Galatians 2

Defending the Gospel

2Then after fourteen years ^aI went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. ²And I went up ¹by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but ^bprivately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means ^cI might run, or had run, in vain. ³Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. ⁴And this occurred because of ^dfalse brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our ^eliberty which we have in Christ Jesus, ^fthat they might bring us into bondage), ⁵to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that ^gthe truth of the gospel might continue with you.

⁶But from those ^hwho seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; ⁱGod ²shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something ^jadded nothing to me. ⁷But on the contrary, ^kwhen they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised ^lhad been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter ⁸(for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the ^mcircumcised ⁿalso ^oworked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), ⁹and when James, ³Cephas, and John, who seemed to be ^ppillars, perceived ^qthe grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, ^rthat we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰They desired only that we should remember the poor, ^sthe very thing which I also was eager to do.

No Return to the Law

^11tNow when ⁴Peter had come to Antioch, I ⁵withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; ¹²for before certain men came from James, ^uhe would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing ⁶those who were of the circumcision. ¹³And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

¹⁴But when I saw that they were not straightforward about ^vthe truth of the gospel, I said to Peter ^wbefore them all, ^x“If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, ⁷why do you compel Gentiles to live as ⁸Jews? ^15yWe who are Jews by nature, and not ^zsinners of the Gentiles, ^16aknowing that a man is not ⁹justified by the works of the law but ^bby faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not ^cby the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

¹⁷“But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found ^dsinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. ¹⁹For I ^ethrough the law ^fdied to the law that I might ^glive to God. ²⁰I have been ^hcrucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh ⁱI live by faith in the Son of God, ^jwho loved me and gave Himself for me. ²¹I do not set aside the grace of God; for ^kif righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died ¹in vain.”