Galatians 2 reminds me of the early days of GPS navigation in cars. I discovered that some of my trips were terribly inefficient. I originally learned how to get everywhere from the main highway. On subsequent visits, I followed the only path I knew. With the new technology I realized that there were more direct routes, eliminating the need to trek all the way back to the highway. Today’s lesson is about seeking new paths. Paul begins, “after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem” (with fellow missionaries Titus and Barnabas). Paul had been sharing God’s Grace to the outer reaches of the Roman empire. He came to the apostles to present “the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles”. Paul was determined to defend “the freedom we have in Christ Jesus” from “false believers” that insisted Gentiles first convert to Judaism before they can receive Salvation through Christ. Paul stood firm against any notion of earning righteousness through good works. He says plainly, “God does not show favoritism”. Salvation comes to all who ask by faith alone in Christ alone.
Paul was pleased to report that the apostles “recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised”. Paul was uniquely prepared to minister to the Gentiles, just as Peter was called to be “an apostle to the circumcised”. He reports that James, John and Peter “recognized the grace given to me”. And all agreed “we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised”. They mutually concluded that the proper reaction to God’s immeasurable mercy is “continue to remember the poor”. God’s grace always produces gratitude and a desire to extend that same grace to others.
The chapter closes with a much-needed recalibration by the apostles. All had been raised in the Jewish faith and customs, which prohibited association with uncircumcised Gentiles. Peter “began to draw back and separate himself… because he was afraid” of what his orthodox friends would say. Paul directly confronted Peter’s attitude, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile… How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?” Jesus fulfilled every righteous requirement of the Law, now by His blood, all atonement for sin is complete. Paul highlights Peter’s error, “We who are Jews by birth… know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ”. That is, the cross changed everything. Every religious obligation was now obsolete. Paul says emphatically, “by the works of the law no one will be justified”. The Law was given as God’s standard for perfection. It is a mirror to allow us to see how far we are from that standard. Its purpose was to reveal our individual need for a Savior. Paul concludes, “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”. To those insisting Gentiles must go backwards toward legalism, Paul reroutes the logic: “for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” My friend, if you have been following the same old traditions without finding peace, perhaps it is time to seek new guidance by faith in Christ?