Galatians 2
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Several years ago, a father took his little boy to an art museum.
This boy loved to draw. He carried crayons everywhere. Every blank page became his canvas.
As they walked through the museum, they came to one painting that stopped everyone.
It was beautiful.
Every color was intentional.
Every brush stroke was complete.
People stood quietly taking it in.
The little boy stared for a moment… then reached into his backpack and pulled out his crayons.
His father asked,
“What are you doing?”
The boy said,
“I want to help make it better.”
His father smiled and knelt beside him.
“Son… you don’t improve a masterpiece. You enjoy it.”
Church—that is exactly how many people treat the gospel.
Jesus lived the life we could not live.
Jesus died the death we deserved.
Jesus paid what we could never pay.
And on the cross He declared:
“It is finished.”
Yet so often we walk up carrying our religious crayons.
“If I pray enough…”
“If I serve enough…”
“If I perform enough…”
Then maybe God will accept me.
Galatians 2 reminds us:
Grace is enough.
Don’t Add to What Jesus Already Finished
Don’t Add to What Jesus Already Finished
When Jesus said, “It is finished” when He drew His last breath on the cross…He meant it. There is nothing more that we can add to salvation. It is only by the work of the cross that we are saved. It is only through the blood of Jesus Christ that we are made right before God. There is nothing you can add.
Jesus + Nothing = Freedom
If there is anything you try to add to the redemptive work of the cross, you my friend have become religious. This is wha Paul was up against in Galatia.
We learned last week that Paul was facing a serious issue. The issue was the religious leaders were following after Paul and trying and succeeding at adding to the Gospel message that Paul preached.
Paul wasn’t having it. He knew how powerful the Gospel was on it’s own. Anything more you dilute it and place people back into the bondage that Jesus bled and died to set them free from.
We continue our journey in chapter 2 of Galatians. Open your bibles to Galatians 2 and lets dive in.
1 Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.
2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.
3 But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.
5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
Secret Religious People
Secret Religious People
Chapter 2 is a continuation of chapter 1. Paul’s life was revealing Christ to those around him and people began to praise God for the work of Christ in his life.
Here is a question: Do people praise God for the work Jesus is doing in your life? Is there a difference? Or are you the same person you were when you first got saved? If so, it is time to have an encounter with Jesus. One encounter with Jesus will change your life forever.
When you have an encounter with Jesus, you will know who you are. Paul was a man who knew his identity. Not only did he know his identity was now in Christ, he understood his assignment.
2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.
Paul had a revelation from God. In simple terms, Paul heard and knew the voice of God. It was God who told him where to go and what to say. When you know your identity in Christ, you will hear His voice.
27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
Paul knew the voice of his Savior and he knew what his purpose was and because of this he was able to boldly go and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and even correct those who had authority in the church as we will see in a few moments.
When you know who Jesus is and who you are in Him, you will know what your purpose is in this life. Our purpose is not to live for ourselves, but to live for our Savior. That means every where I go, everything I say, I filter it through Jesus.
The other day I got into a conversation with someone from another church who picks up from the food bank I work at. I was talking to him about the grace of God and how we don’t earn it. Grace is simply the unmerited favor of God.
Paul said,
15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased
This man at the food bank mentioned that grace is misunderstood in our churches today. We abuse the grace of God by living our lives the way we want instead of in tandem with God. We walk one way while Jesus walks another. Then when we are ready to come back we “repent” and then we repeat the process.
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Paul understood the grace of God and he spoke against those who try to cheapen His grace. When we live the way we want to live without ever considering the heart of God, we cheapen His grace. We do the same when we try to add to the Gospel of Jesus.
This is why Paul was so angry writing this letter to the churches in Galatia. In fact, there were those who try tried to sneak into the church to add to the grace of God.
4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.
There were those then and those today who look the part of a Christian, walk the part of a Christian, even speak the Christian language, but they are false Christians as Paul says because they cheapen the grace of God and His Gospel by trying to add to it!
We call this legalism. We call this religiosity.
This is a strong bridge in Galatians 2 because the danger wasn’t that the Judaizers rejected Jesus—it was that they added requirements to Jesus. That’s what made it so dangerous.
Their message was not:
“Don’t believe in Jesus.”
Their message was:
“Believe in Jesus… and…”
That little word “and” became the problem.
Their message:
“Faith in Christ + Circumcision = Salvation”
They believed Gentiles needed to become culturally Jewish to fully belong to God.
