¹ God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

This verse is a great comfort for troubled hearts. It promises Divine help to see us through the difficult times of life. Three things are said in this verse about God’s help. They involve shelter, strength, and steadfastness.

Shelter. “God is our refuge.” Refuge here means shelter. God is a place where we can go for protection. One of the old hymns is entitled, “Shelter in the Time of Storm.” That is exactly what God is. And the best shelter is the shelter He provides for us in Jesus Christ. Through His death on the cross we are sheltered from eternal judgment on our sin. We can shelter in Christ and be spared that judgment storm. I praise Him for that!

Strength. “God is our . . . strength.” We really need Divine strength to live right and to keep going in times of trial. Temptations are so many, and they are so strong. They “compass us about on every side.” We wonder sometimes if we will survive. We feel so weak and so unable to overcome the assaults of Satan at times, don’t we? Also trials threaten to overwhelm us, and we sometimes think we simply cannot keep going. Have you ever felt that way, too? The truth is that God will give us the strength we need to meet every temptation and trial in life. The Apostle Paul emphasized this truth when he said, “¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Paul faced many difficult situations in his life which would cause lesser men to give up and quit. But he sought strength in the Lord and that enabled him to stand faithful and keep going amidst the most difficult times.

Especially do we receive strength through the gospel. Notice this connection in Revelation 12:10: ¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down” (Revelation 12:10). Power or “strength” (KJV) comes when Jesus shut the mouth of the “accuser of our brothers”. In other words, because Jesus died for us the devil cannot accuse us. Jesus took all our sins and wrongs and in so doing gave us strength. 

Steadfastness. “An ever-present help in trouble.” So many things fail us when trouble comes. In the sunshine we do well, but when trouble comes it seems we are suddenly all alone and desolate. When trouble comes, friends and many other things which we thought would help in trouble fail us instead. But God will not fail us in our troubles. Trouble is when His help really shines. The words “an ever present help” literally means that God is a very accessible help. He is close by to help. He is only a prayer away. We can obtain His help quickly. And in trouble that is very important.

We’re in Galatians chapter 2. And I want to begin this morning by reminding us that guilt is the universal problem of mankind. Every person has guilt—whether they feel it or not. And every person tries in some way to escape from his guilt. You might know that primitive tribesmen sought to get rid of their guilt by appeasing their imagined gods with dances, chants and other rituals. Now cultured, more sophisticated people might take the escape route of psychoanalysis or by turning over a new leaf and trying to do better. Some people try to rid their guilt by positive thinking and self-confident living. Others try to escape through sex, alcohol, or drugs.

In the Old Testament, Cain brought veggies to the Lord as a sacrifice. He brought the fruit of his own works. His sacrifice to God was based on his own efforts. Every person since then who has tried to come to God on the basis of his own works has followed the way of Cain. But the problem was Cain’s sacrifice did not remove his guilt but in fact, it increased it.

Abel on the other hand, offered a blood sacrifice, and by so doing he jumped across the centuries and by faith viewed the cross upon which Jesus would die to remove Abel’s guilt. God accepted his offering, and God removed his guilt, because it was done in faith and obedience, and because it had the shedding of blood—and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Since the time of Cain and Abel these two different religions have developed: one of works and the other of faith. The person, who follows the way of Cain, the way of self-effort and works-righteousness, follows Satan’s lie and dies a guilty sinner. The person, who follows the way of Abel, the way of faith in the blood sacrifice, follows God’s truth and is relieved of guilt.

At the time of Christ, most of the Jewish leaders proudly believed their religious works gained them favor with God. And it was from among these legalistic Jews that the false teaching in Galatians came. They taught that new believers had to be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses in order to be saved. Their teaching perverted the gospel and resulted in confusion. And last time, we saw the Apostle Paul went up to a leadership council in Jerusalem to preach the gospel and remove the confusion. And today we will see that Paul has to confront Peter on his false teaching. And he has to bring clarity as to how people are saved from sin and guilt. So in our study today we want to look at these 3 main points. First, we’ll see the confusion, second the confrontation, and finally we’ll see the clarification. Let’s pray.

