Fred Thompson and Hillary Clinton were walking down the street when they came to a homeless person. Thompson gave the homeless person his business card and told him to come to his office for a job. He then took $20 out of his pocket and gave it to the homeless person.
When they came to another homeless person, Clinton decided to help. She gave the homeless person directions to the welfare office. She then reached into Thompson's pocket and got out $20. She kept $15 for her administrative fees and gave the homeless person $5.
There is a difference.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Sunday, June 03, 2007
GALATIONS 2, continued.
2:11-14 Bowing To Peer Pressure
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Despite the fact that Peter, or Cephas as he is referred to here, acknowledged the gospel of grace in the assembly of apostles, when he faced the Jews in Antioch, he caved. And, in caving, he led the other Jews in Antioch, including Barnabas, to cave in to this false gospel, and they separated themselves from the Gentile believers in Antioch. All of a sudden, there is a split in this growing, dynamic church. There is a split between Jewish and Gentile believers.
Paul jumped into the breach by confronting the problem. He went directly to Peter and accused him of being a hypocrite. Peter did not live like a Jew, observing the law and rituals. He lived like a Gentile, in the sense that he lived as one freed by grace. Paul said, if you live like a Gentile, how in the world can you require the Gentiles to live like Jews? That must have been embarrassing for Peter on several fronts.
First, it had to embarrass him in front of the Judaizers, who now knew he had not been observing the law as they believed one should. Second, it had to embarrass him in front of the Gentiles, to have his rejection of them pointed out. Third, it had to embarrass him in front of his Savior, who had given him a vision of the unity of Jews and Gentiles in a vision. That is recorded in Acts 10, and Peter realized that God sought Gentile believers and well as Jewish ones. Yet, he deserved it and confrontation was needed because he was not acting in accordance with the Gospel. It does not matter who is preaching, as much as it matters what is preached, and practiced.
2:15-16 Justified by Faith
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Paul and Peter were both Jews by birth. They were not Gentiles. They called the Gentiles sinners because they did not possess the law and, therefore, could not keep it. They had no way to be righteous. Yet, being Jews, they realized they could never meet the requirements of the law, so they could not be justified by observing the law, but only through faith in Christ. Paul may be referring here to Psalm 143:2. That verse says “Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.” The Psalmist recognized that no one could obtain righteousness on their own.
Let’s remind ourselves what justification is. It is being declared not guilty. We know we are guilty. Romans 3:10 says “none is righteous, no not one”. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. However, even though we are guilty, God declares us not guilty when we receive Christ. Romans 3:24 tells us and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. He also imputes divine righteousness to us. See Romans 4:22-25. He can do this because he lived a perfect life, yet died for us.
There are groups today that want to add works to faith for salvation. There are some that require membership in a certain group. There are some who say if you do not support Israel you are going to hell. Paul said, you are justified if you believe.
2:17-21 Not a License To Sin
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
One practical argument people like the Judaizers make against justification by grace, is to say it is a license to sin. I had an argument with an Assembly of God preacher once about security of the believer. He did not believe in it. This is, in a sense, adding works to grace, because you say that God’s grace is only effective if your works are pleasing to God. He was very practical, because he said if salvation was permanent and eternal, people could sin all they want.
This idea ignores the concept of change, that a person who comes to Christ is changed. He is no longer a slave to sin, and wants to please the Lord with his life. He is also changing, as process of sanctification makes him more and more Christlike. The Christian life is also a life of gratitude, being thankful to God for salvation you do not deserve. It is also a life of love for God. All these work to keep us from sinking back into a life dominated by sin. Paul said we died to the law, so that we might live to God.
When Paul said “if I rebuild what I tore down”, he might actually be referring to Peter, who, in siding with the Judaizers, tried to rebuild the law after the coming of grace. However, in doing so , he becomes a transgressor, because he is denying the gospel.
Instead, we die to the law through the law. The law drives us to Christ. When we unite with him, we die with him. So, Paul says I have been crucified with Christ. Paul’s sin was placed on Christ, who died for it on the cross. He was then indwelt with Christ, who lived in him. He lived his life through faith in Christ, not in the flesh, sinning greatly because he was not bound by the law.
