Threats to the Gospel

There are false brothers secretly brought in in Galatia, Judaizers. We're not sure who they are. But now they've heard that Paul is bringing Titus to Jerusalem, and so these false brothers. There are people who are advocating something which isn't the gospel. Any man-made requirement added to grace alone, by faith alone, turns the gospel into something other than the good news.

A false gospel. I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and welcome to the Saturday edition of Renewing Your Mind. We're spending several weeks in Galatians with Derek Thomas' series, No Other Gospel. There were threats to the gospel in the first century.

And there are threats to it today. which is why it's important to unpack Galatians. If you would like to make Galatians a focus of your study in the new year, you can request this series on DVD, along with digital access to the study guide and the messages, along with a hardcover copy of R. C. Sproll's commentary on Galatians, when you give a year-end gift in support of Renewing Your Mind and the global outreach of ligander ministries at renewingyourmind.org.

But be quick and respond before this offer ends at midnight.

Well, here's Dr. Thomas on some of the threats to the gospel. We're in Galatians Chapter 2. And versus one Through 10. Uh let's recap just a little, Paul.

was defending himself at the tail end of chapter one. uh Judaizers in the Galatian church, accusing him of being uh A charlatan, a Johnny come lately, wondering where he got his gospel from. And Paul went out of his way to give some history and narrative about his conversion and how he'd. Gone to Arabia and then he'd gone to Jerusalem and he'd met with Peter for 15 days. But the whole point of all of that was to say that he got this gospel not from men, not even from Peter or James and John, but he got it from the Lord.

It was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit and through his studies of the Old Testament and so on.

Now, you'll remember that in Galatia, the problem is that these. We're calling them Judaizers for now, and that's an elastic term in sort of scholarship of the various. Sects within Judaism that range from extreme left, and we might call those Seleucids or Hellenists. to extreme right Judaizers, and the Judaizers were saying that it's not enough. to believe in Jesus.

You've also got to believe and adhere to the Boundary markers of Judaism, and they were things like circumcision and things like the food laws and the calendar, the Jewish calendar, and certain worship. practices and and and so on. And for Paul, that was anathema. That was the gospel plus.

So, not Jesus only, by faith only, apart from the works of the law. For Paul, that was a damnable plus. and he was having uh none of it.

Now, what was it that led the Judaizers to insist on these boundary markers? And it was their. It was their Jewishness, it was their sense of Jewish identity. It was what they identified themselves as within Judaism. And so Paul now again goes back in history and he goes back to two incidents, one in Jerusalem.

Some 14 years later, chapter 2 and verse 1.

So we've gone ahead in time. But there was something that happened in Jerusalem. And there was something that happened in the church at Antioch. to the north That reminds him of the same problem that's now affecting the church in Galatia.

So we're still in Galatia. He's writing to the Galatians, but he's having a kind of flashback to two incidents. that that impact what he's about to say in the church at Galicia.

So the first one is back in Jerusalem, and it's 14 years after the visit that he made and spent 15 days with the apostle. Peacho. And what Paul now really wants to say is there was. The same disease. There was the same Infection in the church in Jerusalem.

And in order to understand that, we need to kind of unpack a little bit of. uh history and we need to sort of try and put ourselves back Not simply in the mindset of the Jews in Jerusalem, but in the mindset of Jewish Christians In Jerusalem, who are still Attending the temple, perhaps. They're still going to the synagogue. They're still being taught by. rabbis.

And there's a kind of sense in which the church is still under the umbrella of Judaism, and it's trying to find its way forward in terms of what Aspects of Judaism are good and what aspects have been fulfilled? What aspects of Judaism are ceremonial and were fulfilled in Christ? What aspects were simply aspects that defined Jewishness more and a sense in which Israel was a theocracy, a country, a nation, and had an ethnic identity. And what part of that needs to be removed as the gospel now? traverses its way through Europe and into Hellenistic and and Gentile territory.

Well, fourteen years later, Paul. Went to Jerusalem, and with him he takes. Titus. And Titus is a Greek. And that means that Titus isn't circumcised, and this is a problem.

And apparently, it's still something of a problem for people like James, the Lord's brother, and Peter or Cephas. And perhaps John, the The three most important Disciples, apostles. who are disciples of Jesus. And they're still working their way through this issue.

Now, it's the same issue that will be brought to the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. And as I said in previous lessons, because Paul doesn't cite the Jerusalem Council and its conclusions, Galatians is probably written before the Jerusalem Council. But this is an issue that would. impact the church it be it would be on the agenda of the church for a decade or more before there would be clarity about the issue. Um Galatians is about freedom.

One of the great Lessons in chapters five and six, for example, is that if you are in Christ, you are free. And free from the necessity to obey the law. In any shape, way, or form, in order to be justified. And the issue here in Galatia is justification. It's not sanctification, it's justification.