Now in the first part of chapter 2 Paul goes up to this council of Christian leaders at Jerusalem. And he takes Titus, who is a Gentile believer along with him. And in vs. 2, Paul set forth the gospel that he preaches among the Gentiles.

Now notice that initially you have everybody together in unity. In vs. 9 you have James, Peter and John, giving Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Everybody is together; James, Peter, John, Paul, Titus and Barnabas. All the leaders together. Everybody in unity, right hand of fellowship being extended, all is well. But then something goes wrong. Notice vss. 12-13 ¹² Before certain men came from James, he (Peter) used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. ¹³ The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.  

Ah Peter becomes a hypocrite. The Greek word has to do one who puts on a mask. A put-on, a fake. He’s just doing what he used to do. Remember in the book of John when Jesus was going to be judged by the Sanhedrin? Peter drew back and followed Christ from a distance. And here he is doing the same thing. He is fearing man, fearing the Jews, and so he draws back and separates from the Gentile Christians. Proverbs 29:25 says “the fear of man is a trap.” And Peter has fallen in to a trap.

And what is the result? We have Paul and Titus on one side, and Peter and Barnabas on the other side. There is division here. There was unity, but now there is division. And so we can learn that false teaching and hypocritical living results not only in confusion but also in division.

Notice in vs. 13 it says that Barnabas was led astray, and those words “led astray” come from the Greek word synapagō and this word means “to take off together”, or “to transport away”. It carries the meaning of being seduced and deceived away from the truth. Peter was seduced and deceived and he and Barnabas took off together and were carried away from the gospel. And so there was division because somebody became seduced away from the pure and simple gospel.

And this same danger exists today; you or I might become deceived and led away from the gospel if we aren’t careful. Please turn back one book with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 11.  I want us to see a warning together. Paul is talking to the Corinthians, and he is concerned about them because they are putting up with false teaching. And so he says in vs. 2: “² I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. ³ But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (Well how would they be led astray? Vs. 4 tells us:) ⁴ For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” That’s how they would be deceived, just by listening to some different message, some different Jesus or some different gospel.  

You see God has given us one Jesus, Who is Lord and God over all. He has given us one gospel; that Jesus took our sins on Himself and was punished instead of us. On the cross Jesus took our guilt on Himself and suffered God’s wrath for us, and through His death He has cleared us of any and all wrongs, and has set us free from sin. Listen to the clarity of the gospel in Hebrews 9:26: ²⁶ But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” If you’re a believer your sin and guilt is done away with at the cross. And then Jesus rose from the dead, because the grave could not contain Him and Satan could not keep Him, and He rose for your justification. Romans 4:25 says, “²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

He died for us, He rose for us. That’s the clarity of the gospel. Paul says any one of us could be deceived away from pure devotion to Jesus by putting up with another gospel. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been Christians, it doesn’t matter what positions we have held, it doesn’t matter how devoted we used to be, or how nice we are. We could be deceived through false teaching if we don’t love the gospel. And false teaching always leads to confusion and division.

I want to illustrate this point for us. Please turn with me back to Genesis chapter 3. Now you’ll remember that in the Garden of Eden everybody was in unity and harmony. Adam and Eve were happy and loved each other, and they fellowshipped with God, walking in the garden together. This was Paradise! But then something happened, and all of a sudden we see Adam and Eve hiding from God instead of fellowshipping with God, so their relationship with God was broken. And not only that, but we see Adam and Eve’s relationship broken. Adam was loving and cherishing his wife, and in vs. 13 we see him blaming her and accusing her. He has turned on her, and their relationship becomes broken.

