- to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
Paul did not submit to the false brothers even for a moment. Why? To preserve the truth of the gospel for us.
It is important to notice that Paul was adamantly, even vehemently, opposed the false brothers with the same intensity as they were to Paul, if not more. There's a reason for this. And that reason is to preserve the truthfulness of the gospel.
The gospel is not merely a set of facts that we believe in when we are first saved. The gospel is the life saving and preserving message of the truth of the person, life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And not only should we believe these truths about the Saviour, but also live out these truths in our lives through the Spirit that the Father sent to us when we believed.
Paul could have let the false brothers get the better of him, and let Titus have a circumcision. That would effectively say outwardly that you need to have a circumcision to be truly saved and become a true Christian, just like the rest of the Jews in Israel.
That would effectively result in the masses of Gentiles receiving circumcision to be saved. Not only that, the false brothers also demanded that,
- But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:5)
Now the focus has shifted to the circumcision and the law of Moses which no man can keep completely and perfectly.
James 2:10
- For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
Romans 6:23
- For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now, the false brothers have completely missed the point of the law of Moses, and have forgotten why Jesus came to the earth, lived a perfect, sinless life and died as a perfect, spotless lamb without blemishes on the cross.
Romans 4:25
- He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Justification means that we are justified or become righteous before God, based on the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us.
In circumcision, we do something to try and make ourselves appear more righteous before God. In the cross, God does something to make us righteous.
In circumcision, we try to get glory for ourselves by our own deeds. In the cross, God gets glory by His own deeds for us.
Paul preserved the truth of the gospel by not submitting to the false demands of the false brothers.
What demands are put on you from your parents, friends, church or denomination that are contrary to the truth of the gospel?
What demands do you need to not submit in order to preserve the truth of the gospel in your life?
Paul did not yield to circumcision, nor did he yield to the Sabbath keeping or dietary restrictions.
Colossians 2:16, 17
- Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
What are you enslaved by? Is going to church a chore for you? Do you go to church just because you have to dutifully, rather than you get to enjoy the fellowship of your brothers and sisters, and to love God through personal and corporate worship in one place?
Do you tithe your money dutifully just because the church says good Christians tithe, therefore you should do as well, being influenced by guilt-provoking messages, rather than giving money out of joy for the Lord who is forever generous towards you?
2 Corinthians 9:7
- Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Is Bible reading a chore for you? Do you read your Bible just because you have to? Because that's what good Christians do? Rather than viewing the word of God as a guiding light that is shining in this dark world until the second coming of our Lord Jesus?
- We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19)
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