Last week, I unintentionally came across another Thomas Jefferson story. So last Sunday, I mentioned that despite being such a smart guy in so many ways, Thomas Jefferson was a pretty terrible theologian. He was known for making his own Version of the Bible and he did it by cutting out all the parts that he didn't like Which turned out to be quite a bit that he didn't like well this other information that I came across About mr. Jefferson is also kind of negative In my opinion anyway, and so before I share that I wanted to say something nice about him just to give a little bit of balance I'm not not dogging on him all the time, but did you know Thomas Jefferson introduced macaroni and cheese to this great nation? And that's better for some than others, but he wrote the earliest known American recipe for vanilla ice cream. Now, if for nothing else, Mr. Jefferson deserves a place in our history books for those great accomplishments. Now the other. Have you ever thought about things that almost happened or could have happened that would have drastically changed life as we know it? Well, consider this story I came across on the internet, so it must be true. I hope it doesn't give you nightmares. The story goes like this. Joseph Dombey was a French botanist who in 1794 was on his way to Philadelphia to meet with first U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. At the behest of the French government, Dombey was carrying with him rare cargo, a set of measurement standards called a meter. and what came to be known as a kilogram. It had a different name at the time, but it came to be known as a kilogram. Jefferson was keen to persuade Americans to adopt the French measurements, which later formed the basis for the metric system. You know, that's the negative part about Thomas Jefferson, in my opinion. Every time I'm working on something and have to pull out the metric wrenches, I am so glad that he didn't get his way. But it turns out it wasn't just him. The story goes, so were many people in Congress eager to get rid of the British measurements. Having the standards presented by a respected scientist such as Dombey should have made it an easy task. Unfortunately, Dombey never made it to Philadelphia as his ship was captured by pirates. He tried to disguise himself as a Spanish sailor, but his accent and his poor understanding of the language gave him away. The pirates took him to Montserrat to ransom him to the French government. However, Dombi died in captivity." Now, without question, sad for Mr. Dombi. We wouldn't wish pirate capture and death in captivity on anyone. But just think about how different life could have been had that ship made it to its destination. This morning, everyone would have been speeding to church to get here in time in kilometers per hour. All of our measurements would make sense, but we'd all be miserable. I'm confident of that. Well, this morning, in our study of Galatians, we're going to see some details of a meeting that thankfully did happen, a meeting that was of way more consequence than the metric system. And if this meeting had been missed or had turned out differently, the true gospel of Jesus Christ could have been corrupted and lost. Most of the New Testament as we know it probably wouldn't have been written and we probably wouldn't care because we wouldn't have been saved. Now that's a lot of hypotheticals but that's how important the details of this meeting were that we come across here in Galatians. We should be very thankful that this meeting happened and that it turned out the way that it did. So we're in Galatians chapter two and verse 1 which says this, Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. Now what we saw last week in the second half of chapter 1 of Galatians was Paul defending his apostleship by proving that the gospel that he preached came to him directly from a revelation from Jesus Christ. He did not receive this gospel, nor was he taught it by any man, not even the other apostles who were in Jerusalem. And Paul said that for three years after being converted, and we talked some about his conversion as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians and tried to destroy the church, he met Jesus and Jesus saved him. And then he basically spent the next three years in the desert. and apparently being taught there as a desert seminary for Paul, receiving revelations from God of the gospel and true doctrine. After that, he said he made one very brief visit to Jerusalem. He was only there for 15 days. He saw only Cephas, Sir Peter, and James, the brother of Jesus. And he says that there was nothing that happened then Nothing that was said that changed anything about the gospel that Paul was already preaching. The gospel he received directly from Jesus Christ. We've also been talking about the Judaizers. These people who claimed they believed in Jesus too. But they also believed and they taught that for anyone to be saved, besides believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection, You must also be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, or at least certain parts of it. Well, these Judaizers had started out in Jerusalem, but they spread out to teach their corrupted gospel everywhere where the true gospel was also spreading. They were confusing a lot of people, including those who had professed faith in that region of Galatia where Paul had been, planted churches, And now the people were in danger of falling away from that true gospel. So, chapter 2, verse 1, he says 14 years after that first visit to Jerusalem, after he had been saved, he had been in Jerusalem a lot before that, but after getting saved, he had only been there that one time for 15 days, he goes again. He says that Barnabas and Timothy, No, not Timothy, Titus. That's why I couldn't say it the first time. Barnabas and Titus went along with him. Barnabas was someone who was well-known in Jerusalem. He had spent a lot of time there. He was one of the early believers. He was known well by the apostles and the church in Jerusalem. We find in the book of Acts that Barnabas was a Levite. His name was actually Joseph, but the apostles gave