A VITAL VICTORY
(Galatians 2:1-10)

"We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you." (v5)

It was December 1944 when the Germans sought to turn the tide of the war by staging a massive break-out at the Ardennes through the advancing allied forces. The German army spearheaded their attack with infiltrators dressed in American uniforms and driving American jeeps. In paving the way for the German attack, those infiltrators (under the cover of their false identities) carried out vital reconnaissance missions and badly disrupted allied communications. They proved to be deadly enemies.

It's therefore something of a shock to see that the Christian churches at Galatia were penetrated by infiltrators (v4). These "false brothers" (ie pretend Christians) had deadly intent. According to v4, their purpose was to spy out the Christian territory and enslave its occupants, reducing to servitude those who had found freedom in Christ through the Gospel. Had the infiltrator-led Ardennes offensive succeeded and turned the tide of the war, concentration and slave-labour camps would undoubtedly have come to our own shores. The spiritual threat to the churches of Galatia was no less serious.

The Christian church began at Jerusalem. At its inception it was a distinctively Jewish church. As it later spread beyond the boundaries of Israel, a 'circumcision group' arose within Jerusalem that wished to impose a Jewish control upon the expanding church. To do this, they insisted that circumcision (the distinctive label of Jewish identity) was necessary to salvation (Acts 15:1). In effect they added a denominational man-made requirement to the divine saving power of the Gospel, superimposing the authority of man upon the authority of God. Adding to the Gospel in this way constituted a very serious perversion, turning it into a "different gospel" (1:6) and nullifying its power.

This situation speaks with extraordinary relevance to our situation today. A superimposed denominational authority or badge of identity can replace a church's focus on the divine saving power of the Gospel. If it does, the following characteristics are likely to become apparent:

1. Loyalty to denomination will override loyalty to the Gospel. Peace and unity will become valued above faithfulness to Biblical truth.
2. Church members will submit to their leaders and hierarchy regardless of what those leaders may believe, say or do. Senior positions of authority will become occupied by those who deny plain Biblical truths.
3. Church rules, traditions and regulations will become more important than the preaching of the Gospel.
4. Energy and time will be expended in procedures and organizational adjustment rather than evangelistic outreach. The church's agenda will remain largely unrelated to New Testament priorities.
5. Evangelicals (those who make the Gospel their controlling priority) will be regarded as troublesom and divisive.
6. Such churches will hardly ever hear the Gospel and be puzzled and disturbed by it when it is proclaimed within their hearing.
7. Such churches will have nothing to say worth hearing.

Such characteristics result when denominational identity and authority creep into a position of priority over the cause of the Gospel. If the characteristics sound familiar, then it means that infiltrators are at work within the Christian church today and that Paul's message is for us.

What are we to do in such a situation? We must avail ourselves of the vital victory that Paul won on our behalf two millennia ago! Verses 6-10 show how Paul established beyond any doubt the authority and authenticity of the apostolic Gospel he preached. The circumcision party was claiming the authority of the Jerusalem apostles. But in presenting his Gospel to those Jerusalem authorities, Paul completely refuted this. The Jerusalem apostles added nothing to Paul's Gospel (v6), recognized Paul's apostolic status (vv7-8), expressed their fullest public support for Paul (v9a), approved his mission (v9b) and demonstrated accord on all subsiduary concerns (v10). Paul was encouraged to carry his Gospel to the Gentile world without seeking the imprimatur of Jerusalem.

Paul's victory over the judaizing infiltrators has thus equipped the Christian church with a divine legacy - a proven, authenticated apostolic Gospel that came direct from the lips of the risen Jesus (1:11-12). This means that evangelical churches today are equipped with nothing less than proven divine truth on which they can stand, refuting error and uniting and advancing together in the cause of Christ.

When a soldier dons the uniform of his enemy, he immediately forgoes the protection of the Geneva Conventions. When the German infiltrators in the Ardennes offensive were captured, they were not sent back to POW camps. They were tried by field court martials and summarily executed. Armies the world over have always treated infiltrators in this way. Paul (an extraordinarily gracious Christian) was similarly implacable in dealing with the infiltrators of his own day. He "did not give in to them for a moment" (v5). Evangelicals today should likewise not give an inch to the perverting influences of infiltrators who would today enslave human souls and corrupt the Christian church, however powerful and important such "false brothers" may appear. Standing on Gospel truth has always brought persecution and will continue to do so. But only through genuine evangelical ministry will the souls of our nation turn from wickedness and find eternal life and freedom in Christ through the preaching and teaching of the unadulterated apostolic Gospel.

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