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The Amish Voice 2
falsely accused.
In the course of each trial, he would carefully investigate each fiber
of evidence. His search for clues enhanced his client’s defense. No
evidence was overlooked. When the case came to trial, Mason had to
present the evidence and defend his client before a prosecutor, jury,
and judge. And in the end, after the truth became known, his client
would be set free.
The apostle Paul found himself in the position of being put on trial,
of having to defend both himself and the gospel. In the context of the
trial, he presented every shred of evidence in defending the gospel and
his part in it. In his closing arguments, he challenged each man to pro-
claim the gospel to men who are guilty of sin.
As you recall, Paul was under attack by some false teachers and
critics in the Galatian churches. They were charging him with being a
self-proclaimed minister and with preaching a false gospel. He was
forced to defend himself and the gospel which he preached. In the pre-
sent passage, he defended the gospel which he preached in no uncer-
tain terms; and he showed how he defended it before the recognized
leaders of the church, the apostles themselves.
OUTLINE:
1. Paul’s second trip to Jerusalem (v.1).
2. He defended the work of the gospel (v.2).
3. He defended the gospel before false believers (vv.3-5).
4. He defended the gospel before any and all persons (v.6).
5. He defended the special call given to each man to proclaim the
gospel (vv.7-10).
1. PAUL’S SECOND TRIP TO JERUSALEM (v.1)
It must be remembered that Paul was being very careful and going to
extra pains to list his contacts with the Jerusalem church (v.1). He had
to show that his call and gospel had come from Christ and not from
men, not even from the leaders in Jerusalem. This was absolutely nec-
essary, for the basic qualification for being an apostle was having been
called by Christ Himself. Christ had appeared to him on the Damascus
road; Christ had saved and called Paul to preach the gospel. Therefore,
Paul met the basic qualification of being an apostle: he had seen the
Lord Jesus face to face. Christ had confronted him and personally
called him to be an apostle.
What Paul was doing in this particular verse was answering his
critics: he did not visit Jerusalem to discuss his call and gospel until
fourteen years after his first trip to see Peter, whom he had visited for
fifteen days (see Ga.1:18-20). He had been serving the Lord Jesus as a
minister and preaching the gospel for years before he visited the
church leaders at Jerusalem. His call and message had been proven by
years of service. His ministry for Christ was set; it could not legiti-
mately be questioned and denied—not by an honest person. The critics
were terribly wrong to be questioning his call and message.
2. HE DEFENDED THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL (v.2).
Note that God led Paul to go to Jerusalem (v.2). The trip was not a
man-planned journey; it was a God-called journey. God wanted Paul to
go to Jerusalem to protect the worldwide mission work of the gospel.
There were those in the church who were pressing the necessity of
ritual and rules for salvation, in particular the necessity of being cir-
cumcised and of subjecting oneself to keep the law of Moses.
Paul knew something: if men were allowed to add ritual and rules
to the gospel, he and his ministry would have been in vain (fruitless).
Every person who had trusted in Jesus Christ and every person who
would trust in Jesus Christ for salvation would have to undergo the
ritual of circumcision. They would have to focus their lives upon the
law instead of upon Jesus Christ.
This was the reason God led Paul to Jerusalem: to save the message
and work of the
true gospel
.
Just imagine the thousands of Gentile believers who had been
led to the Lord, and all the churches that had already been estab-
lished by Paul and others throughout the world.
Just imagine the catastrophic devastation upon the believers and
the churches if they had to return to their conversion experience
and add a ritual and other rules to their lives.
Note the method used by Paul to defend his case: private discus-
sions with the leaders, in particular with the apostles.
APPLICATION:
The minister must not run in vain. He must preach only the gospel,
and he must build his ministry upon only the gospel. He must not
allow ritual or rule, ceremony or law
to be added
to the gospel.
People are saved and people grow only by the gospel, only by the
good news of God’s love for the world—a love that was demon-
strated in the supreme gift of His Son to die
for us
.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might
be saved” (Jn.3:16-17).
ILLUSTRATION:
Does the
gospel make a difference? To put it simply, the “proof is
in the pudding.”
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QUESTIONS:
1. What kinds of things did Paul do to stifle criticism of his
ministry?
2. What can you do to prepare to defend yourself from those
who are critical of you, your faith, your beliefs?