For the Modern Day Judeaizers...please read this!

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

Galatians 1:13 "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past
in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church
of God, and wasted it:"

Paul is speaking of the law that had been given to the Jews. Paul
was educated by Gamaliel in this law, that they called the law of
Moses. Paul believed that he was doing God's will, when he persecuted
the Christians. He was very anxious to be rid of these Christians and
their gospel. Paul was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, as we said before.
As we have said before, Paul was on a journey to persecute Christians,
when he first met Jesus. It is easier for Paul to witness to someone
that is in the same position he had been in.

Galatians 1:14 "And profited in the Jews' religion above many my
equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the
traditions of my fathers."

Let's look at a few of the Scriptures pertaining to the very
thing Paul is saying here. Acts 22:3 "I am verily a man [which am] a
Jew, born in Tarsus, [a city] in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city
at the feet of Gamaliel, [and] taught according to the perfect manner
of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are
this day." Acts 26:5 "Which knew me from the beginning, if they would
testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a
Pharisee." Acts 26:9 "I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do
many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." We see from
this and the next 2 verses, that Paul had been a Jew, just like them.
In fact, he had been a very strict Jew, a Pharisee. Philippians 3:5
"Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of
Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;"
Philippians 3:6 "Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless."

Galatians 1:15 "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb, and called [me] by his grace,"

God's foreknowledge was that Paul would be an apostle. God called
Paul even in his mother's womb. We are all saved by grace, but Paul's
calling was of grace. God knew the heart of Paul. He knew that Paul
wanted to do the will of God. Paul just did not know the will of God
for his life, until he was blinded by the Light of Jesus on the road
to Damascus. Paul's call was of God, and not man. Paul owed no
explanation to the others. It pleased God to make Paul an apostle.

Galatians 1:16 "To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him
among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:"

Paul did not run and get advice from his friends to make sure God
had called him. This is good advice for us, as well. We must not
question our call. We must do exactly what God has called us to do
without conferring with our friends first. God called you, not your
friends. It would be nice if they approved of your call, but that is
highly unlikely. Notice, what happened to Paul. Jesus was revealed
inside of Paul when the Light of God shined inside his understanding.
This Light of Jesus, does away with all darkness and deception.
Notice, this was for a purpose. Paul was to bring the message God had
revealed to him, so that he would bring it to the Gentiles. God does
not idly call us to a job. Each job God gives, is for a purpose. We do
not question God by getting confirmations from people.

Galatians 1:17 "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were
apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto
Damascus."

Not even the other apostles were to teach Paul. He was to be
taught of the Spirit of God. Paul was in the desert of Arabia 3 years
in training by the Holy Spirit. We will see this in the next verse.

Galatians 1:18 "Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to
see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days."

Peter was the head of the Christian movement at this time. Paul
was showing, that not even Peter taught him what to say. It was the
Holy Spirit. When Paul was ready to minister the gospel, it was
understandable that he would go tell Peter. Jesus had given the keys
to Peter, as we read in the following verses. Matthew 16:18 "And I say
also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Matthew 16:19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven." We can easily see why Paul would have gone to inform Peter
of his intentions to minister.
Galatians 1:19 "But other of the apostles saw I none, save James
the Lord's brother."

James was Mary's son, and would be the half-brother of Jesus.
James was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. We remember that
James and Jesus' other brothers and sisters did not believe Jesus to
be the Christ, until He arose from the dead. Paul is going into detail
about who he had been with, so that all would know that he was not
taught of the other disciples.

Galatians 1:20 "Now the things which I write unto you, behold,
before God, I lie not."

We see an almost identical Scripture in Romans 9:1 "I say the
truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in
the Holy Ghost,"

Galatians 1:21 "Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and
Cilicia;"

Most of Paul's ministry was done as a missionary. He did minister
in Jerusalem, but his primary ministry was in the out-lying area.
Paul established many churches on these journeys.

Galatians 1:22 "And was unknown by face unto the churches of
Judaea which were in Christ:"

Paul did not go to churches that had already been established by
someone else. Paul was an evangelist. His ministry was in starting new
churches in areas where there was no Christian activity. He was one of
the very first missionaries. Jesus had started many churches in
Judaea, Himself. They were well cared for. They were not Paul's
calling.

