“Truth Matters”
(Galatians 2:1-10)
Series: Set Free To Be Free (Galatians)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
Amen! Always a joy to fellowship one with another. Please be seated. While you are finding your seats, let me share with you another way you can reach out and invite folks to come be with us Easter Sunday.
We’ve got a great staff and some really creative folks. Our student minister Jacob Clutts came up with this idea for a “selfie booth.” It’s a wall you can stand in front of that says “Easter” on it and the times of our services. You stand in front and take a selfie and then post the picture on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. So folks see you and the service times and view it as an invite to Easter services. It’s a great idea. So it’s up today over at the Connection Center.
When Jacob started setting it up Wednesday our staff went over to it to try it out. It’s really designed for 1 to 2 people, but we tried to get all of us in. Here’s a pic: (staff pic).
So we then asked one of our staff to take a typical selfie and asked him to make his lips the way the girls do when they do that kind of duck face thing like they’re kissing? Here’s how it turned out: (Alan pic 1).
We had a lot of fun with this…here’s Alan again. He was a good sport; pic: (Alan pic 2).
So go by the Connection Center today, take a selfie, and post your picture on social media. It’s a great way to invite folks, and a fun way to invite folks, to Easter Sunday services.
Take your Bibles and join me this morning in Galatians, chapter 2 (page 783; YV).
Before we turn to the Word this morning, I want to do something I have never done before. I’d like to share with you a vision I believe the Lord has given me for our church family. It came together last Tuesday morning as I was simply going about the day. Let me explain how it happened and give some background.
This vision was coming together throughout the week and peaked at our prayer gathering service two nights earlier, last Sunday evening. Incidentally, I am loving our times of prayer gathering, the last Sunday evening of each month, as we gather together for guided prayer and worship. Last Sunday night we had a couple baptisms and a wonderful time of worshipful music and prayer. Our theme was largely that of revival and praying for our upcoming Easter services.
So we gathered together and asked God to open our eyes to see people we can invite, we prayed for God’s power to work mightily through our invitations, and we prayed specifically for our Easter Sunday worship services. The service was fantastic and folks hung around the sanctuary long after we had concluded the service. I would estimate as many as 90% of the crowd was still in the sanctuary an hour after the service concluded.
Part of the service included the baptism of a new couple to our fellowship, Mike and Lyndra Nelson (Mike and Lyndra gave me permission to share their story this morning). They completed the “First Steps” new member class and luncheon two weeks earlier. At the conclusion of the luncheon, Mike shared his desire for baptism. He was raised Catholic and said things were different for him now. As a believer in Christ, he desired baptism and was ready to go. At the time, Lyndra also indicated her desire to be baptized so they both were scheduled for baptism to take place last Sunday evening.
But then all of the next week Lyndra re-evaluated her need for, and desire for, baptism. She had been raised Methodist and had been baptized as an infant. She grew up in the Methodist church and enjoyed the confirmation process of the church. As she reflected on her Methodist background she came to feel that one baptism was enough. She shared with Mike that she would support him and would be there to witness his baptism, but that she herself would not be baptized and was okay if that meant that she couldn’t join the church. She would just be a regular attender with Mike.
So Lyndra emailed me Monday a week ago and shared all of this with me. Michele and I were working together at the church when her email came. I remember sort of sighing and saying to Michele something like, “You know, people just need time. We all need time, time to get together, time to share, to talk, to listen, to pray—it’s just ministry.” Michele and I talked about meeting with Mike and Lyndra that evening.
So I emailed back that I supported Lyndra’s decision and that Michele and I would also love to meet with her and Mike and talk further about the Lord and baptism. I suggested we could meet at a Starbucks or something. You know me—nothing goes better with spiritual conversations than the spiritual beverage of coffee! So Lyndra and Mike were open to meeting and we met not too far from where they live across the river. So we gathered at Starbucks that evening and spent about two hours outside—it was an unusually warm evening for Mach—and we talked about the Lord and baptism outside of that coffee shop.
