We're still in the book of Galatians. This morning we're going to see the Apostle Paul talk about a trip that he took to Jerusalem, one of his journeys. I want to remind you, we're going to be in Galatians 2, verses 1-10. that Paul had evangelized the people that he's writing this letter to. He had started these churches, he and Barnabas. And so there was a deep affection for these converts, deep affection for these churches. I was looking back in Acts 13 and 14 when the story of these churches being planted is told, he had seen these these Christians come alive in Christ and had experienced really incredible things. In some of their cities, the people had begun to worship Paul and Barnabas and kind of treat them like gods and even begin to make sacrifices toward them. And Paul and Barnabas are so offended, they rip their clothing and say, please stop immediately. We're men just like you as the people were trying to glorify them and adore them. But also what had happened in these cities is for Paul, he had been stoned for preaching the gospel. So maybe in one street he's getting adored and people are making sacrifices to him, and a couple of streets over or another town over, he's being stoned and left for dead. And so he has sweat, he has blood in these towns for these people. I want you to remember that Paul, as he's doing all this correction and reminding them of grace, here's what Paul had also reminded these churches. Acts chapter 14 verse 22 says he was strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them it is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. If anyone understood the incredible grace, just undeserved, as Reuben said in his prayer, grace, Paul did, and shared every opportunity that he could. But if anyone also understood the cost of the gospel, Paul did. I was thinking of the, you know, I hope that you understand and pay attention to the theology as we're singing songs. I was thinking in the last two songs this morning, you cannot sing, it is well with my soul and mean it, if you don't also sing and understand how deep the Father's love. It does not make sense to sing, it is well, thinking upon shipwreck and loss of life, if you don't understand how satisfied God is in you, in Jesus Christ, how deep the Father's love is for you. And so Paul was always reminding the church of the gospel and of grace and also saying, hey, you're probably gonna go through many hardships as you're walking this Christian life. So in all of that, Paul consistently is about Jesus Christ and the purity of his gospel. He cares about these Christians. He cares about the doctrine. They were saved and believed completely, and now they have begun to drift, and Paul is very concerned. And we've talked a few weeks, why were they so susceptible? These Galatians who had come to freedom in Christ, and then quickly after that, seemingly are being led back into bondage, willingly. And I think possibly two reasons. One, imagine what had happened to these pagans. They have come to faith in Christ. They're no longer welcome at the pagan temples and in pagan worship, but nor are they welcome at the synagogue to enter in with the Jews and worship in the synagogue, in the temple. So perhaps that's one reason when this, hey, you can join us and they can maybe have a group and enter with the Jewish Christians. And possibly another reason is just like they wanted to come under the discipline of the Mosaic law. They're no different than you and I. I hear this, and sometimes it's asked a different way, but, hey, Jeff, what do I need to do? I just want, yep, I don't wanna listen to the sermon, really, I'm busy, I've got stuff to, would you just tell me five things to do? We want, and they wanted a list of things, and in this case, it was the Mosaic Law, just give me a list, give me some rituals that I can check off so that I can have a sense of security this week. And so that gives us an idea perhaps why they would so willingly be put back into bondage. And so what we see with Paul, and we're gonna see it even more this morning, with Paul it's never about title. Although he will defend his apostleship to make sure people understand that he has the certain authority. But with Paul, he's never trying to heap praise on Paul. It's not about his own reputation. It's not about who evangelized more or who planted more or who did more work. In fact, real quickly, I want to read something from 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And Paul's kind of answering this in a different setting. And he says this, for I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. whether then it is I or they, so we proclaim, and so you have believed. I think if you were to boil down the Apostle Paul, the motive behind his ministry, it would be that, man, I really don't care whether it was them or me, whoever proclaimed, we proclaimed and you believed. It's not about who gets the applause or who gets the credit. And so this morning, We're going to see Paul talk about a trip that he took, one of his many trips back to Jerusalem. We're going to see the humility that we see over and over. We're