What has happened here? Well, we say, that’s easy, sin has come in and destroyed the relationships. God said not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or they would die, and they ate, and sin brought about division. Yes, but what prompted the sin? What can we trace all these problems back to? Notice vs. 4 where Satan says “you will not surely die” and vs. 5 “you will be like God.” This is a lie. That is false teaching. This division can be traced back to Adam and Eve listening to false teaching and following it. This is exactly what Paul warns us about. And there are websites and YouTube videos and commentaries that sound good, that seem logical, but are not founded in and based on the gospel. And they are false teaching. No wonder Colossians 2 says that in Christ, ³ …are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

We should add that false teaching does not have to come through Satan, or come through somebody who intends to deceive. False teaching can come through a minister of God, a Reverend, or a Christian leader. And that is precisely what is happening in chapter 2 of Galatians with Peter. Peter is not a wolf in sheep’s clothing; he’s a man of God. He is a true brother in the Lord. But right now he is a deceived brother, a hypocritical brother, a brother who is leading people astray.

So let’s see the confrontation that has to happen. Let’s read Galatians 2 vs. 11: “¹¹ When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. And notice vs. 14: “¹⁴ When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”

As a Christian Peter is not under the Old Covenant Law, the Law of Moses. But Peter is teaching and forcing others to be under the Law of Moses and to follow the customs of Jews. In other words, he is teaching what is false and is a hypocrite, a mask-wearer.

So Paul confronts him personally, “face to face”, and confronts him publicly “in front of them all.” Please turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter 5. Paul is talking about elders here, and he says in vs. 19: “¹⁹ Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.” The reason there has to be two or three is because one person might not understand the situation clearly. So we don’t give an accusation against an elder a second thought if it comes by just one person. But if two or three witnesses establish the matter, and the elder is found to be teaching falsely like Peter, verse 20 says the elder who lives in this sin is ^20….to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.” That’s what Paul is doing here, rebuking publicly.

So we have the confrontation, and now let us notice the clarification in vss. 15-16: ¹⁵ “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ ¹⁶ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”  

Now let’s think about how someone who is born a Jew knows that he was not justified (or made right with God) by observing the Law. How does a Jew by birth know this? And the answer is that God not only gave the Law but He also established blood sacrifices.

Let’s put it in simple terms, by way of a story: imagine a young Jewish boy, raised up under the law. He’s been taught that if he obeys the law he will be right with God. But then one day his dad gets real angry at something and takes God’s name in vain. It just slips out. And the boy is filled with horror because he knows that according to the Law his dad must die. He broke the 3^rd commandment and the wages of sin is death. But instead he watches his dad go to the flock and get a perfect young lamb, and take it to the priest, and the dad puts his hands on that lamb and confesses his sin, as if transferring his sin and guilt to that lamb. The priest then slits its throat; the lamb dies instead of his dad.

And the young boy begins to think: “God made it possible for my dad to be right with God through a sacrifice.” And all of a sudden the boy remembers that when Adam and Eve sinned, they should have died, but God put to death an animal in their place, as their substitute. And it begins to dawn on this boy: “I’m not right with God because of my obedience to the Law, but because of a blood sacrifice. I can’t get rid of my guilt by keeping the Law, but only through a substitute that takes my punishment and dies my death.” That’s how a Jew by birth should know that a man is not justified by observing the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice on the cross.   

So let’s summarize this correction by Paul. He is saying that there is only one way to be right with God—to have our guilt removed: it is not through obeying the Law or by keeping Jewish customs, but through believing in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It’s as simple as this: when I see Jesus dying on the cross, shedding His blood, and I read that He is taking my punishment, and removing my guilt, I believe and I am justified, made right with God. We’re only made right with God through faith in the sacrifice of His Son. Listen to how Hebrews says it: “⁴ By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.” And you know what? We have an offering today that can make us righteous, too. And God speaks well of that sacrifice on the cross. If we believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we are righteous, right with God.

Well poor Peter. He keeps failing doesn’t he. Peter gives me hope, because he kept getting it wrong. But let’s learn some practical things from Peter’s failure. I’ll close with these 3 things we can learn from our passage today:

·         First, ministers of the gospel can be wrong. Peter was a minister, a preacher, had seen his preaching convert 3,000 people, but in this case, he was “clearly in the wrong.” Ministers can be wrong, if they minimize the gospel either in their words or their deeds.

