God Shows No Partiality - Galatians 2:1-10

After all the years Paul had served in the cause of the gospel he sought verification to make sure the gospel he was teaching was the truth and in no way compromised. Through all of Paul’s letters, we see the common thread of concern for the preservation of the gospel and a refusal to compromise it in any way.

Paul is making the point to the Galatians that the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were concerned with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, its purity and truth, striving to protect it from corruption. They were not concerned with physical circumcision because they understood that it had no bearing on our salvation. They understood that circumcision of the heart is what matters. Physical circumcision was a sign that prefigured the circumcision of the heart of those called out and set apart in the body of Jesus Christ.

Influence and popularity are sought after and coveted by worldly minds, and often the opinions, viewpoints, narratives, that are put forth by the influential are accepted and believed without question. As believers, we are told to test the spirits, test everything, to hold on to what is true and good. Regardless of someone’s status, what they say or teach must be tested against the word of God in scripture. We do this not in a mean-spirited way in order to point fingers in accusation, but with temperance and love. Our concern is for the truth of the gospel, not tearing others down.