going to see his love for the churches. We're going to see his love for unity, that he wants to be in unity with his fellow apostles. We're going to see, again, this singular focus on the one thing that matters to Paul, the gospel and the gospel clarity. We're going to see all of that on this trip that Paul took to Jerusalem. And what I hope that you and I can take away is really three things. With all of this clarity, how can you and I, as we're walking through the week this coming week, how can we confirm and be assured of the very gospel that we're believing in, the very gospel that we are sharing online with our family, with our co-workers? How can we be confident that we have the right gospel? The second thing is, what is the threat to the very freedom that the gospel brings that Paul is saying you are free in Christ? What are the threats where you and I live to that freedom? And the last thing is to say that the true gospel ought to produce freedom and unity. It ought to produce freedom and unity. So pray with me, Father. I am so encouraged by the Apostle Paul and his desire to always see you glorified, to point to you, to point people to have hope and trust and security only in you, not in Paul, not in Barnabas, not in any particular church. that he would be fine being mocked, he would be fine being scourged and beaten, left for dead, if your name was exalted. Lord, will you give us a hunger today for the clarity in your gospel that Paul had? Will you give us a hunger to understand it for ourselves? Will you give us a hunger to understand it for others? Will you help us guard against legalism and those that would try to strip us of our liberty? Lord, I'm asking that you be very clear that you would speak through me that all pretensions, all false beliefs would die now in the light of your truth. We need your truth now. We need your wisdom, Lord. We fear you. and we hold you as high and holy and lift it up. Teach us now, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Galatians chapter two, we're gonna start with verses one and two. Then, after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running in vain. So Paul travels to Jerusalem, he had mentioned last week about some other travels, and now he says it was 14 years later, most likely meaning, I think, 14 years after his conversion on the road to Damascus, after his initial calling to be an apostle, after Jesus tells him, you are gonna be my chosen instrument, and you're gonna suffer much for that office. I'm going to use you and you're going to suffer. That's what Paul is told. That's what he's invited into when Jesus saves him and calls him to his ministry. And so most likely, there's some question, but most likely this is a trip that's mentioned in Acts chapter 11 verses 27 through 30 where Paul and Barnabas bring back some offerings that have been taken up in other cities from other Christians to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem who are suffering greatly under famine. And we'll see a little bit of that at the end of the passage. And so I want us to see some things this morning about how Paul is coming on this trip. The first thing Paul makes very clear, he's coming by revelation. Paul is going willingly. He is not being called in by the big bosses in Jerusalem. Paul, we're worried, we're hearing some questionable things that you're teaching. That's not what is happening. Paul has decided by the revelation of God that he needs to go and make sure that things are good with he and with the apostles. This is not in the Marine Corps. I don't know if you've ever had a situation like this. I did not do recruiting duty. But there were, I had friends that would do recruiting duty, and it's really hard duty, and if you were having a bad month, your headquarters might be three or four hours away, but if you were not making your numbers, the boss would sometimes call and say, launch, and that means you get in your car and you just drive three hours, and you're probably not gonna get a reward. And this is not that type of meeting. Paul is willingly going by revelation of God, he's not teaching things that are on the fringes, and he's not being called in. The second thing we see in these two verses is that Paul is coming in humility. I love this. There is this dual thing that we're seeing over the last few weeks that I love about the Apostle Paul. Now, it is not the focus of the passage, but I think it's something that many of us could take into work tomorrow or school, and it's this combination of this confidence in who he is, in Christ Jesus, and this extreme humility. It is possible and it is right to be extremely confident and secure in who you are in Christ and also not be a jerk and be extremely humble. And that's what we see in the Apostle Paul. And so he comes and he says, I came privately. And Paul is not having, let me be very clear, Paul's not having doubt. He's not coming and saying, hey guys, this is what I have been preaching. I really need you guys to weigh in and investigate. Is this the right gospel? That's not what's happening in Paul. Paul's super confident. I think it's