< Galatians 2 >

The particular demand of these false teachers was that the Gentile Christians be circumcised like the Jews. Circumcision was introduced by God in the days of Abraham, and later he incorporated it in his Law through Moses. It involved a literal cutting off of the flesh and represented the cutting off of the lusts and thinking of the flesh out of the lives of the disciples. We do not have a controversy about circumcision today, but the insistence that the Gentile Christians keep the Law of Moses persisted through the centuries and is still felt now.

Most of the disciples at that time were Jews who had been brought up under the Law of Moses, and some of them introduced the false doctrine that the Gentile disciples had to keep the Law as well as the commandments of Christ. These men were “false brethren unawares brought in”, and the effect of their teaching was disastrous. It brought the disciples into slavery to the law v.4Waiting for response for Galatians 2:4 and if true would mean: “Christ is dead in vain”.

A principal element of the gospel is “the grace of Christ” (Galatians 1:6).Waiting for response for Galatians 1:6 This contrasts with the provisions of God under the Law of Moses which required Israel to obey every commandment perfectly. No person was able to do this, so God introduced another means of salvation, and this was by his grace (favour). By this, men and women are saved if they believe the gospel, are baptized into Christ, and obey his commandments. The contrast is expressed here by the apostle.

It is commonly thought that the ten commandments of the Law should be kept by Christians, but these formed the core of the Law of Moses from which the disciples were freed by Christ. Nine of these commandments were reiterated by him, but the Sabbath law was not. However, for centuries the churches imposed the Sabbath law on the people of Christendom and enforced their edict, with severe penalties on any who did anything other than attend church on Sundays. True disciples treat every day as a day to serve the Lord, as well as meeting on the first day of the week to remember Jesus, not because of the Sabbath law (in any case the Sabbath day was Saturday), but because Jesus wishes it.