Galatians
Unbound, Unchained, Unbroken
Week 3 | Galatians 2:1–10
Lisa Scheffler, author
Welcome back for Week 3 of Galatians! If you’d like to try the Engage God Daily in a different format, check out our audio version, available at bit.ly/EngageGodDaily
Many people define freedom as “doing what they want.” Those people want to live how they want to live, without judgment. While they understand that freedom can’t be unlimited — you can’t have a functioning society where people are free to harm one another — they want as few restrictions as possible. If life is a highway where you have to stay within the guardrails, they want it to be a sixteen lane freeway.
Galatians is a book that talks often about freedom, but the way it’s defined is far better for humanity than this modern conception. While Paul wanted people to be free from hypocritical social constraints and restrictive religiosity, for Paul, freedom was found in Christ — not in self-indulgence.
Those who believe the gospel, trust in Christ, and are led by the Spirit are truly free. Free to be truly human in the way God designed. Free to be received into God’s presence and welcomed into his family. Free to love God and others without restraint. Our study of Galatians is helping us understand what that freedom looks like for us as individuals, communities, and as part of God’s new creation.
We are beginning chapter two of Galatians, and are still in what scholars call the autobiographical section of Paul’s letter. So far we’ve seen Paul defend his calling and the gospel he’s shared, and he’ll continue to do so in the verses we’ll look at this week. We’ll also gain additional insight into the importance of believing the gospel because without it, there is no true freedom.
Day 1
As we’ve learned, Paul brought the gospel to the region of Galatia on his first missionary journey. Sometime later, another group of missionaries went through the area “correcting” Paul’s message by insisting that believers “add” to their belief in Jesus by converting to a Jewish way of life, and following the Mosaic law. In other words, they claimed that believers needed Jesus + the law to become fully acceptable to God, and be fully accepted into his covenant community. When the news gets to Paul that some of the Galatian believers have trusted in this false gospel, he is outraged and deeply concerned for them.
In our passage for the week, we’ll see that Paul was walking a narrow line. He defended his message by stressing his independence from any human source, including the apostles in Jerusalem. As we saw last week, Paul insisted that the gospel he preached came directly from God. Nevertheless, in this week’s passage, we’ll see that he acknowledged the approval these leaders offered. In other words, Paul is not beholden to the other apostles, but he wants the Galatians to know that they accepted both him and his gospel to the Gentiles.
As you read the verses below, see if you can trace the line that Paul is walking.
Read
Galatians 2:1-10
Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
6 As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.
Remind yourself of Paul’s timeline as laid out in Galatians 1:15–24. Where did he go immediately after his encounter with Jesus? Where did he go next?
By telling his story the way he does, how was Paul insisting on the integrity of his message? What role do you think the other apostles played in lending it credibility?
Respond
Paul knew that there was no freedom apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ. So while he was pleased the other apostles accepted him and his message, their disapproval would not have stopped him. Paul knew that only those who trusted in the true gospel would be able to live free — free from sin and free from the law. To return to the Jewish law would be going backwards into slavery instead of embracing freedom in Christ. By his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus set us free.
Last week we reflected on some of our “God stories” and were encouraged to share them through meaningful conversations. This week, think about how Christ has set you free and what he has set you free from. Then think about how you could share those experiences and insights with someone else so they might experience Christ through you.
There may be areas in your life where you are not experiencing Christ’s freedom. In prayer this week, be completely honest about those with God, and ask him for help and guidance. Let this be the week that you embrace true freedom.