We learned that evening that Lyndra really had a difficult week the week before. She and Mike had a few “discussions” over the matter. We’ve laughed about that word: discussions. It’s a better word than arguments. But you see, Mike was all gung-ho about his baptism and couldn’t figure out why Lyndra struggled so. But for Lyndra, it was the feeling that her Methodist background and experience didn’t really seem to matter to anyone and she really questioned why the need for baptism now. So we took some time to share from the Bible and affirmed Lyndra’s background and we prayed together and talked for some time as we enjoyed good coffee and conversation.
Lyndra texted later that she would be getting into her Bible the rest of the week. It was a really good time together: coffee, Jesus, and friends. We left in good spirits and Michele and I continued to pray throughout the week for God to work in and through Lyndra on this issue.
So Wednesday comes around and Mike is in the “Run for God” class and Michele gives him a copy of Wayne Grudem’s, Systematic Theology. She explains to Mike that we go through this book on Wednesdays here in the sanctuary and gives him the book suggesting that he and Lyndra would enjoy it and that there’s a section on baptism. Mike takes the book home and places it down somewhere and before he could explain to Lyndra, she had picked it up and started reading the chapter on baptism.
The next day, I received this email:
Pastor Todd,
I don’t have much time to explain as I’m still at work, but I sure appreciate the theology book that Michele sent home with Mike last night. It is so thorough and very good at explaining things. Last night I started reading the chapter on baptism and couldn’t stop until I had finished… it was just that interesting. Then I was drawn to the questions at the end as well.
Anyway, I’ve attached a PDF which I would like for you to read if you have time, and then two pics… the second one is the most important as it is Mike’s Birthday card. Today is his Birthday!
So here’s the first picture, a picture of the questions from Chapter 49 on baptism.
*
So Lyndra took out a sheet of paper and answered all of the questions at the back of the chapter. I’ll just summarize her answer from question 2 here:
*
Lyndra writes of her assurance of her salvation: “…I know and believe God’s Son died on the cross to forgive me of all my sins…” and she goes on to say, “BUT, as a believer, baptism is necessary for obedience to Christ.” She adds, “This is a rather new revelation for me…so I would like to be baptized with Mike.” Praise God!
Then, because that very day was also Mike’s birthday, she gives him this birthday card:
*
And on the card, Lyndra writes:
Happy birthday, Mike! I know that both of us have accepted Christ into our hearts, and I believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive all our sins, so we will have salvation…but because God commands baptism for all who believe in Him, I want to share that experience with you on Sunday. Let’s be baptized together, Mike! I love you so much! Lyndra
Amen! So Mike and Lyndra were baptized together. I wish I had a picture of them. They had been married 2 years earlier in an outdoor wedding, casual atmosphere, so they came Sunday evening wearing the same shirts in which they had been wed! Isn’t that wonderful? Baptism was just that meaningful to the both of them: their union with each other through marriage and now their union with Christ symbolized through baptism.
So you see, last Sunday evening with that event and our prayer gathering—asking God to open our church’s eyes to see people we can invite and praying for God’s power to work mightily through our invitations—and there was that video Sunday morning, too, the video of the Moore family and how just inviting people can make a difference for the kingdom. So Sunday evening and towards the end of the day Monday, I really sensed God doing a work in my heart.
And folks, those of you who know me well know that I’m not the sort who frequently talks about special revelations from God or specific vision that I believe God has given our church. But after Sunday evening—along with events that occurred throughout the day Monday—all I can tell you is that by Tuesday morning, last Tuesday morning, I was up and going about my regular routine and a particular phrase kept coming into my head and heart. It was a phrase about our church’s reaching out. It was about all that we have been talking about for the past few months now: making disciples.
Our church’s vision is to “develop generations of God-glorifying Disciples Who Make Disciples from the community to the continents.” We had a special preaching series on this. We have distributed all kinds of materials about disciple-making including a growth guide, how to study the Bible, and a “First Steps” devotional on how to come to Jesus and join the church.
