Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Okay, so we are continuing in Galatians. So if you are looking at your Bibles, you can open up there. I do have it, you know, printed on the, the handouts. But this, it's always helpful so you can look at context and flip around and see little footnotes even. It just helps you in your study. And those aren't all provided in the handout. So if you have your Bible, that that's preferable. We're going to be in Galatians 1:18 to begin with. We're going to start reading in verse 10 and we're going to try to read through what we're going to cover. So we kind of get caught up a little bit with what we covered the last week or two. And then we'll get hopefully at least a few verses into chapter two, trying to understand what this all means. Now, before we read, can anyone tell us what is. What are we doing? So we're doing an inductive Bible study. So what does that mean? What is an inductive Bible study?
[00:01:16] Expositional preaching, but a Bible study? Well, you're right in that the end result should be the same. You're trying to expose the meaning. So that's expositional preaching, exposing the meaning of the passage.
[00:01:29] And so expositional preaching begins with inductive Bible study, or it should.
[00:01:36] But how are we studying? What is it? Do we know what deductive or inductive like, you know, those are different. But what is inductive reasoning? Inductive study.
[00:01:48] It's like using the Bible to study.
[00:01:51] Yeah. So we're trying to figure out the meaning from the inside out. We're not first. The first thing we do is not taking ideas and stuff we know from outside the Bible and trying to interpret the Bible. We start by reading the Bible, starting with, you know, first looking at the letters that make up a word, that word has a meaning. Now when you put that word with a few words, it has a meaning even more clear. And when it's in a sentence, you kind of understand more. When it's in a paragraph, you understand more. When it's in a chapter, you understand more. When it's in a book of the Bible, you understand even more. And then you gradually have the whole Bible at your hand, helping you understand every little bit. So we start from the end and work out.
[00:02:35] We don't start from the outside and work in that. That's primarily what we're doing. Starting little and then getting bigger. Some of these things we assume, so we don't have to labor over every Single letter today, we don't have to say, now, how do we know that this word, you know it's spelled this way. That's not exactly the point. We do make some assumptions, but we want the best of our ability, work from the inside out with that. Let's read through and then we can start studying. So Galatians 1, verse 10.
[00:03:06] For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God, or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. But I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people. So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who had called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. But I went away into Arabia and returned again to Damascus. Now here's where we're picking up today. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him 15 days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. In what I am writing to you before God, I do not lie. Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, he who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. And they glorified God because of me. Then, after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them, though privately before those who seemed influential, the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery to Them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
[00:05:18] We'll stop there and read more if we get there. Okay, so verse 18.
[00:05:26] We kind of see Paul's. You know, he's introduced the issue. We've talked about some of these hints about the Galatians going to a different gospel. And now we're kind of getting a little bit more of a clear picture of what exactly they are being taught and spreading around and how that's affecting the church. But he's still kind of in this argument of why my gospel that I preach to you is not my gospel, but it's the true gospel and it can be trusted. So verse 18 says, Then after three years, I went to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him 15 days.
[00:06:06] So this is in the third year since he was converted. So we see three years. Now, this is something we should know, and today is actually a really helpful example. What does it mean after three years? People have kind of disputed if it was three years. It kind of throws off some of the timeline. Well, only if we don't count the years, what we say inclusively. So when you. And I say after three years, you would think three full years have passed since, you know, then.
[00:06:36] That's not how it's being used. It could just mean in the third year. So it is now 2025, April of 2025. The third year could be January of 2027. Now, that's not fully three years from now, but it's the third year from today. Does that make sense? Kind of like Jesus rose again after three days. Well, Friday night and Sunday morning. That's not three, 24 hours apart. But it's the third day since, because there's a Friday, a Saturday and a Sunday.
[00:07:08] That's how culturally we would count. So that's what he's saying here. So in the third year since he was converted, he went to Jerusalem to see Cephas. Who is this Cephas?
[00:07:22] Does anybody know Peter? How do we know? It's. Why is. Is it Peter? Or why is his name. What does this mean?
[00:07:30] What'd you say?
[00:07:38] Yeah, it's like Saul, Paul. That's a good analogy. So his more Hebrew name and his Greek name, Cephas means rock in the language, just like Petras means rock in another language. So both of those, which petros is like Peter, sounds kind of the same. So that. That's kind of why. So Cephas is Peter, and we'll actually see he goes back and forth. He calls them by both names. So don't get lost in that. It's his Aramaic name. Peter's Greek. An Aramaic is basically just an evolved form of Hebrew. So that's why I called it his Hebrew name. So he went to see the apostle Peter, which is significant. Why?
[00:08:26] You know, what's Paul trying to prove?
