Chuck Larsen

As Paul begins chapter two of his letter to the Galatians, he tells them about his visit to Jerusalem sometime later (Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 perhaps). In Galatians 2:1-3 we read, “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. … But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.” The focus issue on this passage is that a Greek, namely Titus, was not coerced by the apostolic leadership in Jerusalem to be circumcised in spite of the demands from the Judaizers. They insisted that Titus had to become like them if he wanted to be included in the body of believers in Jerusalem. The legalists were demanding observance of the Jewish rite of circumcision even for Greeks. Paul argued against it.

The issue had to be resolved. According to Rushdoony, “The issue had been created by the Pharisees who had come into the church and whose stand with regard to Gentile converts was that entrance into the church required two things, circumcision, and keeping the Law of Moses. This meant that baptism and God’s sovereign grace had been replaced by the requirements of the Pharisees; works had replaced grace, and salvation had been redefined.” They had established a set of rituals, standards, and behaviors based on their own culture that they imposed on everyone regardless of their background.

The Good News of God’s grace is for everybody. The Gospel makes it clear that God “so loved the whole world.” He doesn’t just love you and me! Well, I’m not too sure about you! As ridiculous as this sounds, I’d argue that many of us expect those who want to be part of our group to look a certain way, to groom and dress in accordance with some unwritten standards, or to behave in specific ways, to value similar rituals, or to cherish a particular title. We often cause outsiders, like Titus, to believe they have to conform to our culture if they want to be a part of the kingdom of God. We present the impression that they have to change who they are in order to belong. Mike Baker concludes his commentary on this passage by saying, “But our spiritual instinct tells us that the kingdom of God is for all mankind and the Scripture confirms it. What does freedom for all really mean?”

When Paul was set free from his religious extremism and traditions of hatred that led to murder, it revolutionized his life. There is no other way to say it. It was not rehabilitation. It was regeneration. A new birth into a new life diametrically opposed to his old life. Paul’s conversion to Christianity shocked the religious world. Galatians 1:23 tells us that all the churches, even those he had never visited in Judea, were hearing about it. Paul says that although he was not known personally in many churches, yet they were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” This news was so remarkable that in the next verse (Galatians 1:24) Paul says, “And they glorified God because of me.”

Paul was a hopeless case! Nothing could have pierced his religious fervor. But God did. Kathy (my wife) often said that I was a hopeless case and that nothing could have pierced my secular fervor. When I was a young Catholic altar boy, I chose a patron saint. It was Saint Jude. It is interesting to me now because Jude was the saint for hopeless cases. How appropriate for me! I was a hopeless case, a lost cause. But, lo and behold, God performed His work in me. Since that time, I’ve met many men and women who were believed to be hopeless cases but God reached them. It takes years sometimes, but God does what no one else can ever do when it comes to bringing revolutions to the lives of hardhearted, stubborn people. He brings revolutionary changes into the lives of hopeless cases! Aren’t you glad?

How does Jesus do that? Think about it. He did not write any books, yet there are more books about Him than any other subject in the world! He owned nothing. He had no bank account and could have never qualified for an American Express card. He was considered a criminal. He was convicted and executed as one. He was deserted by his best friends and betrayed by his worst friends. In all ways imaginable he was a failure by human standards. Yet He proclaimed a message that destroyed the chains of slavery. It broke down the walls of racism, sexism, and every other kind of slavery imaginable. All this was accomplished by His simple message: God loves us all! He loves us so much that while we were still his enemies, He sent Jesus to die for our sins. Then He proved that we were forgiven by raising Jesus from the dead and sitting Him on the throne where He will reign in the church and one day over the entire world. This failure by human standards becomes the greatest success by God’s standards! We can appreciate why Paul was so determined to preach this message. It had to be proclaimed! There is no other truth that will set us free. Jesus is the “truth.” He is the truth that sets people free!

As Paul begins to share his personal experience of coming to faith in Jesus, he makes it clear that before consulting with anyone he spent some serious time alone with God. I believe that is what he means in Galatians 1:16-18. He writes that when God “…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. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.”