 

·         Secondly, we learn that truth is more important than peace between brothers. In other words, Christian fellowship and unity are built on truth, on the gospel, never on falsehood. And compromising the gospel for the sake of peace only weakens the church. Peace that is kept by compromising God’s truth is no peace at all. “The bond of peace” (Phil 4:3) is not peace at any price but peace based on God’s Word and established by God’s Spirit.

 

·         Third, we can learn that falsehood is not supposed to be ignored, even if there are consequences that come from confronting it. When falsehood strikes at the heart of the gospel, there must be opposition.

And let’s close with this thought. Every person alive has guilt, whether they feel it or not. And God has made a way for us to be rid of guilt and be right with Him. And that way is not through putting ourselves under the law or keeping Jewish customs, hoping we are good enough, but rather through believing in the sacrifice that God gave because of His love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” Save us from sin, save us from eternal punishment, save us from condemnation, save us from God’s wrath, and SAVE US FROM GUILT! Let’s pray.

 

Can you say that? Is it true for you? If not, spend a few moments gazing at His cross, looking at what He went through for you.

Galatians 1. One of the reasons why I don’t preach topically is because I don’t want to choose the topic. Instead, if we just study the Word of God systematically, God will choose the topic that needs to be taught at that time. And His timing is always perfect. His timing for us right now is that we are studying the Book of Galatians: the Book that deals with the issues of legalism and Judaism.

See some people had come in to the Galatian churches and were confusing them by teaching error. And we will look at the errors that they taught. But before we do, think with me about Galatians 1 vs. 7, that the errors that were being taught were throwing the Galatians into confusion by perverting the gospel. And now imagine sitting in a Sunday school teaching or a church service where these Judaizers were teaching us. We would feel confused, blurry eyed, and unclear on what they were teaching. It would not be centered in the real gospel. And worse yet, we would feel all the joy go out of us, you can see that in chapter 4:15 (“what has happened to all your joy”), and finally there would come a yoke of bondage. No freedom, only constriction and confusion, lack of joy, and bondage. It would be mere information, not the gospel of transformation. That’s what false teaching does to the church.   

And so now let’s examine the errors they were teaching in the Galatian churches. First, they were adding the works of the Law on to the gospel of grace. We can see that in chapter 2:16. We ¹⁶ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. Their false teaching was adding the law on to the gospel.

Second, they were finding importance in the special feast days, along with circumcision, keeping the Sabbath and all other trappings of the Jewish religion. The Jewish calendar became important to them. We can see this from Galatians 4 vs. 9 and 10: ⁹ But now that you know God–or rather are known by God–how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? ¹⁰ You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹ I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

And so they were turning to the law and turning back to the Jewish calendar of special days, months, seasons (like spring and fall) and years. And Paul is writing to correct false teaching which says that we can be justified by the law, and that we need to pay attention to the Jewish Calendar. Wrong! Christians are free. Free from the curse of the Law. Free from the penalty of the Law. Free from the condemnation of the Law. Free from bondage to the Law. Free from slavery to Jewish customs and Jewish calendars. We turn away from Feast Days and New Moons and bloody moons, and we don’t derive our doctrine from a Jewish calendar. Instead, we focus on that which is of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that on the 3^rd day He rose from the dead. Praise you, Jesus!

Well today we come to Galatians chapter 2. And in vs. 1 we find the Apostle Paul going up to Jerusalem to attend a council of Christian leaders. This is the same council you find in Acts 15 and Peter James and John are there. Let’s look at Acts 15 together. The purpose for this meeting is to determine if Gentile believers must obey the law for salvation. You can see that in Acts 15 vs. 1 “¹ Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” And vs. 5 “⁵ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”  

And here comes Paul to this council, and he takes with him Titus and Barnabas. Now Titus was a gentile believer. And Titus is a test case. What are they going to say about Titus? He is a Gentile believer, does he need the cross plus the law? Does he need faith plus circumcision?

And the question is really important, because it has to do with you and I today. Are we saved by Jesus’ death on the cross, plus our keeping of the law? And as we get to chapter 3 we’ll see the question becomes, are we sanctified by Jesus’ death on the cross, plus our keeping the law? And these are extremely important questions for today. Nothing has changed in 2000 years. There are still those who say “oh yes, we believe in the cross of Jesus Christ, plus keeping the law, plus keeping the religious festivals, plus keeping the Sabbath, etc. etc.”

