This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of Galatians. Wednesday, we saw Paul share that he had traveled to Jerusalem in order to meet in a private and special meeting with the influential leaders of the church at Jerusalem because he was concerned that the gospel that he was publicly proclaiming to the non-Jewish world would cause division among those who were Jewish who were becoming followers of Jesus. Paul’s fear was the there would be a Jewish Christian Church and a Gentile Christian Church.
Paul was concerned because of the sneaky and shady dealings of a group of people known as the Judaizers. The Judaizers were attempting to bring followers of Jesus away from the gospel and to the religion of legalism. And we saw Paul reveal for us the timeless reason that we are to vote no on religion because results in division. Where Paul and the early leaders of the church at Jerusalem had unity when it came to living a gospel centered life the Judaizers were intent on creating disunity and division. The Judaizers were intent and bent on removing the freedom that comes for a gospel centered life in order to enslave people in the religion of legalism.
Today, we will see Paul’s response to those who wanted to live religious centered lives instead of gospel centered lives in verse 5:
But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
In other words, Paul, Barnabas, and Titus held their ground. They did not compromise the message of the gospel; they gave no quarter; they refused to submit; they refused to tap out to those who were advocating a religious centered life. For Paul, Barnabas, and Titus, this was a closed handed issue; there was no room for debate. And as the leaders of the church at Jerusalem listened to the debate, they needed to come to a conclusion about how they were going to respond to this debate. Paul records their conclusion for us in verse 6:
But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—
Well, that sounds kind of sarcastic and condescending, doesn’t it? Paul’s point here is not to be sarcastic; Paul’s point here is that this debate is not an issue about pleasing men. This is not an issue of winning an argument or earning the favor of men. This is not an issue of being on the right side among men. This is an issue about being on God’s side, because God shows no partiality. God does not play favorites; God is not concerned about fairness; God is concerned about rightness. And Paul wanted to be right with God. Paul continues:
well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.
Paul’s point here is that the leaders of the church at Jerusalem did not add anything to the message of the gospel that he was proclaiming. The leaders of the church at Jerusalem did not add a list of rules to claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. Instead, they did something else, which Paul records for us beginning in verse 7:
But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor-- the very thing I also was eager to do.
Here Paul shares with the members of the churches of Galatia, and followers of Jesus throughout history, that James, the half brother of Jesus who was now the Senior Pastor at the church of Jerusalem, Peter, the first among equals and leader of the twelve disciples, and John, the disciple who Jesus loved, all recognized that Paul had been entrusted with the same message of the gospel that they had been. These three men recognized that Paul was an Apostle that was being used by God to advance His Kingdom mission in a new direction. These three men recognized that God was at work in Paul’s life to bring the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the remotest parts of the earth, just as God had been at work in Peter’s life to bring the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to Judea and Samaria. These three men recognized that God’s grace, or God’s transformational intervention and activity, was evident in Paul’s life.
And these men responded to what they recognized in Paul by giving him the right hand of fellowship. These three men put out their right hands, embraced Paul’s right hand, and said “you are one of us. We want to live in a close association with you and partner with you in God’s kingdom mission. We are united with you and share in the ministry and mission that we have been given. Just keep in mind and think about how you can engage the poor. Please minister to their pressing needs of the poor so that you can show them the love of Christ and their profound need for Christ”. Paul concludes by explaining that he was zealous to do that very thing. Paul, Peter, James, and John were on the same page. They were united in the vision, the mission, and the ministry that they had been given. They were united because that is what a gospel centered life does. A gospel centered life results in unity.
That is why we must vote no on religion. We are to vote no on religion because religion results in division. Any time we move from living gospel centered lives to religious centered lives, the result will be dissension and division. Dissension and division because we move away from a life that is centered in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to a life that is centered on the claims and rules of man-made religion.
So, are you allowing religion to cause division? Or are you allowing a gospel centered life to unite you in the mission and ministry we have been given in community with one another?
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