clear over the first chapter. He's super confident in the gospel that he's been preaching, by which the Galatians have been saved. Perhaps he's coming to make sure that the apostles in Jerusalem are confident as they're beginning to hear wind, as these accusations are being made in the Galatian churches. Paul has a different gospel. He's a second-rate apostle. He wasn't there when Christ walked the earth. And I think Paul's coming a little bit to say, hey, I want to give you guys a sense of comfort that I'm preaching the same gospel by which we were all saved. He's not trying to be arrogant. He's not trying to be rude. I think he's coming to just reassure those that he says were recognized as leaders. You see again this heart with Paul. He tells Timothy later in his epistle to Timothy that a leader, a servant of God must be gentle to everyone, correcting his opponents with gentleness. And we know through Scripture Paul can be firm, but his approach was always to come with gentleness, to correct with gentleness. And so Paul comes with this great sense of humility. We also see in these first two verses that Paul comes for the sake of unity. He's already established that a distorted gospel, which is actually a different gospel, is a gospel that is preached in vain. And he wants to make sure that these guys far away are hearing, I'm not preaching in vain. You don't have to wonder as you hold a council if I'm preaching the wrong stuff. So he's coming to ensure unity among the apostles. We'll move on to verses three through five. He says, but not even Titus. So he mentioned that he brought Titus, and he says here, but not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us. But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you. You may be thinking, you've been here a few weeks, Jeff, would you get off this issue? I kind of feel, I'm not trying to be rude, but I'll get off it when Paul gets off it. I'll get off it when God gets off it. This is a big enough deal that Paul is saying the same thing kind of in passage after passage. This issue of freedom. And so these false brothers, the Judaizers, these men that had come in quickly behind Paul, and were beginning to say, hey, good thing you guys accepted Christ, but we need you to do some other stuff. Primarily circumcision, observing the Sabbath, and then you guys can, you'll really be in the fold, and then you can come into the temple with us. They, interesting, these false teachers believed in Jesus. They believed that he was the Christ. They believed that he had been resurrected. You understand, you can believe all of that. Here's what they did not believe, though. They did not believe that Jesus was enough for these Galatian new believers. So you can believe all those kind of right things. At the end of the day, though, the question that Paul is presenting is, is all of that enough? Or as the false teachers are trying to lead the Galatian believers away, do you need to do just a few other things? And he says that they came to spy out our liberty and to enslave us. Enslave the new believers back into Mosaic law, back into ritual ordinances, and especially circumcision. making sure that all the men would have the foreskins cut and be initiated into Jewish faith in the Mosaic Covenant. Basically saying this, of course, if any man was going to live a life in obedience to the law, he must start by being circumcised. This was a huge deal and Paul is saying as these guys are coming in, we have been freed We have been freed. We're not going back to slavery, to religion. Not just so that we can live out our freedom, but that puts us back into bondage. And so, it's very interesting to see when Paul mentions that he brings Titus. Titus, for this issue, Paul comes with the perfect test case. Titus was a Greek and he's in an audience of Jewish apostles and still is not compelled to be circumcised. Unlike later, Timothy, who was half Jewish, Paul goes on another trip and actually encourages Timothy to be circumcised. But Peter, for the matter at hand, was the perfect case. Every argument that he ought to be circumcised. Interesting how Paul thought of Titus. He's referred to in other places in Scripture as Titus my brother. He says he had no peace when Titus was absent. He was comforted by Titus. by the coming of Titus. He trusted Titus to receive a collection from the Corinthians. Titus had the same earnest care that filled the heart of Paul. He says, if anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. In Titus chapter one, verse four, he calls Titus, listen, a true son in our common faith. If there were a guy for Paul to bring on that trip that would blow the question wide open, it was Titus. And so he's coming with the perfect test case and he's also coming for clarity and agreement. He comes to make sure that all the apostles are in agreement. He's not going to submit, though, even one inch. He says, so that, not that Paul is declared right, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved. So in all of that, Titus is not compelled. We talked last week, Dan, for Paul, so if you see this issue, Titus not compelled