One in the Gospel alone

Introduction

Read Galatians 2:1-10.

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What do you think of these people? What do you think is their life story?

Are these the typical people you associate with going to church?

We can look at people like this and think - there’s no way that that person can be Christian. We make judgements about people based on their appearances and actions.

And if someone like this walked into our church, would we truly be welcoming? Would we truly be warm and embracing like we do with everyone else? Or will we be suspicious, be scared, be judgemental, or even ask them to leave?

But remember, the gospel is the good news that anyone can be saved if they believe in Jesus Christ. When we look at these people and make judgements on their appearances and actions, we are saying ‘Yes, you can be Christian if you believe in Christ, but you must also look a certain way...you must act a certain way.’

The way you dress

Certain behaviours: tatoos, drinking

Some church’s even say, ‘you have to come to our church,’ otherwise you are not a true Christian

You must have certain extra beliefs, otherwise you are not a true Christian - eg, you must be baptised.

And this is what we see in the passage today - we see certain people, who claim they are Christians, they go to the same church as Paul and the other believers. But they are saying - you are not a true Christian, unless you are circumcised. Not only do you need to believe in Christ, you need to follow Jewish law, which is circumcision, to be saved. To be part of the church, to be part of us, to be one of us, not only do you have to believe in Jesus Christ, but you need all these extra things I tell you to do.

And this is the kind of false message, the kind of evil heart, that Paul exposes in all of us today. And as he exposes these things, he shows us what it truly means to be a Christian, and as fellow Christians what truly unites us one as a church. So let’s see what Paul shows us through the message today.

1. What truly unites us?

So what is actually happening in today’s passage? Remember, Paul had been converted on the road to Damascus, and after many years he came back to Jerusalem. And if we read verse 2, we find the reason for his return. He returns to Jerusalem because God revealed to him that there was a threat to the gospel message and the unity of the church. There were false teachers who had come into the church, who were teaching that to be a Christian, faith in Christ is not enough, and you need to be circumcised. So after learning about this dangerous false teaching from Paul, Paul rushes back to Jerusalem because he is concerned about preserving the truth of the gospel, and he wants to confirm it with the other apostles.

And what he does is he brings Titus. Titus was a Gentile who wasn’t circumcised. And Paul doesn’t come back to just have an intellectual discussion - he doesn’t just come to exchange ideas and have an argument. He brings a real, practical, test case. He brings a Gentile who has become a Christian. And he brings Titus before the other apostles, and he poses this question before them: what are you going to do? Are you going demand that Titus becomes circumcised as a requirement to become a Christian? It is the same thing as Paul asking :are you going to remain faithful to the gospel and preserve it, and hold to the truth, that you don’t need to be circumcised to become a Christian?

And fortunately, the other apostles agree with Paul, and Titus is confirmed as a Christian, and he is not forced to be circumcised.

So Paul shows us that our unity as Christians doesn’t come from external things. Yes, we are a Korean church, and we worship in this building, but our unity as one church doesn’t come from being Korean or being in this building. Our unity doesn’t come from dressing the same way, acting the same way, by church denomination or anything else external. Our unity doesn’t come from race, gender, work, personality, social groups. We are united by one thing: the gospel, that is, that we are saved by faith in Christ alone.

And the other thing that Paul shows us here is that unity is not just words and ideas - it needs to be followed by practical action. Just as Titus was brought before the apostles as a practical test case, our unity can’t just be in our minds, but it needs to be shown by our actions. So what are some things that we can do then?

Is there anyone who you don’t talk to because they are a different age or different personality to you? Go and take that extra step out of your comfort zone to actually talk to them.

Is there a new church member that you are too shy to talk to? Take that step of courage and go welcome them, invite them into your friend circle.

Is there anyone around you who doesn’t fit the stereotype of a Christian and because of that you haven’t invited them to church? Maybe that person is someone God has called, so go up to that person and invite them to church.

Our unity in Christ alone is not just a nice idea, but it should actually shape how we act.

2. The limitations of unity

But in this passage, Paul also shows us the limitations of unity. In the world today, we highly value the idea of inclusion, diversity, accepting everyone no matter who they are. But the unity and acceptance that Paul shows is different to the unity and acceptance that this tells us.

In the passage today, we see in verse 9, that Paul and Barnabas was ‘given the right hand of fellowship’ with the other apostles. We see their unity. But in their unity, we see a boundary that is drawn - the false teachers who were teaching circumcision are excluded. So what Paul teaches us is that unity is never at the expense of the truth of the gospel. If someone threatens or tries to change the truth of the gospel, that is where unity ends.

If someone denies the gospel, that is where unity ends.

If someone tries to add something to the gospel, that is where unity ends.

When we are united in the gospel, we also draw the boundary where that unity ends. Our unity is in the gospel of Christ alone, and if anyone changes or tries to destroy the gospel message, they are outside of the unity of the church. We must never compromise the truth of the gospel, just so we can accommodate others. We can’t deny the gospel message just so we can be nice to people or include people.

Conclusion

So overall, Paul teaches us about the two aspects of unity:

On one hand, everyone, no matter who or what kind of person they are, are united with us, in the one church, if they believe in the gospel, salvation by faith in Christ alone.

On the other hand, no one, can join our church in unity, if they deny, try to destroy, or try to modify that same one gospel that unites us.

Paul shows us just how important the gospel message is. It is the one thing that not only saves us, but gives us our new identities, and not only our personal identities, but our new community identity that we belong in. In the gospel, we have a wonderful unity with all our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and the gospel can overcome all differences between us.

So let’s not just know this in our heads, but actually put it into practice. Don’t let discomfort, differences in personality, awkwardness, or anything else get in the way of our unity. The gospel can overcome all that. There is no boundary or obstacle, whether it be cultural, social, language, or anything else, that the gospel cannot overcome. So in the unity that faith in Christ gives us, let’s really practice love, patience, and generosity with one another.

Small group questions

What are some things that we add to the gospel?

What are the ways that we compromise the gospel?