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Moved our exposition of Galatians 
to this evening. I wanted to finish this section 
in chapter 2, verses 6-10. We have the Lord's Supper next 
week, so I wanted to make sure that we didn't forget what we 
saw in verses 1-5. And then, God willing, in two 
weeks' time, we'll begin the section in chapter 2 where Paul 
is dealing with Peter specifically in Antioch. But I'll just read 
Galatians 2 beginning in verse 1. Then after 14 years, I went 
up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and also took Titus with me. 
And I went up by revelation and communicated to them that gospel 
which I preached among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were 
of reputation, lest by any means I might run or had run in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with 
me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 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, to whom we did not yield submission 
even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue 
with you. But from those who seem to be something, whatever 
they were, it makes no difference to me. God shows personal favoritism 
to no man. For those who seem to be something 
added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they 
saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me as the 
gospel for the circumcised was to Peter, for he who worked effectively 
in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked 
effectively in me toward the Gentiles. And when James, Cephas 
and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had 
been given to me, They gave me and Barnabas the right hand of 
fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the 
circumcised. They desired only that we should 
remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. 
Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, 
because he was to be blamed. For before certain men came from 
James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, 
he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the 
circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also 
played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried 
away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were 
not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to 
Peter before them all, if you, being a Jew, live in the manner 
of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to 
live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature and 
not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified 
by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, even 
we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by 
faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the 
works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we 
seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, 
is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not. For if 
I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a 
transgressor. For I through the law died to 
the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with 
Christ. It is no longer I who live, but 
Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live 
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved 
me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace 
of God. For if righteousness comes through 
the law, then Christ died in vain. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you 
for the inscripture or the inscripturated Word of God and for the ministry 
of the Holy Spirit to make these things clear. We pray now, Lord 
God, that you would forgive us for all of our sins and the darkening 
influence that sin exercises and casts on our mind. We pray 
that you would wash us afresh in the blood of the Lamb. and 
that You would fill each one of us with Your Spirit and cause 
us to see the wonder of Christ displayed in this book of Galatians. We thank You for Your mercy. 
We thank You for Your grace. And we pray for the power of 
Your Spirit among us now. We ask through Christ our Lord. 
Amen. Well, remember, this entire section 
is autobiographical in nature. The Apostle Paul is demonstrating 
the divine origin of his apostleship and of His gospel. Notice in 
chapter 1, verse 1, he says, Paul, an apostle, not from men 
nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, 
who raised Him from the dead. And dropping down to Galatians 
1.11, he says, I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel 
which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither 
received it from men, nor was I taught it, but it came through 
the revelation of Jesus Christ." It was crucial that the Apostle 
Paul set forth these facts, because men had come in to the churches 
of southern Galatia, those churches identified in the book of Acts, 
in chapters 13 and 14. the city of Antioch, and Icodium, 
and Lystra, and Derbe. And they had come in and said 
that what Paul was doing was good, but it wasn't the full 
Gospel. It wasn't everything. Not only 
should you believe on the Lord Jesus, but you should obey the 
law of Moses. Very specifically, the command 
to be circumcised. These men were called Judaizers. They were taking the Gospel and 
putting Jewish restrictions on it, or additions rather. And 
so Paul has to defend himself in order to defend his message. And that's what occupies all 
of chapters 1 and 2. We find ourselves this afternoon 
in chapter 2 in that section that we identified as a second 
post-conversion visit to Jerusalem, trying to look at the book of 
Acts, square the book of Galatians with that. This visit seems best 
to fit in with Acts chapter 11, verses 27 to 30. Paul and Barnabas 
go. on the Agabus, the prophet had 
said that there was going to be a famine in Judea. And so 
these men went to bring relief and aid to the churches there 
in Judea. And then according to Acts 12, 
25, they returned to Antioch. And so when we get to Galatians 
2, verse 11, Paul is recounting or highlighting what happened 
when he was in Antioch. And again, we think that this 
took place on the eve of the Jerusalem Council. Many take 
this as a description of Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council. 
Others, and I think correctly, say it's not the Jerusalem Council, 
but rather it happened on the eve of that event. One of the 
reasons why they went to Jerusalem in order to have the council. 