on one instance, and yet Paul encouraging Timothy in another instance to be circumcised. Here's how we resolve that. For Paul, circumcision was a methods issue, not a message issue. It made sense in Timothy's context, because they were trying to make sure the message got to the Jewish believers, it made sense for Timothy to get circumcised. It wasn't necessary, but it was a question of the right method. For Titus, the exact opposite. His being circumcised would have thrown all of the Galatian churches and other churches in disarray because they would have now assumed, oh, so to really be a Christian, you need to be circumcised. Circumcision and ritual observance was a message thing with Paul, a method thing with Paul, not a message thing. Paul really is saying at this point, Titus, Me, you men, you brothers, we are not slaves anymore to the law. If you want to observe it, fine, but we're not slaves to it anymore. It's not necessary and it cannot save. We are slaves of Christ. He's necessary. And He alone can save. That's why Paul is making such a big deal. He comes in humility, he comes for unity, He comes with Titus, the perfect test case, and he comes for clarity and agreement. We're going to go in different ways, we're going to see in a minute that the apostles are going to decide to go to different places, different people, but Paul needs to make sure at this moment, all hands on the rock, we all are in firm agreement. None of us would compel our friend Titus to be circumcised and follow Jewish law. So he moves on in verses six through 10. Now from those recognized as important, what they once were makes no difference to me. God does not show favoritism. They added nothing to me. On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised. Since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work for me, for the Gentiles. When James, Cephas, and John, those recognized as pillars, acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me in Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do. So Paul, again, in all of his humility, is reminding them, hey, I'm humble, but I'm not subservient to these guys. We're on a level playing field. I wonder if under his breath he said, hey, let's just remember, you guys were poor, often illiterate fishermen, and Jesus saved you and was working with you, and I was raised and taught by Gamaliel, and the point is, God's not a respecter of men. We're all, I respect you, but we're all on a level playing field. What we really, what Paul is reminding the Galatians is for the apostles, but really for all Christians, what we were before Christ is not important. Our background, God can use it like we talked about last week, but it's not that important. And so the Jewish apostles had not compelled Titus to be circumcised. And they leave in this meeting that Paul is discussing no room to validate. The false teachers cannot hear this and believe that they were validated in any way by Paul and these apostles. They give Paul the right hand of fellowship. They are validating 100%. They don't begrudgingly say, Paul, we're not really in agreement, but we're not thinking that you're doing too much bad. We're not putting you on probation. This is 100% total agreement with the gospel that the Apostle Paul is preaching. They heartily give him the right hand of fellowship. They had seen the passion Paul had. They had seen the calling for the Gentiles. They had seen the fruit. They were hearing about these Jewish Gentile believers just coming to life in Christ. They could do nothing but affirm the gospel that Paul was preaching. It was a 100% confirmation. His ministry to the Gentiles is 100% endorsed. Hey, God seems to have called Peter. He'll go to the Jews. God seems to be anointing you now, Paul and Barnabas. You guys run to the Gentiles. Let's preach the same gospel. Let's see people come to faith in Christ, Jews and Gentiles, God making one new people. There's a great sense of unity that had happened in this moment. And the last thing that they say, and when you read this verse 10, let me read it again, they asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do. So it's interesting. There's all this. There's probably some bear hugs, some back slapping, some some handshaking and some general agreement like this. Remember, the idea that the Gentiles could be saved was still a relatively new thing had just started happening. Peter had had his eyes open in Acts chapter 10. And the apostles were warming up to the idea that the Gentiles also could be God's people and be saved. And so things don't happen in the Bible any differently than they happen in our time. It would take months and several experiences for everyone to kind of say, wow, like, huh, the Gentiles can really be saved. And so that's happening. So we need to give grace. Like, why didn't they get it immediately? This was being worked out, and they're kind of seeing it come to fruition right in front of them. And they have this big moment, and then it feels like this separate thing. Hey, and whatever you're doing, make sure you care for the poor. But I think perhaps that this is