Stand Firm Against Compromise

Transcript

GR 1144
2/14/99
Stand Firm Against Compromise
Galatians 2:3-5
Gil Rugh


Galatians, chapter 2. A letter written by the apostle Paul to churches that he had established on missionary trips he took to a region known as Galatia, or as we have looked at it, Southern Galatia, really. Missionary trips that are recorded in the book of Acts. The first of those trips recorded in Acts, chapter 13 and 14. Now he writes back to these churches because of a danger facing them. Teachers have infiltrated the churches and are teaching a gospel that is not the same as the gospel that the apostle Paul taught. And these false teachers are claiming that their gospel is authoritative, that it is right and correct and Paul is in error. So, Paul, in the first two chapters, gives a personal defense of his position as an apostle and of the fact that he received his gospel directly from God, so that his message has the authority of God Himself. It is a message by which all other messages can and must be compared.

Verses 11 and 12 of chapter 1, give basically the thrust of what he has been defending. “For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” And he has answered the charge that he really received his gospel second hand from the apostles in Jerusalem, for he has demonstrated for the first 14 years of his life as a believer, he had no real significant contact with the apostles at Jerusalem. In fact, he only spent a total of about 15 days with the apostles in Jerusalem, particularly Peter and James. Not enough time since he was already involved in a busy ministry. And while he was in Jerusalem for those approximate two weeks, he was heavily involved with preaching the word. And by the end of 15 days had to leave town for fear of his life.

But after 14 years, we went up for an extensive conference at Jerusalem. And that’s the subject that we’re dealing with in Galatians, chapter 2. The subject of crucial importance, but, because it has to do with the substance of the gospel. What is required by God for a person to be forgiven their sins and to be born into the family of God? In other words, how can a person be saved. What is necessary for sinners, and we’re all sinners. “For all have sinned,” the Bible says. How is it possible for sinners to be brought into right relationship with a holy God? That’s the issue being dealt with.

After 14 years, Galatians, chapter 2, verse 1 and 2, tell us, Paul went up to Jerusalem. He went up for a conference. That conference is recorded in Acts, chapter 15. It occurred after Paul’s first missionary journey. Paul’s first missionary journey was conducted and recorded in Acts, chapters 13 and 14. Then he went up for the conference at Jerusalem in Acts, chapter 15, which is recorded in Galatians, chapter 2. He went up because God revealed to him that he should go up. Acts tells us he also went up in a context of a conflict that had developed in a church at Antioch, because certain individuals had come from Jerusalem to the city of Antioch, to the north of Jerusalem, and were teaching that it was necessary to be circumcised for salvation and also to keep the Mosaic Law. Paul is arguing that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And any alteration or change in that message makes one the opponent of God, and indicates they truly don’t belong to God.

Now, Paul took two individuals that are named in Galatians with him. There were others, perhaps, according to Acts 15, but two are significant in his argument in Galatians. The end of chapter, verse 1 of chapter 2, he says he took Barnabas and Titus.

Barnabas was part of the church in Jerusalem from its beginning days. In Acts, chapter 4, verse 36, very early in the life of the church at Jerusalem, Barnabas is revealed to be a vital part. In fact, the disciples changed his name from Joseph to Barnabas. His Jewish name, given name, was Joseph. But they started calling him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” They found Barnabas to be a blessing and encouragement in the ministry of the church. Over in Acts, chapter 11, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Gentiles were being saved in the city of Antioch to the north, they sent Barnabas there to check out the report. And Barnabas went and found that indeed Gentiles were believing in Christ and he encouraged them and strengthened them in the scripture, and then went to the city of Tarsus and got the apostle Paul and brought him to be part of the ministry in Antioch. And Antioch will become the focal point from which Paul departs on his various travels and missionary trips.