[00:08:30] They preach the same gospel. Yeah, they preach the same gospel. And Peter is a pretty important person in the church, right? So if he has been validated by Peter, that's a pretty big deal.
[00:08:44] Peter says, yeah, yeah, Peter didn't have a problem with his gospel. That's his main appeal in this verse.
[00:08:52] But he goes on to say that. Because he's also trying to say that I was preaching a gospel that I got from Christ. I didn't even just get this from man, but Jesus gave it to me himself. And so that's why in verse 19, he goes on to say, but I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. So the point's the same. Paul, Peter and James. Now they probably got together and spoke to one another, and they may have even learned things from each other. But again, Paul's point is that the source of the gospel message that he had was not other people. It was Jesus himself.
[00:09:33] And now we see here something interesting. James is called an apostle. So there was a James in the 12, but this James is not one of those 12. So we see that the term apostle is actually given to some other people, like Paul, like this James, the Lord's brother. And even a few others, at least debatably, like Barnabas, were given the title of apostle.
[00:10:01] Now, James, which is one of Jesus brothers, he had a few brothers, and we believe probably a few sisters. But we know of some of his brothers.
[00:10:12] He was likely converted when he witnessed the resurrected Jesus, which I think is remarkable because we know that he and his family did not believe during his lifetime. John 7:5 says, for not even his brothers believed in him, which is referring to his family in the context of that passage. And so what's remarkable is now, I don't know for the first time, but maybe for one of the first times. And as you read the New Testament, you're learning that James is an apostle. Jesus own brother was converted at the resurrection of him.
[00:10:47] And so he. He is there and he intimately would know Jesus.
[00:10:53] Verse 20. It's in parenthesis. Is anyone's not in parentheses? Verse 20.
[00:10:59] Yeah, that's okay. It's kind of just an editorial thing to kind of make clear because as you would read it in the original language, it would seem kind of like he interrupted his own thought. So that's why we put parentheses there sometimes. And he says what I'm writing to you before God, I do not lie.
[00:11:15] Again, he's kind of just repeating this point. I'm not lying. This is the truth. I got this from Jesus. I met a couple of the apostles after I'd been preaching this gospel for a long time and they didn't correct me and I didn't even learn it, you know, anything. I didn't add anything to the gospel from them. It's always been the same. Verse 21, more directions he went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, verse 22. And he was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. So again, same point. He's drawing it out to really, really make clear the origin of this good news message. And while I repeat this a million times, because Paul is, I want us to remember, why does he find it so necessary to repeat this information?
[00:12:14] He's saying this came from God as he just whipped this out of thin air. Yeah, well why does it matter that it came from God and not. Why couldn't he have gotten it from someone else?
[00:12:29] It's more credible or. Well, you know, what is the message?
[00:12:34] What is the message he's carrying? Does it have any significance?
[00:12:41] Yeah, it has an eternal significance. If this message is off, then the good news is actually not good news anymore. It's been lost.
[00:12:52] The fundamental message of the gospel cannot be changed. If it is changed, it is not effective, it is not true or accurate. And so the eternity of people's souls and every moment people are dying, their souls depend on the accuracy of this message.
[00:13:14] So if we ever are bored that he is just repeating the same point again, as we go through these verses, we should remember how important it was and how many times maybe you've realized this. I know this from experience. How many times certain truths about God's word had to be repeated to me before I got it. How many arguments, how many times the gospel was preached to you before you believed? It may have been many, many times, maybe not, but maybe it was many years.
[00:13:42] Maybe you're still not even convinced and it's been told to you a million times before.
[00:13:47] We can be hard headed and we need this repetition and a reminder that this message is so crucially important.
[00:13:56] Verse 23, we read. They only were hearing it said, so who's the they?
[00:14:12] Look at verse 22.
[00:14:16] Yeah, the church, but maybe specifically churches in Judea in this, because Judea was where it all began. That's where Jerusalem is. So, you know, and Jesus told his apostles to take the good news from Judea and Samaria and then eventually to the ends of the earth. So it kind of starts there and works its way out. So this original area, they, they still had not. They were only hearing this of Paul. They had not met him. He did not get it from them. Is still making the same point. They were hearing it said, he who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.
[00:14:52] So all that's saying is he traveled around still without meeting most of the apostles.
[00:14:59] And his reputation was spreading as a gospel preacher, even independent of them, because of his former life in Judaism, which we just read about and talked about last week. Why would the reputation that someone who persecuted the church is now preaching the gospel? So this reputation of Paul's, why would it cause people to glorify God?
