Explore the Bible: Adult Commentary Galatians, James Summer 2009 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God s gift Adult COMMENTARY summer spring 2009 not from works, so that no one can boast. Galatians, Isaiah, Micah James
Summer 2009 Volume 2, Number 4 ADULT COMMENTARY For by grace you are saved through faith, and Galatians, James this is not from yourselves; it is God s gift Terry Ellis not from works, so that no one can boast.
ADULT COMMENTARY This periodical is designed for all adults using the Explore the Bible Series PRODUCTION & MINISTRY TEAM David O. Briscoe Editor in Chief Janice Meier Editor David Wilson Graphic Designer Pat Phillips Copy Editor Denise Wells Technical Specialist Alan Raughton Lead Adult Ministry Specialist David Apple Adult Ministry Specialist MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL Bret Robbe Director Leadership and Adult Publishing Ron Brown, Ron Keck Managing Directors, Leadership and Adult Publishing David Francis Director, Sunday School Bill Craig Director, Leadership and Adult Ministry Gary H. Hauk Director, Publishing LifeWay Church Resources Send questions/comments to Editor, ETB: Adult Commentary One LifeWay Plaza Nashville, TN 37234-0175 Or make comments on the Web at www.lifeway.com Printed in the United States of America Explore the Bible: Adult Commentary (ISSN 1092-7174; Item 005075123) is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President. 2009, LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. For ordering or inquiries visit www.lifeway. com, or write LifeWay Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions or subscription address changes e-mail subscribe@lifeway. com, fax 615.251.5818, or write to the above address. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, e-mail orderentry@lifeway.com, fax 615.251.5933 or write to the above address. We believe that the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. The 2000 statement of The Baptist Faith and Message is our doctrinal guideline. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. The suggestions in this resource for pronouncing Bible names are from That s Easy for You to Say: Your Quick Guide to Pronouncing Bible Names by W. Murray Severance, Copyright 1997 by Broadman & Holman Publishers. Used by permission. About the Cover: East shore of the ancient Lake Limnai (modern Egirdir) in northern Pisidia southwest of ancient Antioch in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) Illustrator photo/ David rogers/(5/11/20)
Contents Galatians, james: A Walk to Remember......................... 6 Unit 1 Walking in truth June 7 Talking About the Gospel...10 Galatians 1:1 2:10 June 14 Receiving the Gospel*....20 Galatians 2:11 3:25 June 21 Living by the Gospel...30 Galatians 3:26 4:31 Unit 2 Walking in Freedom June 28 Claim Your Freedom...40 Galatians 5:1-15 July 5 Follow the Spirit...50 Galatians 5:16-26 July 12 Be Responsible....60 Galatians 6:1-18 Unit 3 walking every day July 19 When Common Sense Isn t Enough..............70 James 1:1-18 July 26 How Genuine Are You?.........................80 James 1:19-27 August 2 Let s Be Fair About It...90 James 2:1-13 August 9 Show Me Your Faith.......................... 100 James 2:14-26 August 16 How to Sail Through Life.... 110 James 3:1-18 August 23 Who Is Your Best Friend?... 120 James 4:1-17 August 30 How to Live with Confidence.................. 130 James 5:1-20 *Evangelistic Lesson
The Week of June 7 Talking About the Gospel Background Passage: Galatians 1:1-2:10 Lesson Passages: Galatians 1:6-9,11-12,15-16; 2:1-6 INTRODUCTION Getting to heaven is a popular topic. While surveys in our nation typically show that the majority of respondents believe in heaven, beliefs about the means of getting there vary widely. Particularly in today s cafeteria approach to religion, the selections may seem endless and each selection may appear fairly appealing. Add to this mix the fact that some people defend their beliefs vigorously as the only way to heaven, while others claim that all paths lead there, and the topic can become very confusing. Christians are not immune to this high degree of uncertainty. Some still retain a sense of having to earn their way to heaven. They wonder if they are good enough. Others may perform good works with mixed motives, perhaps trying to reassure themselves that God will let them into heaven. For centuries Christian writers have used the designation confession of faith to identify the biblical and agreed-upon principles of how to enter into eternal life. Today, however, we seem to have a confusion of faith. The gospel is the Christian response to the question about getting into heaven. Are you clear about the truth of the gospel as presented in the New Testament? Can you address with biblical clarity how a person enters heaven? Paul s Letter to the Galatians provides a vivid presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and clearly answers the question of how a person gets into heaven. This first lesson is an invitation to talk about the gospel and gain a clear understanding of what the true gospel is. Galatians 1:1 2:10 1. There Is One Gospel (Gal. 1:1-10) 2. The Gospel Is Divine (Gal. 1:11-24) 3. The Gospel Is Unchangeable (Gal. 2:1-10) THE BACKGROUND The first Christians had no written manual of Christianity to guide them. When Paul established a church in a city in Galatia, he could not leave those Christians a guidebook detailing what they were to believe and how they 10 Talking About the Gospel
