I frequently receive offers that look too good to be true and the usually are. I’m told that if I sign up to this or that offer then it will be totally free. Of course at some point the free trial runs out and the hope of the organisation making the offer is that by then I’ll be sucked in and find myself paying the monthly subscription. Of course, the small print which I never read will mean that I’m then locked in for a few years.
Is Christianity like that? Do we get in for free but then find that there are additional expectations and burdens placed upon us if we want to stay in or to grow closer to God?
A look at the text (Read Galatians 2:1-10)
Fourteen years after his first meeting with Peter and James, Paul returns to Jerusalem. This was possibly at the time of the Jerusalem council. He is accompanied by Barnabas and Titus (v1). He goes because of a revelation he has had and there, he goes through with them the Gospel that he has been preaching to the Gentiles. This is a private meeting with the prominent leaders and Paul says that he does this to ensure that he hasn’t been acting in vain. In other words, to confirm again that he is preaching the true Gospel (v2).
Titus was a Gentile and if circumcision was crucial, you would expect the Jerusalem leaders to insist on it for him but they don’t. There were some of the agitators there who did seem to be pushing for this. Paul calls them “false brothers” and says that they were “smuggled in” or had managed to infiltrate the meetings. He accuses them of being spies, seeking to discover and bring to an end the freedom that they had in the Gospel. However, Paul, Barnabas and Titus refuse to submit to their demands. Nor do the Jerusalem leaders demand this of them. They are happy with Paul’s account of the Gospel and have nothing to add. Paul sees this as a crucial victory on behalf of the Gentile believers. If he had given in then something of the good news would have been lost to them (v3-6). Note, that whilst these are the prominent/recognised leaders, Paul places little stock on their status/identity. Just as he will on his own. He doesn’t see a place for human hierarchies or celebrity cultures in the church (v6).
The Jerusalem leaders, particularly Peter, James and John observe that Paul has been called by God in the same way that Peter was, Peter to Jews and Paul to Gentiles with the same good news (v7-8). They offer “the right hand of fellowship”, symbolising Gospel partnership and encourage Paul’s team to continue with their mission (v9). The only thing they insist on is that Paul and his team should seek to care for the poor, this is something they were more than happy to do (v10).
Digging Deeper
Paul is beginning to set out his stall here. The Jerusalem leaders and the apostles represented by James and Peter had very clearly endorsed his ministry and message. They had not sought to change it or add to it. When there had been an attempt to add an additional burden onto one of his co-workers, Titus, this had been recognised for what it was, an attack by infiltrators, intent on undoing the freedom work of the Gospel. These infiltrators were “false brothers”, they weren’t really part of the church, they were not saved. So Paul, with the clear blessing of the apostles had resisted their demands.
If that was the case when Paul visited Jerusalem, then it was unlikely that the apostles were going to go back on their position now. If no additional burdens had been imposed on Paul and his team, then the Galatian Gentile believers could be confident that no additional burdens would be imposed on them either.
A look at ourselves
This should help us to respond to any demands or extra expectations that are placed on us. The Gospel does not work like those sneaky “special offers”. We have not been sucked in with the offer of something free, only to discover that we are tied in to all the additional long term fees and small print. The Gospel genuinely is about the free gift of eternal life.
Are there any ways in which you have been encouraged to think that there is something additional for you to pay back or do in return for your relationship with God? Be very clear that such expectations are not from Jesus and can be safely ignored.
Faithroots 