Paul’s final point, in verse 21, is dramatic. If you could obtain righteousness from the law, then it was pointless to send Christ as our savior and he died for no purpose. The Judaizers were saying, in effect, that the death of Christ on the cross was not sufficient to save people from their sins.
2:11-14 Bowing To Peer Pressure
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Despite the fact that Peter, or Cephas as he is referred to here, acknowledged the gospel of grace in the assembly of apostles, when he faced the Jews in Antioch, he caved. And, in caving, he led the other Jews in Antioch, including Barnabas, to cave in to this false gospel, and they separated themselves from the Gentile believers in Antioch. All of a sudden, there is a split in this growing, dynamic church. There is a split between Jewish and Gentile believers.
Paul jumped into the breach by confronting the problem. He went directly to Peter and accused him of being a hypocrite. Peter did not live like a Jew, observing the law and rituals. He lived like a Gentile, in the sense that he lived as one freed by grace. Paul said, if you live like a Gentile, how in the world can you require the Gentiles to live like Jews? That must have been embarrassing for Peter on several fronts.
First, it had to embarrass him in front of the Judaizers, who now knew he had not been observing the law as they believed one should. Second, it had to embarrass him in front of the Gentiles, to have his rejection of them pointed out. Third, it had to embarrass him in front of his Savior, who had given him a vision of the unity of Jews and Gentiles in a vision. That is recorded in Acts 10, and Peter realized that God sought Gentile believers and well as Jewish ones. Yet, he deserved it and confrontation was needed because he was not acting in accordance with the Gospel. It does not matter who is preaching, as much as it matters what is preached, and practiced.
2:15-16 Justified by Faith
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Paul and Peter were both Jews by birth. They were not Gentiles. They called the Gentiles sinners because they did not possess the law and, therefore, could not keep it. They had no way to be righteous. Yet, being Jews, they realized they could never meet the requirements of the law, so they could not be justified by observing the law, but only through faith in Christ. Paul may be referring here to Psalm 143:2. That verse says “Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.” The Psalmist recognized that no one could obtain righteousness on their own.
Let’s remind ourselves what justification is. It is being declared not guilty. We know we are guilty. Romans 3:10 says “none is righteous, no not one”. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. However, even though we are guilty, God declares us not guilty when we receive Christ. Romans 3:24 tells us and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. He also imputes divine righteousness to us. See Romans 4:22-25. He can do this because he lived a perfect life, yet died for us.
There are groups today that want to add works to faith for salvation. There are some that require membership in a certain group. There are some who say if you do not support Israel you are going to hell. Paul said, you are justified if you believe.
2:17-21 Not a License To Sin
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
One practical argument people like the Judaizers make against justification by grace, is to say it is a license to sin. I had an argument with an Assembly of God preacher once about security of the believer. He did not believe in it. This is, in a sense, adding works to grace, because you say that God’s grace is only effective if your works are pleasing to God. He was very practical, because he said if salvation was permanent and eternal, people could sin all they want.
This idea ignores the concept of change, that a person who comes to Christ is changed. He is no longer a slave to sin, and wants to please the Lord with his life. He is also changing, as process of sanctification makes him more and more Christlike. The Christian life is also a life of gratitude, being thankful to God for salvation you do not deserve. It is also a life of love for God. All these work to keep us from sinking back into a life dominated by sin. Paul said we died to the law, so that we might live to God.
When Paul said “if I rebuild what I tore down”, he might actually be referring to Peter, who, in siding with the Judaizers, tried to rebuild the law after the coming of grace. However, in doing so , he becomes a transgressor, because he is denying the gospel.
Instead, we die to the law through the law. The law drives us to Christ. When we unite with him, we die with him. So, Paul says I have been crucified with Christ. Paul’s sin was placed on Christ, who died for it on the cross. He was then indwelt with Christ, who lived in him. He lived his life through faith in Christ, not in the flesh, sinning greatly because he was not bound by the law.
Paul’s final point, in verse 21, is dramatic. If you could obtain righteousness from the law, then it was pointless to send Christ as our savior and he died for no purpose. The Judaizers were saying, in effect, that the death of Christ on the cross was not sufficient to save people from their sins.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
The Bush Administration foiled another terrorist plot and charged four men with conspiring to blow up jet fuel tanks and pipelines at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The airport handles on average more than 1,000 flights daily, 45 million passengers annually, along with 1.5 million tons of cargo with an estimated value of $120 billion.
