Twin City church of Christ Blog
“Jan 4, 2024 - Social Pressure”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsSocial Pressure
Reading: Galatians 2:1-10
Paul is wrapping up his extensive argument that the message he preaches originated with Jesus, not any man. He only returns to Jerusalem fourteen years after his conversion (probably the visit detailed in Acts 11:29-30) to “set before them…the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running or had not run in vain”(Gal 2:2). This was a moment of truth for Paul. Would the apostles accept him? Would their messages line up? There were two notable outcomes of the meeting. First, “Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek”(Gal 2:3). This is notable because of the presence of those who argued that Gentiles need to be circumcised and keep Moses’ Law to be saved (Gal 2:4). The apostles and the church at Jerusalem accepted Titus as a brother, despite his lack of circumcision.
The second outcome is that James, Peter, and John acknowledged Paul’s ministry and message as authentically Christian by giving him “the right hand of fellowship”(Gal 2:9). They “added nothing to me”(Gal 2:6), meaning that they accepted Paul’s gospel as-is. They viewed Peter as having a ministry primarily among Jews while Paul had another primarily among Gentiles (Gal 2:8) and only asked that they remember the needy Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (Gal 2:10). The results of this meeting must have been a huge encouragement to Paul—and they are proof that the message the Galatians are considering is not from the apostles.
There is a thread running through this text that belies Paul’s anxiety and concern over the meeting: social pressure. Some eager-seeming Jewish Christians were actually “false brothers” who wanted to “bring us into slavery”(Gal 2:4). The apostles, meanwhile, “seemed to be influential”(Gal 2:6) and “seemed to be pillars”(Gal 2:9). Paul is speaking about the intimidation he felt at their presence. Yet he insists that “what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality”(Gal 2:6). Social pressure often makes us feel intimidated, afraid, ashamed, insecure, and overwhelmed. Sometimes it can lead us to do the wrong thing to keep the peace. Paul is our example in insisting on what is right (Gal 2:5) regardless of the social consequences. What is right is not determined by how others feel about us.
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One Thing to Think About: In what situations do I feel the most social pressure? How do I react?
One Thing to Pray For: A willingness to show no partiality—like God
