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Good morning dear friends on the 150 day journey with me.
Today I’m actually going to invite you to read two chapters because they fit together. Let me explain. . .
Galatians 2 begins with a statement by Paul that identifies a specific and very important event. He writes “14 years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas…” Paul’s life journey took him to Jerusalem many times, but Acts 15 describes for us a very important visit. In fact, it was a defining moment for the Jesus movement and the church Jesus was building across the Roman Empire.
So may I invite you to read it this way… First read Galatians 2:1-10, then read Acts 15:1-21. Do you see how the visit to Jerusalem mentioned in Galatians 2 is described in detail in Acts 15?
As I described to you yesterday this was a very big deal friends. At stake here was the authenticity, the legitimacy of the Gospel as Paul was preaching it. . . Salvation from our sin condemnation is an act of God applied to our lives by God’s grace, in response to our faith in Jesus Christ PLUS NOTHING. It is available to any person, Jew or Gentile equally.
That is nothing short of RADICAL!!
Now you may be saying… ‘of course’!
But for the people who were being caught up in this exciting Jesus movement in the first decades after Jesus’ return to heaven, … this was unimaginable!
Jews who trusted Jesus could not imagine this Salvation was equally available to pagan Gentiles. It seemed inconceivable to the Jewish Christians that God would accept and save Gentiles who had NOT been circumcised or participated in the God given Jewish traditions and festivals. Gentiles were ‘unclean’ in their eyes.
Therefore, this defining moment debate in Jerusalem as described in Acts 15:1-21, is something upon which Christianity was built…all the way to our day! In fact, as we’ll see later, Paul writes another entire chapter about this miracle of Jews & Gentiles joining together to become the Church of Jesus Christ… and that’s found in Ephesians chapter 2.
Now in Galatians 2:11-21 we have the second part of this historic moment. Evidently Paul & Barnabas went back to Antioch from that historic Jerusalem meeting, delighted to tell the Gentile Christians that they were fully recognized as equally born again, equally part of God’s people, Jesus’ Church..with the Jewish Christians. I can only imagine the celebration.
Evidently Peter came to see for himself and immersed himself in the celebration, including feasting and enjoying fellowship with Gentile Christians. . . Until. . .
Until, that is, once again some Jewish Christians came from Jerusalem and evidently in addition to the written message sent from James & the Apostles, they added some commentary which opened the entire debate again…and this time, according to Galatians 2:12,13 both Peter and even Barnabas were caught up in it and a celebration turned into a brawl!
This became such a big disagreement between good friends and ministry partners that some time later Barnabas & Paul had their famous split, as described in Acts 15:36-41.
Finally friends, as you read the closing verses of Galatians 2, I draw you to two very important statements by Paul. First his argument that genuine Christians are “…not being justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 2:16) and secondly in vs. 20 that any true follower of Jesus ought to be able to say “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
That means my sin guilt was paid for entirely by Jesus death, and this new life I live I now live with the Holy Spirit of God living in me and my life honors God not by the religious laws I may try to keep, or circumcision… but by my faith in Jesus Christ!
OK my friends, has today been like drinking out of a fire hydrant? Too much, too fast? You might need to go back and read it again…as you then open God’s precious Word and read the Galatians 2 and Acts 15 ‘defining moment’ simultaneously.
THEN… let’s live victoriously in these great truths today…
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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