And Paul is saying. In Christ we've been set free. from the burden of The law.

Now, Paul will unpack that in more detail and in more theological detail once we get into chapters. three and four But but now here the issue is circumcision. with a case of Titus. And there's a woman, Elizabeth Ketchley. She was emancipated from slavery.

uh in the 19th century And when she became a free woman, she wrote Free What a glorious ring to the word. Free. The bitter struggle was over. Free the soul to go out to heaven and to God with no chains to pull it down. Free The earth had a brighter look, and the very stars seemed to sing with joy.

Yes, free. Free by laws of man and by the smile of God in heaven, bless them. Who made me so?

Well, she was born a slave in February of 1818 and in 1855 she purchased her freedom. She became a dressmaker. to the political elite. In Washington, she became a confidant. To Mary Todd Lincoln, the president's wife.

The friendship ended when Elizabeth wrote a tell-all book and broke some confidences of the First Lady and the First Lady never forgave her. And she ends her life in economic slavery. She was a slave, she was emancipated, but in a sense she ended her life back in slavery, a different kind of slavery, but an economic slavery. Nevertheless, because of poor decisions that she made, she lost sight. of what it is that had made her free.

And in a sense That's exactly what Paul thinks is going on in the church in Galatia. And Titus is the test. Case. As I said, Titus is a Gentile. He's not circumcised.

He's Greek, and in the eyes of Jews. And you know, when you're converted. from a certain tradition, you you sometimes take a while for those Prejudices to be removed. It doesn't always happen overnight. And so, although in the eyes of the Jews, certainly Titus was unclean, he was morally unclean, he was spiritually unclean, he was an untouchable in strict Judaism.

You'd have to wash your hands if you came into contact with him, you couldn't eat at the same table as him, and so on.

So Titus is the perfect test case. But Paul isn't trying to convince Jews, he's trying to convince Jewish Christians. He's he's trying to convince people like Well, people like James and Peter. And John. And For Paul.

The gospel is at stake.

Now, this is where it gets very interesting in the New Testament. In the case of Timothy, and Timothy has. A Gentile parent and a Jewish parent, and he was uncircumcised, but Paul has him. Circumcised. Because there was no issue about Timothy.

No one was making a fuss about Timothy. But people are making a fuss about Titus, and people in very high circles in Jerusalem are making a fuss about Titus. And so this now becomes a test case, and Paul has to. It's not a. It's not a decision that Paul can make, as it were, because This was a thing indifferent.

You could go one way, you could go the other. Didn't really matter.

Now, because there are those in the church in Jerusalem who are insisting. that Titus be circumcised, and insisting Drawing into question the validity of Titus's salvation if he wasn't circumcised. They've crossed the line. This is not, shall we become all things to all men? And in order for Timothy to gain access to Jewish circles, it would be better for him to be circumcised, and then that just wouldn't be an issue, and he could just move on and so on.

Now, in the case of Titus, They've made it a gospel issue. They've made it a Justification. issue. Unless Titus is circumcised, he is not in a right standing with God. They've said, Yes, believe in Jesus.

But you've got to add. Circumcision.

Well, as I suggested before, it might be a different issue. For us. It's not uh circumcision, it's um It's the King James version. Or it's the ESV. Or it's the NIV.

Or it's um Getting up before five and making sure that you've had your quiet time. And if you don't do that, there's There's a scepticism. I don't think you're you're truly saved. Uh homeschooling. I mean, if you send your kids to public school, how can you possibly be a Christian?

How can you possibly be justified? Or it might be republicanism. That unless you vote in a certain way uh wear a certain hat Uh you cannot possibly be a Christian. Or it can be The use of Alcohol in moderation, or it can be joining a country club, or it can be. An insistence on a certain practice in baptism and A thousand other things that become subtly, and sometimes not so subtly.

The damnable Plus For Paul, this was an Issue of the Preservation of the Gospel. This was an issue of the purity of the gospel. What is the gospel? All of those other things. They're fine, and we should discuss them.

And Christians may come down one way or another on each and every one of them, but in and of themselves, they're not the gospel.

Well, it gets a little bit more. more sensitive than that. It it's not just the issue of circumcision. It's the issue of race. And this has a very contemporary modern sort of feel to it.

Titus was a Gentile and this was a racial matter. It wasn't anti-Semitism, it's the reverse. It's anti-Gentilism. And the Jews had a suspicion about The moral, spiritual, Qualities of a Gentile. They were less than human, even.

So this is a racial thing, and this is a Well, it's a very contemporary twenty-first century issue in The world, and certainly in the part of the world where we are, recording this session this morning. It's complicated.

So, Paul says. I went up because of a revelation, verse 2, and set before them, though privately, before those who seemed influential.

So Paul doesn't. You know, he doesn't make a big public fuss. He doesn't Call the press. and the camera crew to film and embarrass Cefers and James, no, he th they met privately.