Galatians 1:23 "But they had heard only, That he which persecuted
us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed."

The word had gotten to these churches in Judaea that Paul, who
had persecuted them in the past, had been saved and was preaching the
gospel to the lost. Some had a difficult time believing that Paul had
changed. Perhaps, this is one reason that Paul went to places that
were not yet committed to Christianity.

Galatians 1:24 "And they glorified God in me."

This had been such a drastic change in Paul, that they knew it
had to be God who did it. Paul was not glorified by these people, but
God. To think that God would save someone who had been so terribly
opposed to Him, was almost unbelievable.

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

Again Jame you in your self righteousness assume no one is obedient to God but YOU and Anna you guys need help

[James Pierce]

Mark,

I never said anything about being saved by the law. Let's make this clear. This is NOT a debate about obeying the law for salvation, rather, its about being obedient to the Lord, showing him that you love him, and it is ONLY them that will inherit eternal life. There is NO other way to obey Jesus, except through the law.

What other way to obey the Lord apart from the law?

If sin is breaking the law(1 John 3:4), then why do you continue to teach that we do not have to obey the law out of loving obedience to Jesus?

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

You who began by grace with no works to contribute are now trying to maintain your salvation by the works of personal faithfulness. Now, instead of “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9), it is “initial salvation by grace, but continued salvation by works.”
We have a tendency as humans to believe that nothing in life is free. So the vast majority of mankind believes they must work for their salvation. Many of those who get past this error still can’t go all the way to completely free salvation. So they invest in a halfway doctrine that says we are saved by grace but must keep our salvation by works or by continuing in faith. These are, for the most part, real believers who were saved without any thought of losing their salvation. They only developed this erroneous doctrine under the influence of others. But they are going to find when they go to heaven that no one is going to be able to claim any merit before or after salvation. We will only be able to fall on our knees before the God of grace and glory and say, “You, Lord, have done it all!”

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

Who say's I am not in favor of obeying God? What you don't understand is righteousness comes through faith in Jesus NOT obeying the LAW! Try obeying the LAW to recieve salvation and you will go to hell.

[James Pierce]

Mark,

Do you have any questions?

[James Pierce]

Mark,

Its about obedience, and not legalism.

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

Galatians 2:1 "Then fourteen years
after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with
[me] also."

It really does not matter whether this 14 years is from the time
of Paul's conversion to Christianity, or that it is from the time he
met with Peter. I believe, in the first chapter, Paul was showing that
his training was not of man, but God. In this chapter, however, we
will see that Paul has ministered with the approval of the apostles
who were part of the twelve. This does not even mean that this is the
second visit that Paul has made. It more probably means another time,
not the second time. We know that Paul had been involved in ministry
for many years at this point. We will find in Paul's journeys that
several ministers travelled with him. He really had a large following
everywhere he went. The reason he mentions the 14 years here, is
possibly to show the success of his ministry. He was so believed, that
men and women followed along with his group and helped him minister.

Galatians 2:2 "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."

It appears from this, that Paul had preached what the Spirit had
taught him, and now he was coming to see Peter, James, and the others
in authority to tell them what he had preached. The message, that Paul
gave here, was not for everyone, but for those in authority, for their
approval. Paul had been ministering this message for over 11 years. He
now wanted the others to approve his ministry. The fact that he "went
up by revelation", means that God sent him. He had never questioned
the message before, but since he was sent by the Spirit, he felt he
now needed Peter and James' approval.

Galatians 2:3 "But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek,
was compelled to be circumcised:"

The doctrine of circumcision and of sacrificing has sprung up in
the church. The Judaizers have insisted that the Christians go back to
keeping the Jewish law. These people had forced Titus to be
circumcised before they would accept him, because he was a Greek. My
own personal opinion is, this is the very reason that God allowed the
temple to be destroyed. In fact, about 20 or so years after this very
happening is when the temple was destroyed. Either Jesus did it all on
the cross for us, or we worship Him in vain. Jesus was the perfect
sacrifice for all time for everyone. To sacrifice after this would be
to say that Jesus was not the perfect Lamb of God. Paul wants to get
this question settled.