The other man that Paul took with him is Titus, and he will be the subject of verses 3-5, where we are going to focus our attention. Titus was a Greek, a non-Jew. He was uncircumcised and he goes with Paul and becomes a test case, if you will, at the meeting in Jerusalem with the other apostles. And you’ll note, verse 3 begins with the little conjunction “but”. “But not even Titus.” And it’s not a contrast to what he was saying, but a further confirmation and strengthening of what he has been saying, that at Jerusalem he met personally and privately with the apostles, as well as having public meetings, and his purpose was to be sure that the gospel was clear and clarified and there was no disagreement. He would make no compromise, but he wanted to be sure that the apostles at Jerusalem understood the issues and were clearly planted on a gospel of grace.

And Titus becomes a testimony that the apostles at Jerusalem agreed with Paul on the gospel and what was necessary for salvation. It’s interesting that in the account of the conference at Jerusalem, in the book of Acts, which is the history book, as you’re aware, of the New Testament, Titus is not mentioned. In fact, Titus is not mentioned anywhere in the book of Acts. As Luke records the history of the early Church, he did not include the name of Titus. But we know from other of Paul’s writing, that Titus played a very prominent role and part in Paul’s ministry. He was a very close companion of Paul. Titus had been converted to Christ under Paul’s ministry. Later Paul will write a letter to Titus. And in chapter 1, verse 4, of that letter, he addresses it “To Titus, my true child in a common faith.” In calling him “my true child in a common faith,” would indicate that he had come to salvation under Paul’s ministry. So Paul viewed him as his spiritual child or son in the faith.
Titus had a particular ministry on behalf of Paul in connection with the church in Corinth. You know, we find something out about the character of Titus by seeing how much Paul trusted him and what he had to say about him. For example, Paul’s relationship with the church at Corinth could be very delicate. He came under personal attack from false teachers in Corinth. Questions about his personal character and behavior were raised. Paul had to write them a very harsh letter. And when Paul wanted someone to represent him in the church at Corinth and to go and see how they responded to his rebuke, he sent Titus. Back up, just before the book of Galatians is the letter of, to the Corinthians, the second letter to the Corinthians, and look in 2 Corinthians, chapter 2. Paul has written a harsh letter. He was concerned how the Corinthians would respond to that rebuke; would they turn against Paul or would they receive that rebuke as from the Lord and make the corrections?

Well, Paul had Titus go to Corinth to bring back word of how the Corinthians responded. In verse 12 we’re told, “When I came to Troas,” Paul writing, “for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord.” So, at Troas, Paul had opportunities for proclaiming Christ, but he says, “I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia.” Over into the northern part of Greece, Corinth being in the southern part. You see how serious the situation was. Paul was so troubled by the lack of any report from Corinth that he thought maybe there was unrest at Corinth. He couldn’t even continue his ministry at Troas. He crosses over into Greece, preparation for going to Corinth, evidently.

Turn over to, chapter 7. Really the intervening section of Corinthians is a diversion where Paul developed something of the greatness of the ministry. And in verse 5 you pick up where we left off in chapter 2, verse 13, when he said and we went into Macedonia. Verse 5 we read, of chapter 7, “For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” And Titus brought a good report. The Corinthians were humbled by that severe rebuke of Paul. They had determined by God’s grace, they would make the changes. And Paul is thrilled. His heart is encouraged and blessed. What I want you to note is the confidence that Paul had in Titus to send him as his personal representative in such a delicate and difficult situation. Yet Paul had full confidence that Titus was a godly man who could be trusted and would handle things appropriately.

While you’re in 2 Corinthians, in chapter 8 there’s a collection of funds being made from among Gentile churches to help alleviate the poverty of believing Jews in Jerusalem who are under tremendous persecution and suffering. And so, verse 6 of 2 Corinthians 8 tells us, “So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.” Now, you know, when you’re going to send someone to raise money, you have to be careful. He can cause you a lot of trouble and a lot of misunderstanding. But Paul has full confidence that Titus will handle this appropriately. Down in verse 16 of chapter 8 note what he says about Titus, “But thanks be to God, who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord.” Titus has the same heart for you that I do and he wanted to come in ministry to you and be part of this collection taken in your church. You see something of Paul’s confidence. Down in verse 23, “As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker.”