Sometimes meetings need to take place in private. Not everything needs to be public, not everything needs to be on Facebook. and Twitter. And uh Christians need to learn that. that not everything they do and say and not all of their opinions need to be on Facebook because other people read this thing and the gospel is judged by the standards of what you put on Facebook and so on.

The gospel is at stake here. and the unity of the Christian Church is at stake.

So he says in verse three, Even Titus who was with me was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek, yet because of false brothers secretly brought in. There are false brothers secretly brought in in Galatia. Judaicists, we're not sure who they are. But now they've heard that Paul is bringing Titus to Jerusalem, and so these false. Brothers, and notice the term false brothers.

There are people who are advocating something which isn't the gospel. And from those, verse 6, and from those who seem to be influential. What they were makes no difference to me. God shows no partiality. Yeah, there are always those who are influential, or at least they think They're influential.

And their words carry a lot of weight and gravitas, and they affect different sections of the church, and they have followers. And so on. And they have Number of friends and likes on their Facebook account, or whatever it is. Those I say, verse 6, who seemed influential added nothing to me.

So Paul isn't swayed by. People. It takes uh Strong person not to be influenced by others. Not to be influenced by those who are powerful, not to be influenced by those. who are very vocal.

not to be influenced by those who have had a lot of influence. And so you see something of the stature here of the Apostle Paul. And in verse 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, and there's a little clue. As to the two principal parties involved in this discussion, it was Paul and Peter. And at this stage Paul is still relatively young and And there comes a point where Paul outshines Peter in terms of presence and personality and all of those things.

And you have to imagine how difficult it was for Peter. Yeah. outsider who had never seen Jesus and never followed Jesus, all of a sudden he's getting all the limelight. and God is using him in a way that he's no longer using you. And that brings all kinds of difficulties.

And all kinds of emotional reactions, and some of the very worst things within us emerge when somebody else. Who, in your opinion, doesn't deserve the limelight, gets all of the limelight. And you must become like Jesus, who became nothing. who emptied himself, and became obedient even unto Death. And maybe that's part of the Lesson from this historical narrative that is for you and for me, are you willing to take the lesser road?

The one that isn't in the limelight, the one that doesn't get all the attention and glory. because you're doing it in obedience to the Lord, and it's not the opinions of others. that matters. It's the opinion of the Lord. And so you've got this titus issue.

And then, verse 7: On the contrary, when I saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised. For he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles. And when James. And C first. 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. Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

So the gospel triumphs here. And James and John and Peter. agree that God is asking them to be Missionaries to be apostles. to the circumcised, to Jews. And Paul and Barnabas and Titus to the Gentiles.

There is agreement. The issue of race Titus almost brought the church into disunity. It almost tore The church apart And the only thing that they required was that they remember the poor. And there's a little bit of historical background to that, Jerusalem. frequently experienced poverty and poverty not Because of weather conditions and drought and so on.

But when Jews became Christians, when they called Jesus Lord, Kurios, Many of them were ostracized from their family. They would lose family support. Their businesses would suffer.

So Jews wouldn't go to their businesses and they would take their trade Elsewhere, and so there's an element of poverty in the Jerusalem church, especially. And do you remember how Paul, at least for two years of his ministry, would be raising money from the Gentiles to take a gift? To the church in Jerusalem, and it occupies chapters 8 and 9, for example, of 2 Corinthians. And that was in part a way. of the Gentile churches giving back and recognizing their origins in Jerusalem, recognizing the place of charity, the place of helping fellow Christians in need.

Race And social Justice. They're not the gospel. They have huge implications that come from the gospel, and we'll see a little bit of that in. The next lesson as we move from Jerusalem to Antioch. and one of the greatest scenes between two apostles.

Ever. And you'll hear about that encounter next Saturday as we continue Derek Thomas's series, No Other Gospel: Paul's Letter to the Galatians. I'm glad you're with us for this Saturday edition of Renewing Your Mind. I'm Nathan W. Bingham.

Okay. We heard doctor Thomas say that we're in danger to day of adding to the gospel. we can easily fall into the trap of making our own preferences gospel issues. Paul's entire letter provides the antidote to this common problem. And this series, No Other Gospel, helps us understand many of those lessons.

Request this complete series on DVD, along with digital access to the messages and study guide, and a copy of R. C. Sproul's hardcover commentary on Galatians, when you give a year-end gift at renewingyourmind.org, or by using the link in the podcast show notes. Make this New Testament epistle a focus of your study in the new year. And if you live outside of the US and Canada, digital access to all these resources is waiting for you at renewingyourmind.org/slash global.

Thank you for your generosity, especially as 2025 is quickly coming to a close.

Next time, Derek Thomas will explore what he just called one of the greatest scenes between two apostles ever.

So be sure to join us for the final message that you'll hear from this series next Saturday, here on Renewing Your Mind.