The terrorists targeted the airport because of the popularity of John F. Kennedy. They also thought it would cripple the U.S. economy. You wouldn’t want to do any profiling, but three of the four arrested suspects are named Abdul Kadir, Kareem Ibrahim and Abdel Nur. There are three other men involved outside the United States.
The Justice Department said the men began planning the attack on January 6. They were involved with an international network of Muslim extremists from the United States, Guyana and Trinidad.
You should also note that an important part of the detection and prevention of this attack was the taping of telephone conversations. The plot was actually discovered when the terrorists attempted to recruit a law enforcement informant.
The terrorists targeted the airport because of the popularity of John F. Kennedy. They also thought it would cripple the U.S. economy. You wouldn’t want to do any profiling, but three of the four arrested suspects are named Abdul Kadir, Kareem Ibrahim and Abdel Nur. There are three other men involved outside the United States.
The Justice Department said the men began planning the attack on January 6. They were involved with an international network of Muslim extremists from the United States, Guyana and Trinidad.
You should also note that an important part of the detection and prevention of this attack was the taping of telephone conversations. The plot was actually discovered when the terrorists attempted to recruit a law enforcement informant.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
GOOD THOUGHTS ON GLOBAL WARMING
A NASA administrator makes good sense of global warning. Michael Griffin says ""I have no doubt that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change," Griffin said. "I guess I would ask which human beings — where and when — are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take." (Note to Al Gore)
Hat tip to Centurion.
A NASA administrator makes good sense of global warning. Michael Griffin says ""I have no doubt that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change," Griffin said. "I guess I would ask which human beings — where and when — are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take." (Note to Al Gore)
Hat tip to Centurion.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
GENDER DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES
I've been thinking some about gender and roles in the church. Here is a thought from John Stott that is a good place to start:
"Gender, Sexuality, Marriage and Divorce 885. Equal beneficiaries It is essential to begin at the beginning, namely with the first chapter of Genesis: Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' (1:26-28).
If we put together the divine resolve ('Let us make man ... and let them rule ...'), the divine creation ('So God created ...') and the divine blessing ('Be fruitful ... fill the earth and subdue it ...'), we see that the emphasis seems to be on three fundamental truths about human beings, namely the God made (and makes) them in his own image, that he made (and makes) them male and female, giving them the joyful task of reproducing, and that he gave (and gives) them dominion over the earth and its creatures.
Thus from the beginning 'man' was 'male and female', and men and women were equal beneficiaries both of the divine image and of the earthly rule. There is no suggestion in the text that either sex is more like God than the other, or that either sex is more responsible for the earth than the other. No. Their resemblance to God and their stewardship of his earth (which must not be confused, although they are closely related) were from the beginning shared equally, since both sexes were equally created by God and like God."
John Stott, "Issues Facing Christians Today" (London: Collins/Marshall Pickering, 1990), p. 257.
I've been thinking some about gender and roles in the church. Here is a thought from John Stott that is a good place to start:
"Gender, Sexuality, Marriage and Divorce 885. Equal beneficiaries It is essential to begin at the beginning, namely with the first chapter of Genesis: Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' (1:26-28).
If we put together the divine resolve ('Let us make man ... and let them rule ...'), the divine creation ('So God created ...') and the divine blessing ('Be fruitful ... fill the earth and subdue it ...'), we see that the emphasis seems to be on three fundamental truths about human beings, namely the God made (and makes) them in his own image, that he made (and makes) them male and female, giving them the joyful task of reproducing, and that he gave (and gives) them dominion over the earth and its creatures.
Thus from the beginning 'man' was 'male and female', and men and women were equal beneficiaries both of the divine image and of the earthly rule. There is no suggestion in the text that either sex is more like God than the other, or that either sex is more responsible for the earth than the other. No. Their resemblance to God and their stewardship of his earth (which must not be confused, although they are closely related) were from the beginning shared equally, since both sexes were equally created by God and like God."
