Part XXIV on Galatians Study

Acts 15:1
"And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, (these Gentile brethren) and said, (now look at it carefully because your Bible says it as sure as mine) `Except (unless) ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.'"   That's what your Bible says. But it's quoting those Jewish people from Jerusalem who are now up there in the Gentile area of Antioch. They were saying you couldn't be saved by Paul's Gospel. Does that sound familiar? You bet it does! We don't use circumcision as a prerequisite today, but, instead, we use a host of other things. People will tell us that we can't be saved by what anyone is teaching. We've got to do this and that, why because they say its subject to our opinion or theirs. Hey, there's no difference. Remember the mysteries or secret things which God had hidden within both Himself and the word, those things which had been revealed to Daniel, Paul and John and Jesus only alluded to as keys of the kingdom or even more obscure the chapters of a small book or for that matter just a small book. And Paul references in Romans chapters 11 and 16 both in the 25 verse, which mysteries are opened to him, but the others were told to seal up for safe keeping until the proper time. Daniel was even told to seal the book if memory serves us rightly. Read on:

Acts 15:2
"When therefore (because of this kind of false teaching (mans opinion) coming into their midst, which Paul had to constantly refute) Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension (arguing with them because of their opinion) and disputation with them, they (all of them together) determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem (to Peter and the eleven) unto the apostles and elders about this question." Now jump all the way down to verse 5. They get to Jerusalem and they came into this big meeting of the Jerusalem believers, that believe, for salvation, that Jesus was the Christ - the ones that Saul had been trying to stamp out. 


Acts 15:5a
"But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees (what kind of Pharisees?) which believed..."
They had embraced Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah. They're not the whited sepulchers who were religious, but had nothing. No, these were Pharisees who had seen the light that Christ was Who He said He was. That's what it says, "they were Pharisees who believed." Now continuing on.

Acts 15:5b
"...saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."
Not only were they to be circumcised, they were to be commanded, like we pointed out in Matthew 10:5 that Jesus did to the Twelve. He commanded them to go not into the way of the Gentile. These Pharisees are commanding these Gentile believers of Paul's Gospel, based on faith alone, that not only were they to practice circumcision, but they have to keep the whole of the Law of trusting in mans works of obedience. They have to keep the Law or they couldn't be saved. Now reading on. Here is the bone of contention between the Jerusalem Jewish believers and these Gentile converts that Paul has now won up there in Antioch.

Acts 15:6
"And the apostles and the elders came together for to consider of this matter."  Can we see the argument? Listen, we've got to understand this because this is where Christianity is at today. We are being deluged with these same demands. "Oh yeah, we believe the gospel, but it's not enough alone. You've got to do this and that. We have to come this way or that way." Listen, Paul's Gospel will have none of it. God, through Christ in this Age of Grace, will have none of it. And we'll see that later when we get to Galatians chapters 3 and 5. But here was the need for this counsel to consider this. And now let's come back to Galatians chapter 2. So, here we are at 51 AD. It's a long time after Pentecost. That makes about 22 years after Pentecost, and they are still debating, "Can you be saved by faith alone? Or do we have to keep the Law of Moses and practice circumcision plus the traditions of the fore fathers which we showed were added by man which upset God's Word." Here's another interesting point has Paul at any time mentioned doing the Passover in any of his epistles? Something to think on. Now verse 2:

Galatians 2:2a
"And I went up by revelation, (the Lord spoke it. Evidently the Lord told Paul, `Now Paul it's time to get up to Jerusalem and confront the Twelve. We have to settle this matter, otherwise we'll never be able to move out into the Gentile world.') and communicated unto them that gospel  (if you don't mind, underline the word `that.' You might say that's not an important word, but in this verse it's all important. Because it was that Gospel ) which I preached among the Gentiles,..."