No Other Gospel

6 I am astonished that you are lso quickly deserting mhim who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to na different gospel— 7 onot that there is another one, but pthere are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or qan angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, rlet him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, rlet him be accursed.

10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying sto please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a tservant2 of Christ.

Paul Called by God

11 For uI would have you know, brothers, that vthe gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.3 12 wFor I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it xthrough a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of ymy former life in Judaism, how zI persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely azealous was I for bthe traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he cwho had set me apart dbefore I was born,4 and who ecalled me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to5 me, in order fthat I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;6 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then gafter three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James hthe Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, ibefore God, I do not lie!) 21 jThen I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to kthe churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

2 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 lwho seemed influential) the gospel that mI proclaim among the Gentiles, nin order to make sure I was not running or had not orun in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, pwas not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 qYet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who rslipped in to spy out sour freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, tso that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that uthe truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those vwho seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; wGod shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential xadded nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been yentrusted with zthe gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, vwho seemed to be apillars, perceived the bgrace that was given to me, they cgave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, dthe very thing I was eager to do.

Paul Opposes Peter

11 But ewhen Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him fto his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, ghe was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing hthe circumcision party.1 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their iconduct was not in step with jthe truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas kbefore them all, “If you, though a Jew, llive like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Paul first underlines the importance of what is at stake: nothing less than the gospel. The Galatians are deserting God for a different (Gal. 1:6), distorted (v. 7), diametrically opposed and preacher-accursed gospel (v. 8)—which is no gospel at all. Paul’s gospel (v. 12)3 is not man’s but Christ’s, because it is revealed by Christ (v. 11). Nevertheless, it received the imprimatur of the Jerusalem church (2:1–2). It is indeed the gospel.

Only when we reach 2:3 do we begin to learn what constitutes the Galatian false gospel: insisting that Gentile converts must be circumcised to be true Christians. Three pieces of evidence prove that this is contrary to the true gospel:

• Titus, a Gentile, was not required to be circumcised when he and Paul visited Jerusalem (2:3).

• James, Peter, and John confirmed Paul’s gospel (vv. 6–10).

• Peter’s ceasing to eat with uncircumcised believers in Antioch when “certain men came from James” merited Paul’s opposition and condemnation (thankfully, Peter later described him as “our beloved brother,” 2 Pet. 3:15). Barnabas’s similar reaction involved him being “led astray by … hypocrisy” (Gal. 2:11–14).

Circumcision is not a condition of justification; therefore, Gentile believers do not need to be circumcised.

Often, this Galatian deviation is condemned as “legalism,” and in light of that, we immediately condemn anything we call “legalism.” But Paul’s strategy is more biblically-theologically anchored. It therefore provides us with a more effective pastoral dynamic. He does more than simply categorize and condemn. He is at pains to restore (4:19) by expounding the biblical paradigm of the relationship between the law and the gospel. Having established what’s at stake, he lays bare that gospel in a way that shows where and why the Galatians have deviated from it, and how they may be recovered. For only a right understanding of the gospel and its relationship to the law brings restoration.

Such an approach equips us to deal with contemporary deviations in a responsible, pastoral way. The desire Paul later expresses,

“If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him …” (6:1),

can be applied to the theological realm as well as the ethical. We are called to engage in the hard and costly task of restoration not simply in the immediate, easier (and sadly, self-satisfying to the flesh) act of condemnation. This is the first lesson Paul teaches us.

Galatians is by no means the easiest letter in which to unpack Paul’s deep logic. It is helpful, therefore, to notice four pastoral-theological “moves” he makes.

Christ Has Set Us Free, Edited by D. A. Carson and Jeff Robinson Sr