Look over in chapter 12, verse 18, of 2 Corinthians. Verse 17 Paul’s answering the criticisms, “Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I?” No one who came representing me took advantage of you, did they? “I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?” That’s high commendation of Titus. He conducting himself there with you just as I would have, behaved himself just as I would have, had the same godly spirit as I would have. You see the full confidence that Paul has in Titus.

Now, turn over to the book of Titus. Paul wrote a letter to Titus called one of the pastoral epistles. 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus. A little toward the back of your New Testament, past the book of Galatians a few books. Titus, chapter 1. I referred to verse 4 a little bit ago, where Paul addresses him as “Titus, my true child in a common faith.” Then note what he says in verse 5, “For this reason I left you in Crete.” So, evidently, Paul and Titus had traveled to Crete together for ministry. Then Paul felt it necessary to proceed on, but he left Titus there. “In order that you would set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.” Paul had full confidence that he could leave the ministry in charge of Titus. Titus would finish the organizing of the churches and the appointing of godly men to oversee the churches. Not an easy task! Look at verse 12, what Paul’s says about the Cretans, “One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. For this reason, reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith.” You see Titus wasn’t left with an easy ministry. There were hard things to be done, corrections to be made that these churches might be firmly established. Paul was confident to leave Titus.

If you’re in Titus, just back up a book, right in front of Titus is 2 Timothy. And here you have the last reference to Titus in Paul’s writings. 2 Timothy is Paul’s last letter. He’s on the verge of, ah, execution. And he writes to Timothy and says in verse 9 of 2 Timothy 4, “Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me.” A tragic commentary on Demas, who had been a companion of Paul. He couldn’t take it any longer. He abandoned Paul. “Crescens has gone to Galatia.” The indication will be that he went as Paul’s representative for ministry. “Titus to Dalmatia.” So, where do we leave Titus in the written record? On a ministry mission on behalf of Paul, going this time to Dalmatia.

I mention that because when you come back to the book of Galatians, chapter 2, already Titus is a trusted companion of Paul. Paul is going to take Titus to Jerusalem with him for a situation that is very delicate, that must be handled very carefully, as he had alluded to in verse 2, so that no damage is done to the ministry. It’s going to be a meeting where is going to be much pressure from opponents. Paul would have to have a man that was completely reliable. And he’s bringing Titus in in a context in which it will be Titus who will experience much of the pressure, because it will be Titus’ salvation that is at question and issue. Can Titus as a Gentile be saved before God without being circumcised? It would do great damage if Titus would come and waffle or be uncertain or easily swayed in such a pressure context.

So, verse 3 of Galatians 2 says, “But not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek.” And that word “Greek” refers to everyone who is non-Jewish, really, because the world, the Gentile world had become saturated with Greek culture and ideas. So, Jew and Greek is used in the New Testament to encompass the whole world. It’s used that way by Paul in Galatians 3:28, “Neither Jew nor Greek,” meaning not Jews and not anyone else, not any non-Jews. The point here is Titus is not a Jew. He is a Gentile. “Not even Titus, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.” And that word translated “compelled” is a strong word. It indicates the pressure that was being applied by some at Jerusalem. There was a strong effort made to require Titus to be circumcised if he was to be accepted as a saved man. But he was not required to be circumcised.

Now, these Judaizers, centered in Jerusalem, were Jews who had professed faith in Christ. But according to Acts, chapter 15, they also said that it was necessary to be circumcised and to keep the Mosaic Law. Now, they would root their belief in the necessity of circumcision from certain instructions in the Old Testament. Turn back to Genesis, chapter 17. The first book of the Old Testament, the book of Genesis. God establishes circumcision as being a unique sign for the Jews of the covenant that He has entered into with them as a nation. And in Genesis 17, He reiterates the substance of the covenant that He makes with Abraham and his descendants, the nation Israel. Then down in verse 10, “’This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you; every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.’”

So, very important for the Jews. Circumcision will be the physical identifying sign of our covenant relationship. And anyone who becomes part of Israel, even slaves, must be circumcised, verses 12 and 13. Look at verse 14, “’But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.’” So, an uncircumcised Jewish man could have no part in fellowship with the nation Israel. He was a rebel. He had violated the covenant. God would not consider him part of the nation and he should not be accepted as part of the nation. Later in the Mosaic Law, in Leviticus 12:3, the requirement that a baby boy be circumcised on the eighth day, is made part of the Mosaic Law, a requirement.

