Galatians 2:1-10

Galatians 2:1–10 ESV

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. 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. 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.

Everything is OK - Nothing to worry about. The water is safe.

Pastor R Sherman McCathern preached in Flint, Michigan, water rushed out of a couple of fire hydrants. Puddles formed on the dry grass and splashed the skin of the delighted kids who ran through it. But the spray looked strange. “The water was coming out dark as coffee for hours,” McCathern remembered. The shock of it caught in his throat. “Something is wrong here.”

Introduction:

Flint Michigan - April 2014: To save money, Flint begins drawing water from the Flint River for its 100,000 residents. The move is considered temporary while the city waits to connect to a new regional water system. Residents immediately complain about the water’s smell, taste and appearance, and they raise health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems.

January 2015: Detroit offers to reconnect Flint to its water system, but Flint leaders insist the water is safe.

Sept. 24, 2015: A group of doctors urges Flint to stop using the Flint River after finding high levels of lead in children’s blood. State regulators insist the water is safe.

Sept. 29, 2015: Then-Gov. Rick Snyder pledges to take action in response to the lead levels — the first acknowledgment by the state that lead is a problem.

What is the gospel of Jesus Christ?

God saves sinners through the finished work of Christ.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Galatians 2:5 ESV

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.

Anything added to the finished work of Christ is not the gospel.

We pollute the gospel by adding man-made religious practices to the cross.

We pollute the gospel when we attach our conduct to Christ’s accomplishments.