John Stott, "Issues Facing Christians Today" (London: Collins/Marshall Pickering, 1990), p. 257.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Galatians 2
2:1-2 Paul Accepted by the Apostles
2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.
The 14 years is probably 14 years since his salvation. Paul went to Jerusalem with Barnabas. Some think this may be the trip recorded in Acts 15. Acts 15:2 says that Paul and Barnabas and others went to Jerusalem to speak to the apostles about the issue of whether Gentile believers had to obey the Jewish law. The following verses in Galatians 2 show that issue was at hand in this visit. The part that does not fit is that Paul said he went up by revelation.
There is another visit recorded in Acts 11, where Paul and other deliver an offering from Antioch to ease the suffering of the Jerusalem church in the famine. The revelation might be that of Agabus, who, in Acts 11:28, that there would be a great famine. That vision was the reason the church in Antioch sent the offering to Jerusalem.
Of course, it could be another visit that Luke did not record in Act. He may not have even known of it.
Regardless, Paul went to them and shared the gospel he had been preaching. That gospel is summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:1-3. By his other statements, it is clear Paul did not need their approval. But, he wanted to avoid any schism between Jew and Gentile believers and different church leaders. But, by telling the Galatian readers this, he showed them there is no difference between his preaching and that of the other apostles. It was the same gospel believed by and taught in the Jerusalem church.
2:3-6 Standing For The Gospel
3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.
Paul had brought a Gentile believer with him, Titus. The apostles did not force him to be circumcised even though he was a Greek. So, Paul is saying to the Galatians, I brought and uncircumcised Gentile to the heart of Judaism, Jerusalem, to the core leadership of the church, the Apostles, and they did not require him to follow Jewish law.
But there were those who wanted them to. In verse 4, Paul calls them “false brothers”. They came in secretly to spy out Paul’s freedom in Christ. They had an agenda to end that freedom and bring the Gentiles into slavery to the law. Paul is describing them not only as preaching a false message, but of being deceitful.
In verse 5, we see that Paul did not submit to them. He wanted to preserve the true gospel message for them. So, you see, from the very beginning of the church, there has been a battle for the gospel. Satan does not want the message of grace to be preached.
Now, you probably don’t have a hang up with the idea of circumcision, because you did not grow up with it. But you may have other issues, other things you want to add to grace to obtain salvation, or that you have heard about.
In verse 6, Paul said none of the influential people added anything to his message. He made a parenthetical comment that God shows no partiality. He does not see one believer as more important than another.
2:7-10 Paul’s Calling Confirmed
7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
In response to Paul sharing his message, the Apostles agreed that Paul was called to preach to the Gentiles, whom he called the “uncircumcised”. They put this on the level of Peter being called to evangelize the Jews. They gave them the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas. Their only instruction was to remember the poor.
I like the fact that Paul specifically says the same one worked through Peter for his ministry and through Paul for his. It is always good to remind us that it is not the ministers that are important, it is God working through them.
Note also that James is mentioned here ahead of Peter, or Cephas.
One thing I do not want us to miss is the instruction to remember the poor. Paul took this seriously, returning to Jerusalem to bring an offering at the expense of his freedom.
What is our responsibility to the poor?
Leviticus 19:10 says And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” They were not to use all their livelihood for themselves, they were to save some for the poor.
Leviticus 25:35 says ““If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.”
Deuteronomy 15:7 says ““If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother.”
We don’t take advantage of the poor. Psalm 10:2 says “In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.” I think this applies to those who implemented the lottery.
Proverbs 19:17 says “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”
Isaiah 58:7 says this is the kind of fasting God honors: “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”
In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus said “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
James 2:1-6 says My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man.”
From these verses, it appears to me we have a responsibility to support the poor. It seems, in the New Testament church, that the help of the poor was mostly for poor Christians. Similarly, in the Old Testament texts we read, there were many references to your poor “brother”, meaning fellow Israelite. Yet, the also had duties to the poor alien in their midst, and the aliens had certain rights.
Matthew 25 also has an interesting take on our treatment of the poor. Jesus labeled his chosen ones as those who fed the hungry, clothed the naked and visited those who were in prison, those who did these things to the least of his brothers.
What do you think the church should do for the poor?
2:1-2 Paul Accepted by the Apostles
2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.