him the nickname of Barnabas, which means son of encouragement. He was such an encourager to the church that they gave him this nickname, and it stuck. That's what everybody called him, was Barnabas. He was one who had owned some land, and he sold it and gave all the money to the church to help take care of the needy believers. That was Barnabas. Now Titus was a Gentile. He had been saved. through Paul's preaching, the gospel that Paul preached, that he got from Jesus. After being saved, Titus had grown in the Lord and he had begun to serve along with Paul. Verse 2 of Galatians chapter 2 says, It was because of a revelation that I went up, and I submitted to them the gospel which I preached among the Gentiles. And I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running or had run in vain. A few weeks ago, when we were first starting in the book of Galatians, I think I said that it seems that this letter was written before the meeting that happened in Jerusalem that's recorded in Acts chapter 15. Now, coming a little further into Galatians, I'm a little less certain of that. It's still possible, but I'm not sure. Commentators seem to be divided about down the middle between those who are just sure that this trip to Jerusalem is the one that's spoken of in Acts chapter 11 when Paul and Barnabas took an offering from the church at Antioch to the church at Jerusalem. And that trip to Jerusalem was in response to a revelation. And there are some details that fit that it would be that trip in Acts 11. The other half of commentators are just sure that this trip to Jerusalem is the one that's recorded in Acts chapter 15. When there was a council of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, the apostles, Paul and Barnabas were there. And what was discussed at that council in Acts 15 is the exact issues that Paul is dealing with here in Galatians. And so there's a lot of things that make sense that it was probably that trip. But if it was, it's kind of strange that he doesn't say anything about the written conclusion that that council came to. And so there are some things that don't match up exactly or it's not sure. And so that's my position right now. I'm not sure. I don't know which one it was. And since I don't know which one it was, we won't go to Acts and get some extra details because we don't know which trip it was. But we can find plenty here in Galatians for what Paul wants us to know. God wants us to know about this trip to Jerusalem and what was accomplished there. And we see in verse two that it was God's idea. He went in response to a revelation. God wanted Paul to go to Jerusalem. Now that's important for the argument that Paul is making. God wanted him to go. It wasn't the other apostles or the Church of Jerusalem that called Paul there so that they could straighten him out, correct the gospel that he was preaching, or confront him about the trouble that he was causing. It was God wanted him to go. While there, he asked for a private meeting with those who were of reputation, which means the apostles, the elders of the church. And we will talk about why he probably refers to them this way a little later, because it comes up again. He says he laid out before them the gospel that he had been preaching to the Gentiles. Why did he do that? Remember where Paul said he got the gospel from that he preached. He said he got it directly from Jesus Christ. That being the case, Paul did not have any doubts about the gospel he preached. Paul didn't go into this meeting to ask them for their approval of what he preached. He didn't go asking for their feedback in case he was maybe off on some of the details. That wasn't it. He got the gospel he preached directly from Jesus Christ. So I believe that his perspective was more like that he wanted to make sure that they didn't need some correcting on their understanding of the gospel. Now remember those Judaizers. They had come from Jerusalem. And they were telling everyone that they were from the church in Jerusalem. And they had apparently claimed that the real apostles, Paul wasn't one they said, but the real apostles in Jerusalem, the church leaders in Jerusalem, they were in agreement with them. That was their claim as they went out preaching their false gospel. So Paul was concerned. Maybe not so much that he assumed it to be true that the apostles and elders were guilty of believing and preaching a false gospel, but if these Judaizers had been among them, which seems to be the case, they had been among the church in Jerusalem, and they went out from Jerusalem and were preaching this false gospel it doesn't appear that those apostles and leaders of the Jerusalem church had done much to try to stop it. I think that was Paul's concern. If he wasn't going to get cooperation from these guys in Jerusalem to try to stop this, these Judaizers could wipe out everything that Paul was trying to do. And I believe that's what he means by his fear that he might be running or had run in vain. Not that, well, maybe my gospel isn't the right one. Maybe I'm not preaching the right things. But that these false teachers could corrupt the gospel so much for so many people, the truth could be lost. Everything Paul was trying to do could be undone by these Judaizers. When the wisdom that God gave to Paul they had a test case right there with them. What would they do with Titus? Titus was an example of the very issue on the table. He was a Gentile, and he was uncircumcised. He had professed faith in Jesus Christ. He had become a faithful servant of the Lord, serving along with Paul, proclaiming the same gospel that Paul was preaching. So would anyone in that room, in that private meeting, say that Titus would have to be circumcised and start keeping the law in order to be saved? Verse 3 gives us the answer. But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Praise the Lord. None of the elders or apostles in that meeting could see a need for Titus to do those things to be saved? So the answer was, as far as they were concerned, no. Titus doesn't need to be circumcised. He doesn't have to start keeping the law to be saved. Grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone. Consider