Now, this was to be a sign of a heart relationship that Israel was to have with God. With the passing of time, the Jews began to equate circumcision with salvation and they began to accept that going through the physical act of circumcision guaranteed your salvation. And so, when you come to the New Testament, the Jews believed that because they’re Jews and are circumcised, they’re saved. Now certain Jews who professed to believe in Christ still believed you had to be circumcised and to keep the Mosaic Law.

Turn in the New Testament to the book of Romans. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. And chapter 4. Paul is dealing with the same issue as we’re dealing with in Galatians, “Do you have to be circumcised to be saved? Do you have to keep the Mosaic Law to be saved?” Verse 2 of Romans 4, he says, “For if Abraham was justified (The word means “to declare righteous”), if Abraham was justified (declared righteous) by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God.” I mean, if Abraham became righteous by what he did, he could boast about himself. But, “What does the Scripture say?” quoting from Genesis, chapter 15, verse 6, “’Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

Jump down to verse 9, for time, “Is this blessing then upon the circumcised, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.’ How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised?” Well, stop and think. In Genesis, chapter 15, verse 6, “Abraham believed God and God credited it to Abraham as righteousness.” Was Abraham circumcised in Genesis 15? No, Abraham will not be circumcised for years. Not until Genesis 17, where we just read, was Abraham circumcised. That was years after God had declared him righteous. “Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.” Note verse 11, “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised.”

Point proved, there is only one God. We didn’t go back into chapter three of Romans to follow the argument. There can only be one way of salvation. We find out how this one God saved a person, we’ll know how He’ll save anyone who will ever be saved. Let’s select Abraham. For the Jews this would be the prime example, because he’s the father of the nation. How was Abraham saved? Abraham believed God and God credited his faith as righteousness. Oh, but we believe today that you must believe and be circumcised. Was Abraham circumcised when he was declared righteous? No. Do you believe there’s two gods, the God who saved Abraham by faith and the god who saves people by faith plus circumcision? No, there’s only one God. Jews are set on that, Deuteronomy, chapter 6, “O, hear, O, Israel, Our Lord is one.” Well, then, circumcision is not necessary for salvation. You see, the Jews misunderstood the purpose of circumcision. It was to be a sign of the righteousness that they received by faith in the revelation that God gave of Himself.

You know, the book of Galatians is very important as we study this subject, because we say, “Oh, what’s the issue for us? We’re mostly not Jews. And circumcision and keeping the Mosaic Law is not the prime issue, but what part do works play in salvation, are very much an issue.” Many people believe they’re going to be saved by baptism, saved by church membership, saved by good works. The issue is the same. When was Abraham baptized? You know what? The Scripture doesn’t indicate he was ever baptized. Well, how can you say baptism is necessary for salvation? Are there two gods, the God that saved Abraham by faith and the god who saved you by faith plus baptism? What about church membership? The Church didn’t even come into existence until 2,000 years after Abraham. So, he never joined the Church. How can you say that you’re saved by joining a church? And on and on we go. You see the issues are the same: How are you saved? By faith? Or by faith plus works?

Come back to the book of Galatians. “Not even Titus who was with me . . . was compelled.” Even though the pressure was applied, he was not required to be circumcised. “But it was because of the false brethren . . .” and he goes on. Paul makes clear that the pressure being applied in the Church at Jerusalem was being applied by those who were not genuine believers. He calls them false brethren. They had professed to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. These particular teachers were Jews (We’ll see that in a moment in Acts.), who had professed faith in Christ, evidentially had been baptized in identification with Him, since that was a requirement carried out in the book of Acts.

But they were saying that faith in Christ is not enough. Paul’s says they are false brethren. Evidentially they had been accepted into the church at Jerusalem as genuine. Go back to Acts 15. Acts chapter 15, verse 1, while Paul is still at Antioch, “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’” And this causes great dissension. “Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate.” So it’s decided they’ll go to Jerusalem to talk about his matter with the apostles at Jerusalem. “When they arrived at Jerusalem (verse 4), they were received by the church and the apostles.” Verse 5, “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, stood up saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them, and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.’”

