Social 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 
 

Giving God the Glory

Reading:  Galatians 1:18-24
    
    Paul continues his careful accounting of his travels after his conversion.  This is more than a history lesson; he is detailing the fact that his message can directly from Jesus rather than from the apostles.  He visited Jerusalem (where we might expect that he would study under the apostles), but saw only Peter and James and stayed only 15 days (Gal 1:18-19).  He affirms this with an emphatic oath (Gal 1:20), which may imply that the Galatians would have disputed his account.  He then traveled to the far-flung areas of Syria and Cilicia (where he was from).  All the while he was preaching a message about Jesus that he must have learned somewhere.
    
    His trip to Jerusalem was so short that “I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.  They were only hearing it said, ‘He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’  And they glorified God because of me”(Gal 1:22-24).  Even though most of the Jewish Christians did not know him personally—though certainly they did by reputation—they heard the amazing report that Paul had abandoned his persecuting efforts and become a believer.  Yet he was not just a believer, but a preacher—which again begs the question of where he got his message.  Amazingly, these good brothers and sisters “glorified God because of me,” in awe of a God who can win over such a determined and violent enemy.

    This reaction is noteworthy.  Giving God the glory means overlooking the evil Paul had done that may have directly impacted them (imagine Stephen’s widow!).  It also means praising not the person doing the good deed, but the God who has inspired, empowered, instructed, and motivated the person to do it.  Jesus teaches his disciples to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”(Matt 5:16).  When God reaches people we wouldn’t expect—when Christians act in ways the world never would—when we are blessed by our association with the gospel, it is God who deserves credit.

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One Thing to Think About:  What people, circumstances, and good deeds can I give God glory for today?

One Thing to Pray For:  God’s life-changing power to be at work in me
 

Origins

Reading:  Galatians 1:10-17

Paul has challenged the Galatians not to accept anything other than the gospel he originally preached to them (Gal 1:8).  But how can he be so confident that what he already taught them is right?  “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.  For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ”(Gal 1:11-12).  Paul insists that he didn’t make up his gospel and he didn’t learn it from anyone.  He received it directly from Jesus.  So if anyone wants to change or tweak or distort or “improve on” this message, Paul is certain that the Galatians should reject them.  It comes from Jesus.  

This is all the more amazing when we consider Paul’s past as a persecutor of the church, devoted to traditional Judaism (Gal 1:13-14).  He was not a student of Jesus or a part of the Christian movement.  How did he so quickly become educated in the faith?  “But when he who had set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, 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”(Gal 1:15-17).  This is not how we would encourage a new convert to learn the gospel.  Paul—almost immediately after his conversion—had a full understanding of Jesus and went to parts unknown preaching a gospel entirely consistent with the apostles’.  

Origins matter.  Where did a teaching originate?  Jesus challenges the chief priests to answer whether John’s baptism came from heaven or from man (Matt 21:25).  Our confidence in any teaching is always based on its source—not on whether it pleases us.  

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One Thing to Think About:  Am I more interested in the words of God’s messengers or my contemporaries?
 
One Thing to Pray For:  Passion for the authentic message about Jesus

Deserting Jesus

Reading: Galatians 1:1-9

Paul writes to the churches of Galatia because they are being influenced by teachers who want them to keep the Law of Moses along with Jesus’ teachings.  In essence, Gentiles must become Jews to be right with God.  Galatians is Paul’s fierce rejection of this idea.  His greeting here is cut short by his desire to get to the matter at hand.  “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel”(Gal 1:6).  These are sharp words.  By accepting this teaching—and its hope of salvation through law-keeping and personal perfection—the Galatians are “deserting” Jesus.  They have deserted him not by rejecting his morality or disavowing faith in him, but by turning to a different gospel. 

Realizing that his language could be subject to misunderstanding, he quickly adds, “not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ”(Gal 1:7).  There are not multiple gospels, each as good as the next, for us to choose from.  These teachers are distorting the true gospel.  “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed”(Gal 1:8).  No matter who preaches it (even if an angel or apostle), we must not listen to those who would contradict or add to the message the apostles preached. If we want to be saved by Jesus, we must be saved his way.

What we teach matters, particularly because teaching leads to action.  If these Galatians accept this teaching and start keeping the Law of Moses, they are deserting Jesus.  This text impresses us with our deep need to evaluate modern teaching by comparing it against the original teaching of the apostles.  The stakes could not be higher.

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One Thing to Think About:  Am I as serious about the purity of the message as Paul is?

One Thing to Pray For:  Teachers who will help me remain true to the apostolic message