Remember last week we considered his visit to Jerusalem, verses 
1 and 2. The Judaizers were saying he 
was less than James and Cephas and John. He was second rate. He was doing a good thing, but 
he wasn't as legit as those Jerusalem apostles. So, Paul is highlighting 
the fact that he went to visit these men. Not in order to get 
the Gospel. Not in order to be trained or 
taught. He already had that. In fact, he says in verse 2, 
I went up by revelation. They didn't summon him. They 
didn't call him to account. They didn't ask him to defend 
himself. But rather, he went by revelation. And then in verses 
3-5, he highlights the example of Titus. He had Titus with him 
and he was not compelled to be circumcised. Paul would not succumb 
to pressure that men would add to the Gospel. He would resist 
that and he would fight against it with all of his being. And 
now we find ourselves in verses 6-10, the assessment of the Jerusalem 
leaders. While he didn't need it, it was 
good for him to recount what these men said concerning him. One, to put the Galatians at 
ease that what Paul was teaching was in fact consistent with what 
the Jerusalem church was teaching. And then secondly, to shut the 
mouths of the Judaizers, to silence them once and for all. And there's four things that 
these Jerusalem leaders said concerning the Apostle Paul. Notice first, they did not add 
to his gospel. They did not add to his gospel. Notice in verse six, it says, 
but from those who seem to be something. These are the men 
indicated in verse two when he says, but privately to those 
who were of reputation. They are identified by name in 
verse 9 as James and Cephas and John. He is not dissing these 
men. He is again silencing the Judaizers. The Judaizers would have said, 
those men are much better, they preach the truth, you need to 
listen to them. Paul is turning their words on 
them without any disrespect whatsoever to the leadership in Jerusalem. But he speaks of them and he 
highlights this fact. He says, whatever they were, 
it makes no difference to me. Paul was not a man pleaser. Paul 
was not looking for some sort of human agency to sign off on 
his ministry. He knew that he was an apostle 
set apart, not from man, but of God. He knew that his gospel 
was not received from man, but rather it was given to him by 
Christ, on the road to Damascus. He didn't need to be affirmed 
or confirmed by these particular brothers. He says in verse 6, 
God shows personal favoritism to no man. Leadership is inevitable 
in the church. The Bible specifies and highlights 
that. But God does not need leadership, 
and a man like the Apostle Paul does not need that leadership 
to confirm Him. The Lord God is sovereign, and 
He's glorious, and He raised up Paul for a specific task, 
namely, to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Notice what he 
says. For those who seem to be something 
added nothing to me. In other words, if Paul's gospel 
was deficient, if he was deficient in not adding circumcision to 
his message, then certainly these Jerusalem leaders would have 
corrected them or corrected him. Certainly they would have said, 
Paul, what you're speaking is good insofar as it goes. But in order to be genuinely 
effective, You need to go to those Gentiles and you need to 
tell them to engage in circumcision. They did nothing of the sort. 
They preached the same law-free gospel. They preached the same 
doctrine of justification by faith alone. In fact, some people 
try to pit James against Paul. But as we work our way through 
this passage, we see that that cannot be the case. James and 
Paul shake. James and Paul are brothers in 
Jesus Christ. James teaches sovereign grace 
and the necessity of faith just as the apostle Paul does. Paul 
teaches good works and sanctification and a living, lively faith just 
as much as James does. There is no contradiction within 
the scriptural account. It's always amazing to me that 
men will come to the scripture and posit contradiction or paradox. Never for a moment supposing 
that the problem might be themselves. Never supposing for a moment 
that they need to pray more. They need to study more. Not 
just they, all of us. We come up against something 
and we say, well, that's confusing. There's a problem there. No, 
the problem's with us. We need to think clearer. We 
need to pray more. We need to ask God for help. 
And we need to study the Scriptures more. The issue is never with 
God. It's always with us. When you 
have something perfect and pure and we approach it and there 
seems to be a problem, it's not with the perfect and pure. It's 
with the imperfect and the impure. Let's just own that and work 
harder in our study so that we can see how they jive and that 
there is no contradiction between the biblical authors. So they 
added nothing to Paul's Gospel. He had it right. When he went 
to Pisidi and Antioch, when he went to Iconium, when he went 
to Lystra and Derbe, when he said that you can believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ and receive forgiveness and justification 
such that you could not get from the Law of Moses, these leaders 
said, what you are preaching is right. you may turn for just 
a moment to Acts 13. Acts 13, just to get a glimpse 
of his preaching on his missionary enterprise, that first missionary 
journey. Basically what he does is highlight 
the reality of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and that there 
is forgiveness in Him and in Him alone. Interestingly enough, 
he's preaching in a Jewish synagogue at this particular time. And 
he says in verse 38 in chapter 13 of the book of Acts, Let it 
be known to you, brethren, that through this man is preached 
to you the forgiveness of sins." Which would have rocked a bunch 
of Jews right then and there. I mean, they would associate 
the forgiveness of sins with God alone. Remember in Jesus' 
earthly ministry, when they lower that paralytic down into that 
crowded room, Jesus says, Son, your sins are forgiven you. What's 
the response? What does this man think he is? 
