March 6, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Galatians? Here’s today’s reading:
Galatians 2 (NIV)
Paul Accepted by the Apostles
1 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain...........Continue Reading
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This Post Has 15 Comments
I love the reminder that I have been crucified with Christ! That He paid the penalty for our sins and no work we can do will bring us salvation but also a reminder that our old self died in the moment we believed and that our life should look different from that point on! We will struggle, we will meet opposition to what we believe, we may lose people for what we now believe but it doesn’t change our course. We remain faithful to God and the call now on our life to be more Christ like knowing that not our works but the work He did is what saves us!
Being circumcised in this case does not make a man more justified than the uncircumcised. Law can not get in the way of true justification by faith in Christ.
It’s all about faith….not works! Paul makes this clear to all. No if’s, ands or buts!
There are some key verses in this chapter when one is sharing about Christ. often times if a person does realize that they are a sinner they think that their good will out weigh their bad. In verse 16 it reads ; Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ ………….by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified, And then again in verse 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteous came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Another key verse is verse 20. On how Christians are to live in Christ. Totally committed to Christ where our life is not our own but it is his. A challenge to each one of us.
Galatians 2
What an awesome chapter. To think that we were dead in our trAnsgression and sins. But now we have been made ALIVE in Christ!! Ruler of the air! Not Satan. Jesus is the ruler of the whole world By his resurrection! Seated in the heavenly s With Jesus. Now. Spiritually. And the promise of being with Jesus for eternity. Vs. 8.and 9. One of the most profound verses in all of scripture. Knocks out so many religious ideas of eternity. Grace and freedom. Doesn’t get any better. Christ took down the walls of hostility. Jews and gentiles alike are in need of a savior. No longer foreigners or aliens. But members of Gods household. By Grace. Bursting with joy. After reading this truth!!! How could I be part of these promises. I am a wretched man undeserving of the Promises of God. Grace is overwhelming
Aren’t we all, my brother!
Galatians 2 verse 20 – I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the Grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
One of my favorite verses!!!! Very powerful!
Ok. Cindy just read some of Galatians chapter 2. Told her you are in the wrong book!! As usual. I’m the one in the wrong. I was in Ephesians!!!!!
I love this passage.. specially the I have been crucified with Christ part… it really is a good reminder that my life is not my own, that I should live like a vessel of Christ.. and not be overwhelmed by worldy realities..
Paul adamantly proclaims the freedom we have in Christ….Jews and Gentiles. I can understand the allegiance that Peter and others had to the law and to their Jewish brothers, and the desire to continue to live in those traditions. I am so glad that Paul called them out to recognize that no man can be justified by the law. We must all walk in faith.
“For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
At the beginning of chapter 2, Paul continues in defending the truth of the gospel that God had revealed to him. Galatians does provide insight into what Paul did after his conversion that Acts does not get into. But here he brings up 2 valuable points. On one hand we are accountable to others. Paul recognized that what he taught and the ministry he had, others had a right to speak into. And yet on the other hand, he wasn’t beholden to them either…or what mattered most was their dedication to truth and not the position that they held. It is a delicate balance to respect and seek the input of others, but not necessarily use them as a reference point. God is our reference point and theres is an aspect of truth and what He declares us to be that others have no say over. Paul was glad that those in Jerusalem validated the gospel he was preaching, his ministry and himself. And yet when Peter came to Antioch, he called him out on his behavior that was inconsistent with the truth that Peter himself held. How important it is to let truth dictate our actions and not the opinion of others. And there is a place to call each other out on the inconsistencies we observe, and when others have been affected by our behavior, it is even fair to address the error publicly.
Then Paul declares the truth of the gospel in no uncertain terms. He says 3 times positively that faith in Jesus Christ brings justification (positional righteousness) and 3 times negatively that justification cannot be found in the law. And he does it in 2 verses! It is the best portion of Scripture to silence those who somehow think they are made right with God through their works. And if verses 15 and 16 were not enough, then he blows us away with verse 20 with how our faith in Christ then translates to how we live. Believers have been crucified with Christ (we are dead to sin and the law). And our lives are exchanged so it is not my power that I live under but it is Jesus’ life in me. But I am not completely disengaged either…I still live a life in a human body…I experience life…but as I do that I do not live according to what my body tells me, I live according to the faith in Jesus, both His person and His truth. And just in case you wonder whether Jesus can be trusted in what He leads us with and to, Paul shares that He loves me and gave Himself for me. No one in our lives can or has given us a better offer. So why are we caring more about what people think than what Jesus thinks?
Galatians 2
Galations 2
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
These words from Paul describes the transformation that happens when someone becomes a believer and it reinforces the truth that we are right with God through his grace. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Thank you Jesus for giving up your life so we could be saved because you love us.