As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

What had been happening in Galatia seems to go beyond circumcision and at its root the Jews in the area were claiming a higher or “esteemed” status compared to their Gentile brothers and sisters in Christ. This carried on into words and actions, most likely with them saying they will not follow Paul’s teaching or the leaders he established in the church, but reported only to those apostles of “elevated status”.

We see this happening in our culture and even churches, at times, today. In Idaho, we have a lot of people moving in from other states in the country. And many of the people here do not want the traffic, development, and the trailing costs of this. So they tell these people to “keep out”. The costs are real: 1) Property values have risen so high that native Idahoan’s children cannot buy a starter home anymore, or even afford rent. 2) If you are on a well system, and suddenly there is a lot of development around you, your aquifer could start to dry up and it can be $30,000 – $60,000 to drill another well. 3) If you are used to having fewer vehicles around, driving in increased traffic can be stressful and the more aggressive drivers can cause more accidents.

The above are all just reasons for opposing people moving in. But are they Godly and do they go too far? Are we not supposed to spread the gospel and seek and save the lost in our Christ-given mission?

In our churches, we can divide over non-core, doctrinal issues. This might be how we baptize or how we pray or how much value we place on church growth vs. discipleship.

Paul’s point here is that we can either focus on our differences and attack people in unloving ways, or we can focus on how we can unify as the body of Christ and celebrate some doctrinal diversity. (One caveat here, dogma issues are principles foundational to the Christian faith, such as Creation, one God, a sinful mankind, Jesus being God’s Son and our Savior, and the rebirth into new life with the Spirit of God, to name a few. The stances are non-negotiable, and we cannot flex here, as they define what it means to be a Christian).

Some takeaways here from Paul: 1) When calling out sin in someone else’s life, it is also important to give them a model of Godly behavior. Paul and Peter showed this model to the churches in that though they ministered to different people groups, Peter still extended the Hand of Fellowship to Paul. They served together in the same Spirit preaching the same gospel, though in different locations and interacting with different cultures. 2) We are all accountable to God first, so titles and positions mean little in our churches. Paul was called by Jesus, and he did not need approval from the other disciples for this calling. He did, however, try to build unity with them.

Whom can I extend the Hand of Fellowship to today, even though we may be vastly different in some ways? Will I be quick to judge others and elevate myself, or will I unite with fellow believers to share Christ’s love to a dying world?

Lord, thank you for this passage showing how Paul rebukes in love and how he models healthy Christian living. May I seek first your priorities. And may I look to Jesus to heal wounds and draw me closer to those he allows me to live and serve with!