Notes on Galatians 2

1 Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.
2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
3 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:
7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)
9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

This is Paul's account of the council of Jerusalem, which freed Gentile Christians from the unreasonable restrictions of the Jewish law. Requiring new Christians to be circumcised, as one example, amounted to Christ plus works, just like the insistence of some churches now that a person is not saved until they're baptized. Paul recognized that such legalism led to bondage, inconsistent with the liberty promised by Christ. He was able to convince the elders of the church in Jerusalem that Gentiles should not have to become Jews in order to become Christians. That may well have been due to Peter's own experience with Cornelius, and the clear message he received that the Gentiles were also heirs to the promises of the Gospel.

11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Even after the findings of the council of Jerusalem, the attitudes that caused the problems relating to the Gentiles to begin with persisted. Peter, who of all people should have known better, associated himself with those Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentiles must comply with all requirements of the law. It is not enough for the leadership of a church or denomination to take a position on an issue, if the membership continues to believe or practice something entirely different. If, for example, a denomination like the United Methodist takes a position that homosexuals should not become clergy, but conferences or congregations with the church tolerate such clergy, the greater church loses its moral authority. If the Jerusalem church continued to tolerate the teachings of Judaizers who argued against what they had set forth as the policy of the church, they were negating the stand they took. The experiences of Corinth, and especially of the Galatians, were the consequence of their indecisiveness. Peter himself was a hypocrite; he was one of those who approved of the action of the council, but to please his important friends from Jerusalem, he was ready to throw away all that Paul and his companions had fought for.

Justification is the act of being found innocent of the penalty of sin in God's eyes. Scripture teaches clearly that none of us has any hope of pleasing God, and winning our salvation, through our own efforts (Romans 3:23). If that were so, Christ need not have died for our sins. Whether or not we are saved, we are still sinners, just sinners who have justified by our faith in Christ. If we persist in our sinful lifestyles after we are saved, then our salvation has no effect; we may as well not have been saved at all. That doesn't mean we won't sin after we're saved, but if our lives are not changed, if there was no repentance, then we never really accepted Christ into our lives. We may even have a besetting sin that persists after we are saved, but we should not carry on the lifestyle and attitudes of the world in all areas of our lives. We're saved by faith, and we live by faith, not by what we can see, such as a set of commandments we can all obey. Being crucified means dying to the desires and wants of self, so that our first priority in life is what God wants. Paul restates at the end the point he made before: If we could gain eternal life by our own efforts, by keeping the commands of the law, then Christ's death was senseless and useless. Trying to obtain salvation by means of anything else but faith in Christ frustrates the free gift, or grace, or God.

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