Galatians 2:4 "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:"
Notice, in this verse, that Paul says these people were
pretending to be believers in Christ. They were really troublemakers
to try to break up the Christian movement. Many Jews were converted to
Christianity, so it was hard to determine sometimes who was really
converted, and who was there to try to put them back under the law.

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."

Since Paul had founded these churches with belief in Christ, he
felt responsible to keep them in the faith. He would not even give
these false brethren any time to bring their law to the people. He did
not want his people confused by allowing them to hear false messages.
Colossians 2:8 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the
world, and not after Christ." Colossians 2:4 "And this I say, lest any
man should beguile you with enticing words."

Galatians 2:6 "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:"

These troublemakers, that had come into the church, had intended
to put them back under the law. These brand new Christians were
impressed with the authority with which they had spoken, even if they
were not bringing the good news of the gospel. They were tender
believers and must be carefully guarded from false teachings. Paul
says, it really does not matter that they are supposed to be someone
special. Probably they were Pharisees, who thought they were better
than other men. God is no respecter of persons. All of their education
meant nothing to God. Paul had been taught of God. God's teaching was
much above the teaching of man.

Galatians 2:7 "But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of
the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as [the gospel] of the
circumcision [was] unto Peter;"

We know that Paul had been sent to the Gentiles. It was the Jew
who practiced circumcision. Acts 13:47 "For so hath the Lord commanded
us, [saying], I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou
shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." The Jews had
thought themselves to be the only family that God wanted. They thought
themselves to be better than others. Paul had been specifically sent
to the Gentiles. It was Peter, however, who had been present when the
Holy Ghost descended on the uncircumcised Gentiles. Acts 10:45 "And
they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as
came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the
gift of the Holy Ghost." God had shown Peter that the Gentiles were
acceptable to God, even though they had never been circumcised. We see
a direct statement in the next Scripture about Paul being called to
the Gentiles. Romans 15:16 "That I should be the minister of Jesus
Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the
offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by
the Holy Ghost."

Galatians 2:8 "(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the
apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the
Gentiles:)"

I see in this, that Paul is recognizing the ministry of Peter. He
is just explaining that his call and Peter's call of God is to two
different people. This does not mean that Paul never spoke to the
Jewish converts, nor does it mean that Peter never spoke to the
Gentiles. It does mean, that the main focus of their ministry was Paul
to the Gentiles and Peter to the Jews. Let us look at the commission
Jesus gave to Paul in the following verses. Acts 26:17 "Delivering
thee from the people, and [from] the Gentiles, unto whom now I send
thee," Acts 26:18 "To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from
darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they
may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are
sanctified by faith that is in me."

Galatians 2:9 "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."

Now, we see three of the real pillars of the church approving the
ministry of Paul. The right hand signifies the spiritual blessing. Of
course, Cephas, in the verse above, is the same as Peter. Peter, James
{the half-brother of Jesus}, and John blessed Paul and Barnabus in
their endeavor to reach the Gentile world for Christ. Peter actually
was over all of the churches, whether they were made up of Jew or
Gentile. His preaching, however, was focused on the Jew. James was
head of the church at Jerusalem. John is the same as John the
Revelator.

Galatians 2:10 "Only [they would] that we should remember the
poor; the same which I also was forward to do."

Even though their ministries were to a different people, they
were all to remember the poor. Paul did not need instruction in this,
he had been doing that very thing from the very beginning. It seems
the believers in Jerusalem had been poverty stricken, and Paul had
brought the message of charity to the Gentile churches. He explains to
them in the following verses that they are to help their converted
Jewish brothers. Romans 15:25 "But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister
unto the saints." Romans 15:26 "For it hath pleased them of Macedonia
and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which
are at Jerusalem." Romans 15:27 "It hath pleased them verily; and
their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers
of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in
carnal things." The church in Jerusalem was made up of mainly Jews
who had converted to Christianity.