Galatians 2 (2)

Pray Psalm 119.129-131.
Your testimonies are wonderful;
Therefore my soul keeps them.
The entrance of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
I opened my mouth and panted,
For I longed for Your commandments.

Sing Psalm 119.129-131.
(No Other Plea: My Faith Has Found a Resting Place)
Your testimonies, LORD are sweet; I hide them in my soul.
Your words give light unto my feet, and make my thinking whole.
I open wide my mouth to You: LORD, feed me with Your Word!
I vow that all You say I’ll do: I love Your precepts, LORD.

Read Galatians 2.1-5; meditate on verses 4, 5.

Preparation
1. How did Paul regard the “false brethren”?

2. How did he respond to their demands?

Meditation
What had “occurred” was that “false brethren”—members of the sect of the Judaizers—upon learning that Titus was Greek, had no doubt asked whether he had been circumcised and insisted that, if not, he must be.

Paul did not regard these men as true believers. The reason is simple: They did not believe the Gospel as he and the other apostles taught it. The Judaizers taught a version of “Jesus +” which, in the end, amounts to a form of salvation by works. In Paul’s mind, no one who believed and taught that way could be a Christian.

Why not? Because Jesus-plus-works of any kind makes salvation a matter of one’s own doing. Either Jesus saves us, by grace through faith, or he does part of the work and we finish it up by whatever. Believing this way detracts from the uniqueness of Jesus’ work and puts us on the glory platform with Him. We share the gold medal of salvation because we both had a hand in it.

No way says Paul. Not for a moment. To give into this demand would have put Paul and Titus and everyone else in bondage to the lie. They would have forfeited their freedom to rest in Jesus and His work alone for salvation. And their message would have been fatally compromised.

Paul was unbending. Not “even for an hour”—perhaps to think about it?—would he yield, but he told them right to their faces, immediately, “No way!” By boldly resisting this temptation—after all, they were in Jerusalem, on the home turf of these slick deceivers—Paul preserved his integrity and his message. And he insured that his ministry to folks like the Galatians would continue unimpeded and uncompromised.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
When Ahasuerus the king had a bit of a kerfuffle with his wife Vashti, he sought out wisdom from the wise men in his court “who understood the times (for this was the king’s manner toward all who knew law and justice…)” (Esther 1.13).

And Paul’s response to the Thessalonians’ bad decision-making, was to praise the Bereans’ good: “These were more fair-minded (noble KJV) than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17.11).

“To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity;
To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—a wise man will hear and increase learning,
and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel… (Prov. 1.2-5).
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and
The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9.10).

When we are grounded in the Word of God, daily seeking His wisdom and conversing with Him in prayer, when our every thought and decision is made within the thinking realm of His Kingdom and glory, then we will never be led astray no matter how stealthy, sly, or sneaky our enemy happens to be.

We must not be “low information” Christians: those who behave like children, “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting…” (Eph. 4.14).

For example, there are many today that fall for the ploy of “tolerance” as opposed to following God’s Law of loving liberty. They believe the lie that says liberty means to tolerate anything and everything that someone wants to do; that this is showing love—but it is not. Just because your child really, really wants to drink poison does not mean you must allow it—tolerate it—which would not be showing love, but hatred.

However, unless we have the barometer of the Law of God deeply imbedded in our hearts and minds, we will be led astray by whatever seems to be the absurdity du jour. If only Christians would lovingly stand for the Law and live our lives accordingly, we would have a tremendous witness just by keeping it.

“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
But such as keep the law contend with them” (Prov. 28.4).

We must be as unbending as Paul: to preserve our integrity and our message and to make sure, above all, that our ministry to those in our Personal Mission Field will “continue unimpeded and uncompromised”. To “deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter” (Prov. 24.11).

The power to do this work comes directly from the Holy Spirit; and the wisdom to do it comes through the Word of God: “I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart.

Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end” (Ps. 119.32, 33).
Unbent.

Reflection
1. What’s one way you have been growing in the Lord and in His Word of late?

2. Can you think of a situation in which you might be tempted to “bend” a little in your faith? How can you avoid that happening?

3. Whom will you encourage today to continue “unbent” in devotion to the Lord and His Word?

There had crept into the church of Christ men who were preaching not Christ but Judaism, but who were nevertheless pretending to be Christians because that way they could make a greater impression on the simpler sort of people. For that reason Paul compares them with saboteurs who worm their way into castles and cities in order to betray the freedom of the army or of the cities to the enemy. Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), Commentary on Paul’s Epistles

Pray Psalm 119.132-136.
Thank the Lord for His Word. Pray that His Word will guide your every step today. Pray for specific situations and for the counsel of God’s Word to guide you in them.

Sing Psalm 119.132-136.
(No Other Plea: My Faith Has Found a Resting Place)
Look on me, LORD, with mercy as on all who love Your Name.
Direct my steps to keep Your paths, and all Your Word proclaim.
Yes, let Your Word my shelter be; rule over all my soul,
and keep me from iniquity; my every way control.

Redeem me from oppression, LORD, from those who hate Your way,
that I may keep Your holy Word and serve You day by day.
Shine on me with Your glorious face; Your servant, LORD am I,
so teach me by Your holy grace; Your Word to me supply.

LORD, see the world in lawlessness, how love has grown so cold.
Look down, O LORD, to save and bless; let grace and peace take hold.
Though many look on You with awe, rejoicing in Your Word,
I weep for those who void Your Law and spurn Your grace, O LORD.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.