should conduct the ministry of the church. The Gospels had not yet been written. Paul s inevitable departure from a newly established church almost always left a leadership vacuum. As a result these early Christians might easily be swayed from the truth by a convincing false teacher. In some instances, the pressures of their culture might influence believers to engage in immoral behavior. Paul, therefore, faced two great challenges: establishing the churches and making mature disciples of the believers in those churches. Writing letters, making personal visits, and sending representatives like Timothy or Titus were the apostle s main means of guiding these early Christians. One false teaching that threatened the early church concerned the very nature of the gospel itself. What did a person have to do in order to be saved? Paul maintained that salvation was by grace through faith alone. False teachers claimed that obedience to the law of Moses, or at least to some of the law, was essential for salvation. For example, they claimed that circumcision was necessary for salvation (see Acts 15:1). They demanded maintenance of the ceremonial law in an attempt to gain God s favor (see Gal. 4:10-11). These false teachers also questioned Paul s credibility and his claim to be an apostle. The Letter to the Galatians is Paul s forceful response to questions about the true nature of the gospel. Unless Christians are clear about the true gospel, they may be deceived about its content. THE BIBLE PASSAGE 1. There Is One Gospel (Gal. 1:1-10) Paul began this letter in a style characteristic of first-century letters by announcing the writer, the intended recipients, and the opening greeting. However, in Paul s letter each of these three elements is specifically Christian in its expression. Paul s self-identification of apostle (Gal. 1:1) is likely a response to one of the challenges to his ministry. His opponents not only questioned the gospel he proclaimed, but they also challenged his claim to be an apostle. In response, Paul clearly stated that Divine authority lay behind his ministry. The words grace... and peace (1:3) were typical greetings in the ancient world, but for Paul their meanings extended far beyond that intended by the standard salutations. Grace is a key word in Galatians and throughout Paul s Letters because it is the key to understanding God s disposition toward us and the means of our salvation. Grace stands against any suggestion of a salvation merited by works. Peace, or wholeness, results from salvation. Verse 6: I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel Typically, Paul would pronounce a thanksgiving for his readers at the outset of his letter. However, in writing to the Galatians, Paul omitted this Week of June 7 11
customary praise for the recipients. Instead of being thankful or affectionately remembering them, Paul was amazed by their behavior. The word translated amazed indicates astonishment or surprise and can occasionally indicate accompanying irritation. Paul s irritation appears evident at specific points in the letter (see 3:1 and 5:7). We also should note, however, that the apostle wrote with a clear pastoral sense of concern. He loved the Galatian Christians and addressed them warmly at various points in the letter. The reason for Paul s shock was that the Galatians were quickly turning away from Him who called them. The word translated turning away means to change to another place. It was used of a deserter or a traitor. In this case, the Galatians had turned from God Himself. Instead of adhering to the calling that brought them near, they had turned away and deserted God by embracing what they perceived as another means of salvation. This point is important. Paul often dealt with challenges to his authority, but the issue here is the gospel itself. God had called the Galatians to salvation by the grace of Christ. The term grace, by its very definition, must remain undiluted. Add anything, anything at all, to what Christ has done once and for all as a requirement for salvation and you have crossed the line into works. God s grace, accepted through faith, is the only basis of justification (see Eph. 2:8-9). At this early point in the letter, we confront the central matter of Christianity. By approving a message that added works to grace, the Galatians had embraced a different gospel, and thus deserted God Himself. The word gospel means good news, and the majority of the usages of the term in the New Testament appear in Paul s Letters. The gospel is inextricably connected to grace. The good news is that God has acted through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to offer salvation to humanity. Absent from this definition are any works by which one might hope to earn salvation. Verse 7: not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the gospel of Christ. Again, what we are talking about here is a complete denial of the gospel. Add one law and you have no gospel at all. Paul s expression was not that there is another gospel. The Greek