We have this new Sunday school curriculum about making disciples. In fact, the week before that prayer gathering, the personal study in Sunday school was on baptism.
And I was reflecting on how just a little time spent with people over coffee can make such a difference. As we noted often in that preaching series, disciple-making is not just informational it is also relational. It’s having a meal together, having a coffee together. Listening, sharing, weeping, laughing, praying together.
And my heart just began to grow for more of this; more time investing in others to get them to Jesus and then through the baptismal waters. And I wondered how many folks we could reach if we all began really focusing on getting people to Jesus and then getting them baptized. And all I can tell you is that this phrase became foremost in my thinking: “40 by Fall.” 40 by Fall. 40 people coming to Jesus and coming through the baptismal waters by Fall of this year. 40 by this Fall.
It may sound ambitious when you think about how many folks that actually is, but then this is not a really a goal. It is, I believe, a vision from the Lord for our church. I really believe God has emblazoned this phrase, this vision, into my heart: 40 by Fall. It’s not a campaign. It’s not a manmade slogan sent to us from the Baptist leaders at Lifeway. It’s vision. I really believe the Lord wants me to challenge all of us—beginning with me—to reach out, even more intentionally now, getting people to Jesus and then getting them through the baptismal waters.
You know our American church culture is too often defined by dissatisfied members moving from one church to the next. Pastors often refer to this as sheep merely moving from one sheepfold to the next sheepfold. And there are, to be sure, reasons why this happens and sometimes it’s a good thing, but most of us really yearn for new sheep to be born into the kingdom of God; new believers coming to Jesus and then identifying with Christ through baptism, the first sign of obedience to the Lord.
I get excited thinking about God working through our church in the coming weeks! I mean, if we start doing this—and this is biblical; reaching out, getting folks to Jesus and getting folks baptized—if we all raise the bar and really start investing in others, taking time to share a meal or a coffee with others, sitting down on a park bench with others, visiting in the homes of others, telling people about Jesus, helping them to Jesus and helping them to baptism—really getting them connected, what an awesome church our church will be! 40 by Fall. At first I thought, “Lord, that number seems a bit high! Especially relative to how fewer in number we have baptized in recent months.” But then I began to think, “That number may be too low!” But it seems as evidence that this is from God, the number remains 40—a good, solid, biblical, God-sized number for our church family. 40 by Fall.
I shared this vision with our staff Wednesday. I had told no one about it until I was sure it was of the Lord. So I mentioned to Michele before leaving for staff meeting Wednesday. I simply said, “40 by Fall. That’s the vision. I’ll share more later!” Then I went and shared with our staff at lunch. I asked for their feedback and, predictably, they gave their total support.
I envision different folks standing at our baptismal services, introducing people they personally led to Jesus and talked to about baptism. All I am asking is that you stand with me and work together with me to bring this vision to fruition. I want to ask for your amen in a moment, but I want to be clear: God alone gets the glory for what He does in our church. We are His hands and His feet. He works through us all to build His kingdom. We’re just fulfilling the commission He has given to all of us to make disciples.
So let me ask you—40 by Fall—are you willing to stand arm and arm, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart, as together we move forward and bring people to Jesus and bring them to baptism—40 baptisms by Fall? If so, will you say, and say it like you mean it, “Amen?” Amen! Thank you so much for allowing me to share this with you. I really look forward to what God is going to do in the coming weeks and months.
And I look forward to what He is going to do now as we turn to His Word and study this great passage of Scripture, Galatians chapter 2, verses 1-10.
We’re early into a new series of messages through Galatians, a series entitled, “Set Free to be Free” and we are in chapter 2 now. Chapter 2 continues the autobiographical section of the Apostle Paul as he refers to a visit he made to Jerusalem. In verse 1 and following he writes about his second visit to Jerusalem after his conversion. So verse 1 where he writes, “Then after fourteen years,” this is 14 years after his first visit to Jerusalem.