Who but God alone can forgive sin? So when Paul in Pisidian 
Antioch in this synagogue said that through this man is preached 
to you the forgiveness of sins, right there he's rocking their 
socks. Right there he's blowing their 
minds. Now look what he says in verse 
39. And by him everyone who believes 
is justified from all things from which you could not be justified 
by the law of Moses. The Law of Moses is not a means 
for justification. The Law of Moses shows you your 
sin. The Law of Moses restrains the 
civil order. And the Law of Moses functions 
as a pattern for Christian living. But it was never given or intended 
as a means for justification. We cannot be justified by obeying 
the Law of Moses. So that's what Paul's preaching. And James and Cephas and John, 
they don't add to him. They don't say, you're good so 
far, but here we want you to go back now and add circumcision. Notice, secondly, they recognized 
his calling. It's very important. Again, not 
because he needed it. We saw last week, Paul is not 
doing this because if they disagree with him, he's going to go back 
to these cities and say, you know, I was wrong. He's convinced, 
he realizes, he knows of a truth that his gospel is right. What 
he is trying to do is facilitate good practice. If the Jerusalem 
church does oppose him, there will be practical issues to be 
sure. There will be nightmares in terms 
of doing Christian missions. So he, as a wise theologian, 
pastor, missionary, goes to this church, again, not for affirmation, 
but to make sure that they can work together in the common cause 
of preaching to the then known world, to Jew and Gentile, in 
order to see Jesus Christ's kingdom advance in this world. They recognized 
His calling. Notice in verse 7, it says, But 
on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised, 
that means the Gentiles, the non-Jews, When they saw that 
the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as 
the gospel for the circumcised, the Jews, was to Peter, and he 
goes on to explain, for he who worked effectively in Peter for 
the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me 
toward the Gentiles. They saw That just as Peter had 
been called uniquely to go to the circumcised, so had Paul 
been called uniquely to go to the uncircumcised. That doesn't 
mean only. Paul preached in Pisidian Antioch 
in a synagogue. He preached to the circumcised. 
Peter would preach to the uncircumcised. Specifically, the household of 
Cornelius in the book of Acts chapter 10. But the idea is, 
there's a division of labor going on. Paul primarily takes the 
task of going to the Gentiles. Peter primarily and the Jerusalem 
elders take the task of going to Jews. A division of labor. Christ is wise. Christ uses his 
resources properly and effectively. He doesn't call a Paul to do 
everything. He doesn't call a Peter to do everything. He divides 
up the labor so that he can get maximum benefit out of his church, 
out of his servants. And so these brothers recognized 
in Paul that he had been set apart. that he had been called 
by God, that he had been graced and gifted for this task of missionary 
enterprise. Notice, thirdly, they extend 
the right hand of fellowship. The Judaizers had better shut 
their mouths now. There's no way they can keep 
up this charade that somehow there was a difference of opinion 
on how to do missions between these two people or groups. They 
extended the right hand of fellowship. Notice in verse 9. And when James, 
Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the 
grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas 
the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles 
and they to the circumcised. Calvin says this right hand of 
fellowship means to have a partnership settled by mutual agreement. 
