Paul Goes to Jerusalem to Meet With Church Leaders

Galatians 2:1–10
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False teachers seemed to follow Paul everywhere he went. No sooner had he given out the gospel and people believed, than false teachers tried to discredit Paul’s message and challenge his authority.  Paul’s co-workers in the Gospel were Barnabas, a circumcised Jew who was a great encourager to Paul and Titus, a Gentile Christian who had never submitted to circumcision but was genuinely saved.

Fourteen years after Paul’s conversion he goes to Jerusalem to meet with the church leaders seeking to get their endorsement of his ministry to the Gentiles (vv. 1-6). The fourteen years mentioned were probably calculated from his time of conversion. The men who evaluated Paul’s ministry were James (the half brother of Jesus), Cephas (Peter) and John who were the main pillars of the Church. After listening to his presentation they recognized that God had given different areas of ministry to different men. In this case there is only one Gospel but two different areas of ministry. James, Peter, and John would go to the Jews of the circumcision (v. 7) and Paul along with Barnabas would go to the Gentiles of the un-circumcision or heathen (vv. 7-9). Only one stipulation was made,  and that was that they were to remember the poor, which was the very thing they were eager to do anyway (v. 10).

Compromise is an important element in getting along with others but we should never compromise the truth of God’s Word. As a Christian we need to understand that:

1. Every member in God’s family is important.
2. Everyone is gifted and prompted by the Lord to reach different kinds of people
3. Everyone who knows the Lord needs our acceptance.

Application

It is great to have someone in our life that has accepted and approved of what we are doing for the Lord? I can think of several people in my life who fits this description. I need to make sure that I have expressed my appreciation to these people.