[00:15:31] Yeah, why is that so? I mean, why is that important? Why is that causing people to glorify God? It shows anyone could be saved. Yeah, it shows anybody can be saved.
[00:15:43] That's important.
[00:15:48] It also I think shows us that we know that God affected the change.
[00:15:53] He likely knew the message they were preaching before as he was killing them and watching people kill them and devising plots to kill them and snuff out the church. She knew probably, almost certainly the content of what they were saying.
[00:16:12] But only the intervention of God himself, only the intervention of Christ on that road to Damascus could change his heart and convert him. So one we do see, they're glorifying God because clearly God converted this man, but also because it shows us that nobody is too sinful, nobody is too opposed to the gospel. I think that's one of the great graces that God gave us in Paul's life, is that we can see someone who is just the most wicked go to one of the most pious and holy and Christ loving people.
[00:16:55] So think to yourself, have you believed in Christ?
[00:17:01] And if so, are there any parts of your previous life that you're holding onto? Because we see Paul give it all up and make a complete turn and that brings glory to God. So when we believe in Christ but hold on to our previous life, we're dishonoring Christ in that way, dishonoring the sacrifice that we claim to believe in.
[00:17:25] So I want you just to reflect to yourself and if you want, you can write it down and talk to someone about it and pray about it. But if you've believed, are there any parts of your life you're holding onto that you need to let go of and then try to think of someone with whom to share that.
[00:17:46] And as well, another application that you guys should write down and think about is you should think of someone with whom to share the testimony of what the Gospel has done in your life. You know, how were you before Christ? How did you come to know Him? And how has he continued to sanctify and grow you in him since then?
[00:18:06] Along with the Gospel message, this can be a powerful way to introduce people to the gospel. Because again, when we see someone make a great change, a 180, knowing that only God could make that change, it makes people glorify God. That's why we read in verse 24, they glorified God because of me. He's not saying it's because of the work I did. It's because the testimony that his life shines forth to everyone, what it proves to everybody, and the boldness it can even give us in sharing the Gospel, knowing that Paul can be converted so someone you're thinking of, maybe that you want to share with that is intimidating, he or she can be converted too.
[00:18:52] Now, continuing on in chapter two, we read in verse one. Then, after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. So here's some new characters enter the storyline that he's telling. Does anybody know who was Barnabas?
[00:19:20] Any, like, any little detail about him? We know there's a little bit.
[00:19:37] Have you guys heard of him? Have we heard of Barnabas?
[00:19:40] Yeah, yeah. You know, we've been. It's okay if we don't know much about him. I mentioned something about him a minute ago that he was considered an apostle eventually. I don't think this early. Remember Galatians was one of the first letters written by Paul early on in his ministry.
[00:19:56] So Barnabas had a nickname, and you maybe recognize this once I say it. He was nicknamed the Son of Encouragement. Very good nickname. I wish people would give me the nickname, but I have not earned it. I think that's a wonderful testimony. He's the Son of Encouragement, so he's known by that. He's also known by the Galatians from Paul's first missionary journey because Barnabas was a missionary partner with Paul on his first journey.
[00:20:22] Eventually they did part ways over a disagreement on whether to take Mark, John, Mark with them, who wrote the Gospel of Mark.
[00:20:32] But it was, you know, an amicable split, but they were partners on that first missionary journey when the Galatian church was almost certainly planted. That's why he's now writing back to them, because he has heard news and reports about this false gospel. So Barnabas knows them. And so, you know, he's referring to Barnabas by name because he knew they would know them. But then he also mentions this Titus.
[00:20:57] Who was Titus?
[00:21:00] Anything about Titus we know?
[00:21:17] Yeah, there was a book written to him. You're right. So that's one thing. I was hoping somebody would know that.
[00:21:25] Is there anything, at least from this context, that we get about maybe his ethnicity or his origin?
[00:21:38] What is Titus?
[00:21:40] Yeah, he's a Gentile. Gentile is a non Jew. He is not Jewish. Why does this fact matter?
[00:21:50] He'd be uncircumcised. Yeah. Were you gonna say something different, like, I guess I do some. Lots. Where do you get that he's a good.
[00:22:00] Well, we see in verse three. So this is jumping ahead, but in verse three, we say he was a Greek.
[00:22:10] Yeah.
[00:22:12] Thank you. Good question. Yeah. So he's a Greek. Since he's not a Jew, it means he's a gentile.
[00:22:19] Yeah. So he wouldn't have been circumcised. But, you know, and that is brought up. But why does that matter?
[00:22:26] You know, we don't necessarily have to assume. Okay. Yeah. Why does that matter? Why are people so concerned with that?
[00:22:31] That is kind of one of the main points of the letter. Why does it matter?
