll say, well,
you have to be willing to stop doing these sins
and believe in Jesus.
No, no, no, just believe in Jesus, period.
Amen.
Justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
And without being willing to start doing the deeds of the law.
Yeah.
Right.
Justified by the deeds of the law.
Shall no flesh be justified.
Look, righteousness just doesn't come by the law, period.
Amen.
Because if it did, then Christ is dead in vain.
But if it's through faith in the blood of Christ,
then we understand why he died.
Right.
Because he had to.
That's why when he's in the Garden of Gethsemane
and he's weeping before the Father,
he says, if there be any way,
he said, Lord, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me.
Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.
He's basically saying, look, if there's any other way,
then I don't want to go through with this.
Let this cup pass.
You know, he didn't want to go through what he did,
dying and everything associated with that.
But he did it because it's the only way.
So are you going to make that all vain
by saying, oh, salvation might work,
by the things that we do.
You're frustrating the grace of God.
So again, chapter 2 taught all the same things
that chapter 1 did, didn't it?
More railing against Judaizers.
More talk about people who are trying to please men.
What's Peter doing when he gets up
and moves to the other part of the cafeteria?
Pleasing man.
What's Paul doing when he's circumcised to Otheus?
Pleasing man.
And more speaking against, you know, the Judaizers
and the work of salvation.
That's what this book's about.
These three things are just as relevant today
as they were back then.
Very important book as far as network prayer.
Father, we thank you so much, Lord,
for this chapter to help us to get these three lessons
and really let them sink down into our ears, Lord,
and not be deceived by this work of salvation
or this Judaizing effect, trying to get the Gentiles
to live as do the Jews.
And Lord, help us not to worry so much
about what man thinks is what you think, Lord.
And if we know something's right,
help us to just stand for it
and not be fully either pushed around by peer pressure.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.