Unity in the Church (3)

United We Stand: The Power of Unity in the Church

Bible Passage: Galatians 2:1–10

Greet the church and introduce myself

Celebrate the Women in the church (Mother’s Day)

Introduce the sermon for this morning

(Have people stand)

READ Galatians 2:1-10 – “This is the word of the Lord”

Setting of text:

In Galatians 2:1-10, Paul is recounting a pivotal experience in the history of the church where he met with the apostles in Jerusalem to discuss the gospel's message and its implications for both Jewish and Gentile believers.

This meeting happened during the Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15…

- REVIEW Acts 15:1-5 – What happens here? Paul and Barnabas are in Antioch (in the region of Galatia) and they encounter some men who had come down from Judea who were teaching the brothers “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1)

- And so, Paul and Barnabas (w/Titus) go up to Jerusalem to the church there to deal with this question, and for Paul to clarifythat this was not the message being preached by the apostles (Acts 15:2)

Last week -- “Calling” – for Paul, this was to go to the Gentiles, to see the birth of a churchthat crossed ethnic and cultural lines (Jew and Gentile) …

- and so, hearing this misapplied truth, Paul is fearful for what this will do to the growing church

- This mixed gospel would bring disunity and division if it were to grow…

This meeting (between Paul and the apostles) highlights the importance of unity and pursuing shared beliefs within the early church…

…but also, the work and effort, the prayer, the time…that went into this unity being cultivated and upheld…

- Because unity is not just a lofty goal for us, it is a biblical mandate essential for the church's mission…

- And it is not something that always comes easily, or that is maintained easily…it takes time, patience, humility, forgiveness, repentance…it takes grace, it takes the power of God, at work in frail broken people like you and me…

Yet, gospel centered unity is something we need to pray for, to prioritize, and to work to cultivate by the grace of God

Because the church thrives on unity that is rooted in the gospel…where its people are identified with Jesus in His death and resurrection and are empowered to stand together for Christ and His mission

At the center of this text in Galatians is this beautiful picture of what it looks like to pursue, protect, and prioritize unity in the local church…

(My 3 exegetical points: Pursuing, Protecting, Prioritizing …)

1. Pursuing Unity (v.1-3) – READ

Slide for verses

v.1 – After 14 years of ministry, Paul goes up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with him (a key detail here)

Paul goes up because of a “revelation” (v.2) …

- Paul did not go to Jerusalem to make sure he was preaching the “right” gospel…

- Paul felt compelled by God to go to the leaders of the church to clarify their position around circumcision and how the church would welcome Gentile Christians… (the Judaizers were saying the apostles agreed with them)

- (Paul’s words) v.2b – “in order to make sure I was not running or had run in vain”

We cannot overlook the importance of this action by Paul…he wasn’t going to Jerusalem to argue w/people or debate but to clarify

- Paul's ministry would have been in vain if the Judaizers were right

o not about circumcision, but right about the apostles in Jerusalem disagreeing with Paul and insisting on circumcision for Gentile believers.

- This would mean that the apostles of Christ had contradictory messages, and no church could be established on such a fractured foundation.

- Paul did not need to confirm his own gospel (he is clear on that); he needed to confirm that the other apostles agreed, and that there was unity…

Paul goes to Jerusalem…and he brings Barnabas and Titus…(why?)

- Barnabas was influential, and his partner in ministry…

- But Titus is a different choice…Titus is GREEK, and he is in the flesh an example of God reaching the Gentile people through Paul…

o (Stott) a product of the very Gentile mission which was then in dispute and which the Judaizers were challenging.[1]

o This would also FORCE the issue of these Judaizers (v.3) …would Titus be forced to be circumcised?

Paul brings Titus not as a contention (this isn’t passive aggressive), but to make a point…

- to show the church, and his disputers, the fruit of what God was doing through his ministry…

- and to establish the truth of the gospel…

o that Jews and Gentiles are accepted by God on the same terms, through faith in Jesus Christ, and therefore should be accepted by the church without any discrimination between them.[2]

Application

So as we look at these first few verses here, what is this saying to us about how we as the church can pursue unity among ourselves?