the context. Think about the Jerusalem church. I just wonder if maybe part of the problem was that they just hadn't given it much thought. Because they hadn't really needed to yet. Being in Jerusalem, almost everyone they knew, almost everyone they preached the gospel to, were Jews. Which means they'd already been circumcised. They were already doing the law stuff. Now while these men, the apostles, the leaders of the Jerusalem church, would not have preached that you must keep doing these things of the law to be saved, or trust in this sign of circumcision to be saved, they could have kept doing it. They could have kept doing the law stuff, you know, celebrating the feast days, as long as they didn't think it was part of what saved them. Now you think about even Paul, while he didn't think there was any reason for Titus to be circumcised, he did have Timothy circumcised. Because Timothy was half Jewish. His mother was Jewish, his father was not. It was not in any way for Timothy's salvation, but just to avoid one of the barriers for Timothy to be able to preach the gospel to unbelieving Jews, There'd be all kinds of barriers anyway. This would just take away one of them. And it wasn't wrong for Timothy to be circumcised. It just needed to be known it was not for salvation. Wasn't wrong to do, but it didn't have to do. It wasn't for salvation. Now what the Judaizers were teaching probably wouldn't have been that obvious in Jerusalem. Because everyone was circumcised. They were already doing all the law stuff. So the apostles and elders, maybe they didn't even notice. But it became a big issue, big problem, when they got into Paul's territory with the Gentiles. Then it became very clear what they were preaching and teaching was contrary to what Paul had received from Jesus Christ. From this conversation Paul had with the apostles, the elders in Jerusalem, through verse 3, it seems like it's not a problem. The apostles, the elders of the church in Jerusalem, they agree with the gospel that Paul was preaching. The gospel of grace, not of works. But there was a problem, and that problem comes in verse 4. But it was because of the false brethren, secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus in order to bring us into bondage. Now somehow a few extra people snuck into that private meeting. He says it was some false brethren. What does that mean that they were false brethren? It means they weren't real brethren. Which means they were not believers. They were not saved. They believed a false gospel. They believed that works were necessary for salvation. They believed you had to keep the law to be saved. They were not real believers. So these men were still in bondage under the law. And they wanted to drag everyone else there with them by preaching the necessity of law keeping. But those who have trusted in Lord Jesus Christ have freedom in Christ. We are freed from the requirements of the law. of Moses. We saw quite a bit about that in the book of Hebrews when we studied through Hebrews a while back. The new covenant has come and it has replaced the old covenant. Well these false brethren were apparently trying to convince the apostles and elders that Paul had it wrong. They wanted them to force Paul to Preach the necessity of circumcision and law-keeping. Paul refused. The issue would be the same if it was anything else that someone was trying to add to the gospel of grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Paul would have responded just as adamantly opposed to anyone who taught baptism as necessary for salvation, or communion as necessary for salvation, or church membership, or that you have to dress a certain way or live a certain way in order to be saved. Now, baptism is a good thing. We're commanded to do it as believers. Communion is a good thing. We're commanded to do it as believers. These are not all bad things, but if they are conditions for salvation. They are wrong. Anything added to the finished work of Christ on the cross makes it not a gospel. It is not good news. It will not save. Look at verse 5. Paul says, We did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. Remember once again Paul received the gospel he preached from a revelation from Jesus Christ These guys who had snuck into that meeting believed a different gospel Different from the one that Paul believed in and teached So what would have to be true about that gospel? Well, if it's not the one that Jesus believed in It had to be false And so Paul wouldn't consider it. He didn't need time to think about it. He didn't need to pray about it. There was no middle ground that they could focus on and just ignore their differences. There was no consideration of, well, we agree on so much, maybe we could just let the rest slide. When it was just what could seem like a couple of small details that they disagreed on. It was actually the difference between a true gospel and a false gospel. It was the difference between eternal life in heaven and eternal separation from God in hell. That's how significant those little details are. Paul says here in verse 5 that big things were at stake. If he had yielded to them, the truth of the gospel would not have remained. We did not yield to them even for an hour so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. That's what was at stake here. If this meeting hadn't happened, so these Judaizers could have continued to claim to represent the Jerusalem church, the leaders of the church, the apostles, if they had remained unaware of this, we may not be here today praising our Savior. studying the book of Galatians. And again, hypothetically speaking, apart from the true gospel, we'd all be in hell tomorrow, maybe, if we die. That was a battle that was worth fighting. We should be thankful that that meeting happened in Jerusalem that day. As we go on in verse 6, we see the outcome of the meeting We see that it ended in victory for the truth. Verse six, but from those who were of high reputation, what they were makes no difference to me. God shows no partiality. Well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. Now, I think