Sola Fide part 2

Ben Trigsted

Stand Firm in Freedom • Sermon • Submitted 7 months ago • Presented 7 months ago

Galatians 2:1–10

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Introduction

I remember the first time I went fishing without my dad...

The person I was fishing with was doing it wrong...

It didn’t smell right because no one was smoking...

It’s funny how our traditions and the things we think are correct color our viewpoints on things.

This morning we are going to continue looking at Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia, specifically focusing in on Paul’s defense of his message of justification by faith, or as the theologians of the past called it, Sola Fide, faith alone.

Body: Galatians 2:1-10

Verses 1-2

Fourteen years after Paul’s conversion on the Damascus road, he journeyed to Jerusalem again.

In the book of Acts, Luke mentions five Jerusalem visits.

This visit is either the famine visit related in Acts 11:27-30 or the Jerusalem Council from Acts 15. I think it was probably the famine visit, but there are good arguments either way.

Two important things here:

Paul mentions Titus coming with, which foreshadows the illustration Paul will use in this passage.

Titus was a Gentile who had converted to the Christian faith at some point.

He was an understudy of Paul’s, who would eventually become the overseer of the church on Crete.

The other thing is, Paul didn’t go to Jerusalem because he was summoned, but because God had revealed to him that he needed to go.

The reason for his going wasn’t simply to bring the money for the famine relief, but more importantly so he could speak to the Jerusalem church about his mission to the Gentiles.

This is vitally important because if the Jerusalem church rejected the mission to the Gentiles, then the early church would have experienced a major schism that might have relegated the church to nothing more than a Jewish sect; still focused on law keeping in order to earn one’s salvation.

That is why Paul says, “to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.”

Verses 3-5

This is the reason Paul mentioned Titus in verse 1.

Apparently, some Judaizers had infiltrated Paul’s meeting with the leaders of the church and began demanding that Titus be circumcised.

Paul did not yield to this, believing to do so would damage the truth of justification by faith.

For Paul to submit to this would have suggested that he believes that a person must be circumcised to follow Christ.

Bible students may ask: Why did Paul fight against Titus being circumcised, but then made Timothy, also a Gentile, get circumcised?

The key to understanding this is where Luke writes the following:

Acts 16:1 (ESV)

A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.

Acts 16:3 (ESV)

Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

So two things here that are different: Timothy was raised by a Jewish mother, unlike Titus who was completely Gentile.

More importantly, Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him to places where Jewish men wouldn’t allow non-Jews to go, like synagogues.

In short, there is a Gospel-reason for doing it.

Timothy wasn’t circumcised to appease God, he was circumcised so he could join Paul when he preached to Jewish men.

Verses 6-9

Paul says a lot here:

First, he wasn’t influenced by the leader’s position, as God doesn’t show partiality between them and him.

Second, after hearing him, the leader’s of the Jerusalem church recognized that God had indeed entrusted Paul with the Gospel. Therefore:

They didn’t add anything to the message he was to preach.

Meaning, they didn’t say, “Okay Paul you can preach to the Gentiles, but you need to teach them to be circumcised first.”

They extended the right hand of fellowship to him.

This is more than a handshake. It suggests a partnership in ministry.

James, Peter and John recognize that God is at work in Paul’s mission, so they partner with him.

They would focus on the Jews while he focused on the Gentiles.

Why does Paul relate this information to the Galatians?

Because, as we saw last week, Paul is responding to his opponents.

In these verses, Paul is proving to them that he’s not in rebellion against the Jerusalem church. That, in fact, nothing was added to his message from them and they partnered with him in the ministry.

Verse 10

What they did ask of him, however, is that the Gentile believers would not forget the poor believers in Jerusalem.

Remember, persecution of the church started in Jerusalem and was more pronounced there at this point than in other places.

Additionally, there were numerous widows in Jerusalem who needed to be taken care of.

Paul proves that he did teach them this, because during the Third Missionary Journey, Paul takes up a collection for relief to believers in Jerusalem.

So What?

The message of justification by faith is too important to be hindered by anything.

We cannot allow our beloved traditions to hinder the message of justification by faith.

There is nothing wrong with many of our traditions within the church.

The songs we sing; when we observe the LS; how we celebrate Christmas and Easter; the format of the service; the version of the Bible someone prefers, etc.

The issue comes when we treat traditions like biblical mandates. When we fight for those traditions more passionately than we fight for the Gospel message.

In my years of ministry, I’ve seen more people get worked up about their favorite traditions and preferences than I have about reaching lost people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel message is too important to be hindered by our traditions…even our good traditions!

How?

Know the difference.

Don’t cling to your traditions over the Gospel.

Invest yourself in ministry.

We cannot allow agitators to hinder the message of justification by faith.

This would be agitators outside and inside the church.

For Paul, it was the Judaizers, who he called false brothers.

For us, it can be those who are against the church, rabble-rouses, rascals, complainers, the self-centered, etc.

How?

Do not yield to them.

Call them out.

We cannot allow perceived authorities to hinder the message of justification by faith.

Notice how many times Paul mentions not being influenced by people who were in positions of perceived authority (verse 2, 6, 9).

Some have suggested that Paul is showing some level of disdain for the leaders of the Jerusalem church in this passage. I disagree.

Paul’s point is clearly stated in his parenthetical statement in verse 6, “God shows no partiality.”

Paul’s point isn’t that people in leadership don’t really matter or even that they don’t have more knowledge, wisdom, or understanding. Sometimes they do.

The point is that if the leaders of the church in Jerusalem disagreed with Paul they would have been wrong. He had this on the authority of Christ Jesus Himself in His calling of Paul to the Gentile mission.

The take-away then is if a leader or perceived authority teaches anything that contradicts the Gospel message or hinders it, then they are in the wrong.

Sometimes these will be people who are actually in positions of authority, and other times others just see them in positions of authority.

Regardless, the test is how what they are teaching supports and perpetuates the Gospel message.

How?

Be respectful.

Be bold.

We cannot allow anything else to hinder the message of justification by faith.

This is the catch-all. The point of all of this is, if anything hinders the Gospel message of justification by faith, it must be rejected.

How do we know if something is hindering the Gospel message?

Is the Gospel being clearly articulated often?

Are people coming to faith in Jesus?

Are people being cared for?

Is there support for missions happening?