"Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But from those who seemed to be something--whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man--for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me."
rejecting bad bondage
Titus
was like a “test case” as he arrived with Paul among the Jewish
Christians. How would the other apostles
perceive Titus’ faith in God? Was his
status before God to be made contingent upon certain actions such as
circumcision and Old Testament law, or would there be confirmation that his
standing before God is indeed, by grace and faith alone? Since this grace through faith is the crux of
Paul’s message, we can see why this plays so intimately on Paul’s concern about
running in vain. The gospel is at stake.
There
will always be those who will seek to bring us into bondage, and there are all
sorts of bondages. The real question is,
are we confident enough in what Jesus has done that we can stand before God and
before other people, justified by our faith in the Righteous One? Paul’s example to us is this: not even for one minute should we give into
thinking that we must, (or even can), secure our salvation by something other
than, or in addition to, our relationship with Jesus. Being a good student, a great parent, an
amazing ‘worship’ musician, an accomplished teacher, a skilled doctor or
missionary or preacher—none of that could ever be adequate! Only Jesus binds us to God. It is only to Jesus that we are to be
bound. And this is the only bondage,
which promotes life. [Paul labeled himself ‘bondservant’!]
In addition, if we seek to control and manipulate other
people, we are usually participating in a process of bringing them into some
sort of bondage to our own “requirements”.
Though none of us would want to bear the title “false brethren”, if this
is what we are doing, then this is how we are behaving—as false brethren! Have you set in your mind certain things
that others must do or say before you will accept them?
Have
you been on the receiving end of someone else’s “requirements” for
acceptance? Have you been bringing
others into bondage by your own additional “requirements” ?
Spend
time today meditating on the Gospel of Jesus:
there is no partiality or favoritism, there is nothing you or anyone
else can do to add to or improve upon it.
It is good. Jesus is good. And when you are with Him, you are enveloped
in His goodness, and you can invite others to join you.
Read and Pray: 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, James 2:1, John 15:4-5
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