And he writes in these verses about what took place on this visit. Remember that Paul is defending his apostleship and defending his gospel. There’s an underlying charge here from the false teachers, the Judaizers. These are the Jewish believers who were saying that the only way the Gentile Galatians, non-Jewish Christians, could be saved was by not just believing in Jesus, but also by keeping the Jewish ceremonial law handed down by Moses, especially the rite of circumcision. In essence, they were saying a person had to become Jewish to be saved.
Some of these Judaizers were also charging that Paul was not an authentic apostle and that his gospel is somehow different from the gospel of the apostles, namely the “more reputable (cf. 2:2)” apostles—James, Peter, and John. So their charge is that Paul shouldn’t be listened to; his preaching cannot be trusted. What is more, the specious arguments of the Judaizers suggested there was no agreement among the apostles as to the content of the gospel message. So it seems the Judaizers were trying to position Paul against the apostles in Jerusalem, suggesting they were at odds with one another and that the Galatians should just listen to them, the Judaizers.
But Paul demonstrates that there is agreement between his message and the message of the apostles in Jerusalem. He’ll show in our passage today that his gospel is identical to the gospel preached by the apostles. So Paul’s gospel is both independent of the apostles as to how he received it, and also identical to that of the apostles in terms of its content.
Remember that in chapter 1 Paul had said, “Look, I didn’t sit under the private tutelage of Peter or James and take notes while they explained the gospel to me. I received the gospel message independently, receiving it from the risen Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In fact, I wasn’t even around those apostles. When I first became a follower of Jesus I went away to Arabia for 3 years during which time the Lord solidified my understanding of the gospel. I received this teaching independently of the apostles. In fact, even after I returned Jerusalem, I was around Peter for only a couple weeks and didn’t go back to Jerusalem until 14 years later!” And this is where we now pick up.
Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word. Our study will cover the first 10 verses, but I’ll read just the first 2 verses before we pray.
1Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me.
2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.
Let’s pray.
So again, Paul, having demonstrated in chapter 1 that his gospel message was received independently of the apostles, now shows that his gospel is also identical to that of the apostles. So though he did not receive his gospel from them—he had received it from the Lord Jesus—his gospel is nevertheless the same gospel.
Paul discovers this to be so after he makes his visit to Jerusalem. He goes back to Jerusalem and takes along two fellas—a guy named Barnabas (a Jewish Christian whose name conveys encouragement) and Titus, a Greek fella, a non-Jew, a Gentile.
So he goes up, verse 2, “by revelation,” by a revelation from God; we’re not told any more about that (but cf. Acts 11: 27-30). But he goes up and communicates the gospel that he had been preaching to the Gentiles for 14 years now.
And verse 2 says that Paul communicated his message of the gospel to the Jerusalem leaders there in private. Verse 2 says: “but privately to those who were of reputation,” privately to those who were considered the superior Jewish Christian leaders. And Paul gives the reason he shared his message with them privately. He says at the end of verse 2: “lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.”
A paraphrase of that statement is this, Paul could just as well have said: “I know the gospel message. I have been preaching the gospel message that we are saved by grace alone, through faith, in Christ alone, for 14 years. I am in no doubt as to the content of the gospel message. I received it from Jesus Himself! The reason I met with these leaders in Jerusalem was to make sure they were preaching the same gospel! I didn’t want to discover that I had been running my race in vain, these leaders preaching against the truth I’ve been preaching all over Gentile territory!
In other words, he wanted to be sure the Judaizers had not fouled up everything, impressing their false gospel upon the apostles in Jerusalem. That’s why he meets with them privately. It was not that Paul needed to be sure his gospel was correct or that he feared the apostles. My word, he had been preaching this gospel 14 years! It was rather that he wanted to be sure they were preaching the same gospel message, that the Judaizers had not “gotten to them,” as it were.