Paul is using some sarcasm here in this verse. by referring to the apostles as those who were of high reputation. Now, the sarcasm was not against the apostles, but against the Judaizers. They had been telling people that Paul was not a real apostle. The real ones, the ones who had a reputation for being with Jesus, walking with Jesus, they were the celebrity apostles. And James, the brother of Jesus, everybody knew them. The Judaizers said as they went out away from Jerusalem, those guys, they're the ones that really know the truth. They're the ones that have the right gospel. And they claimed they're the ones that agree with us. So Paul is kind of poking at their claims that those apostles are the ones with the right reputation that you should listen to. Paul wasn't impressed or intimidated by their celebrity status. Neither was God. It meant nothing. Celebrity means nothing. In our culture, people often think that the claims of a celebrity have more weight than others. When there's some big thing going on, people go, well, what do the celebrities think? Like, that matters. If a celebrity makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, some believers in some churches want to be quick to make them a spokesperson for the gospel. They're famous, so surely people will listen to them. The gospel will be more effective if it comes from a celebrity. We've seen many examples of how that has not turned out well. As Paul says in Romans 1.16, the power of God for salvation is in the gospel, not in the person who proclaims it. So those well-known apostles in Jerusalem could not preach a better gospel than Paul could. It's because of their status as being well-known. Paul says they contributed nothing to him. Now that's not a put-down. He's not saying they didn't help me at all. He's saying they didn't change my mind. They didn't change my words. They didn't add any clarity or correction to my understanding of the Gospel. Because, it turns out, Jesus had told them the same Gospel that He told Paul. They believed the same Gospel. If you look at verse 7, it says, 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." Now there's no intention here in dividing Jew and Gentile. There's no intention of there being a Gentile church in a Jewish church. That's actually the opposite of what they wanted to accomplish through this meeting. All who are united in Christ are one in Christ. All the distinctions are removed. Even the distinction, as far as the world is concerned, is the greatest distinction among men, Jew and Gentile. That distinction in Christ is gone. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. no matter the nationality, the background. And Paul is going to talk more about that later in this letter. He is talking about the primary audience is different between Peter and Paul. God had called Peter to areas where he would preach the gospel primarily to Jews, but not exclusively to Jews. Primarily. Paul would serve the Lord in areas where he would preach primarily to Gentiles, but not exclusively, just primarily Gentiles. that they would both be preaching the exact same gospel of grace. Peter would preach to primarily Jews. Paul would preach to primarily Gentiles that salvation is necessary because of our sin against God. They would both preach of how we deserve God's wrath and eternity in hell because of our sin against a holy God. Jew and Gentile alike, They would both preach that Jesus, God the Son, was born of a virgin. He took on human flesh and lived a perfect life, but he came to die as a substitute. He died on the cross in our place for our sins. And they would both preach that by grace alone, a completely undeserved gift through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, we are saved. and give an eternal life, Jew and Gentile alike. So, verse 9, 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. Praise the Lord for this conclusion, for this outcome of that meeting. and that that meeting happened. All the apostles and the true church leaders were in agreement. And they would go on preaching the one true gospel. And now they also had a united front in opposition to the false gospel of the Judaizers. So the Jews and the Gentiles would continue to hear the gospel of grace the church would continue to be built because the gospel was not lost. Now at that meeting that's recorded in Acts chapter 15, we're told of a document that was written and distributed by the leaders of the Jerusalem church with the conclusions that they came to at that meeting. Paul doesn't mention that here. So we don't know for sure if this was that meeting, but Paul gives us another conclusion. Something that was decided on at that meeting, it ended this way, verse 10, they only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do. Most likely he's talking here about the poor Jewish believers in the Judean churches, and that was a significant problem at that time. There was some famine problems, there was a lot of financial problems in that region anyway, Compounding that was the persecution that was happening of believers. There were a lot of poor believers. So as Paul went off to minister to the Gentiles, the request is, our blessings go with you. We're preaching the same gospel. Just don't forget about the hardships of your brothers and sisters in Christ back here in Judea. Remember love. That was the request. Remember to show love. Believers watching out for each other, taking care of each other, wherever the needs are. It's one of the unique parts of the church. The love of believers for each other makes the church stand out from the world. It's an evidence of the true gospel of grace. As Jesus said to his disciples, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." It's because of the truth of the gospel of grace. The grace that we have received means that we have grace to give. We have grace to show, to care about each other in the body of Christ. So they only asked to remember the poor. The very thing I was eager to do. As we think about the gospel that we have received, the grace we've been shown, let's go and do the same. Show that grace. Reflect the grace that has been given to us.