Battle For The Gospel

Galatians 2:1-2 Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

Opening: A young preacher asked an older preacher “What can I expect in serving the Lord?”. The older preacher said, “Well, it’s a walk in the park.” The younger preacher said, “GREAT! I thought it would be difficult”. The older gentleman said, “You didn’t let me finish. It’s a walk in the JURASSIC Park!”

It is a joy to serve the Lord, and I am so honored that the Lord called me to this life of ministry. But if you stand uncompromising for the Lord, you will quickly find out that we are at war. The Apostle reminded us that:

Ephesians 6:10-13 (ESV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. [12] For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the RULERS, against the AUTHORITIES, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Those who live for Jesus are battling against impossible odds. If we were merely wrestling against flesh and blood we could go to the gym, bulk up, buy weapons, and defeat the foe. But our battle is not against flesh and blood. We are warring against a spiritual foe who has been tempting and deceiving humans for thousands of years. He has seen all the tricks, tried various methods, and he and his fallen friends (the demons) are given names like:

Rulers (archē), those with vast power, Kings and Presidents
Authorities (exousia), those with judicial power, Judges
Cosmic Power (kosmokratōr), world leaders, Ambassadors
Spiritual Forces (pneumatikos ponēria), fallen demons

The deck is stacked against us. Satan and his forces are in the background. Satanic forces created “Planned Parenthood”, telling us that abortion of an innocent is no more that “health care”. Satanic forces created the “Alphabet Mafia”, who demand that we normalize that which God has scripturally forbidden. Demons inhabit “Mainstream Media”, pushing propaganda and half truths, fear mongering and deception. Evil inhabits our institutions of Higher Learning, teaching that men can have babies, and confusing as well as brainwashing students to where they cannot even answer a simple question like “What is a woman?”. We cannot battle these forces in our own power. We cannot use logic, nor apologetics.

Beloved, you cannot argue with a corpse, and those without Christ are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13). Humans are born into this world disconnected from the Light of God and the Life of Christ. You must be “quickened”. You must be born again of the Holy Spirit.

Illustrate: The Christ follower is like David standing before Goliath. We cannot use a sword, nor even a King’s armor in this battle. What must we rely on? The Rock that is Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). As David did, we gather “five smooth stones out of the brook”. Five is the number of GRACE, and GRACE comes from the Living Water that is Christ (John 4:10; 7:38). We put on the Armor of – not Saul, not human achievement nor human philosophies – but the Armor of GOD. We cling to His Word, storing it in our hearts. The Prophet, attacked from all sides, was reminded by the Lord:

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not My Word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Jesus Christ and His Gospel is a burning fire. It burns up sin, burns up worldliness, it burns up the Goliath of Satanic forces against us.

We Are To Keep Our Eyes On God’s Word

Last week we saw how Paul – called by Grace to be an Apostle – immediately went about serving the Lord. We read:

Galatians 1:16-19 (KJV) immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. 19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

Paul as an Apostle to the Gentiles immediately attended to his calling. He went to Arabia and Damascus, preaching the Gospel of salvation. After three years of ministry (three being the number of God), Paul went and spent a scant fifteen days with the Chief Apostle, Peter. Then he left again to do God’s Work. Fourteen years pass. If you’re keeping track, Paul was:

3 years in Arabia and Damascus
about a month with Peter and James
14 years again with the Gentiles

Galatians 2:1-2 (KJV) Then fourteen years AFTER I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

Paul was seventeen years among the Gentiles preaching the Gospel. So now, Paul takes with him a young convert called TITUS, and he heads back to Jerusalem. Why did he go to Jerusalem? We are told:

vs 2 I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles

God told Paul to go to Jerusalem, and share the Gospel with them. Now wait a minute! SHARE THE GOSPEL IN JERUSALEM? The APOSTLES were in Jerusalem. JAMES, the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem, was in Jerusalem. God took Paul by the arm and told him,

You need to get to Jerusalem.
They are messing up my Gospel.

When Paul got to Jerusalem, it was not his intent to cause trouble. He tells us that he shared the Gospel that he had been preaching “among the Gentiles, privately to them which were of reputation”. He got together with the big name Evangelists in Jerusalem. He talked to the Pastors there, and shared the Gospel that Jesus had told him to preach. Why did Paul take Titus with him? Titus was a Gentile, not a Jew. He was converted to Christ, saved by the Grace of God’s Gospel. When Paul headed to Jerusalem, he headed toward a prominently JEWISH Church. So he brought Titus with him to show that God saves Gentiles, just as He saves Jews.