And today we are going to see Paul take a stand for the gospel. You remember 1 Corinthians 15, verse 1 where Paul wanted to remind them of the gospel, he says, “which you received and on which you have taken your stand.” Planted your feet. Refused to budge. Hunkered down. Paul is going to take a stand for the gospel at this Jerusalem council.

And what we will hear Paul saying about the gospel today is two points: Preaching the gospel promotes freedom, and preaching the gospel protects believers. So those are our two points in the message today. Preaching the gospel promotes freedom from slavery to the law, freedom from slavery to rules and religion, freedom from feast days and Sabbath days and special days, freedom from the Jewish calendar of seasons, freedom from religious diet and religious days and religious dress. Freedom to worship God based on what Jesus did for you at the cross, not what you do for Him.

And secondly, preaching the gospel protects believers from error and misinterpretation of Scripture. Preaching the gospel protects us from people’s opinions, and from man’s clever thoughts. If you preach the gospel you will never have to say, “well that’s just my opinion, those are just my thoughts.” Preacher, we don’t want your thoughts and your opinion, we want the truth of the gospel. We want thus saith the Lord. Let’s see how Paul teaches these two points in Galatians 2.

In vs. 2 Paul goes to this council in Jerusalem in response to a revelation. God revealed that Paul should go to this council. And what did Paul do there? Well what did Paul do everywhere? He says “I set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.” This is the gospel of God’s sovereign grace through man’s repentant faith: a gospel entirely different than was being taught to the Galatians, that had to do with works-righteousness. The gospel Paul taught showed Jesus on a rescue mission as He came to this earth and suffered in the place of sinners to pay for our sins, to completely remove our guilt and shame, to make us new.

Paul seemed quite narrow in his messages, like he had gospel-blinders on. He goes to the Corinthians and says “I have determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”, he writes to the Galatians and says “you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified”, and now he goes to Jerusalem and once again he has the same message; Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Why is Paul so narrow? Answer:  Galatians 1 vs. 23. This gospel had transformed Paul’s life, had saved him. Saul the persecutor became Paul the preacher. And so this becomes one test to know whether or not we are hearing the real gospel; does it have the power of transformation? Or are we merely getting information? The gospel has power to change an unbeliever into a believer and a believer into the image of Christ. The gospel saves us, and sets us free, and strengthens us. Paul’s life was transformed by the gospel, so wherever he goes he has a singular message: the gospel of grace.

And in Galatians 2:2 Paul says he preached the gospel “privately to those who seemed to be leaders for fear he had run his race in vain.” Here Paul introduces us to his favorite metaphor from the Greek games: running a race. And so he says that his ministry, and all true ministry is like running a race. It takes preparation and perspiration, and then persistence and perseverance if you want to run well.

And it means running according to the rules. In 2 Timothy 2:5 Paul said, “⁵if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.” And competing according to the rules means preaching a message of a completed salvation. “It is finished.” Preaching that on the cross, Jesus won our freedom from the Law. Preaching that we are only righteous and holy through Jesus’ death in our place, not through our own efforts. Running this race means fixing our eyes on the goal, that is, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

And Paul says, if these leaders agreed to the gospel plus the law, or the gospel plus the feast days, the gospel plus circumcision, the gospel plus the Sabbath, then Paul would have run his race in vain. All his preaching of the gospel would have amounted to nothing because they were turning back to the Law and back to the calendar. Here I’ve been preaching grace and freedom, and you run back to the calendar and legalism.

But Paul had not been running in vain, he says in vs. 3: ³ Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. Paul’s preaching of the gospel, his running of his race had not been in vain, they did not decide with the false brothers, under the leading of the Holy Spirit they decided for the gospel. And God will always have people who take a stand for the gospel, planting their feet there, refusing to hear false teaching, and correcting it when it happens.