It's like shaking hands on something to show that we're on board, 
to show that we receive one another. They do this for Paul. They don't 
add anything to His Gospel. They recognize the fact that 
He is called of God, specifically sent to the Gentiles, and now 
they extend to Him the right hand of fellowship. And the grace that He is highlighting 
here, I don't think necessarily means the fact that He's a saved 
man. But the grace that He mentions 
in conjunction with having this calling to preach the Gospel, 
to the Gentiles. He alludes to this in Romans 
1.5, Romans 12.3, Romans 15.15, 1 Corinthians 3.10, Ephesians 
3 and Philippians 1. Paul saw himself by the grace 
of God as a saved sinner, but he saw himself by the grace of 
God as an apostle to the Gentiles. And these men in Jerusalem perceived 
this and they gave him the right hand to fellowship. And then 
notice, fourthly, they commended the poor to the apostle. Notice 
in verse 10. It says, they desired only that 
we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was 
eager to do. Remember, if this is the visit 
recorded in Acts 11, 27 to 30, it's a famine relief visit. Paul 
and Barnabas are there for this very reason. They love the poor. They love those in need. They 
love those who are struggling. Salvation, the grace that they 
had received, the call to apostolic ministry, the call specifically 
to Gentile missions, promoted or produced in them this desire 
to love sinners. This desire to bring tangible 
aid. Remember this morning I said 
justification, when we're saved by grace through faith in Jesus 
Christ, it always results in sanctification. It always results 
in holiness. It always results in a love for 
God and a love for men. And that is displayed here in 
both groups, in the Jerusalem apostles and in the apostles 
to the Gentiles. They love the poor. They want 
to feed people. They want to help people. They 
want to alleviate suffering. They are practical in their Christianity. Yes, they preach doctrine. Yes, 
they proclaim the Gospel. Yes, they proclaim forgiveness 
of sins by Jesus Christ. But they bring food. They bring 
money. They bring aid. They bring tangible 
relief. Later on, Jerusalem, or rather 
Judea, would be affected again by famine. what was going on 
in the first century, but they had some serious struggles. Acts 
11, it was Agabus who prophesied that there would be this particular 
one that I think he's referring to here. But later on, in Paul's 
other missionary endeavors, remember when he tells the Corinthians 
to lay up on the Lord's day, to set apart money. Well, one 
of the reasons why is because he was collecting monies from 
the Gentile churches so that when he returned back to Jerusalem 
in Acts 21, he would have gifts for them. He would not only be 
joined by the fruits of his preaching ministry, there would be those 
who were saved in various cities, messengers, men perhaps, leaders 
in their churches, that would accompany Paul to Jerusalem. 
So that when Paul and James meet in Acts 21, not only does James 
see all these men converted by God's grace through the preaching 
of the Gospel, but Paul also hands him a sack of money. He 
drops on him this support. What does that do? But it tells 
the Jerusalem church that we're all in this together. Jew and 
Gentile are one new man under Jesus Christ the Lord. There 
is no longer this separation. The dividing wall has been abolished. There's no longer these barriers 
between the two persons. But through God's grace, in the 
work of Jesus Christ, Gentiles who were once afar off are brought 
nigh by the blood of Christ. They've entered into the commonwealth 
of Israel. They are no longer strangers 
to the covenants of promise, but rather they are on equal 
footing with Jews, believing in Jesus Christ, obliterates 
those social or ethnic distinctions so that we are together, one 
man, in Christ Jesus. This would always be heavy on 
the Apostle Paul's heart. Turn to Romans 15, which incidentally 
is written after the first missionary journey is over. It is written 
after this particular famine recorded in Acts chapter 11. 
It is something that affected the churches of Judea once again. 
And Paul, writing to the Romans, asks for money, asks for support 
for the people in Judea. Notice in Romans chapter 15, 
beginning in verse 22. He says, For this reason I also 
have been much hindered from coming to you. but now no longer 
having a place in these parts and having a great desire these 
many years to come to you, whenever I journey to Spain I shall come 
to you. For I hope to see you on my journey and to be helped 
on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for 
a while. But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the 
saints. Probably referring to that visit 
recorded in Acts chapter 21. He's en route to Jerusalem to 
minister to the saints. Very specifically, very concretely, 
it is ministry through money, ministry through aid, ministry 
through food, like our brothers are doing in Haiti. They're going 
in there to preach the Gospel. But they're also bringing food. 
They're bringing water. They're seeking to alleviate 
some of the suffering. That pattern was displayed by 
the Lord Jesus. He taught the multitudes. And 
after three days, He fed them. I love the ratio. Three days 
of sermons and three days of teaching, and then you get a 
meal of some fish and bread. Well, we wouldn't stand for that 
today. Three days? You want me to wait three days 
before I get some food in my belly? Well, that was a practice 
set forth by Jesus. The people who have been along 
with us, let's get some food for them. They complained, we 
don't have any food. We got a young man here, he's got a few fish, 
he's got a few loaves. Jesus says, sit them down and 
let's feed them. Jesus preached to them, but he fed them, and 
that's the same thing that Paul is emphasizing here. Notice in 
verse 26, "...for it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia 
to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints 
who are in Jerusalem." It pleased them indeed, and they are their 
debtors. Notice how Paul structures this. 