Paul says these are false brethren, pseudo brethren, not genuine brethren. How can you know? You can’t judge the heart! Because they are saying you’re saved in a different way than God says you are saved, and God is the authority on salvation. If I tell you, “Look, you can be saved if you join this church, and I can add a guarantee to that salvation if you’ll give us a significant contribution. And then, just to be sure, come and hear me preach every week, and that will seal it.” Well, I can tell you that, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be saved, because I can’t save you. Only God can. In fact, you could say, “Gil, you are a liar because the Bible says you’re saved by faith in Christ, not by joining your church, not by giving money to your church, and so on.” So, important that we see the issue.

These Jews professed faith in Christ. That’s remarkable. They live in Jerusalem. They’re Pharisees. In would be a serious matter for a Pharisee to step forward and say, “I believe that Jesus was the Messiah. I’m going to be baptized in identification with Him.” Evidentially they have done that and been accepted as believers by the church at Jerusalem, and now Paul says they’re not real, they’re false brethren. We can understand how they could be accepted into the church at Jerusalem. Remember we talked earlier in our study of Galatians the issue of circumcision would not have been an issue in Jerusalem, at least up until this time. Why? Well, Jerusalem is a Jewish city. People responding to the gospel are Jews. You know what? They’re already circumcised. The Jewish men were circumcised at 8 days of age, according to Jewish Law. So, it was a non-issue.

You know what it took? It took this conflict to clarify and make clear they’re not trusting in Christ alone after all. So, it takes this conflict over what is really the gospel and what are you really trusting to reveal they haven’t trusted in Christ alone. They have simply added Christ to their Jewish beliefs. You know, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, in his first letter, in chapter 11, I believe it’s about verse 19. And he says, “There must be divisions among you,” writing to the Church, “in order that those who are approved may become evident.” What divisions and conflict do is reveal our true character and condition. So, here now you have a conflict in Jerusalem. Is circumcision necessary for salvation? And now these Pharisees revealed that they’ve not been trusting in Christ alone, but they’re trusting in Christ plus the Mosaic Law. Paul says they are false brethren. In fact, back in Galatians, chapter 1, he has called them accursed. He says they’re preaching another gospel, a gospel of faith plus works. And he says in verse 8 of chapter 1, “If we or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, he is to be accursed.” He repeats it in verse 9, “He is to be accursed.”

Now you realize the difficulty here. Here you have the church at Jerusalem. It is under tremendous pressure. It has seen some of its members executed for their faith. The book of Acts, chapter 8 records the execution of Stephen for his testimony of faith in Christ. Acts, chapter 12 records the execution of James by Herod Agrippa. Peter, himself, was imprisoned and it was Herod’s plan to execute him the following day and an angel came and supernaturally delivered Him in Acts, chapter 12. So, here is a church that has had martyrs in its midst, that experiencing the fires of persecution. And now you have Paul coming into the church and he wants to split the place over doctrinal minutia. And you can see how these apostles at Jerusalem might have been tempted to say, “Now, look, Paul, we’ve got all kind of problems and pressures here. We’ve seen some of our members executed for their faith. There’s tremendous persecution and pressure being applied to the church. This is not the time to divide the church over a doctrinal matter of how important is circumcision and the Mosaic Law. Right now we need unity, we need the church to stand together. You’ll shatter the church and it will never recover if you make a division over doctrinal points at this case.”

You can see how you’d be tempted to think that way. But that’s exactly what must be dealt with. The unity of the church does not take priority, as we’ll see as we move along later in chapter 2 of Galatians that friendships don’t even take priority. The gospel takes priority. So, Paul says these are false brethren. They’re accursed men, and we must stand against them. I have to say as I’ve worked through this again, I appreciate the pressure that Paul would have been under, that the apostles at Jerusalem had to be under to make decisions like this in this kind of context. Can’t we put this off? See these are Pharisees, and now you want to come in here and say they’re accursed, they’re false brethren, they’re not really saved? Paul, I mean, don’t we have enough trouble? Go back to Antioch! No, this is a crucial matter. You know, Paul says his ministry was plagued by false brethren.