The 14 years is probably 14 years since his salvation. Paul went to Jerusalem with Barnabas. Some think this may be the trip recorded in Acts 15. Acts 15:2 says that Paul and Barnabas and others went to Jerusalem to speak to the apostles about the issue of whether Gentile believers had to obey the Jewish law. The following verses in Galatians 2 show that issue was at hand in this visit. The part that does not fit is that Paul said he went up by revelation.
There is another visit recorded in Acts 11, where Paul and other deliver an offering from Antioch to ease the suffering of the Jerusalem church in the famine. The revelation might be that of Agabus, who, in Acts 11:28, that there would be a great famine. That vision was the reason the church in Antioch sent the offering to Jerusalem.
Of course, it could be another visit that Luke did not record in Act. He may not have even known of it.
Regardless, Paul went to them and shared the gospel he had been preaching. That gospel is summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:1-3. By his other statements, it is clear Paul did not need their approval. But, he wanted to avoid any schism between Jew and Gentile believers and different church leaders. But, by telling the Galatian readers this, he showed them there is no difference between his preaching and that of the other apostles. It was the same gospel believed by and taught in the Jerusalem church.
2:3-6 Standing For The Gospel
3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.
Paul had brought a Gentile believer with him, Titus. The apostles did not force him to be circumcised even though he was a Greek. So, Paul is saying to the Galatians, I brought and uncircumcised Gentile to the heart of Judaism, Jerusalem, to the core leadership of the church, the Apostles, and they did not require him to follow Jewish law.
But there were those who wanted them to. In verse 4, Paul calls them “false brothers”. They came in secretly to spy out Paul’s freedom in Christ. They had an agenda to end that freedom and bring the Gentiles into slavery to the law. Paul is describing them not only as preaching a false message, but of being deceitful.
In verse 5, we see that Paul did not submit to them. He wanted to preserve the true gospel message for them. So, you see, from the very beginning of the church, there has been a battle for the gospel. Satan does not want the message of grace to be preached.
Now, you probably don’t have a hang up with the idea of circumcision, because you did not grow up with it. But you may have other issues, other things you want to add to grace to obtain salvation, or that you have heard about.
In verse 6, Paul said none of the influential people added anything to his message. He made a parenthetical comment that God shows no partiality. He does not see one believer as more important than another.
2:7-10 Paul’s Calling Confirmed
7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
In response to Paul sharing his message, the Apostles agreed that Paul was called to preach to the Gentiles, whom he called the “uncircumcised”. They put this on the level of Peter being called to evangelize the Jews. They gave them the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas. Their only instruction was to remember the poor.
I like the fact that Paul specifically says the same one worked through Peter for his ministry and through Paul for his. It is always good to remind us that it is not the ministers that are important, it is God working through them.
Note also that James is mentioned here ahead of Peter, or Cephas.
One thing I do not want us to miss is the instruction to remember the poor. Paul took this seriously, returning to Jerusalem to bring an offering at the expense of his freedom.
What is our responsibility to the poor?
Leviticus 19:10 says And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” They were not to use all their livelihood for themselves, they were to save some for the poor.
Leviticus 25:35 says ““If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.”
Deuteronomy 15:7 says ““If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother.”
We don’t take advantage of the poor. Psalm 10:2 says “In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.” I think this applies to those who implemented the lottery.
Proverbs 19:17 says “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”
Isaiah 58:7 says this is the kind of fasting God honors: “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”
In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus said “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
James 2:1-6 says My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man.”
From these verses, it appears to me we have a responsibility to support the poor. It seems, in the New Testament church, that the help of the poor was mostly for poor Christians. Similarly, in the Old Testament texts we read, there were many references to your poor “brother”, meaning fellow Israelite. Yet, the also had duties to the poor alien in their midst, and the aliens had certain rights.
Matthew 25 also has an interesting take on our treatment of the poor. Jesus labeled his chosen ones as those who fed the hungry, clothed the naked and visited those who were in prison, those who did these things to the least of his brothers.
What do you think the church should do for the poor?
Big Daddy Weave has an interesting profile of Julie Pennington-Russell, who is moving from her job as Senior Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco to be Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Decatur, Georgia.
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