Interesting Parallel: When the “New World” of America was “discovered” by the Pilgrims, when a ship returned to England they carried a Native American named “Raleigh”. Converted to Christ by the Gospel, he went to England as a witness to the power of God in salvation. The same was true of Titus. Titus was raised a Gentile, and had no exposure to Judaism.

Galatians 2:3-4 (KJV) But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

At this point Paul speaks of CIRCUMCISION. God established circumcision – the cutting off of the male foreskin – as a part of the Abrahamic Covenant to Israel. Circumcision was required of all of Abraham’s MALE descendants as a sign of the Covenant of Israel.

Genesis 17:9-14 (ESV) .. God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

Circumcision is NOT a part of the Gospel. How do we know this? Because it is only on the MALE, not the female. Further, those who are NOT circumcised are “cut off from his people”, not from God, but from the nation of Israel. When Paul took TIMOTHY with him to preach the Gospel among the Jews:

Acts 6:1-3 (NKJV) {Paul} came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

The Jews would not have listened to the Gospel if Timothy, who was half Jew, shared that Gospel with them. Being uncircumcised Timothy would have been “cut off” from Israel, a non-person to many Jews. To facilitate his ministry, Paul had Timothy circumcised.

But Titus was a Gentile. He was not under the Covenant that God made with Abraham for Israel. Titus was not “COMPELLED” (Greek anagkazō, under threat or forced) to be circumcised. Circumcision was only for the Jews, for Israel. It is not an issue of salvation. Paul says he was confronted by those who were those who would sabotage the Gospel.

Galatians 2:4-5 And that because of false brethren {pseudadelphos} unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

The Devil Puts False Converts In The Church

Word Study: “because of false brethren unawares brought in”. The devil’s number one target, that which he works tirelessly to pervert, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If he can pervert the Gospel, then people cannot be brought into a right relationship with God. Paul describes these people as pseudadelphos pareisaktos, which means pretend Christians, those who PROFESS to be Christian, but have not the Spirit of God nor His new birth. Paul uses the same word to the Corinthian Church, when he describes all the trials he went through:

2 Corinthians 11:26 (KJV) … [In] journeyings often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils by [mine own] countrymen, [in] perils by the heathen, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren; {pseudadelphos}

Preach! In my time in ministry, those who have been the most troublesome are pseudadelphos, or pretend Christians. They are still spiritually dead, walking Godless corpses, and are always looking to make trouble. They are in Church to try and take it over, because power, raw power excites them. They study Scripture and twist it, just as Satan the Serpent did in the Garden of Eden. Their intent is not edification of the upbuilding of the Body of Christ, nor are they interested in spreading the Gospel nor Glorifying God. They just want power over God’s people. They are not in the Church because God put them there, but are imports from the devil. Paul says that they are:

unawares brought in {pareisaktos}

They didn’t come of their own volition. They were secretly, surreptitiously planted by the evil one. It amuses me somewhat when people tell me about a “great preacher or orator” who fell from Grace, and destroyed the faith of many. Beloved, if King David could murder a man and take his wife, and when confronted REPENT anyone can do anything. Do you know how David got right with God?

He REPENTED, and RECEIVED the Lord God Christ!

He responded to the Gospel call. The devil wants to pervert and destroy the Gospel. So he plants people in every Church – yes, even ours – who will pervert the Gospel. They will add human requirements like circumcision, a Biblical command for Israel only, and make that necessary for salvation. What is the intent of the Gospel twisters?

who came in privily to SPY OUT {kataskopeō} our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage

They are SPIES. They plot against, watch the effects of the Gospel, then seek to overthrow it. They come out with outrageous things, like:

“If you’re not a member of the Catholic Church or the Church of Christ, you’re not saved.”

“If you’re not baptized by an approved authority of our Church, you’re not saved.”

“If you don’t wear certain color clothing, or fail to marry within your od given color, you’re not saved.”

“You must count beads, or confess sins to a “priest” or a “Father”, or you’re not saved”

“You’ve got to sing certain hymns, and can’t have any of that other music in the service, or you’re lost!”

I can go on and on, because I’ve seen it all over the years. Pharisaical teachings that blend Old Covenant Theology with New Covenant Truth. What did these people do with Titus? I can almost hear it. Paul comes to Jerusalem with Titus to show how God has saved even the Gentiles by the Gospel. These people look Titus up and down, and say,

“Well, has he been circumcised?”
“Does he keep this Festival, or that Feast?”
“Does he eat only ‘clean’ meats?”
“Unless he does these things, he’s not saved because we say so”

It is a god complex, a narcissistic web of evil that strokes the ego of the lost who somehow sneaked into the Church and into the Gospel. The person who points it out is not concerned about advancing the Kingdom of God, but their own agenda.