And then Paul tells his readers how this whole conference at Jerusalem came about. He says in vs. 4: “⁴ [This matter arose] because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.”  The word “infiltrated” is the Greek word “pariceaktos” and it means to sneak in privately. This word is used in Greek literature for an army that penetrated a city’s defenses through a gap in the wall. Sneaking in, infiltrating. These false brothers did not come in through the entry Gate, or the Door, through the right Way, they snuck in some other way.

Turn with me if you would to John 10. In this passage Jesus tells us that He is the Way, the truth and life, and that no man comes to the Father but by Him. Notice vs. 1. John 10:1 says ¹ “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” Those who don’t enter by the gate are thieves and robbers. You’ve no doubt seen ministers asking/begging for money, telling you that you need to get the blessing by giving to them. They are fleecing the flock and robbing the righteous. Notice vs. 7 “⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” Notice, the sheep don’t listen to those who have come in some other way, who preach another gospel. We don’t say “amen” or “hallelujia” we just sit there in stunned silence, shaking our heads.

Please turn with me to the book of Jude chapter 1. Second to the last book in the Bible. Jude writes about people who sneak in among the flock. He says, “⁴ For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” Jude 1:4

They had snuck in secretly, coming in by some other way. Please take note: these men can be deacons, elders, pastors, popes, or occupy any other place within the church. What matters is how they live and what they teach. And these false brothers at the Jerusalem council had snuck in among the people, coming in through a side door, a back door, not the entry door.

And notice what their intent was. In Galatians 2 we see the intent of these people. It says in vs. 4 that they wanted to spy on our freedom and to make us slaves. You know, when an army sneaks in through a gap in the wall, their purpose is to capture the city. To take people captive. To make them their slaves. False teaching always wants to make us slaves to something other than Jesus. Some system of theology, or some man-made rules.

You see, through the preaching of the gospel, Paul was promoting freedom. At the cross people’s chains fall off. My chains are gone, I’ve been set free. My God, my Savior’s ransomed me. The cross brings freedom from law-centered religion and man-made regulations. The preaching of the cross always brings freedom to people who embrace it.

But the purpose of legalists is to make people slaves to the law, slaves to special days, special diets and special dress, slaves to the Jewish calendar, slaves to circumcision and slaves to the Sabbath. To counteract law-slavery and false teaching, Paul preached the cross.

Notice secondly, that the preaching of the cross also protects the people. Paul said in vs. 5: “⁵ We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” In other words, had we given in to their teaching, you would have lost the truth. The gospel would have left you and been swallowed up in legalism and religious festivals. You would have gone into slavery. Preaching the gospel protects people from law-condemnation and law-slavery. Pastor Brian and I preach and teach the gospel because we want to promote freedom and protect people from false teaching.

And so, right now, I just want to preach the gospel, because that is what promotes freedom and protects people. Turn with me to Colossians chapter 2. Paul is writing to the Colossians and he reminds them of the transformation that happened to them. He says they were dead and now they are alive. And then he says in vs. 13:

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. He is referring here to the Law. The “written code” means the code of handwriting. That law was against every one of us. It condemned us. But then Jesus Christ went to the cross. And listen, hear the nails being pounded in to His hands and feet? That is the Law being nailed to the cross. And all the law’s condemnation hung on our Savior. All the law’s curse hung on our Savior. Therefore we who believe can never be condemned because Jesus already was. We can never be declared guilty because Jesus already was. We are forgiven and free.

¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. The cross was a victory, a triumph. The reason the Son of God came was to destroy the works of the devil. The enemy came in like a flood, but God raised a standard, and there it is in all its majestic beauty, right there on Calvary’s hill. Through the cross Jesus defeated our enemy, and we are now more than conquerors through Him Who loves us. Through the cross, we triumphed over sin and Satan and all sickness and suffering, and law.

And it is within the context of the cross that vs. 16-17 says ¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians 2:16-17 Yes, the reality of which the religious festivals were but a shadow, is found in Christ, at the cross. He fulfilled and completed them all when He died for us.

Therefore be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Remembering that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Hold on to this gospel. Take your stand on this gospel. Plant your feet on this gospel. And don’t budge.