Consultation

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Galatians 2:1-10; Isaiah 56:1-8

The frame of Galatians 2:1-10

The big picture: God's mending what humans have broken, and the cross of Christ is at the center of that picture.

The medium-sized picture: God's salvation is emerging out of the cradle of Judaism into the crucible of the Greco-Roman and Persian world, in which there will be all kinds of difficulties and persecution.

The micro-picture of Galatians: A conflict in a given church in Galatia in the middle of which Paul appeals to freedom in Christ, to the truth of the gospel of God's salvation, and to trust between believers. 

Paul's appeals to the Galatians

1. Freedom: The false teaching of these so-called teachers was deliberate subversion and enslaving. However, if the Son has set you free, then you are free indeed. You're free from evil, sin, fear, hatred, rage, anger, a desire for revenge, competition, etc. 
2. Truth: It's the truth of the gospel that sets you free, the truth of God's salvation. 
3. Trust: There was mutual trust, a trusting agreement to divide the workload, Peter to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles. There was not competition but cooperation. The gospel has practical consequences, and both trust and our care for the poor are some of them.

Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion

1. Where do you feel bound or enslaved in your life? In what ways are you not living in the freedom from evil, sin, fear, hatred, rage, anger, a desire for revenge, competition, etc. that is yours in the gospel?
2. What gospel truths do you need to hold onto so that you can experience the freedom that is yours? Take some time to identify the specific promises from God's word that he has given you precisely so that you can experience the freedom that your good Father so desperately wants you to experience.
3. Have you given space in your heart to mistrust of fellow believers? Do you feel a sense of competition with them? How does the gospel speak to this issue? What other practical consequences does the gospel have in a believer's life?