Now, much to his delight, Paul discovers that the apostles there in Jerusalem are preaching the same gospel, praise God. They were not preaching that Gentiles needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. That’s why Paul writes in verse 3, see it there:
3 Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
Circumcision may raise some questions. Put simply, circumcision was an Old Testament way of showing that one belonged to God. Male Israelites were circumcised a few days after birth. Circumcision, the surgical procedure of the cutting away of skin, showed that these Israelites were different from non-Jewish men, set apart, or marked for God. I don’t want to be irreverent here, but you might think of circumcision a bit as you would a modern tattoo where a common imprinted image is worn by those who affiliate with each other. It is a marking meant to show that a person belongs to a particular group. Those without the marking do not belong to the group. So this was a big deal to the Jews, who, for centuries lived in accordance with the Jewish ritual of circumcision. They believed it was tied to their salvation. It was not. But they believed it was and they were foisting this false belief upon the non-Jews, the Gentiles.
Remember that the catchphrase of the Judaizers, the false teachers, is recorded in Acts 15:1, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved!”
So these Judaizers, people Paul refers to as “false brothers” or “false brethren” were sneaking around to see whether folks were preaching this message, this false gospel, that “Unless one is circumcised he cannot be saved.” Paul refers to them in verse 4:
4 And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),
So these false brethren were like “temple crashers,” sneaking into the worship service to spy on Paul and others, hoping to persuade them to preach a gospel of faith-plus-works salvation, hoping to persuade them to add to the gospel, making it a gospel of works, thus tying them up in bondage to Mosaic rules and regulations.
But Paul says, “We didn’t give them an inch!” Verse 5:
5 to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
Then Paul refers to his private meeting with James, Cephas (another name for Peter), and John; the men “of reputation” to which he referred in verse 2 and identifies by name in verse 9. It is these men, James, Cephas, and John to whom Paul refers in verse 6:
6 But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.
This phrase, “seemed to be something,” is not meant by Paul to be derogatory. Paul is not being disrespectful here by referring to James, Cephas, and John as “those who seemed to be something.” His use of the phrase indicates rather that these were the men the false teachers, the Judaizers, had suggested were the folks to whom the Galatians should listen and that they were not on-board with Paul. It’s as though these false teachers were saying, “Look Galatians, forget about Paul. His message is wrong and he’s preaching something at odds with the “elite” leaders in Jerusalem. In fact, were you to travel to Jerusalem you would find that these pillars of the church—James, Peter, and John—would agree with us.”
So Paul says, “Well, I went to see James, Peter, and John and guess what?! They confirmed that the message I had been preaching—that man is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone—is the same message they had been preaching. There is only one gospel. So the apostles in Jerusalem added nothing to my message. That’s the sense of the last phrase in verse 6: “those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.
“They didn’t ‘correct’ me and say that I had to add something to the gospel message in order to ‘fix it.’ There’s nothing to add. It is the self-same gospel all the apostles are preaching. No one disagrees. Everyone is in apostolic harmony.”
Everyone is preaching the true gospel: that man is not saved by what he does, but by who he knows. The Old Testament rules and rituals were given to show us our sinfulness, to show how incapable we are of keeping them. They were given to lead mankind to Christ. And when Christ came, it was not that He abolished the Old Testament law, but rather that He fulfilled it, fulfilled it all perfectly for all those who would believe Him and receive Him as Lord.
So Paul goes on to say that that Jewish leaders there in Jerusalem, these Jewish Christian leaders, were not preaching the need for circumcision, at all. Rather, verse 7:
7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me (Paul, preaching to the Gentiles), as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (Peter, preaching to the Jews)
8 (for He (God) who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised (Jews) also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles),
Okay, so when James, Cephas, and John saw that God was working through both Paul to the Gentiles and Peter to the Jews, when they saw this and, verse 9:
9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars (as the Judaizers deceitfully proclaimed), perceived the grace that had been given to me (that God was working through me), they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship (a way of saying, “We’re in agreement here!”), that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
10 They desired only that we should remember the poor (like those to whom our mission team in ministering to in Whitley City this week), the very thing which I also was eager to do.