External obedience became proof of acceptance. Paul pushes back in Galatians 2 because Titus was accepted without becoming Jewish.
Now in today’s church, we don’t tell people, “You need faith in Christ plus you need to be circumcised.”
So how does this happen today?
“What have we added to Jesus?”
We say things like:
Jesus + church attendance (as a pastor I don’t like hearing my phone ring Saturdays or Sunday morning before church…it usually means someone isn’t coming to church - I have to remind myself often…people don’t belong to me and I can’t add that to the Gospel)
Jesus + daily devotions
Jesus + serving enough
Jesus + ministry success
Jesus + spiritual discipline
Don’t get me wrong—these things matter.
Prayer matters.
Bible reading matters.
Gathering with other believers matters.
But they are fruit of salvation—not the source of salvation.
When we grasp that we cannot add to the Gospel, we can point out the false brothers and sisters in Christ who try to come in like in Paul’s day and steal the freedom of Christ that you have. This is how the enemy works. He steals, kills, and destroys what God is trying to do in your life.
When Paul says they “false brothers secretly slipped in” (some translations say “secretly slipped in”), he isn’t saying they snuck through windows or disguised themselves physically.
He means they entered the church appearing Christian while carrying a different gospel agenda. Paul says they were false brothers! Anyone carrying a different Gospel other than than the one that Paul preached, or anyone else was a false Christian.
This is why it is important church that we are:
8 Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.
Jesus Himself said,
16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
These false brothers didn’t usually announce:
“Hello everyone, we’re here to destroy grace.”
They came in subtly.
That’s why Paul treats it seriously.
Here’s how they operated:
They talked about:
God
Scripture
holiness
obedience
covenant
righteousness
These are all biblical words.
The problem wasn’t vocabulary.
The problem was meaning.
Their message became:
“Jesus saves… but real Christians also keep the Law.”
They sounded spiritual while changing the foundation.
Unfortunately this still happens.
Messages that sound like:
“If you really love God, you must dress a certain way.”
“Good Christians always do more.”
“If you don’t read X chapters, pray X minutes, and follow the perfect routine, you’re failing.” (I used to believe this as a pastor. But it was “If you don’t spend at least 40 hours on your messages each week you fail)
“Our way equals God’s way.” (KJV only, worship this way, with this style of music)
“If you were really spiritual, you’d always feel on fire.” (You never struggle. Never doubt. Never feel dry. Faithfulness is not measured by emotional intensity.)
“Jesus forgives… but you earn His approval.”
“Grace saves… but performance keeps you.”
“Faith matters… but God really loves productive Christians.” (“God loves me more when I do better.)
It sounds biblical until you examine what’s underneath.
Legalism says: “Change and then God will accept you.”
Grace says: “God accepts you in Christ and then begins changing you.”
That’s where Galatians 2 presses us—not away from holiness, but away from trying to manufacture holiness apart from Christ.
Targeted Identity Before Behavior
Targeted Identity Before Behavior
At the core of this religiosity was their identity.
They targeted their identity before their behavior. Not identity in Christ mind you, but they desired the Gentiles become like the Jews. We see this when Paul confronts Peter.
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
Cephas, Peter, was sitting with and fellowshipping with the Gentiles. That is until his religious friends came along. Those who had clout. Those who had a name. Those who pursued the Law over grace.
Peter was afraid of what they will say, so he backed away from them for fear of criticism from those who insisted the Gentiles be circumcised…identity.
Notice they weren’t mainly trying to make Gentiles sin less.
They were trying to redefine belonging.
They wanted to know who truly belong and who didn’t.
They did this by using external markers.
I am thankful that my God doesn’t use external markers to determine who belongs and who does not!
God doesn’t care about the outside as much as He cares about the inside. There is a circumcision that does happen when you come to Christ, it is a circumcision of the heart.
Paul said in
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Paul is speaking of the heart!
Jesus didn’t die to give you a new dress code.
He didn’t die to give you a checklist of things to do.
He didn’t die for you to go to church more.
He died to set you free from your flesh.
He didn’t come to make bad people act religious.
He came to make dead people alive.
He didn’t carry a cross so you could carry endless guilt.
He carried a cross so you could carry His life.
He didn’t shed His blood so you could spend your life trying to earn what He already purchased.
He didn’t die so you could exchange one kind of slavery for another.
