1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Paul returned to Jerusalem fourteen years later with Barnabas and they took with them Titus, a Gentile convert. The trip was prompted by a revelation (possibly the prophecy of famine in Acts 11:27-30). While there Paul presented the gospel he had been preaching to the Gentiles. It seems that Paul had brought Titus along as a test case to see if the apostles and church leaders in Jerusalem would require that he be circumcised. Even though the “false brothers” (most likely the Judaisers of Acts 15:1) tried to push their requirement of circumcision they did not yield to them at all. Paul is adamant that adding law to the free gift of salvation is to bound someone to slavery. Paul continued to work hard to preserve the truth of the gospel—salvation free from any work! Paul seems to be derogatory about the apostles (those who seemed to be influential) but his point is that even though they had influence in the church as leaders, God shows no partiality. Still, those church leaders added nothing to what Paul had been teaching.
God shows no partiality. God is not interested in or swayed by the influence of man and neither should we. That’s not to say we shouldn’t submit to our church leaders, we should (Heb 13:17). But they are not the final authority, God is. We must take personal accountability for knowing God’s word and hold our leaders accountable to teach only God’s word and nothing more.
The verse (Galatians 2:6) really stood out to me. Knowing that we should not be influenced by what people tell us to believe but instead what God tells us to believe.
What I learnt from this is that, I think it’s very easy in this world to forget to make God the center of our lives because there’s so many distractions around us.
What stood out for me was that we should not believe what people say or tells us and believe what says to you. God is always listen to our problems and we should listen to what answer he gives us
Titus was still a Christian but Gentile. He did not follow all the Jewish regulations but was still a good follower of Christ. This shows the freedom we have in Jesus because he died on the cross. He is one and only way to heaven and rules are not.
What I liked was that Paul was so clearly invested in all that he was doing with he preeching and stuff. He was completely changed
I always find this passage encouraging because when studying seems to be taking forever, I remind myself it took Paul 14 years to get to this point in ministry.