So Paul says, in essence, “We are in agreement! My gospel is the same gospel as the “pillars of the church” in Jerusalem. Same gospel. Man is not saved by grace, through faith—plus works, no! Circumcision is not necessary for salvation because man is not saved by what he does, but by Who he knows.
This is the main thrust of the passage. It is a passage, then, that shows that “truth matters.” It really does matter what we believe. The truth of the gospel was worth Paul’s trip to Jerusalem, his calling out of the false teachers, and his writing this letter to the Galatians. Truth matters. So let me give you, in closing, these three take-home truths for further reflection today and this week.
**Truth that Matters:
I invite you to write down these three truths and discuss them later in your small group Sunday school class or in your family or with friends this week. Number one, first truth that matters:
1) We must know the one and only gospel
Paul is at pains to teach the one and only gospel in this letter. Remember that he had said in the opening chapter, chapter 1 verse 8: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
There is only one gospel. We have summarized it in this phrase: “we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.”
So we are not saved by faith plus anything. We are not saved by believing in Jesus plus baptism, or believing in Jesus plus speaking in tongues. We are not saved by what we do, but by who we know.
This means God does not accept us based upon our performance. He doesn’t decide to love us more or love us less depending upon how we perform for Him. The one and only gospel is that we are saved by grace, through faith, in Christ, alone!
Second truth, number 2:
2) We must maintain the one and only gospel
Paul was dogmatic about preserving the gospel. In fact, he was not only dogmatic, he was bulldog-matic! Again, “even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed!”
Yet Paul also believed that God uses this same gospel to reach different folks of different geographical backgrounds and cultures—like Barnabas and Titus. So he was willing to bend in order to reach folks for Christ, just so long as the gospel was not compromised. We can maintain and preserve the one and only gospel and be flexible in the non-essentials.
Like Paul we too should be willing to bend on the non-essentials, things like worship customs, dress, music, and so on.
Finally, number 3:
3) We must share the one and only gospel
This gospel, this good news, is news too good to keep. We are commanded by our Lord Jesus to share this one and only gospel with others. And there are no boundaries of culture or country. That’s why our vision statement is modeled largely after the great commission. We are making disciples who make disciples from the community to the continents.
People need Jesus. That’s why we share Jesus. Because people are lost without Christ. So we invite people to come, to come be with us in worship. We are always and forever inviting people to Jesus—getting them to Jesus for salvation, and then getting them baptized as the first step of obedience as a new believer.
RESPONSE:
Have you received this one and only gospel? Do you know the truth? In response to the divine working of the Holy Spirit, have you said “yes” to Jesus? Have you, in response, decided to follow Jesus?
In a moment we’re going to sing of our following Christ. Every one in this room is either following or not following Jesus.
Turn to Him today and follow Christ! Only He can save. If you don’t know Christ today, I’m inviting you to come forward for prayer and we’ll pray with you that you will leave her changed, saved, forgiven.
Some of you would like to come forward for baptism or to join the church. I invite you to come after I pray and we begin to sing. Just come forward and say, “I’m coming to follow Christ,” or, “I’d like to be baptized,” or, “I’d like to join the church today.”
Let’s pray.
1 I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
no turning back, no turning back.
2 Though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
no turning back, no turning back.
BENEDICTION:
Amen. It’s been a joy to be with you this morning! Come back tonight. Kenny Noblett is preaching the Word. Kenny was also on the recent mission trip to our partners in Central Asia. I’m sure he’ll have something to say about that, too! Tonight at 6.
Remember the vision: 40 By Fall. 40 By Fall.
And remember to stop by the selfie booth (Alan pic 3). Take a picture of yourself and post on social media. Great way to invite folks to Easter Sunday services.
God bless you as you go to Sunday school. Have a great time as you go and we’ll see you tonight at 6. Love you all. God bless.
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