Today you should read: Galatians 2:1-10
In today’s passage, we see Paul join the ranks of the apostles. We see Paul get radically saved in Acts 9, and then we don’t see much of him again until Acts 13. Paul got radically saved, and his salvation changed everything. He refocused his zealousness of the things of Judaism to the things of Christ. At the end of the chapter 1 we see that he started proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ shortly after his conversion. He had the reputation of: “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” (1:23)
But in verse 1 of chapter 2, we see that it was another 14 years before Paul came and interacted with the other apostles. What you see so far in Galatians is Paul’s razor sharp focus on the true gospel. He desired to protect the integrity of the gospel and persuade others to see the truth of the gospel for themselves.
He also highlights how the gospel impacts how we view people. Multiple times in the book so far, we have seen evidence that Paul viewed people in a certain way. He says in verse 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.” He also says in chapter 1 verse 10: “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Paul loved people and wanted to see them come to know the truth of the gospel, but he did not seek to please them and he was not affected by how others viewed them; he was more concerned with God viewed them.
One of the affects of the gospel in your life is to be so consumed with God that you no longer have the bandwidth to seek approval from others, seek to please others, or to separate people in your mind based on their perceived worth by others. This does not come naturally to us. Our predisposition because of our sin is to want to use others not love them; use them to help us feel a certain way about ourselves or help us get something we desire. Like Paul, may the gospel free us to truly love others selflessly.
By: Graham Withers — Pastoral Ministry Associate
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