Galatians 2:4-10
4 “Yet it was a concern because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy on our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them, even for an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. 6 But from those who were of considerable repute (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism)—well, those who were of repute contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who was at work for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised was at work for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.10 They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.”
In order to enslave us: False teachers tried to ruin the Gospel by combining it with law. For Titus, that meant pressure to be circumcised (Galatians 2:1-3). But this is spiritual double-talk. Those who wanted to add to the finished work of Christ had contradictory messages. In one breath they clearly believed that the Gospel was founded on grace because they believed in Jesus. But on the other hand, they felt the need to add rules and regulations to somehow perfect the work of Christ.
Yield in subjection: Paul and Titus did not submit to a combination of law and Gospel because they knew that the Gospel was based solely on the finished work of Christ. Humans want to give themselves a role in salvation. It feeds the flesh. But the Gospel is God’s promise to Himself that Jesus would be our priest and savior forever (see Hebrews 6:18). The only role we have is to believe it.
Uncircumcised: Paul was called to be a minister to the Gentiles, those who had no relationship with the law whatsoever. This mission was affirmed by James, John, and Peter who were ministers to the Jews. This was significant because it demonstrated that there was no longer a divide between Jews and Gentiles. Both groups are part of the church through faith in Christ.