He says, for if the Gentiles have been partakers of their 
spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in 
material things. You get the idea. Jesus came 
from the line of David. Jesus came to this covenant people. Jesus came to the Jewish nation. And what Paul is saying, that 
the Gentiles have been grafted in by grace. through blood. They 
have been grafted into this one olive tree. And if they have 
been made partakers of these spiritual benefits, well, when 
the Jews are hurting, we ought to help them. We ought to contribute. 
We ought to try and alleviate some of their suffering and some 
of their issues. He says, therefore, when I have 
performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go 
by way of you to Spain. But I know that when I come to 
you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel 
of Christ. So they desired only that we 
should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager 
to do. We need to understand that our 
justification will result in practical Christian living. If you are a tightwad who never 
gives anything to anybody, who hoards everything you have, who 
couldn't part with any money for the church or for suffering 
people without grumbling and complaining and fighting every 
step of the way, it is a very good possibility that you are 
a stranger to the grace of God. You are not saved by giving, 
but you are saved so that you can give. You are saved unto 
good work. God doesn't need our good works. 
Your neighbor needs your good works. God calls us, when we 
are justified by grace, to go and live like the Lord Jesus. He cared for people. He loved 
people. His chief apostle Paul loved 
people and demonstrated that. I love his language. They desired 
only that we should remember the poor. The very thing which 
I also was eager to do. In a very often misunderstood 
passage, notice in Galatians 5, verse 6. A passage twisted by Rome and 
many of her followers to teach that we have to work in order 
to be saved. Notice what he says in verse 
6. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision 
avails anything but faith working through love. A common misinterpretation 
is faith working through love in order to be saved. That's 
not it at all. The idea, as Calvin says, how 
faith functions, not how faith is formed. This is saving faith 
that then works. through love. That is the expression 
of a believing heart. Love to God and love to men. Love biblically defined. Love 
concretely defined. There's a lot of misconceptions 
about what it means to love my brother. Loving you does not 
mean we're together constantly. Loving you does not mean that, 
you know, I send you emails every day. Loving you does not mean 
that I hold the door open for you. It's a good thing if I want 
to do that. You can't say I don't love you if I don't do that. 
Romans 13 defines love in terms of statutory commandments. If 
I don't murder you, I don't commit adultery with your wife, I don't 
steal your stuff, I love you. It may not have all the warm 
fuzzies connected with what we generally think of love, but 
it's concrete. We're not left to wonder. Faith 
working through love looks like obedience to God's holy law expressed 
toward one another. So those are the four things 
that the assessment of the Jerusalem leaders. They didn't add to his 
gospel. They recognized his calling. 
They extended the right hand to fellowship. They commended 
the poor. Thus far in our study in Galatians, 
we see, we have seen, we've witnessed clearly the divine origin of 
Paul's gospel. Three years after his conversion, 
he makes a brief stop in Jerusalem. He spends 15 days primarily with 
Peter, and he also sees James, the Lord's brother, who at that 
time was a leader in the church in Jerusalem. after fourteen 
years after his conversion. That's how I take chapter 2, 
verse 1, when he says, after fourteen years. I think this 
is after fourteen years after his conversion. He makes this 
second visit to Jerusalem after he had been converted. It was 
the famine relief. He goes there not because the 
apostles bid him, not so they could confirm him or affirm him. 
He went by revelation. And while he was there, he had 
discourse with them. He had interaction with them. 
And they made this assessment. They saw the validity of his 
gospel. And so, therefore, the Judaizers had no ground whatsoever 
in trying to pit Paul against the other apostles. Now, we need 
to understand that Paul was unique in redemptive history. If somebody 
wanders in and says, the Lord called me to His service. I'm 
just like Paul. We might want to put the brakes 
on that fellow. Paul the Apostle wrote 1 Timothy 3. Paul the Apostle 
wrote Titus chapter 1. 1 Timothy 3 and Titus chapter 
1 deal with the abiding offices in Christ's church. The apostleship 
is no more. The apostleship is over. The 
two abiding or remaining offices in the church of Jesus Christ 
is that office of pastor, elder, bishop, overseer. All those words 
referring to the same office. And then the other one is deacon. 
Paul regulates. Paul qualifies. Paul stipulates 
what a man must be in order to fulfill the role of elder or 
deacon. So, if a man wanders in and says, 
I was up on Mount Shem, and I had a vision, and I saw dreams, and 
God's called me to preach His holy gospel. We might want to 
just put the brakes on that fellow and tell him, join the church, 
be under the discipline of the church, love the brethren, get 
to know the brethren. Because the way that God works 
normatively is that through the church, they will recognize that 
you are called. Through the church, they will 
recognize that you are gifted. Through the church, God will 
open up opportunities for you to minister. A man's gifts make 
room for him. It is not the other way around. 
