Year 2, Day 138: Galatians 2

Paul in Jerusalem

We begin this chapter by taking a look at Paul’s trip to Jerusalem.  He reports that he went up to Jerusalem and brought Titus with him.  Then we get the following report of events:

• Even though Titus was a Greek – and thus uncircumcised – and they were in Jerusalem, they did not force Titus to become circumcised.
• There were some people in Jerusalem who thought themselves important and who tried to make Titus and the rest of the people who had been brought into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ accountable to following the Law before actually truly being received as followers.  In other words, they pushed to force Titus to become a full Jew before allowing him to be considered a true follower of Jesus.
• Peter, James, and John – pillars of the early church – recognized that God’s grace had been extended to Paul’s ministry and felt no obligation to impose requirements.  Rather, the early church simply asked that Paul remember the poor as he went around teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This decision that Paul speaks about in the first half of this letter revolves around a particular brand of thinking.  It is not that the Law has been done away with – after all, Jesus Himself says that He did not come to abolish the Law.  {See Matthew 5:17}  Jesus says that He came to fulfill the Law.  Jesus did not come to destroy the Law, but to make it spiritual and bonded to our innermost being.  What Paul is writing about here is the fulfillment of the promise of Jeremiah 31:33.  The followers of Christ observe the Law, but we observe it in a spiritual manner while being released from the absolute physical constraints of the Law.  The Law is not for our bondage, but for our spirit and for drawing us closer to God.

Paul in Antioch

Of course, we know that by Paul’s account this issue was not settled in Jerusalem.  Peter came to Antioch and began to teach that physical adherence to the Law was necessary.  He was teaching it so much that even Barnabas began to be led astray.  Paul confronts Peter.  Essentially, Paul asks Peter how it is that one can profess to be entirely saved by grace while also making physical restrictions towards the obedience of the Law.  Either we are saved by grace, or we are not.  Either the cross of Christ is entirely sufficient, or it is not sufficient at all.

How Salvation Comes To The Individual

This brings us to the final third of the letter.  We know that nobody is saved by obeying the Law.  How can we?  Can any one of us follow the Law without error?  No.  If our obedience to the Law is mandatory then there can be none who are saved.  Yet, if we are saved out of the faithfulness of Christ, who can follow the Law perfectly, then we each have hope!

God hands salvation to all of us; all we need do is receive it.  We need not earn it for we cannot earn it.  We need not prove ourselves worthy of it for we are not worthy of it.  We can receive it humbly while thanking God for His generosity and praising His name for His mercy upon us.

My Life Verse

This brings me to one of my absolute favorite verses.  “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.”  Besides the portions of the Gospel stories that speak to Jesus’ death on the cross, I think this to be one of the most important sections of scripture.  The words are clear.  I am crucified with Christ.  When I put my faith in Jesus, my life is forfeit.  There is no longer “my dreams.”  There is no longer “my aspirations.”  Those self-centered things are replaced with “God’s dreams for me” and “God’s aspirations for me.”

If it is truly Christ who lives in me, then how can I ever claim to be pursuing my own agenda?  If I am pursuing my own agenda, then it is I who live!  It is really that simple.  That is why I think this passage of scripture to be so very much important.  These verses make it clear how we are to live from the moment we place our trust in Christ.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  That’s setting a pretty high bar.  As we learned from our studies in Job, God is a God who teaches, forgives, and restores.  So we have something for which we can be grateful.  When we mess up, He forgives.  But that doesn’t mean we still don’t try.  We still live a life of pursuing God’s agenda and God’s desires rather than our own.  That is what it means to be crucified with Christ.

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