word translated another (allos) is similar in meaning to the word translated different (heteros) in verse 6. Both words can be translated another. Often, however, the word heteros means another of a different kind, while allos means another of the same kind. I may use heteros to describe drinking tea instead of coffee, but use allos to describe drinking different flavors of coffee. Applied to the gospel, the distinction Paul made is that the other gospel is absolutely no gospel at all! It is not even similar. As we will see later, the works under consideration were not, in and of themselves, huge or complex. Neither were they nearly as numerous as a typical Pharisee would observe, and Paul certainly understood that burden. The line, however, is fine and clear. Add works and grace is gone, and so then is the gospel itself. 12 Talking About the Gospel
The different message came not from the Galatian believers themselves, but from some who were troubling them. The term translated troubling means to shake or to agitate. Paul used it to describe these other teachers who tried to add works to the gospel and apparently gained a following. Throughout this Commentary we will refer to these false teachers as Judaizers [JOO day eyes uhrs]. Judaizers were persons from a Jewish background who insisted certain Jewish laws had to be observed in order for a person to be a Christian. Verse 8: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! This verse and the next present Paul at his most intense. No issue was more crucial to him than the nature of salvation. He had explained it carefully to the Galatians. There could be no other way, no other message by which people could be saved. Paul contemplated an unlikely scenario in this verse. The apostle was not going to alter his message. As for an angel? Again, that was unlikely, but Paul perhaps had in mind here the tendency of some people to worship angels, a topic he addressed specifically in Colossians 2:18. Some of Paul s Jewish contemporaries, notably the Essenes, venerated angels and developed elaborate hierarchies of angels. Paul desired to cover all bases. In the unlikely event the Galatians were to hear such an adulterated gospel from himself or from an angel, Paul pronounced a curse on the one who delivered it. The word translated curse is anathema [uh NATH uh muh]. It means to set aside something for God s judgment and destruction. This word is an extreme and grave term, but it represents accurately how seriously Paul viewed the threat of heresy. Verse 9: As we have said before, I now say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him! Verse 8 indicated an unlikely scenario. Verse 9 represents a likely scenario, and, in fact, something that was actually taking place. The Judaizers were preaching a gospel contrary to what the Galatian believers had received. Why was this concern so urgent and intense for Paul? As far as we can discern, none of the laws the Judaizers claimed were necessary were bad. In fact, precisely what law from our Old Testament is bad? None! Even the food laws that Jesus nullified would not harm us if we were to observe them, though personally I would dearly miss crawfish. In fact, we can take the argument a bit further and make a specific application. Paul the Pharisee obeyed the Ten Commandments. Did Paul the Christian obey them? Of course. A Judaizer might well argue that it is in fact necessary to do so, and what Christian could seriously deny that we should, in fact, obey the Ten Commandments? You can see how subtle and even reasonable their argument appeared. The difference, however, is one of intent. Paul the Pharisee obeyed laws in an attempt to earn salvation. Paul the Christian obeyed the Ten Commandments Week of June 7 13
because he was saved not in an attempt to merit salvation. No one has ever been more qualified than Paul to draw this important distinction. He knew what it was like to live by the law and he knew deep down what his motive was. His fundamental insight was that he could never be good enough. His best efforts, and he might argue that no one had ever made a better effort, was inadequate to justify himself before God. This insight drove him to grace and is the root of his strong opposition to anyone who would try to mix grace and law. Now is a good time for us to carefully consider our motives for living in a manner that honors God and for serving Him. Any mixture of pride or effort to impress people dilutes the purity of our motives. This exercise is behind Paul s meaning in verse 10. He did not work to please people but to please God. Paul apparently had been accused of being a people pleaser, perhaps by striving to be all things to all people (1 Cor. 9:22). More likely his opponents accused him of currying favor with the Gentiles by omitting the law from his teachings about how to be saved. As we can see early in this letter, Paul was facing a number of challenges and had to confront them forcefully. Paul totally rejected the idea anything could be added to the gospel of salvation by faith alone, warning that any such effort produced a false gospel. When we are clear about the one true gospel, we will reject all efforts to change or add to it. Such false gospels include salvation by works, through knowledge, and through mere identification with any religion. Any teaching that threatens the peace of a church usually is to be rejected, and no such teaching should be accepted without careful and in-depth consideration. 