A man does not make room for his gifts. A man who wanders 
in and says, I should be your next preacher, is probably the 
last guy that we want. A man who is faithful, a man 
who is godly, a man who displays 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, a man 
who is holy in terms of his family life, in terms of his individual 
piety, in terms of his working relationship and that relationship 
with those on the outside. Those gifts, those graces become 
evident within the church context. And then the church puts forth 
a man. And then the eldership lays hands on a man. And so while 
Paul was uniquely fitted and gifted and called, that is not 
the way men are fitted and gifted and called today. any more than 
Moses would have demanded that Joshua see God in a burning bush 
before he could be a successor. Paul doesn't say, look, everybody 
who aspires to office in the church, you need to fly over 
to Damascus, you need to walk that road, and you need to hope 
that Jesus zaps you. You need to hope that He comes 
to you in power. You need to hope that He comes to you and 
humbles you and says, I am Jesus, whom you are perfect. He doesn't 
do that. He was unique in redemptive history. We have to understand 
that. There's extraordinary situations, 
and then there's normal. Normative is another word for 
it. We are regulated by the Word 
of God when it comes to the selection of officers. When a man wants 
to preach, that's a good thing. Paul says as much in 1 Timothy 
3. But there are certain things 
that have to be true of him before that can take place. So don't 
jump from Galatians 1 to Galatians 1, 1, 1, 11 and 12 and say, wow, 
I got some, you know, good feelings about myself and I really see 
my giftedness and ability. That's not to say you aren't 
gifted and you aren't able, but I'm suggesting that you fall 
into a local church and you're recognized and you're brought 
up and the brethren know you and love you and pray for you. 
so that when elders lay their hands upon you, it is of God, 
and you are assigned or installed by the Spirit Himself, made an 
overseer of that flock. so that you can preach unto God's 
glory and unto their well-being. So, let's not take our ethic 
in terms of church officers from the extraordinary situation of 
Paul the Apostle. Thirdly, we have seen the desire 
of legalists within the context of the church. Notice in verse 
4, just backing up a bit, getting an overview. 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. A man adding works to faith is 
not a man who is out for your well-being. A man adding works 
to faith is a man seeking to bring you into bondage. Remember 
what Jesus said. When you come to the Son and 
you believe in the Son, the Son shall make you free. You shall 
be free indeed. You don't need a man telling 
you, you have to this, you have to that, you have to this, in 
order to be saved. No, it is by grace through faith 
in Jesus. And then fourthly and finally, 
recounting and reviewing, notice what is most important for the 
life of Christ's people in the gathered church. Verse 5, to 
whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth 
of the gospel might continue with you. That's what we're called 
to do. That's how I hope you pray for 
this church. All of the other ministries that 
this church engages in are wonderful. Youth night is a good thing. 
Ladies getting together for coffee, good thing. Men getting together 
on a Saturday morning to eat sausage and eggs, maybe not physically 
the best thing, but spiritually very good. Too many sausages 
and too many eggs are not a good thing in the grand scheme of 
things. Those are all the peripheral things that churches are free 
to do should they choose to. The Reformers were right. They 
expounded the word accurately with reference to ecclesiology. 
They identified three marks of a faithful biblical church. are the preaching of God's Holy 
Word, the administration of the sacraments, and the exercise 
of church discipline. Those things must be present. 
We must pray that God will keep us, that He will cause us to 
be faithful, and that we will insist on faithful, biblical 
exposition of God's Holy Word, that the truth of the Gospel 
might continue with us. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for Your Word and we thank You for this account in 
Galatians 2. And we just praise You for Your 
mercy and Your grace displayed in our Lord Jesus Christ. We 
thank You for the ministry of Paul the Apostle and the various 
letters that he penned. We thank You for the ministry 
of James and of Peter and of John. And God, we truly are the 
benefactors of many rich blessings that You have poured out on Your 
church. And we would ask now that You would just seal these 
things to our heart. It's been a good full day, God. 
We thank You again for the blessing and the privilege of witnessing 
baptism this morning. And we would pray that You would 
go with each one of us now, watching over us in this coming week and 
causing us to walk in holiness and righteousness and to glorify 
and honor our Lord. And we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.