just another example that, hey, man, we believe the same gospel. We are confirming that your gospel is our gospel. And as an act of this unity, can we all agree that we're going to remember the poor. And I think Paul, especially if this is the trip that he took in Acts 11, verses 27 to 30, as he's bringing gifts from the other churches to the Jewish Christians that are suffering in Jerusalem, I think Paul would say, well, of course. That's the very thing. Yeah, we're always, we are unified. Jewish believers, Gentile believers, like, we're all together. and where one part of the body is hurting, we're gonna remember where one part needs help, we're gonna rally the churches around and we're gonna serve each other. And so there's unity in the gospel, there's unity in serving one another when they're going through hard times, there's great unity that comes out of this meeting that Paul's talking about, this trip that Paul took. And so a real brief summary and then I wanna talk about us. The gospel that Paul was preaching was affirmed, 100% stamp of approval. The apostles in these different locations, these apostles that are going to have different ministries are all in unity. Not even Titus, a Greek who there could have been great argument for him to be circumcised, not even Titus was convinced and Paul wasn't convinced and the other apostles were not convinced that he needed to be circumcised. And the gospel that Paul had been preaching was bearing fruit. It was bearing fruit. People were being set free in Christ. So for us though, I have a question, a couple of questions and then a statement. The first question for you and I today is how can we be assured? Paul's very sure. of his gospel. How can you and I be similarly assured that the gospel that we are believing in is the right one, that we haven't added, that someone hasn't added something to it that we've then begun to believe? The second is, where is the threat to the very freedom the gospel brings today? Not in Galatia, today, right where we are. And then, just a reminder that the gospel ought to produce freedom and unity. The first question then, how can you be sure? How can you go to sleep tonight knowing that you are believing the same gospel that Paul is believing? When you preach the gospel to yourself, which gospel are you preaching? When you preach the gospel to someone else, which gospel are you preaching? The place to go is scripture. We go to scripture. Listen to the gospel that Jesus preached. I am the bread of life, Jesus told them. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever thirst again. Again in John chapter 6 verse 40, for this is the gospel Jesus preaches, for this is the will of my Father that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life. And I will raise Him up on the last day. No questions. Not who believes in me and does this list that the local church gave him. Not who believes in me and gets circumcised and observes the Sabbath. All who believe in him will have eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day. Listen to the Apostle John's Gospel. But to all who did receive Him, He gave the right to be children of God to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but God. Got Jesus' gospel, got Apostle John's gospel, what about Peter? Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Because of His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. It's a gospel of mercy. It's a gospel of new hope, new life. Peter in Acts chapter 15, on the contrary, we believe that we are saved by the same grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way that they are. James, the brother of Jesus, right after that statement by Peter says, we should not cause difficulties, in other words, add stuff to that gospel for those that are among the Gentiles who turn to God. Here's the consistency, and this is why we go to scripture, Jesus and then Jesus through John and then Jesus through Peter and Jesus through James and Jesus through Paul This the same gospel and it's this that God does all of the work God is freeing people in Christ. He is setting captives free God is giving mercy with the gospel. God is giving inheritance with the gospel. God is protecting the inheritance in the gospel. God is ensuring that those who have placed their faith in Christ are in fact saved on the last day. God is giving new birth. God is allowing people to be children of God. God is bringing the dead to life, giving new hope. All of that is true and God is the one that's doing all that. We confirm the gospel by scripture that we have the same gospel that Jesus has. You can sleep well at night if you have that gospel. So what's the threat to freedom today? Probably no one has come up. Hey, we need to head over to Valley Baptist, get you circumcised. I mean, that's that's not our issue. But. Is there still a move in often in Christianity to put believers under bondage, other types of bondage, other types of to do's? How would we recognize who are the spies that would come in, literally see you come up out of the waters where you have proclaimed, man, I am Christ and He is mine, and