[00:22:36] Because some people still believe that you had to be circumcised to be part of God's people.
[00:22:41] Yeah. So what? You know what?
[00:22:44] That's maybe you're right. That's maybe assuming something.
[00:22:48] What was the purpose of circumcision in the Old Testament that might help us?
[00:22:56] The sign of the Old Covenant. So it marked somebody as being a part of the covenant community that would be God's people.
[00:23:05] And it was given to men. But women by marriage or by descent would also have been included in that in the eyes of God.
[00:23:14] And so it is how the Old Covenant people were brought in to the people.
[00:23:20] And so this is revealing the Galatian heresy again, that we've seen hints of. They are requiring Gentiles to get this sign of the covenant to gain membership in the church.
[00:23:33] And so effectively, though I don't know that they were saying this, but again, people might teach false doctrines and not really say that they're false, but effectively they're teaching that salvation equals faith plus circumcision. That's what they're teaching in a way.
[00:23:51] Now, there is Actually a sign of the covenant that the church is supposed to adorn every single one of us. Does anybody know what that is?
[00:24:03] Yeah. Baptism would be kind of the initiatory rite into the church. We require that of every person to join.
[00:24:11] We make a distinction of when conversion happens. So we don't baptize someone until they're converted. That means until they've attained to salvation.
[00:24:21] So we're not adding it to a requirement to salvation, but it is a requirement. And the ongoing reminder of that covenant sign is when we take the Lord's Supper together. So we do have a sign. But the key question is, is it the same or different? It pretty clearly has changed to baptism.
[00:24:43] Now let's continue in verse two to kind of uncover what's happening. He says, I went up because of a revelation and set before them the gospel, which, you know, I'm skipping the. The parentheses. We'll get to those in a second.
[00:24:59] What revelation is he talking about? He went. Went up.
[00:25:03] So he went. What does that. Went up. What's he talking about? Where's he going?
[00:25:11] To Jerusalem. You should remember, we often hear of up and down in the Bible, and it's really referring to is this city, you know, like, higher up or lower down? Jerusalem was. Was higher up. And so often. And even in the spiritual sense, going up to the holy city of Jerusalem. So there's kind of a double meaning there. But he's saying, I'm going up to Jerusalem because of a revelation. What's the revelation that he's referring to?
[00:25:43] Like, whenever. Like God called him? Yeah, it could be that.
[00:25:47] It could be. And I think it could be more we.
[00:25:52] Because we see consistently that Paul's guided by the Spirit and he is. You know, God consistently reveals and tells him things. And so whether it was at that initial revelation or whether it was just ongoing, he was told by God to go to Jerusalem. So he is being guided by God every single step. Not just the gospel message he's preaching, but every step he's making is because God is leading him.
[00:26:20] Now, who is the them?
[00:26:23] He set before them the gospel.
[00:26:31] He went up to Jerusalem. Who did he see?
[00:26:34] He kind of gives us some hints in there, if you look at the verses surrounding it.
[00:26:49] No, I don't think the Pharisees, maybe some of them could have been converted Pharisees. Paul was a Pharisee, for example.
[00:26:56] Yeah, I think they would have been there. I think they would have been.
[00:27:00] I don't know about John. I know Peter and James would have probably almost certainly been there.
[00:27:07] Yeah. Jewish Christians, because it is in Jerusalem. So they probably almost all would have been Jewish. So yeah, Christians, Christian leaders, teachers, disciples, apostles, all these different Christians that would have been in Jerusalem. That's who he's referring to. So kind of probably a large group.
[00:27:25] And he says about this preaching of the Gospel. He did this though privately before those who seemed influential. Now to whom is Paul referring as influential?
[00:27:54] Yeah, I think that's right. Actually look down at verse nine in chapter two and when James, Cephas and John. So yeah, we do see John revealed now, who seem to be pillars.
[00:28:10] So I think what he's saying is that these three, and this is the attestation of church history as well. We're kind of pillars of the church. They were really important leaders. And that makes sense because they had an especially close relationship to Jesus as the three men who witnessed his transfiguration. So they were very close to the Lord. So it makes sense why they'd be then pillars of the Church. And he's not talking sarcastically sometimes. People have assumed this because Paul does talk sarcastically of people in his letters sometimes, but he's not doing that. He was in Jerusalem with the goal of setting out the gospel for the main leaders of the church so that he would know that what he's been preaching is not in vain, but he is preaching the truth. That's why he says the gospel that he told to these influential people is that which he proclaims among the Gentiles in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. If you were preaching a false gospel or an inaccurate one, at the very least, it's in vain. It's all for nothing.
