Jump Start # 1387
Galatians 2:4-5 “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. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the Gospel would remain with you.”
Our passage today sounds like a suspenseful movie. There were false brethren, spying, people sneaking in, attempts to capture. This however, wasn’t a movie. This actually took place. The Jewish set was determined to disrupt and destroy the leaders of Christianity. They had some success. Stephen had been killed. James was killed. Peter and John were in and out of jail. The disciples had scattered. Yet, in all of this, Christianity grew. It continued to grow. It was larger than one person. It did not need one location to keep it going. Then, a leading persecutor, Saul, flipped over and became one of the disciples. The Jews turned on him and were set to destroy him.
There are several interesting expressions and words we ought to look at from our verse today.
First, there were false brethren. They were not true. They were not true to Christ. They were false because of the what they were doing. True brethren unite. True brethren seek to build up and grow. False brethren strive to divide. False brethren try to alienate, separate and destroy. The false brethren are not after good. The expression “false brethren” is concerning to us. Who and what were they? Had they been immersed as the true brethren had? Were they worshipping with the saints on a regular basis as true brethren were? Could these folks be the wolves in sheep clothing that Jesus referred to? We have a lot of questions and not a lot of information from the text. They were mainly false because they were not following Christ. They had a different agenda. Was it always that way with them or had they been bought out by the Jews?
A greater question, are there such things as false brethren today? Maybe not to the extent of these Jewish radicals, but a person who becomes a Christian for reasons other than salvation, their soul and Christ, may fall into this listing. A person may become a Christian because that is the only way to be allowed to marry someone that they have been dating. Their conversion, faith and walk with Christ is shallow and driven by the desire to get married. Once the “I dos” are said, they drop out and are rarely seen. They have not been converted. Someone else may do a similar thing just to grab attention. He sees others getting hugs and a lot of attention after baptism, and they hunger for that. So they get baptized, but they have not been converted. Still others, may see a great circle of clients to sell things to. Becoming one of them is just an attempt to gain confidence so as to make profit off of them. Using the brethren for ulterior motives. The heart of those that do such things is not changed and their sins have not been forgiven because they have not sought Christ, nor have they made Christ their Lord. What they have done was not an act of faith, but a selfish attempt to get what they want.
Second, these false brethren were sneaking in and spying on the brethren, and Paul particularly. It seems that these false brethren were flunkies doing the dirty work for someone higher up. They would get the dirt needed and then tell who ever sent them and then the curtain would fall on Paul. The problem with all of this mastermind plan was that Paul was above board. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. There was nothing to catch Paul doing that he would be ashamed of nor found guilty of. Paul was true to Christ and running on his convictions. He wasn’t like these Jewish spies who broke the law for their own convenience.
Among brethren today, there is no need for secrets. Available financial sheets, open communication ought to be the norm among brethren. It is when things are hush hush or only a select few are in the loop that suspicion arises. Trust, love and faith in Christ and one another eliminates all those things. Spying on one another is rather sick thinking.
Third, Paul wouldn’t give these false brethren any time. The expression is, “we did not yield to them in subjection, for even an hour.” Paul knew. He knew that these spies were spies. He knew the false brethren were false. They pretended to be genuine, but they were fakes. Paul recognized. One’s true colors show after a while. He would not give them a platform. He would not give them his ear. He would not listen to them. They were false and their agenda was to hurt and destroy and they were not allowed to have any influence upon the brethren.
Some folks shouldn’t be given the platform to speak. Most often today, it’s done from a pew during a Bible class. Someone has some gripes that they want to air. Someone has an agenda that he wants to parade before others. Someone wants to use the occasion to take some pot shots at the leaders or the church in general. They dominate time and express their agendas, often upsetting those who listen to their rant and little good is done. The purpose of the class is to study the Bible, instead, it becomes a time for rebels, radicals and those not committed to the kingdom to throw stones. I’ve seen it happen. It’s not pretty, nice, wise nor what God would approve of.
From our passage, Paul would not allow the false brethren even an hour. They are false. Their motives are not pure. They are not set for the kingdom of Christ. So hush up. Put your hand down. You will not be allowed to speak, give a talk nor address the congregation. Shepherds today must protect God’s people. There are times when these very actions must take place. Until someone can demonstrate and prove that they are wanting to encourage, help and strengthen souls, then they should not be given an moment of time. The church is not a democracy—the will of the people. It is a theocracy—the will of God. No, not everyone has the right to speak out. No, not everyone has the right to say what they want. If what being said, disrupts, distorts, hurts and is counter productive to the kingdom, then no, you don’t get to speak. It’s easy to cast stones, point fingers, accuse and then do nothing about it. It’s easy to upset, splinter and divide a group. This often happens by allowing anyone to say anything.
Paul wouldn’t put up with it. Not even for an hour. We stand with Christ. We hold to the one faith of the Gospel. If someone isn’t true to that, then change or hit the road. Years of good can go out the window in a few moments through the stirring things up by radicals. Years ago, I had a close encounter with such a spirit. He wanted to preach. He wanted to dominate class time. He thrived on controversy. He was upsetting folks. He didn’t want to talk in private. There was no one on one that he was interested in. It was the group that he was after. He loved to see folks stirred up and upset. His heart wasn’t right. I got with him finally, one on one. Just me and him. His tone was hostile and mean. He had little good to say about anything we were doing. He accused, pointed fingers and was extremely negative. I told him that every church building that I had ever been in, from little country churches, to big, large city churches, all of them had a front door. I told him if he wasn’t happy with us, leave. Go. Find another church. He was stunned. He’d never heard a preacher asking someone to leave. He tried to turn that against me. I read our verses today from Galatians. I told him that I had given him more time than Paul would have. He finally left. He bounced around unhappily for a few years. Worshipped in his house by himself for a while. The last I heard, he fell off the map and stopped his journey with the Lord.
Be like Jesus. Treat others like Jesus would. Live by faith, hope, compassion. Seek to do good as Jesus did. Build up. Strengthen others. Leave this place in a better condition than when you came. If you can’t do that and if you insist on being sour and troublesome, maybe it’s time to start looking for the door.
God treasures His word and His people. Be right with both.
Not even for an hour, would Paul put up with them.
Roger