say, hey, come over to the house today. I want to tell you some stuff to do. Do we still possibly have spies in Christianity? We do. You might hear things like, you know what? You better wear a suit in church. Maybe you grew up hearing that. Man, you can't wear that Guns N' Roses t-shirt in church. You certainly could not preach in a t-shirt. They'd hate me. I saw Deacon Reuben pray. He's wearing a t-shirt. Is that okay? You know what? Women better wear skirts or dresses. You know what? They better play music that sounds like this in church. I'm not talking about the lyrics. I'm talking about with a certain beat. You know what? Men better not have a ponytail or a man bun. You know what? If you drink a beer or a glass of wine, you're definitely not saved. You know what, you better, and I don't know if this is true, but I have a feeling that for women, maybe this is even worse. Well, it's a good thing that you're a Christian, but now you need to start doing these things, and there's a right type of woman Christian and a wrong type, and don't be the wrong type. You need to act a certain way, you need to be very bubbly and stuff, but not too bubbly, and all these things that are not in the Bible. You know what, with all of these things, there might be reasons in certain circumstances to police yourself. Listen to what Chuck Swindoll says. I love this. He's talking about legalism. Legalism is when we get into areas that are not set forth in scripture, either in precept or even in principle. These may be such things as length of hair, tattoos and other body piercings, skirts or pants for women, makeup or no makeup. Those are not scriptural issues. Sometimes these issues are cultural, and you do have to address them when you're in that particular culture. But I think legalism begins when you do or refrain from doing what I want you to do or not do because it's on my list and it's something that I am uncomfortable with. The problem with legalist is that not enough people have confronted them and told them to get lost. Those are strong words, but I don't mess with legalism anymore. I'm 72 years old, what have I got to lose? Seriously, I used to kowtow to legalists, but they're dangerous. They're grace killers. They'll drive off every new Christian you bring to church. They are enemies of the faith. Other than that, I don't have any opinion. I mean, you can almost see Charles Swindoll is the heart of Paul, right? It's the heart of Paul. Again, you and I may self-police, or we may give wisdom to someone. Look, you have the freedom in this area, but in this environment, it might not be the best as you're trying to win someone. Because remember, this is the same Paul that said, you know what? The very freedoms I'm preaching, in another instance said, I'll gladly give up that I might win some. He'll gladly give up. So here's how we know when someone is spying or there's a threat today. Anyone that is selling Jesus plus a certain ritual, Jesus plus a certain obedience or preference or whatever, equals salvation. Paul says this issue, he would agree with Charles Stendhal, he says, I would not submit even for a moment for the sake of preserving the gospel. And the last thing that I hope you saw in all of this exhibited by the Apostle Paul is there is great freedom and there is great unity when we rally around the true gospel. We rally and believe in and all put our hand, the true gospel, the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Put your faith in Christ alone. and it brings great unity in the church. Pray with me. Father, as we prepare for communion, I have seen even this week, I have seen even this week, this gospel that Paul is preaching with great clarity open some eyes and hearts. Some that have come to question, have I been putting some faith in my own stuff for my salvation? Have I been adding to the work of Jesus Christ? Have I been thinking that you're satisfied in Jesus and my stuff? Lord, I love when you shine the light on people, when you expose things. And I pray, Lord, that as the communion table is set, For those that come up, that they will understand their very entrance and invitation to the table is made on the work of Christ, not on their work this past week. That their engraved invitation to come to the table is marked in the blood of Jesus, not in their works. And so they can come with a smile, and they can come with joy and a spring in their step, because it is well. It is well. And so, Father, as we are to take time to examine our lives, see, that type of thinking does not lead us to be haughty. It does not lead us to be careless and casual with sin. It ought to drive us to desire to live a holy life this week. And so I pray, Father, there'll be some real reflection, confession now before you. And then with joy, your people will come to the table. I pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Christian, examine your life. The question is not, did you live a perfect life this week? The question is, is your faith 100% in the work of Christ? Confess into the Lord, receive His forgiveness and His grace, and come to the table when you're ready.