2. The Gospel Is Divine (Gal. 1:11-24) This section of the letter is autobiographical and extends through 2:14. It recounts Paul s conversion but focuses on the 14 years, or more, of his interaction with the church leaders in Jerusalem. The purpose of this section is twofold. In it Paul first demonstrated that his message was not a human contrivance but came directly from Christ. Second, because his calling and message came directly from Christ, his apostleship, therefore, was intact, and he was thus qualified to authoritatively address the challenges to the churches in Galatia. Verse 11: Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on a human point of view. The phrase now I want you to know emphasizes the necessity of the apostle s claims. The claims Paul was about to make were vitally important and had probably been misrepresented. Here, and throughout the letter, we can hear echoes of his opponents charges. This particular argument counters the claims reflected in verse 10 that Paul was altering the gospel to make it more appealing to Gentiles. In fact, Paul was not altering the gospel at all. His opponents were. Though his tone is strong and authoritative, Paul retained a warmth for and familiarity with the Galatians. He addressed them as brothers 14 Talking About the Gospel
throughout the letter. He did not reject them but rather viewed them as dangerously misled. Paul s subject is the gospel preached by me. The words for gospel and preached are related in the original language, that is, they come from the same root word. The gospel is good news and the proclamation of it is also good news. A literal translation of the phrase might be the gospel that was gospeled by me. Here we get to Paul s main point. The message that he proclaimed throughout the region was not based on a human point of view, literally not according to man. This claim is a sharp contrast to the opponents who had decided, without Divine direction, that the gospel of grace was not sufficient. They preached a gospel contrary to what Paul had preached (Gal. 1:8-9), but the difference was not merely a different viewpoint or opinion. Their gospel was a human point of view. Verse 12: For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation from Jesus Christ. To emphasize his point, Paul added that he did not receive the gospel from a human source and he was not taught it. In Galatians Paul faced an opponent that challenged his right to address with authority issues related to how a person experiences a right relationship with God. These issues lay at the very heart of the Christian faith. Paul countered that his message came by a revelation from Jesus Christ. Without question all true Christians experienced the presence and power of Jesus Christ. Our faith is personal and relational. However, in this case Paul had experienced something that was unique to him and set him apart from others, including his opponents. He had met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus in a dramatic way, and the Lord had called him to be an apostle. The apostle s opponents, however, claimed Paul was not a real apostle because he had never met Jesus when He walked the earth. Paul s rejoinder is that his experience on the road to Damascus qualified him as an apostle, even though he would elsewhere identify himself as the least of the apostles and unworthy to be called an apostle (1 Cor. 15:9). His reason, however, for such humility was that he persecuted the church, not that his experience with the risen Christ was in any way deficient. Paul was a real apostle in every sense of the word for he had seen the risen Christ and had received the gospel directly from Him. The opponents could not make such a claim. Verses 13-14 highlight the contrast between Paul the Pharisee and Paul the Christian in a particularly important and related aspect. As a Pharisee Paul had surpassed many of his contemporaries in both receiving and transmitting the teachings of the rabbis. In fact, that was a major method of rabbinic training, to remember and recite the traditions of the elders. His former belief had largely revolved around a human point of view (Gal. 1:11). The apostle s Christian faith, however, was a revealed faith. Verse 15: But when God, who from my mother s womb set me apart and called me by His grace, was pleased Week of June 7 15
