Gospel of Grace - When Not to Yield

Galatians 2:1-10

Galatians 2:1-10: Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 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. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 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 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.

Recently my wife and I went to a Turkish restaurant in Patterson. The food was good, the service was excellent, the environment was welcoming, and the price was not too bad either. However, the sole reason we had chosen this particular restaurant was the fact that it had 300 positive reviews.

Why do we rely so heavily on the testimonies of others? Why do we care so much about the experiences of others? As humans, our shared experiences give us confidence in making decisions. These reviews, or testimonies, help us to make informed decisions based on others’ experiences.

Personal life experiences have always played a role in discovering and evaluating the truth. From a courtroom to a marketplace, we rely on testimonial evidence to assess and decipher the truth. This is also true in spiritual matters. Testimonies of faith are powerful tools to encourage, inspire, and move hearts and minds to explore and evaluate the truth of the gospel.