January 9 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: Galatians 1:20-24 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me. Galatians 2:1-3 Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:

Paul opens today's passage by writing that he was not lying to the Galatians when he said that he had consulted with no one in Damascus or Jerusalem concerning the doctrine which he taught. Paul now adds to the narrative by saying that once he left Jerusalem he went into Syria and Cilicia. Cilicia was the province where Paul's hometown of Tarsus was located. It is not known how long Paul stayed in Cilicia, but it is thought that he may have preached and planted churches there for 4-10 years. Because he spent all that time in Cilicia the members of the churches in Judaea never met him personally. However, they heard from others about his conversion and the fact that he was now a changed man: preaching the same Gospel that at one time he was bent on destroying. Because of this the Judaean churches glorified the Lord for what He had done for Paul and for what Paul was doing for the cause of Christ. By telling this, Paul is further validating his ministry and undermining the accusations of the Judaizers. John Calvin explained it this way:

"This was proof that his ministry was approved by all the churches of Judea, and approved in such a manner, that they broke out into admiration and praise of the wonderful power of God. Thus Paul indirectly reproves the malice of the Judaizers by shewing that their venom and slanders could have no other effect than to hide the glory of God, which, as the apostles admitted and openly acknowledged, shone brightly in the apostleship of Paul."

Chapter two is a continuation of chapter one. As we have pointed out previously, the chapter and verse divisions in the Bible were placed there around the 13th century to aid the readers in finding particular passages. They are not in the original inspired writings. Paul is continuing his defense of his apostolic authority, but he changes gears in the beginning of this chapter. In the second half of chapter one he emphasized that he had learned his doctrine independently of others, particularly the other apostles in Jerusalem. Now he starts showing the unity that he had with them. He writes in verse 1 that after fourteen years he went back to Jerusalem. Paul’s point in referring to the length of time between his conversion and this visit to Jerusalem was to show that he had been preaching his Gospel for a long time before he went to Jerusalem and discussed his doctrine with recognized Christian leaders. He also points out that he went, not because he needed to learn something from them, but because God had revealed to him that he should go. He went to explain to the apostles the doctrine of salvation by grace without works that he was preaching, and also to verify that this was the same message that they were preaching.

Paul mentions that Barnabas and Titus went with him to Jerusalem. This is significant as well. Paul took those two men for a definite purpose. He wanted to know what the apostles believed concerning his gospel message of grace without works. He wanted to make sure that false teaching of the Judaizers was not rubbing off on the apostles. Barnabas was a Jew who was preaching the gospel of grace to Gentiles with great success. Titus was an uncircumcised Gentile who converted to Christ through the gospel of grace. Paul took Titus to Jerusalem as a test case for the whole issue of salvation being by grace without the need of circumcision. The Judaizers taught that circumcision was necessary for a person to be saved, but Titus was a living example that this belief was totally false. The apostles agreed with Paul that Titus did not need to be circumcised, which was proof that Paul's message was identical to the apostles message, which should silence his critics in Galatia.

The final answer to the issue is this: salvation is by grace through faith, and works have nothing to do with it.