[00:29:13] Verse 3. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. So we talked about this and about the sign and how this is significant, that he wasn't for us. Why is it such a big deal to require this as a prerequisite for being a Christian? Well, we mentioned it a minute ago. It's legalistic. It is adding to the gospel something that has been done away with.
[00:29:37] But are there any examples that you can think of of ways that we do this today? You know, are there legalist requirements for Christians? I want you to think on that and we'll come back to that in a little bit.
[00:29:52] Verse 4 Yet. Because a false brother secretly brought in, who slipped in despite our freedom that we have in Christ.
[00:30:00] Who are these false brothers? What is a false brother? What does he mean?
[00:30:20] What's a False prophet. Yeah, yeah, a false prophet. Or. And I think that might. Second answer might even be more accurate for the context. There certainly were false prophets.
[00:30:33] Not really Christians. They are false. They're presenting as Christians, though, but they are not, because that's what brothers mean. In the New Testament, he says brothers could include brothers and sisters, but he's saying they're false. So they are presenting as brothers, but they are not brothers.
[00:30:51] They were secretly brought in or slipped in, as we see. They were sneaked into the church, which is kind of a sinister way to enter, given the connotation of those words, which means the devil himself could have concealed their wicked hearts. So they could have been deceived themselves or they could have been intentionally hiding to deceive. We don't know.
[00:31:14] But they were secretly brought in.
[00:31:17] Now, can churches do this still happens? Can churches do anything to stop this? Is there anything that our church does to try to stop false brothers from joining the church?
[00:31:32] Yeah, the membership process. What about the membership process might help with that?
[00:31:37] Having new members, like give their testimony and have people to account that they are truly saved.
[00:31:45] Yeah, I think that's a really important way. So they have to give their testimony. So our spiritual leaders, our pastors can kind of judge if it seems credible or not or if there are any holes that they need to work through.
[00:31:59] Not in an arrogant way, just so that we can avoid bringing in false brothers along with that. They need to be able to share the gospel and explain what it means.
[00:32:09] And then also as another check so that just in case there's something known about an individual that is not brought up in those interviews and meetings, the church has the opportunity to vote for or against a member and that can provide more information that maybe wasn't previously revealed. So all of these things are ways that we actively try to prevent this. And it still happens. We can't be perfect.
[00:32:38] And when it does happen, that's why we practice discipline. And sometimes people are removed from churches when they commit public and serious sins and refuse to repent of it and even call the sin good. They're removed from churches. Their life kind of bears the testimony that they don't really believe.
[00:32:55] He says that these people wanted to bring us into slavery. So how were the false brothers bringing them into slavery?
[00:33:04] Pretty intense.
[00:33:13] Does it kind of refer to his unequally yoked things also, though?
[00:33:17] I don't know if I would say that exactly, because it's not irrelevant to that. I see where you're going. I think maybe you could elaborate or Philo do you have something? I was just gonna say, is it legalism?
[00:33:34] Yeah, I think so. He's.
[00:33:37] Yeah, they are being put in slave to a law that is not applicable to them anymore. A requirement of a different covenant is being forced upon people. So actually what he's saying is that really some of these false brothers, they were wanting Titus to be circumcised. He's saying that the true Christians, the true brothers were, had no problem with him. The apostles had no problem with Titus. But these brothers probably were trying to force upon him. And that's why he's calling them false and he's telling them what he will eventually flesh out in this letter. So, well, that faith alone justifies the sinner. Sinner doesn't need to have this physical sign put upon him that was meant for old covenant Israel. Faith alone justifies the sinner. So they're putting. They're attempting to put Christians in slavery to the law of Moses in a way that is not intended any longer. The law of Moses is not irrelevant to us, but they're misusing it.
[00:34:40] And then verse five, we'll close here briefly, just to kind of wrap up that kind of ends the thought here. They did not yield in submission even for a moment to those false brothers so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. To the Galatians, to the Gentiles. Galatians are Gentiles. He's saying we did not yield because you guys are important. This gospel is intended to go all across the world. I mean, look at us. We're sitting here in Oklahoma, very far away from where these conversations happened.
[00:35:11] Now, as we go away, I just want to encourage you to think about some of what we've taught. Namely, what things are you maybe doing to earn your righteousness? Are there ways that you are effectively being legalistic? And write those down and talk about them and pray about them and ask questions so that there's nothing to cause you to question your salvation and righteousness in Christ. Let's pray and then walk over in the rain.
[00:35:39] Father God, we thank you for your word and that your son Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Lord, help us to not get too wet on this walkover. But we praise you for the rain and all that it does for our earth. Lord, we pray this all in Christ's name, Amen.