Paul s conversion to Christianity was not the result merely of a human decision. It was part of God s plan. The phrase from my mother s womb is similar to wording we find in the record of Jeremiah s call experience (Jer. 1:5). God had Paul in mind before Paul had God in mind. That God set me apart and called me brings us to the doctrine of election, about which we can either make too much or too little. We make too much of it if we press it to a hard determinism. To suggest that Paul did not exercise free will in accepting God s calling appears to counter the plain meaning of so many verses that invite hearers to respond to the gospel. On the other hand to make salvation merely a matter of human insight and will is to omit the essential work of the Holy Spirit in calling us to Christ. God s calling or election is consistent with the free agency of human beings. The Greek word translated set... apart is derived from the basic verb horizo, which means to set a boundary. We get our English word horizon from this Greek word, the line where earth and sky appear to meet, the limit of how far we can see. God set a boundary, defined by a person s acceptance or rejection of Christ. That boundary is fixed ahead of time. God set apart Paul by virtue of his acceptance of Jesus Christ. The phrase by His grace is a key theological difference between Paul and his opponents. His message was founded on God s grace, the concept that humans can contribute no works to earn salvation. The opponents were committed to works as essential to salvation. Verse 16: to reveal His Son in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. The phrase God to reveal His Son in me underscores Paul s intensely personal experience on the road to Damascus. Tradition did not save Paul. Nor did a message alone. He uniquely encountered Christ on the road to Damascus. The great irony of Paul s life is that the former Pharisee, who might well have considered Gentiles fuel for the fires of hell, became the apostle who would preach Him among the Gentiles. Though this phrase identifies Paul s calling, his habit was to begin preaching in a new city at the synagogue. His love and concern for his Jewish brethren never diminished, but the apostle was firm in his commitment to take the gospel to Gentiles and to insist they did not have to observe Jewish laws and rituals in order to be saved. In the remaining verses of this section (1:17-24), Paul emphasized his separation from Jerusalem. This firmly established his credentials as an apostle in his own right and independent of the leaders in Jerusalem. Paul tried to strike a careful balance here. He did not ignore the apostles or their teaching (as indicated in 1:18), but his three-year absence from Jerusalem was evidence of his independence and the firm establishment of his own apostleship. Paul insisted that he received his gospel from Jesus Christ. The apostle resisted any idea that the gospel he preached came from another person or represented a human point of view. Though Paul s experience was unique, and therefore 16 Talking About the Gospel
uniquely qualified him to serve as an apostle, we also are saved by a Divine gospel. Our faith is grounded in what Jesus Christ did in history and is not subject to reinterpretation and reinvention by every generation. Affirming the Divine origin of the gospel enables us to reject spurious or false additions to it. GROW: Read Acts 11:27-30 and 15:1-35 for further insight into Paul s interaction with the church in Jerusalem. 3. The Gospel Is Unchangeable (Gal.2:1-10) Paul s autobiographical account continues in this section. His particular interest was to demonstrate he was independent of the Jerusalem leaders approval but at the same time had their approval. In other words, he did not need it, but he had it. As we will see, the Jerusalem church s support of Paul would undermine the claims of the apostle s opponents. Verse 1: Then after 14 years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. Bible scholars experience great challenges in matching the chronology in Acts with that in Galatians. However, the phrase after 14 years most likely refers to 14 years after Paul s conversion, not 14 years after his visit described in 1:18. This point is important in dating another significant event in the New Testament, namely, the Jerusalem Conference described in Acts 15. The issue involves whether or not the visit described by Paul here is the same event as recorded in Acts 15 or should be equated with the famine visit in Acts 11:27-30. Both options have found support among biblical scholars. Paul s inclusion of Barnabas and Titus is important. Barnabas was a trusted colleague, but more importantly he had strong ties to the church in Jerusalem. If Paul was going to defend his gospel message as preached to the Gentiles, Barnabas would have been a great help in affirming Paul s message as accurate. Titus served a different role. As we see in Galatians 2:3, he was a Gentile. Paul most likely included him as prime evidence that Gentiles could become faithful Christians without submitting to any of the regulations proposed by the Judaizers. People can argue theology, but it is hard to dispute a changed life. Titus was respected among the churches, though how much opportunity he had been given at this time to prove himself is uncertain. He would later distinguish himself as a man of sound diplomatic skills, having been sent by Paul to negotiate some of the difficulties in the Corinthian church (see 2 Cor. 7:13-15; 8:16-17). Titus, the Gentile, was indisputably Christian. Verse 2: I went up because of a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles but privately to those recognized as leaders so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain. Week of June 7 17