The only other use of this expression, “false brethren,” is by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. And in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 26, he says, “I was in constant dangers among false brethren.’ Here Paul makes clear that every where he went there were those who professed to be believers, but were not genuine. And he was constantly in danger from them. And we find out very early the plan of the Devil is to infiltrate the Church with those who give every appearance of being believers, they would have a testimony that they were believers, and they would conduct themselves as believers, but there will come issues of doctrine and truth that will sift out believers from unbelievers. And this is one of those occasions. Note how Paul goes on in verse 4 of Galatians 2, “It was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, or secretly come in.” It doesn’t necessarily mean they were brought in by someone. These were false brethren, ah, secretly in the Church. In other words, they had come in under false pretenses, pretending to be what they weren’t. They were disguised.

Peter uses this word in 2 Peter, chapter 2, verse 1, when he says that there were false prophets in Israel in the Old Testament and there “will also be false teachers among you who will secretly introduce . . .” Same basic word here “secretly brought in, secretly introduced destructive heresies.” Remarkable. Peter said the same thing.

Turn to the next to the last book of the New Testament, all the way back to the book of Revelation, at the end of your New Testament, and just before the book of Revelation is the little one chapter letter of Jude. In Jude and verse 3, Jude says in the middle of verse 3 for time, “I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith.” Jude says I’m calling you to do battle for the faith. “Which was once for all delivered to the saints.” He’s talking about the truth of the word of God, the truth of the Gospel. There is a time to do battle.

“For certain persons have crept in unnoticed.” Same idea, not the exact same word. The word translated “secretly brought in, or secretly introduced” is a compound word. We have the first part of that compound but a different second half of the word, um. So it has the idea of secret. They have crept in, they have secretly come in unnoticed. And these are individuals, the end of verse 4, who “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” Isn’t it amazing that you can have the Church of Jesus Christ, and here, in the days of the apostle, before the apostles have even passed off the scene, the Church professes that salvation is by faith in Christ, that they have a loyalty and allegiance to Him and yet there are individuals who are able to secretly come in, disguised as believers in the Church, but they really deny Jesus Christ. You know what? You have to look at what they really believe. What are the issues? So, they come in. They are well received, well liked. And then an issue comes up as it did in Acts, chapter 15, that Paul’s writing about in Galatians. “But, Paul, these people have been with us. They have experienced some of the persecution we’ve experienced. They’ve identified with us as a Church.” But now the issue is what is the gospel and their true condition is revealed. That’s why “there must be divisions among” us, so that those who are approved, who pass the test, may become evident. James says it’s time to contend for the faith.

Back to Galatians. He goes on in verse 4 of chapter 2, these false brethren secretly brought in, “who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ.” You see, Paul has no sympathy at all for these, this group. Look at the words he uses of them. They are “false brethren,” they’re secretly brought in, they “sneaked in”, love that! “Sneaked in,” has a sneaky sound to it, doesn’t it? “Sneaked in.” They come in to “spy out.” He piles up these expressions so you understand they are like the enemy who have infiltrated. It’s a military kind of picture here. And they enemy have infiltrated spies among us. And they’re giving off bad information, wrong information, to lead us astray. They’re spying out our liberty in Christ, the freedom we have in Christ, for Christ has set us free. He’ll develop this as the letter goes on.

Want to take you back to bondage [to] what? The Mosaic Law. They enslave you, literally, to the Law, bring you back into slavery. Why? Because they want to say you have to keep the Law. It’s good to believe in Christ, you must believe in Christ, but that’s not enough. You need the Church, you need baptism. For them, you need circumcision, you need the Law. You know what? They would have had a lot more foundation for, to argue for the necessity of the Law and circumcision as a requirement for salvation than we have to argue for our things today; church membership and confirmation and baptism and all those things. And yet, no. When you add that to faith in Christ, you have destroyed the gospel, you have revealed you’re not a true believer in Jesus Christ.