First of all, it’s important to notice that God’s supernatural intercession in Paul’s life had a significance to him beyond the event itself. He knew it meant something. As he separated himself from the world and seems to have drawn near to God, it became apparent to Paul that God had called him to salvation for a purpose. As one commentary puts it, “Life is not just an eddy of a purposeless stream; it is a part of God’s mainstream… God had a plan for Paul—as He does for every person, for you, for me. Paul saw the intervention of God in his life not as an unpremeditated happening but as a part of the eternal plan of God.”

Paul stresses the fact that he did not go to Jerusalem to consult with the other Apostles. Instead he went to totally gentile areas. Arabia, Damascus, followed later by regions of Syria and Cilicia. This was in keeping with his call to the gentiles. It seems that the other Apostles had not left Jerusalem at that time because that’s where Paul had to go to meet with them later. If this is so, it makes me think that they were not as focused on the Great Commission that Jesus gave them as He would have liked. He told them to make disciples “of all nations” yet they remained in Jerusalem. Most commentators agree that Paul spent time in Arabia, a barren, thinly populated place, to commune with God and clarify his life’s mission. God took Moses into the Midian wilderness and God took Paul into the Arabian wilderness (these places may be the same). Moses’ calling to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt became clear to him. Paul’s calling to lead God’s people out of religious slavery became clear to him as well. Thus, began Paul’s lifelong struggle with legalism!

Not long ago, the movie “Amistad” made Sengbe Pieh, mostly known by his slave name “Cinqué”, famous. It’s a fascinating story but has a sad ending not addressed in the movie. According to one historian, “Born to royalty in Africa, Cinque led the revolt of fifty slaves aboard the ship bound for America. They killed all but two of the crew, manacled them to the bridge, and demanded a return to Africa. The Spanish ship’s mate deceived them, however, and took them to Connecticut. There the slaves were indicted for murder and piracy. The case became a national sensation. Former President John Quincy Adams represented the slaves and won them an acquittal.” It was quite a dramatic trial with flashbacks to the slave trader’s journey from Africa to the new world.  But what it doesn’t tell you is that, “Released to freedom, Cinque returned to Africa to become a slave trader!”

Paul was criticized by the Judaizers for being like Cinque.  Yes, Paul would adopt the lifestyle of those around him in order to win others for Christ. When he was with Jews who observed the dietary laws, he would observe them as well. If he was with gentiles who would eat the meat that had been sacrificed to idols in Corinth and then sold in the market place, he would eat with them without condemnation. As he said, it’s not what you eat or what you drink that mattered. It was all about the gospel of Jesus Christ. But this led the Judaizers to accuse Paul of being a “man pleaser.” They said he spoke out of both sides of his mouth. When with the Jews, he taught law-keeping. When with the Gentiles he taught freedom from law-keeping. In Galatians 1:10, Paul answers this charge. He writes, “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.”

If Paul was trying to be a man-pleaser, he would not be pronouncing a double curse upon them. He preached the same message of salvation by grace through faith alone to both Jews and Gentiles. Yet, he accommodated himself to the culture he was with in order to get a hearing for this truth. His setting aside his right to eat what a gentile might eat while with the Jews, seems to be what was held against him by the Judaizers. Simply choosing to abstain from offensive behavior is not the same as preaching such abstinence is essential for salvation. But since the Judaizers insisted on attacking Paul for his sensitivity to their customs, he had to come straight out and confront those who opposed him. One commentator observed, “Men who are determined to find fault will never lack excuses to criticize. Such men want conflict, not reconciliation.” Have you ever heard the saying, “No good deed goes unpunished?” His sensitivity to Jewish customs was used to attack his motives.  But Paul says, if I at all compromise the gospel to please men, ‘I should not be the servant of Christ.’ His point is clear: he says, I am the servant of Christ, and you face His curse unless you repent.” (See John Rushdoony’s Commentary)