3 But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.
The gospel brought liberty, real freedom, not simply a theological platitude. Freedom from the external requirements of the Mosaic law. Paul enjoyed it completely and his converts likewise. Titus, himself a Gentile (referred to here as “Greek”), yet was fully employed in ministry without being circumcised.
Circumcision was the watershed separating Jews from Gentiles. Before Christ, any non-Jew who wanted to be right with God had to be embrace the Law of Moses, which was the moral and religious constitution of the Jewish people. They had to become what are called “proselytes” or converts to Judaism. Circumcision was the hallmark, the sign that indicated a person’s commitment to the Law of Moses (now this had immediate implications for the males physically, but also for the females in principle). However, Paul did not require circumcision of the Gentiles, and thus did not require them to convert to Judaism to be followers of Christ.
This alarmed the Jewish believers in Jerusalem, and resulted in some of them traveling 300 miles north to Antioch in Syria where Paul was ministering among a large number of Gentile believers—to spy out their behavior. The very way Paul writes about this reveals his great irritation at the efforts to bring these new believers into “bondage.” They had been set free from the very oppressive mandates that plague all religious efforts of the world, namely, that humans must labor under systems of laws to appease their guilt before God. Such thinking enslaves people in fear. Later in his letter, Paul says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free…” (Gal 5:1). The freedom Christians have comes through the Lord Jesus Christ and Paul goes to wall for this very issue.
Perversions of the gospel are on the rise today, just as in Paul’s day. Many teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. Others assert that good works maintain their salvation. Some minimize the message of grace as being just a character of behavior, and that behavior is what saves a person. But the message of forgiveness of sins freely given by a righteous, gracious, forgiving God through Jesus Christ is the pure gospel. “… for [gospel] is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). This the hill on which Paul plants his flag!
Lord, thank You for the freedom I have in Christ. He saved me freely and keeps me securely. Help me enjoy that freedom and not be again enslaved by the law.
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