Galatians 2:5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

Paul said, “WE – Paul and Titus – did not back down one little bit”. He refused the compromise with the forces of evil. The Church at Jerusalem had already compromised the Gospel. Many of its leading citizens had compromised the Gospel. Compromising the Gospel, Pharisees had crept into the Church body, infecting the whole. Their intent was to blend the Old Covenant with the New Covenant, to make salvation a human work.

Galatians 2:6-10 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: 7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; 8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) 9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. 10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

Paul would not give place to the fake Christians, no matter how important they thought they were. Paul said,

verse 6 whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person

I’ve often been told, But Brother David, DR So and So SAID but YOU SAID, so YOU MUST BE WRONG. Well, dear friend, I am often wrong. But I look directly at the Scripture. I have listened to sermons from:

John Piper
Billy Graham
Charles Stanley
Adrian Rogers
J. Vernon McGee
John MacArthur

and there have been times when we have disagreed on certain points of doctrine. Why? Because I point directly to the Scripture, not to what some “authority” has said. Are these men greater than I? Absolutely. I remember the words of the Lord:

Galatians 6:3 if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

I am nothing, an unworthy servant. I follow the plain sense of Scripture, something I was taught years ago by those who mentored me:

“When the PLAIN SENSE of the Scripture MAKES SENSE, seek NO OTHER SENSE”

Paul, I’m sure, was held up to the others who had preached the Gospel longer than he had. He had been in ministry seventeen years, but Peter walked with Christ. But “God shows not partiality” (Romans 2:11). God assigned Paul to a mission, and assigned Peter to a mission.

Verse 7 the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter

Meeting with the Apostles fourteen years before, Paul was examined, and they realized that Paul’s calling was to go to the Gentiles while they went to the Jews. “we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision”. The only requirement that they gave Paul was that they should remember the poor. Those who are poor have a special place in Christ’s heart. He said:

Matthew 11:5 … the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor

Paul Stands Face To Face Against Peter

Galatians 2:11-13 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. {hypokrisis, hypocrisy}

The Jews under the Old Covenant had so perverted the Grace of God, that they made circumcision a point of worthiness. The Jews considered those who were uncircumcised, not of Israel, to be dogs. Our Lord Jesus Christ tested the faith of a Canaanite woman who asked Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter. Jesus told the woman:

Matthew 15:24, 26 … I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. … It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.

When the woman humbly replied, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table”, Jesus commended the woman on her understanding of the Gospel, and healed her daughter. Our Lord Jesus came to give the Gospel to “the Jew FIRST, but also to the GENTILE” (Romans 1:16; 2:9). But the Old Covenant perversion that God never came to save Gentiles, that Gentiles because they were uncircumcised, were to be shunned. In fact,

The Jews used the word “uncircumcised” (Hebrew ʿārēl) as a curse – much as we use the much hated “N” word today (Judges 15:18; 1 Samuel 14:6; 17:26, 36; 2 Samuel 1:20; 1 Chronicles 10:4; Isaiah 52:1)

Israel forgot that it was Grace that led them from Egypt, and Grace that kept them in the wilderness. As a matter of fact, most of Israel was UNCIRCUMCISED WHEN THEY ENTERED THE PROMISED LAND UNDER JOSHUA:

Joshua 5:2-7 (LSB) At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.” 3 So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 Now this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way when they came out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the sons of Israel had walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, were completely destroyed because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh, to whom Yahweh had sworn that He would not let them see the land which Yahweh had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 And their sons whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised because they had not circumcised them along the way.

God did not “cut off” Israel because they were uncircumcised while wandering forty years. Israel did not become “dogs” because they were uncircumcised. They were still God’s chosen People, under His Grace. God’s intent was to use Israel to spread the Gospel. He prophesied this in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 60:3 (ESV) nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Luke 24:47 (ESV) repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Rather than sharing the Gospel with the Gentiles, Peter and the other Apostles and prominent names in the Church at Jerusalem shunned the Gentiles when the Pharisaical Jews were around.

Peter was not being motivated by fear of the Lord, but “fearing them which were of the circumcision”

He was afraid of being shunned for not shunning the Gentiles. I have experienced the same madness along racial lines. I refused to bow to it, and was fired from my first Church.

And I’d do it again.

When leaders of the Church condone that which is Biblically unsound, others follow. Paul wasn’t going to let that happen. He was very plain with Peter:

Galatians 2:14-16 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

When Paul went to Jerusalem – as God sent him – he initially spoke privately with the leaders of the Church there. But when Peter persisted in being a hypocrite, shunning the Gentiles when the Pharisees were around, but eating with them when they were not – Paul called him out publicly.