Standing up for Truth – Galatians 2:1-5

Topic: Standing up for Truth

Reading: Galatians 2:1-5

1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up by revelation; and I laid before them (but privately before those who were of repute) the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 But because of false brethren secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage– 5 to them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Introduction and Overview

The apostle Paul’s ministry led him across the known world of the 1st Century AD. He taught the truth and stood up for the truth that had been revealed to him by the Lord. And it was in his writings to the many disciples and far-flung churches he established or helped establish that we have much of the New Testament today.

But even Paul wanted to make certain the he was standing up for the truth. He wanted to be certain that the ministry he was teaching was in full accord with the gospel as delivered by Jesus Christ to His first disciples. And so after many years, he went to the first apostles of Christ, Peter, James, and John to test his teachings. He wanted to be certain he was standing up for the truth.

And it was a test as there were people who were not teaching the true gospel. These other teachers (not Peter, James and John), were attempting to put the Galatians church back under the teachings of Judaism. They wanted the Galatians to accept circumcision and to be under the laws of Moses. And this teaching is not the truth of the New Covenant or the Gospel of Jesus Christ who taught freedom from law.

The whole of the letter to the Galatians is Paul standing up for the truth and urging the Galatians to do likewise. The truth is not about law but is about freedom. The law brings condemnation, but the truth brings freedom and life. That is why it is important to find the truth and be like Paul; standing up for the truth.

Key points from reading:

1. Paul sought to check and test the gospel he was preaching. We too need to test what we believe and ensure we are standing up for the truth as Paul did.
2. Paul took his ministry to the early apostles to test his work. We need to test what we are believing against the truth written in the scriptures and by going to God in prayer to show us the fullness of the truth.
3. Paul’s beliefs and his gospel were tested and opposed by some, but he stood up for the truth. Likewise, when we are tested in what we believe to be true we need to be prepared to stand up for the truth. But we also need to ensure what we are standing up for really is the truth that can be verified and validated in the scripture. Many modern doctrines cannot.

Discussion:

1. Scripture: Galatians 2:1-2
   • At the end of the previous chapter, Paul visited Peter in Jerusalem about three years after his Damascus Road conversion. Now we see his second visit to Jerusalem and the early church leaders, some fourteen years after his first visit. The purpose of this second visit was to confirm the truth of the gospel he was teaching among the Gentiles. He sought to test his ministry with those who came before him to ensure he was on the right track.
   • Just as Paul tested his teaching, we too need to test our beliefs. Paul wanted to ensure he was standing up for the truth and teaching the gospel of Christ correctly. We need to ensure what we are believing is also correct and that the faith we hold is based upon the truth.
   • Paul was fighting against false doctrine being slipped into the early churches. We too need to ensure the things we believe as Christians are truth and not false doctrines. There were false doctrines in the early church and there are even more in the modern church. Just as Paul tested his ministry and teaching, we too need to test what we believe.
   • Are you testing and checking all the things we hear? Do you use the Bible as the yardstick against which to measure truth and error? Do you blindly accept what religious leaders preach without testing whether it is true? Standing up for the truth is not easy and there will be battles for those who are truly seeking what is right. You will be opposed by those who are less diligent or have other agendas, just as Paul was opposed. So, be prepared for it as you seek the fullness of the truth.
2. Scripture: Galatians 2:3
   • The battle Paul was fighting was against those who were trying to impose the Mosaic law upon the Gentile churches. One of the key tenets of that law was circumcision, which was the sign and the seal of the law and the Old Covenant.
   • But in this verse, we see that Titus accompanied Paul to Jerusalem. Titus was a Greek and therefore was not circumcised under the Jewish traditions. And this is an important point in the context of Paul’s letter to the Galatians church.
   • There were some itinerant preachers visiting the Galatians and telling them they had to be circumcised and to keep the laws of Moses. But when we see Paul visiting the Apostles Peter, James, and John in Jerusalem, Titus, who was a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised. They did not believe it was necessary for Titus as a Gentile to be circumcised according to Jewish traditions as required under the law.
   • The early apostles knew that Christ died to set people free from their sins, and also set them free from the law. The law required people to be circumcised, but after people came to Christ, they were set free from the law. The law no longer had effect over them and so they were not required to keep the tenets and ordinances of the law.
   • In the context of the letter to the Galatians, these itinerant preachers were trying to bring the Galatians into bondage under the law. Paul was instructing them that this was not the way of the Christian covenant. In fact we will see later in this letter that Paul shows that anyone desiring to be under the law is cutting themselves off and separating themselves from Christ. This is why the issue of circumcision, which was the sign and seal of the law, was such an important issue at that time.
3. Scripture: Galatians 2:4-5
   • Here we see Paul standing up for the truth. These itinerant preachers had come in under the radar so to speak, and were preaching a false gospel. In their teaching of the need for circumcision they were not standing up for the truth. They were trying to bring the people into bondage under the law.
   • Now, the law itself is holy, just, and good. But the law brings condemnation because no person can keep it. And that is why Jesus set us free from the bondage of the law so that we could learn the ways of righteousness through His teachings. When we are separated from the law, sin lies dead, and there is no condemnation. The essence of the Gospel of salvation and the teachings of the New Covenant is freedom. Freedom from sin, freedom from law, and freedom from the passions, lusts, and desires of the flesh.
   • But when people tried to put the Galatians church into the bondage of the law, there was a need for standing up for the truth. Even though the law is good, the bondage and condemnation it brings is not good. Christ died to remove the shackles of the law and bondage to sin. Paul, standing up for the truth, taught that the Galatians, and by extension we today, should not fall into the bondage of the law. That is a step backward because the devil will then use the law, and condemnation to try to draw us away from Christ.

Prayer Points

1. Pray and ask God to show you the fullness of His freedom given to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2. Seek the truth of the freedom we have in Jesus Christ and pray for the strength to stand up for the truth, as there will always be those who oppose it.