Isaiah 19:1-21:17
Galatians 2:1-16
Psalm 59:1-17
Proverbs 23:13-14 

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New Testament: Galatians 2:1–16

Summary: Justified by Faith, Not by Works

Paul went to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus to explain the gospel he preached among the Gentiles. Titus was a Greek believer, yet the apostles did not require him to be circumcised. His salvation did not depend upon adopting Jewish ceremonies. He belonged to Christ by faith.

False brethren had secretly entered the church to spy out the believers’ liberty and bring them back under bondage. Paul’s response was firm: “To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:5, KJV). Paul would not compromise the gospel for the sake of avoiding conflict. If he had surrendered on this point, people would have been taught that faith in Christ was not enough.

The leaders in Jerusalem recognized that God had entrusted Paul with the gospel ministry to the Gentiles. James, Cephas, and John extended fellowship to Paul and Barnabas. They did not give Paul a different gospel. They recognized the same saving message and asked only that Paul remember the poor, which he was already eager to do (Galatians 2:9–10, KJV).

Later, Peter came to Antioch and withdrew from eating with Gentile believers because he feared the circumcision party. His conduct suggested that Jewish believers were spiritually superior and that Gentile believers were somehow unclean. Other Jewish Christians followed his example, and even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

Paul confronted Peter openly because his public conduct contradicted the gospel. Peter knew that sinners are not justified by keeping the law, yet fear caused him to act as though outward religious distinctions still determined acceptance with God. This was not merely a disagreement over table manners. Peter’s actions confused the truth about how God receives sinners.

Paul states the heart of the passage plainly: “A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16, KJV). To be justified is to be declared righteous before God. No sinner can earn that standing through ceremonies, religious performance, good works, or obedience to the law. We are justified through faith in Jesus Christ, who bore our sins and gives His righteousness to those who believe.

Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the price of salvation. We are saved “by grace” through faith, “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, KJV). Any message that makes human works necessary for justification denies the sufficiency of Christ’s finished work.

The gospel must also govern how believers treat one another. We cannot confess justification by faith while dividing Christians according to wealth, race, background, social position, or religious customs. Peter’s fear led him to act against what he knew was true. Paul’s correction reminds us that the gospel must shape both our doctrine and our conduct.

Old Testament: Isaiah 19:1–21:17

Isaiah announces God’s judgment upon Egypt. Its idols, wisdom, economy, and rulers could not save it. The Egyptians would turn to false gods and human counselors, but their plans would fail because they had rejected the Lord (Isaiah 19:1–15, KJV). A nation may possess wealth, influence, and learning, yet remain helpless before God.

Judgment, however, is not the final word in Isaiah 19. The chapter looks forward to a time when Egypt will know the Lord, worship Him, and be healed after being struck. Egypt, Assyria, and Israel are pictured together under God’s blessing (Isaiah 19:22–25, KJV). The Lord is not the God of one nation only. His saving purpose reaches people who were once enemies and idolaters.

Isaiah 20 uses the prophet’s public humiliation as a warning against trusting Egypt and Ethiopia for protection. Isaiah 21 then announces the fall of Babylon and judgment upon other nations. Human powers rise and fall, but the Lord remains sovereign over them all. Trust placed in governments, armies, wealth, or alliances will eventually fail. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Psalm 118:9, KJV).

Psalm: Psalm 59:1–17

David was surrounded by men who wanted to kill him, but he brought his danger directly to God: “Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me” (Psalm 59:1, KJV). He did not pretend that the threat was harmless, nor did he place his final confidence in his own strength.

David described God as his defense, refuge, and strength. Even before his circumstances changed, he declared, “I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning” (Psalm 59:16, KJV). Faith rests in who God is while danger is still present. The believer’s security is not found in favorable circumstances, but in the mercy and faithfulness of the Lord.

Proverbs: Proverbs 23:13–14

Proverbs teaches parents not to withhold necessary correction from a child. Biblical discipline is not cruelty, uncontrolled anger, humiliation, or abuse. It is loving correction directed toward rescuing a child from foolishness and its destructive consequences.

Parents must take this responsibility seriously while remembering the command, “provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4, KJV). Correction should be measured, purposeful, and governed by love. A parent who refuses all correction does not protect a child from pain. He leaves that child unprepared for the consequences of sin.

