Galatians 2:1-21

Galatians 2: 1-21 (NLT)
Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I talked privately with the leaders of the church. I wanted them to understand what I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure they did not disagree, or my ministry would have been useless. 3 And they did agree. They did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile.
4 Even that question wouldn’t have come up except for some so-called Christians there—false ones, really —who came to spy on us and see our freedom in Christ Jesus. They wanted to force us, like slaves, to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to listen to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the Good News for you. 6 And the leaders of the church who were there had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 They saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the Good News to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter for the benefit of the Jews worked through me for the benefit of the Gentiles. 9 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. 10 The only thing they suggested was that we remember to help the poor, and I have certainly been eager to do that. Paul Confronts Peter 11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who don’t bother with circumcision. But afterward, when some Jewish friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these legalists would say. 13 Then the other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was influenced to join them in their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you trying to make these Gentiles obey the Jewish laws you abandoned? 15 You and I are Jews by birth, not sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ—and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law.” 17 But what if we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then find out that we are still sinners? Has Christ led us into sin? Of course not! 18 Rather, I make myself guilty if I rebuild the old system I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God’s approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ. 20 I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.DEVOTION (Chris Bunch) “Face-to-Face”
Paul continues to establish his authority to the Galatians in chapter 2. He challenges the Galatians again not to listen to the false teachers, Judaizers, who insisted that non-Jewish believers must obey Jewish law and traditional rules. Again, Paul is shouting from the roof tops, “Following Christ is not about rules but about a relationship.” It is not about law——but about faith. Paul shares though about a confrontation with Peter, the leader of the Jerusalem church. Peter had given into the legalistic leaders due to his own fears, and was standing on the side of the Judaizers. When Paul heard about this he confronts Peter face to face because he knew this legalism could destroy the church. Paul doesn’t go behind Peter’s back and talk to the other leaders, he didn’t write a letter to other churches telling them not to follow Peter. Rather, Paul confronts Peter face-to-face. Many times Christians make mistakes in the life of the church (because there is not such thing as perfect people). However, rather than walking away or talking behind their backs, try the direct approach. Go directly to the person. It may be difficult at first, but over time you will save yourself a lot of stress and anger by simply going directly to the person. When you do this you show not only do you value the relationship, but you value handling conflict the Jesus way.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the example of Paul. Help me this week to go directly to people when I am hurt rather than going behind their back. I know it won’t be easy, but please give me the strength. In Jesus name. Amen.