Paul s motive for going up to Jerusalem was primarily because of revelation, the same word used to describe the manner he received the gospel (Gal. 1:12). Again, Paul s point is that he was not making up the gospel as he went along. Both his reception and defense of the gospel were divinely mandated. Paul presented to the Jerusalem church leaders the gospel he preached among the Gentiles. The word translated presented means to declare or to advocate. Paul was not a disinterested presenter. He set forth and advocated powerfully the gospel he had received. To run in vain should not be understood as indicating doubt on Paul s part. Nothing in Galatians indicates Paul questioned the validity of his message. His concern in going to the Jerusalem church was to clarify the gospel that all preached. He wanted, in a sense, to make sure they were all on the same page, so the early church would not have Jewish Christians embracing one message and Gentile Christians embracing another. It would be futile for the apostle to proclaim a message of grace if the Jerusalem church leaders were preaching a message of legalism. However, if Paul did not need either the approval or the support of the Jerusalem church, why then did he present the gospel he preached to them? Paul s opponents in the Galatian churches were insisting on circumcision as necessary to salvation. Paul s recounting for the Galatians his communications with the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem would undercut the opponents argument. Not only had Paul insisted that circumcision was not necessary, the Jerusalem church agreed, as is clear in the following verses. Verse 3: But not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. If the opponents were right that circumcision was necessary for salvation, the Jerusalem Christians had a perfect opportunity to insist that Titus be circumcised. The fact that they did not require it completely isolates the Galatian opponents. The most Jewish Christians were not insisting on circumcision. GROW: Read the article entitled Circumcision on pages 299-300 in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Verse 4: This issue arose because of false brothers smuggled in, who came in secretly to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. The opponents were false brothers. Paul did not include them among the Galatian Christians. The words smuggled, secretly, and spy further indicate Paul s low regard for these troublemakers. The first two words describe entering by deception or to infiltrate. The third word has an additional meaning of destroying in an underhanded manner. The opponents may 18 Talking About the Gospel
have thought they were defending the gospel. They were actually destroying the church by attempting to add to the gospel. The terms freedom and enslave contrast the false gospel with the true gospel. Paul s message led to complete freedom from the law as a means of salvation. By insisting on any part of the law as necessary for salvation, the opponents were submitting to slavery. The difference between the opposing views is not a matter of degree but of complete separation. Why was the circumcision issue so important to the Judaizers? For the Jewish people it was a sign of the covenant between God and His people. The Judaizers viewed Paul s refusal to insist on it as heretical and as a repudiation of his heritage. Paul s did not ban circumcision, but simply insisted it was not a prerequisite for salvation (see 1 Cor. 7:18-19). Verse 5: But we did not yield in submission to these people for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain for you. No negotiation was possible on this issue, and Paul did not yield to them for even an hour. The line was drawn. Either the gospel was of grace or of works. Add one work to it and you have crossed the line from grace to works. Verse 6: But from those recognized as important (what they really were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism) those recognized as important added nothing to me. The recognized leaders of the church in Jerusalem added nothing to Paul s message. The Judaizers were insisting on something that even the founding Jewish Christians did not require. In verses 7-10, Paul cited support by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem for his mission to the Gentiles. These leaders also recognized Paul s apostleship. Their only request concerned remembering the poor, and Paul did so by taking up an offering from the Gentile churches to support the poorer Christians in Jerusalem (see 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8:1-6). We have seen a portion of the debate in which Paul engaged throughout his ministry. Though the specific issue was circumcision, the overarching issue was the truth of the gospel. It cannot be changed. It is by grace through faith, and not by works of any kind. Paul s conferring with the leaders in Jerusalem reminds us of the need to consistently engage in discussion with our fellow Christians. Christianity, though it is intensely personal, is not a matter of private opinion. How can such discussions help us understand and clearly state what the true gospel is? Because Paul treasured the gospel he preached, he refused to do anything that could be understood as a compromise of it. When we are clear about the true gospel, we will sound off against ideas or actions that compromise it. GROW: In what ways can you demonstrate you have a clear understanding of the gospel? Week of June 7 19