Bringing It Together

These readings expose the failure of trusting human effort and human approval. False brethren trusted religious works. Peter feared the judgment of men. Egypt trusted idols, wisdom, and political strength. David trusted the Lord while enemies surrounded him. Proverbs reminds parents that loving correction must confront foolishness rather than ignore it.

The gospel gives the final answer. We cannot justify ourselves before God. Jesus Christ alone accomplished what sinners could never accomplish. We are declared righteous through faith in Him, and that truth should free us from religious bondage, fear of people, hypocrisy, and confidence in human strength.

Discussion Question: Are you trusting completely in Jesus Christ to make you right with God, or are you still trying to add your own works to what He finished?


New Testament: Galatians 2:1-16

… because by works of the law no one will be justified.  ~ Galatians 2:16

Summary: Paul Accepted by the Apostles, Paul Opposes Peter, Justified by Faith

Remember the Poor

Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.    ~ Galatians 2:4-5

Both then and now, we have to be discerning about who teaches us. You’re not saved if you don’t take your salvation seriously. Those who understand God’s word and read the Bible for themselves should be very discerning about the leaders in the church they’re attending. Supporting complacent and compromising leaders will lead you, your family, and the people you invite on the path to hell. They use clever and indirect methods to deceive (and may not even realize they are doing so) which is a trick of Satan. It’s only by knowing God and His word in the Bible that you’ll know if you’re being deceived.

Is Your Church Serving Money

Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. ~ Galatians 2:10

There is no doubt that this is not an isolated verse. There are numerous references to this in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is God’s people’s duty to remember the poor and to be eager to remember them.

Seems to me when trying to find a Church whose main goal is to serve Jesus Christ and teach the Bible it has been tough to find one that does not often talk about needing your money so they can build a nicer building. Plus they ask that it is beyond your regular giving. Also if someone in the Church needs help they take up a special offering beyond your regular giving for them. My Bible study seems to point out that people are more important than the building and seeking the lost is more important than the building. Often when they actually give something to help out missions or people they don’t give much (a couple hundred) which doesn’t buy much. Then they parade them in front of the Church to show how great helping them was. Very sad and not what I read in the Bible that we should do.

A church that loses its outward focus, as evidenced by where it spends its money, is showing signs of spiritual weakness. Church consultant and author Thom S. Rainer, in his book Autopsy of a Dead Church, states that one of the symptoms of a dying church is that the percentage of the budget for members’ needs keeps increasing, while the money earmarked for outreach decreases.

 

Read this article from gotquestions.org – click here.

 

Churches that spend a lot of money on appearances, rather than the plethora of other much more important matters a church should be spending its money on, such as helping people in need or producing fruit within its community, is prioritizing material above God.

 

Just think about it for a minute. Why do cafes, bookstores, or coffee shops exist OUTSIDE of your church? They’re businesses, people. They exist to make money. If they weren’t going to make money by opening them, they wouldn’t open them.

 

So what? Who cares if they have a store that makes money, you say? I’ll tell you what. What happened when Jesus found people selling doves in the temple? Need I say more?

 

Churches that don’t serve money don’t have any of these lovely, convenient and comfortable features, and as a result, people don’t go to them. They don’t make money because they don’t care about making money. They care about preaching the Gospel. Last time I checked, that didn’t include selling t-shirts for the next big church picnic, which costs $25 per person to attend.

 

“Vision? Uh, the Bible. Mission? God. Cafe? Are we a business now? A logo? What the heck? What’s wrong with the cross?”

 

This is the attitude of a Christian who has zero interest in amusing, impressing, or appeasing the world. Rather, they care about God, the Bible, and Jesus. A church that cares more about pleasing and impressing people and the world are serving money and material, not God or His interests, which have nothing to do with indulging us in our worldly desires.

 

Read the article by clicking here.

 

Is Bigger Always Better?

A Mad Pursuit

 

Overview: Galatians  –  Click Here

 

 

That was true in the early church, wasn’t it? They were having all things in common, and when somebody had a need, somebody would sell something – chapter 2 of Acts – and they’d distribute it to those who had need. Early in the book of Acts in the sixth chapter, there were widows that didn’t have enough, and there were people appointed to make sure that the folks who had more than enough could get it to the folks who had not enough; and they were ministering to the saints. When it says “remember the poor,” it means the poor saints. Paul had done that in the middle of the fourteen years at some point. He came down with relief for those in the famine in Judea.

Do you remember the end of Romans chapter 15:26-27? “For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” Paul on his missionary journey always had the poor saints in Jerusalem in his mind.

 

 

 

 
 
 

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