He died so chains would break.
He died so shame would lose its voice.
He died so sin would lose its authority.
He died so the Holy Spirit could live inside of you and empower you to become what you never could become on your own.
Church attendance won’t save you.
Religious routines won’t save you.
Looking spiritual won’t save you.
Only Jesus saves.
And once Jesus saves you, He changes you.
Not from the outside in—
but from the inside out.
That’s the message of Galatians.
You don’t clean yourself up to come to Christ.
You come to Christ and He begins transforming you.
Because freedom isn’t permission to live in the flesh—
freedom is power to finally overcome it.
That’s why Paul could say:
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
The Christian life isn’t:
Try harder.
It is:
Die to self and let Christ live through you.
If we make it about rules church, it ceases to be about Jesus. If it is about rules…then Christ died in vain.
Where are my Paul’s at? Who will stand and fight like Paul did in Galatians for the next generation of believers?
We need more Paul’s to rise up and share the true Gospel of Jesus Christ! Jesus + Nothing = Freedom!
Church, this is why Paul fought so hard in Galatians 2.
Because this wasn’t just an argument about circumcision.
This was a battle over freedom.
Closing
Closing
As we end this message today, I want to take some time and really think about these next few moments.
Would believers spend their lives trying to earn what Jesus already paid for?
Would they trade relationship for religion?
Would they exchange grace for performance?
Paul said no.
And I think the Holy Spirit is asking us the same question today:
What have you added to Jesus?
Have you been trying to perform your way into God’s approval?
Have you been measuring your relationship with God by your success instead of His sacrifice?
Have you been carrying guilt that Jesus already carried to the cross?
Because if Christ is enough to save you—
He’s enough to sustain you.
If His blood was enough to forgive you—
His grace is enough to transform you.
You don’t have to leave here striving.
You don’t have to leave here exhausted.
You don’t have to leave here wondering if you’ve done enough.
The cross already answered that question.
Jesus already said:
“It is finished.”
So today—
stop carrying what He already carried.
Stop trying to earn what He already purchased.
Stop bringing your own righteousness to a finished work.
Lay down the performance.
Lay down the fear.
Lay down the pressure to prove yourself.
And come back to simple faith.
Because the gospel has never been:
Jesus plus me.
It has always been:
Jesus for me.
And now because of Him—
I can live free.
(Invite the church to stand, eyes closed, head bowed.)
If you’ve been striving… raise your hand.
If you’ve been exhausted… raise your hand.
If you’ve been trying to earn what grace freely gives… raise your hand.
I want you to know that:
Today isn’t about trying harder.
Today is about surrendering deeper.
And letting Christ live through you.
Maybe you are here this morning and you never invited Jesus into your life.
In our culture today sometimes people communicate:
“You’re accepted here… once you look like us.”
That can become:
dress first
talk first
clean up first
belong later
Galatians teaches us something powerful:
You cannot earn salvation.
You receive salvation.
Maybe today you realize—
You’ve been trying to clean yourself up before coming to God.
You’ve been carrying shame.
You’ve been trying harder and harder but never finding peace.
Can I tell you something?
Jesus is not waiting for a better version of you.
He’s inviting you to come exactly as you are.
The cross already paid for your sin.
His grace is available today.
The Bible says:
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
But it also says:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
That means salvation is not for perfect people.
It’s for surrendered people.
Maybe today you would say:
“Pastor, I need Jesus.”
Maybe you’ve never surrendered your life to Him.
Maybe you walked away and need to come home.
Maybe religion replaced relationship.
Today you can leave changed.
Not because you worked for it—
but because Jesus already finished the work.
If that’s you, I’m not going to embarrass you.
But I do want to pray with you.
If you’re saying:
“Today I want to surrender my life to Jesus…”
“Today I want forgiveness…”
“Today I want to come home…”
Would you lift your hand right now?
(Pause.)
Thank You, Lord.
Now church, let’s pray together.
Say:
Jesus,
I come to You today.
I admit I cannot save myself.
I repent of my sin.
I turn away from my old life.
I believe You died for me.
I believe You rose again.
Wash me clean.
Make me new.
Be my Savior.
Be my Lord.
Fill me with Your Spirit.
Teach me to follow You.
From this day forward,
my life belongs to You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that and meant it—
according to God’s Word—
you are forgiven.
You are made new.
You are a child of God.
Church, can we celebrate what Jesus has done today?
