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Paul is given a right a hand fellowship to continue preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. 

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is  ‘oh  freedom!’  Freedom in the context of our reflection means the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved by religious tradition or doctrines. Paul after meeting Jesus through a revelation during his conversion preached the Gospel to the Gentiles and by the power and grace of God, many were saved. The challenge was that false Jewish preachers or teachers in the church such as the Galatian church stressed the fact that salvation through faith alone is not enough, a person must be circumcised to make complete his salvation in Jesus Christ. “But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.  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 2:3-5) This teaching became an obstacle to the Gentile believers. In other words, salvation through the Jewish tradition of circumcision places a burden and enslaves the Gentile believers. Paul presented the issue before the Apostles at Jerusalem for determination to make sure that his mission of spreading the Gospel and saving souls among the Gentiles was not in vain. (Galatians 2:1-2) 

The Apostles realised that justification was through faith in Christ only and no other standard such as circumcision was needed. The Gentiles obtained freedom in Christ and need not go through any form of physical circumcision to make their salvation complete. Paul wrote that “On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised  (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas(Peter) and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (Galatians 2:7-10) . The Gospel of Christ liberates us from any form of traditions and doctrines that seek to stress the fact that we must do something physically apart from belief in Jesus as our Lord and Savior in order to be saved. Jesus accepts and grants salvation to both the circumcised and the uncircumcised. No matter a person’s race or ethnic background Jesus is willing to save anyone who repents and accept Him as Lord and Saviour through baptism. 

In the 21st Century, some churches are still placing impediments and burdens on believers in addition to their belief in Jesus Christ. For example, menstruating women cannot participate in worship, women cannot preach or lead in some churches, a man who is married to two wives cannot participate in the Holy Communion, A second wife is also exempted from Eucharist. Some Christian churches have also allowed certain cultural practices to synchronise with our Christian beliefs and practices.  The Gospel of Christ liberates us from any man-made doctrine or traditions. A believer’s faith in Christ and his obedience to the Word of God as a true disciple is all that is needed to grant us genuine freedom in Christ. Shalom.

PRAYER 

ALMIGHTY GOD, HELP US TO APPRECIATE AND EMBRACE THE FREEDOM WE HAVE IN CHRIST THROUGH THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL SO THAT WE MAY NOT BE ENSLAVED BY MAN-MADE TRADITIONS AND DOCTRINES. AMEN. 

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)