The Gospel Is Received, not Earned (Galatians 2:1-3)

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 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. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. (Galatians 2:1–3, ESV)

Our text today details the second time Paul visited Jerusalem as a Christian, fourteen years after his conversion (1). It took Paul three years from his conversion to finally make his first trip to Jerusalem to meet Peter and James (1:18-19). But after that visit, it took another eleven years or so for him to go back. Why did Paul go to Jerusalem fourteen years into his new life in Jesus? Not to report for duty or gain a verification of his gospel, but because of a revelation (2). A church leader named Barnabas needed Paul's help with the church in Antioch, so he recruited Paul for a year of ministry there (Acts 11:25-26). Eventually, some prophets from the Jerusalem church went north to visit the church in Antioch, and one named Agabus "foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine all over the world" (Acts 11:28). Agabus's prophecy might be part of the revelation Paul wrote about here (1). After some prayer, the Antioch church decided to take a collection and send Paul and Barnabas with a financial gift to the church in the Jerusalem area (Acts 11:29-30). While there, Paul took the opportunity to privately set the gospel he proclaimed among the Gentile world before the apostles (2). Paul was worried that the apostles there weren't confronting legalists who added the Old Testament law to the beautiful gospel of Christ. And if the apostles didn't renounce the legalists, then Paul's work among the Gentiles would suffer. He didn't want to run in vain and do all this work to get the gospel of grace to the nations if those same nations were then going to get hijacked by a perversion of the gospel (2). He was concerned that all his work among the Gentiles would be undone by the false teaching of the Judaizers (those who said Judaism should be added to Christ). Paul happened to bring the perfect ministry companions for a meeting that would ask if Gentile Christians needed to become Jewish. Barnabas, a Jewish Levite, would be a persuasive witness that Judaism was unnecessary for the new Gentile converts, and Titus, a Gentile convert Paul was training for ministry. He often appears in Paul's letters and is even the recipient of a letter about organizing and leading the church. Titus had never been compelled to become culturally Jewish (or embrace Judaism and its customs) after he became a Christian. But in Jerusalem, Titus would be the ultimate test case, a lab rat for the gospel. Was the gospel enough, or would the Jerusalem church pressure a man like Titus to submit to Jewish religious practices? Thankfully, the gospel was enough, and Paul said Titus was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek (3). This is the first time circumcision is broached in Galatians, and it will become a recurring subject throughout the book. It might seem alien or awkward to you, but it was essential to the legalists who followed Paul. The origin of this subject in the Bible is found in Genesis when God chose to bless Abraham. To mark Abraham and his family line as blessed by God and set apart for his purposes on earth, God gave Abraham and his descendants the sign of circumcision. Over the years, however, many stopped seeing circumcision as a reminder of God's promise and started seeing it as a key to righteousness and earning God’s approval. Soon, real and inward holiness was replaced with this outward ceremonial rite. So when Paul began blasting the gospel throughout the nations, some in the Jerusalem area thought he should add circumcision to the message. And attached to circumcision would have been a host of other requirements—dietary restrictions, religious feasts, fasting days, and Sabbaths—that these legalists would've insisted on. But circumcision and these religious regulations God gave Israel were not meant as means of earning God's approval, but reminders of and paths to enjoy the approval God had already given them. This was the issue at stake when Titus went to Jerusalem with Paul. Is God's acceptance something we earn or something we receive? And—praise God!—Titus was not forced to add anything to the message of the cross (3).

It's Received, Not Earned (1-3)

This leads me to my first of three points about the beautiful, acceptable gospel: it is received, not earned. Titus could remain as he was. He could not earn God's favor. He could only receive it through the gospel of grace—the message of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. A friend of mine took his family on a cruise many years ago. His son was a little boy at the time. When they arrived on board, he pointed out an ice cream station to his boy and, knowing it was all-inclusive, told his son to get an ice cream whenever he wanted. The boy immediately stood in line while the family continued strolling on. Soon, they looked around, wondering if he'd caught up to them. Looking back, they saw him standing beside the ice cream line, bawling his eyes out. When they asked him what was wrong, he said, "I don't have any money! I can't buy any ice cream." That's when his dad showed him the bracelet on his wrist: "See this bracelet? It means you can go up to ice cream carts and get anything you want any time you want." All-access! This is often our attitude toward the blessings of God in our lives—I can't afford it! I haven't earned it! I don't have anything to contribute to get it! But that's the point. We don't, but the Son does, so when we receive the gift of Jesus' substitutionary death for us, we receive a radical position before God. But it isn't something that is earned, only received. Christianity is news that tells us what Christ has done. Other religious systems—even the secular system many operate by—are advice on how to live and prove yourself. Do this, do that, and you will be approved, either by the divine or society. But the gospel announces a historical event, happy news of what Christ has done on our behalf. When we place our faith in Christ, we become "blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). All spiritual blessings are ours because they belong to Jesus, and the Father has bestowed Jesus' righteousness on us through the gospel. But the temptation to earn God's acceptance through our actions is difficult to resist. We live every day with examples that say good things are earned. People go to school for many years, get good grades and the highest degrees, and then enter into impressive and well-paying fields. We don't let people who didn't finish high school perform brain surgery—they didn't earn the position (or the income that comes with it). And once we embrace works-righteousness before God, we will begin believing we can earn more for certain behaviors. There is a WikiHow webpage on how to receive gifts. Apparently, some of us struggle to know how to do this, so the article is filled with many tips—smile, sincerely thank the giver, don't refuse, etc.—but the last tip is "do not compete with the giver."[1] Don't get into a giving contest where you must try to one-up them because you don't want to be in their debt. But some of us do this with God—we try to earn the gift of acceptance (and so much more) that God has given us. So, we must remember daily that the gospel and its benefits are received, not earned.

[1] Guttman, Jennifer. 2015. “How to Receive.” WikiHow. February 3, 2015. https://www.wikihow.com/Receive.