Over in chapter 5 of Galatians, Paul says, we’ll just read it because we’ll study this when we get here. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold, I Paul say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. I testify to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

The point is you have cut yourself off from Christ as the means of salvation. You’ve disassociated yourself from grace as the way of salvation. You have put yourself on a Law basis. Your works, your efforts, and you can’t do it! Because God says, ‘There is none righteous; no, not one. There is none who does good. All have sinned.” The verdict is in; you have failed the test. Our only hope is grace and that’s the salvation which is in Jesus Christ.

So, in chapter 2 of Galatians, verse 4, these false teachers really want to take you from the liberty and freedom you’ve experienced in Christ and enslave you again to bondage of the works of the Law. Ah. They’re really attacking salvation by grace. What does Paul say in verse 5? “But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour.” To these false brethren, Paul would give no ground. We would say it today, “I didn’t give in, even for an instant. Not for a moment.” In Greek they would say, “Not for an hour.” Means, I gave no grounds, not even for a little bit.

Now, can you see Paul? Here we are, the church at Jerusalem. We’ve had people in our midst martyred for their faith. We have people in prison, or under tremendous pressure and persecution. Paul, can’t you give an inch? Do you have to be so stubborn and unbending? And the answer, Yes! I didn’t give in for a moment. Why? Because Paul is proud and arrogant, everybody knows that. No! It’s not for personal issues at all. It’s in order that “the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” What is at stake is the truth of the gospel, and that stands in contrast to false brethren. Truth of the gospel. And you can not yield to the false brethren because if you do you will sacrifice the truth of the gospel. That is the issue. The personality attacks that went on against Paul were just smoke to blur the issue. “Oh, Paul is unbending. Paul always has to have it his way. Paul is stubborn.” Paul is committed to the truth. “And we did not yield . . . even for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.”

Say, “All right, look. For the sake of unity let’s compromise. Let’s say, all right, it’s faith in Christ, we have to all agree on that, but let’s require circumcision. What damage can it do? And it will keep peace in the family.” Well, what it would do is corrupt the gospel. Now you no longer have the truth of the gospel. You have the gospel as it is created by man. What do you have? Nothing!

You know, in the analogy would be like if I have a little bit of gangrene. I say, ‘Look, rather than put the whole body through the pain of cutting off that gangrene, I say, look, 90% of my body is healthy. In fact, more than 90%. Why should I cause the whole body pain over a little bit of gangrene? So, I can take diversity. I’ll live with it.” No you won’t; you’ll die with it. That’s the issue.

So, you open the door to circumcision. But circumcision opens the door to what? The Mosaic Law. But it goes to say if you have to be circumcised is to say you’re under obligation to the Law that is represented in the circumcision. We’ve given up the gospel of grace. Once you give up the gospel of grace, you have given up the gospel. If it is by works it is no longer on the basis of grace, other wise grace is no longer grace, as Paul wrote to the Romans.

Even today, people think, “Oh, yeah, you’re just stubborn. You think you’re the only one right. You think your church is the only one who has the truth.” No! I think that everybody who agrees with God is right. I think that everybody who disagrees with God is wrong. I think if I disagree with God I am wrong. If you disagree with God, you are wrong. How do we know what God has said? We open His Word. “Oh, everybody has his own interpretation.” Well, we really have an intelligent God, don’t we? He spoke, but He spoke in such a way nobody knows what He said.

You know what I would have said to my kids if they were home and said that? “Look, I want you to clean your room, I want you to do your homework, and I want you to have your pajamas on by 9 o’clock.” I come in at 9:15 and the room’s not clean, the homework’s not done and they don’t have their pajamas on. And they say, “Well, Dad, I really couldn’t understand what you said.” That’s an excuse! Most people I talk to who say, “Well, everybody has their own interpretation. You really can’t understand it,” have never really read it. I mean, what we’ve read here so far today is not really that difficult to understand, is it? We just don’t like it, because God says, “It’s My way or no way.” “Let’s talk about this!” What’s there to talk about? He is God, I am not. He says, “Here’s how it is.” I say I don’t like it! He says, “So? Go to hell.” Isn’t that the issue? I mean, I don’t mean to make light of something serious, but those are the alternatives. “Here is the way to Heaven; here is the way to Hell.” Jesus said, “I am THE way, THE truth, THE life; NO ONE comes to the Father but by Me.” Is that hard to understand?