1. Engaging in clarifying dialogue where and when needed

o We live in an age of options and convenience…

o Asking questions…talking together…approaching people in LOVE

2. Knowing what is true and right (gospel!)

o Theological and doctrinal literacy thriving in the church

o Being aware of biases and blind spots we may have

o Pursuing unity and prioritizing brotherly love, our union in Christ, and togetherness over our personal preferences and opinions…

3. Learning to disagree well on non-essentials

o “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity” – Rupertus Meldenius

2. Protecting Unity (v.4-6) READ

Slide for verses

Paul further details his experience in Jerusalem here, introducing to us the opposition he faced there, and the issues that are at the heart of this letter to Galatia

- v.4 – he talks about “false brothers” who were “secretly brought in” …to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ, so that they might bring us into slavery…

- (another translation – NIV) false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves

It was these individuals who came in pressing Paul that Titus should be circumcised (v.3)

- and it is likely these individuals who are referenced in Acts 15:1 – “men who had come down from Judea”

- The language describes this entrance as “stealthy and hostile” coming in to spy out the freedom of these Greek Gentile churches, and to bring them into bondage to the law

o More importantly, to bring them into bondage to their opinion…

Paul sees the issue plainly. It was not just a question of circumcision and uncircumcision, or of Gentile and Jewish customs.

It was a matter of fundamental importance regarding the truth of the gospel, namely, of Christian freedom versus bondage.

The Christian has been set free from the law in the sense that his acceptance before God depends entirely upon God’s grace in the death of Jesus Christ received by faith.

To introduce the works of the law and make our acceptance depend on our obedience to rules and regulations was to bring a free man into bondage again…

- Of this principal Titus was a test case…

- It is true that he was an uncircumcised Gentile, but he was a converted Christian (and this was the tension)

- He had believed in Jesus, he had been accepted by God in Christ, and that, Paul said, was enough…

o Nothing further was necessary for his salvation…

And Paul’s response to this message, to this pressure, and to their attack on Titus is clear:

- v.5 – to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, (but why?)

o so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you…(Galatia)

Paul’s motivation here is not being right, he isn’t bent on making his own point…

- He sees the implications of this moment, the short term and in the long term…

o The short term being his friend Titus… (on trial)

o In the long term he sees Galatia, and these other Gentile churches…he sees the very mission and calling God has given him

o He sees what is at stake here in that multitudes would be effectively excluded from the gospel if they give in to this pressure

If exceptions are made, if the gospel is added to…then it becomes a message of exclusivity, that turns people away…

Instead of the all-inclusive message of Jesus our Shepherd who calls all to come and to respond to the sound of His voice…to experience freedom and life

Application

And friends, I can’t help but reflect on this moment, and to again consider together what this is saying to you and I?

When we think of our church, when we consider the role we each play in guarding and protecting our unity, what comes to mind for us?

Rich spoke about this two weeks back when we introduced this sermon series, and we talked about the “things we add to the gospel”

And that conversation comes back into play this morning as we process what is happening here in these verses…

Paul is striving to keep the gospel as the gospel – where it is powerful and transformative in its simplicity and clarity

- And where it remains inviting for others…

- In II Corinthians 2:14 Paul talks about how the true gospel, when spread through God’s church, is meant to be a “fragrance of life”

John 12:32- Jesus said it is when He is lifted up, when Christ is exalted in the life and message of the church…that He will draw people to Himself…

And that is what is at stake here…

Is there “something else” we are tempted to lift up, is there an expectation we have of people who come here…

- are there demands we unconsciously lay on people? Are there biases that affect how we see people?

Or…is it the power and beauty of the gospel of Jesus that we are lifting high for all to see and for all to embrace as God draws them?

Are we reaching out in love to embrace others, to welcome them into the church and celebrating the transformation that God is doing in their lives even if they don’t look or act the way we think they should?

That is the gospel that we as a church are called to UNITE around, and to proclaim…and when we do that friends, the results are POWERFUL…

And that is what we are called to guard and to protect…our hearts, our culture as a church, our message…that it is all centered around the gospel of Jesus

3. Prioritizing Unity (v.7-10)

In these last few verses, Paul shares his interactions with the “pillars” (Peter, James, and John) and the outcome of their meeting…

And two things happen here:

1. v.6 – the apostles in Jerusalem add “nothing: to Paul, meaning, they added nothing to his gospel (they will NOT embrace the message and pressure of the Judaizers)

2. v.9 – they perceive the grace given to Barnabas and Paul, and they extend to them the right hand of fellowship, that they should go to the gentiles and the Jerusalem apostles to the circumcised (to the Jews)

Here we see the unity Paul longed for.

Þ He had not run in vain.

Þ The Judaizers did not represent the Jerusalem apostles.

Þ The apostolic witness, the foundation of the church, was not split.

Þ It was firm and solid.

Þ There was a strong, united base for two great missions, one to the Jews and one to the Gentiles…

We started with this statement - the church thrives on unity that is rooted in the gospel…where its people are identified with Jesus in His death and resurrection and are empoweredto stand together for Christ and His mission

[1] John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians: Only One Way, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 41.

[2] John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians: Only One Way