Galatians 2

Galatians 2:1-5 – Titus and circumcision

• Galatians 2:1 – It’s not entirely clear exactly where this fourteen-year interval fits chronologically. This visit in Jerusalem may be the same one mentioned in Acts 15.
• Galatians 2:2 – God told him to go. Compare Acts 15:3.
• Galatians 2:3-5 – Paul took a stand on principle to sow that circumcision was not necessary. (See Genesis 17 for the start of circumcision. In Leviticus 12:3, it was incorporated into the Law of Moses.) Compare Galatians 5:1-3. It is not a sin to be circumcised (notice Acts 16:1 – Timothy was circumcised to allow him to fit in with the Jews he would be preaching to), but it cannot be done as an act of worship.

Galatians 2:6-10 – The right hand of fellowship

• Galatians 2:9 – If this matches up with Acts 15, this must be referring to James the brother of Jesus because James the apostle had already been beheaded in Acts 12.
• Galatians 2:10 – Paul had already delivered aid to needy saints and would do so again. Paul also taught all people, regardless of wealth. He did not shy away from teaching the poor, the wealthy, or the powerful.

Galatians 2:11-14 – Opposing Peter

• Galatians 2:11 – Paul opposing an apostle to his face was a big deal! See Acts 10:28.
• Galatians 2:12-13 – This was a tremendous amount of peer pressure. It was so difficult for these Jews to break away from the old ways.
• Galatians 2:14 – Paul’s quoted words to Peter begin here. Various translations end the quote at different places (verse 14, 16, or 21).
• Galatians 2:16 – No one would be justified by the Law of Moses. What we need is a system of forgiveness, which is the Law of Christ (Romans 3:23-25; 4:4-8).
• Galatians 2:17-18 – See Galatians 5:4. If you try to go back to the Law of Moses, you make yourself a sinner again.
• Galatians 2:20 – See Galatians 6:6.
• Galatians 2:21 – If it were possible to obey the law correctly, Jesus would not have needed to die.

Introduction

• Genesis 1:11-12
• Hosea 8:7 – “They show the wind and reap the whirlwind.”
  • Hosea 8:1 – They had sinned against God.
  • Hosea 8:12
  • Hosea 10:12 – God pleaded with them to be righteous.

Give it time.

• Matthew 7:16
• Job 4:8-9 – Eliphaz understood sowing and reaping only halfway. Sometimes it is not an immediate effect. If we sow righteousness, we may not reap the rewards until after this life is over.
• James 5:7-8

Invest in your relationships.

• Romans 2:5-11 – We may be able to hide evil in this world, but we will eventually reap what we’ve sown.
• Ephesians 5:33 – Roles in marriage defined. We cannot sow selfishness and bitterness in our marriage and not reap a bitter marriage.
• Colossians 3:19
• Ephesians 6:1 – Disrespect damages any relationship.
• Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 29:15 – We cannot sow child-centeredness and reap God-centeredness.

Sow good things!

• Galatians 6:7-10 – Christians should help each other.
• II Corinthians 9:6-11 – Giving cheerfully will be rewarded.

Matthew 6

Matthew 6:1-18 – “so that they may be honored by men”

• Compare Matthew 5:13-16. The motive is important here – glorifying God versus being noticed by men.
• Don’t show off, but serve God sincerely and discretely, maintaining focus on God and His reward.
• Matthew 6:16-18 – See Leviticus 16:29; Acts 13:2-3. Fasting is mentioned under the New Covenant, but not commanded. In those days, they spent a large portion of time preparing food. Taking that time instead to pray or worship would be a considerable change in time usage for them.

Matthew 6:19-24 – “You cannot serve God and wealth”

• Matthew 6:19-20 – This is a not-but statement. It is not a sin to have a bank account. But it is more important to concentrate on spiritual things. See Matthew 5:11-12. Don’t worry too much about this life. See also Hebrews 10:34.

Matthew 6:25-34 – “Do not worry.”

• Jesus is not negating the many other passages about work ethic, but God doesn’t want us to be overly concerned about this life. See Luke 12:16-21.

Introduction

• Exodus 23:2

“Marriages end and kids misbehave.”

• Esther 1:10-12, 19-21 – The king’s wife made him mad, so he got rid of her.
• Temporary marriage license
  • Professor and author Stephanie Coontz put it this way: “In modern society, people are reluctant to enter marriages unless they know they can get out … That’s probably solved already by the availability of no-fault divorce.”

“The culture so quickly says, oh it’s over, it’s not going to work. We live in a consumer society. If something doesn’t work, you chunk it away and get a new one. And that has been translated into relationships … It’s a very pervasive myth today, that a marriage only works if you’re compatible. And couples come up against difficulties, disagreements, conflict, and they think, ‘We’re not compatible’ and so they separate. But actually, with a few very simple tools, they can work through these disagreements.”

• Matthew 19:3-9
• Ephesians 5:22-6:4
• God’s standard has not changed!

“It doesn’t hurt to look.”

• Matthew 5:27-28
• Job 31:1
• What is so dangerous about pornography is that so many people don’t think it’s wrong.
• Galatians 5:16-26
• I Thessalonians 4:1-8

“Just do what’s best for you.”

• Genesis 3:6 – The first sin was all about what Eve thought was good for her.
• II Peter 2:3
• The first thing society does to make sin acceptable is change how things are worded.
  • “Strong woman finds unlikely advisor, learns to stand up for herself.”
• The New Moral Code (Source: Bama OmniPoll, August 2015, Good Faith, p.58)

• Titus 2:11-15
• Luke 9:23

Conclusion

• We must live by the Word of God, not the immoral ideas people have … even if everybody’s doing it.

Galatians 1

Galatians 1:1-5 – Jesus and the Father sent me.

• Paul immediately points out that Jesus and God the Father had sent him.
• He was writing to the churches in Galatia. There is some debate about which region of Galatia this is (northern or southern), but it seems likely to be the southern region. This area includes a number of places that Paul visited on his missionary journeys.

Galatians 1:6-10 – Don’t desert God for a different gospel!

• Galatians 1:6 – They were deserting God by deserting the gospel. See Galatians 5:6-8, 2. You can’t add circumcision to the gospel. That perverts the gospel!
• Galatians 1:8 – Paul says “we,” including himself in the warning. This directly contradicts the teaching the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which teaches that the angel Moroni gave Joseph Smith a new revelation.
• Galatians 1:10 – The word “still” here implies that Paul was previously trying to please man.

Galatians 1:11-24 – Paul’s conversion, independence, and early travels.

• Galatians 1:12 – Paul wasn’t trained by the other apostles. He received direct revelation. See Acts 9:1-2, 13-14. Paul used to operate under authority from Jewish leaders. See Paul’s conversion in Acts 9:3-6, 15-20.
• Galatians 1:13-14 – Paul fully admits that he was wrong. His honesty is admirable.
• Galatians 1:17 – We have little information about Paul’s time in Arabia. Much has been made of it in commentaries, but we simply don’t know.
• Galatians 1:18-19 – Paul had no contact with the apostles until years after his conversion. James the brother of Jesus was not one of the twelve apostles and actually didn’t believe Jesus was the Christ early on. This passage could simply be saying that Paul didn’t see the apostles or James.