Now I may reject it. He doesn’t say I can’t reject it. He just says I can’t go to the Father if I reject it. “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins,’ Jesus said. “There’s a way that seems right unto man, but the end therefore are the ways of death.” “The wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ.”

Let me summarize in 5 points what we’ve gone over in this passage this morning:
1) Believers must stand against the pressure of compromise. Believers must stand against the pressure of compromise. Verse 3, “Not even Titus was compelled to be circumcised.” No matter how much pressure they brought to bear, we did not yield. We would not compromised the truth. Believers must stand against the pressure of compromise.
2) There are false brethren. There are false brethren. Those who claim to be believers and are not. And every church has them.
3) These false brethren secretly infiltrate the Church. They secretly came in. So, I say, well, boy, we’ve got trouble now. Well, like Paul said, “I was always in dangers.” We’ll see this in a moment. They secretly infiltrate the Church.
4) The false brethren come to do damage to believers and to the Church. They came in, “sneaked in to spy out our liberty . . . to bring us to bondage.” 2 Corinthians 11:26, “I was always in dangers among false brethren.”
5) The truth of the gospel is to be maintained by refusal to compromise, verse 5. You see, we started at the point we end. Verse 3, the refusal to compromise; verse 5, the refusal to compromise.

How do I know who are the false and who are the true? I don’t, but you know, I’ve found, with the passing of time there are tests that reveal what we really are. And we need to anchor ourselves in the truth. There will be divisions among us in order that those who are approved, the word means to pass the test, may become evident. So, here’s so-and-so, and so-and-so, and so and so, and they all seem to love the Lord and all of a sudden now there is an issue of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ comes at stake. And these that we’ve come to like so much and have become such a part of us in so many ways, now oppose the truth. Then have revelation of character.

And I’m not implying in any way that everyone who has disagreed with me in a conflict has been because they were not genuine believers. Sometime they just didn’t like my personality. But you know in the midst of battles, friendship has to be put on the back burner. Unity has to be put on the back burner. Personal opinions have to be put on the back burner. The Truth has to be moved to the front burner.

In conflict, I must say after thirty years in the pastorate, that as what has been disappointing in conflict is to see those who will abandon the truth for other reasons. There never is a good reason to compromise the truth. Never, never! There is no human being, no friendship, no family member, no personal reasons significant enough to compromise the truth of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ, I fear, is losing track of this. And we are afraid it will hinder our growth. It will split our church. It will . . . . We cannot compromise the truth. The truth of the gospel must remain. What will we pass on to the next generation if we compromise the truth? How will your children be saved if you compromise the truth? Eternal issues are at stake! That’s much more important than whether I lose a friendship, that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. And that truth centers in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. There is no other way of salvation.

There are people who attend this church, tragedy that it is, who are on their way to an eternal hell, because you are not saved by attending this church. There are people who have been baptized in this church who are on their way to an eternal hell because you’re not saved by being baptized in this church. And on we go.

You are saved by coming to recognize your own personal sin and guilt before God, and turning from your sin, placing your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, and His death on the cross as the only payment acceptable to God for your sin. And rejoicing to know that that Savior who loved you and died for you was raised in victory. And there is no other salvation. And anyone who alters it in any way demonstrates that they are false brethren, they are accursed of God, and they are to be viewed as our mortal enemy. May God give us the grace to stand for the truth, to proclaim it and not compromise in any way. Let’s pray together.

Thank you, Lord, for the revelation you have given of a salvation that is sufficient to cleanse and forgive and save from sin for time and eternity. Thank you, Lord, that that salvation is offered only as a free gift, only on the basis of Your grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone. May we hold tenaciously and unbendingly and uncompromisingly, as individuals and as a church, to the eternal truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.