Do Not Yield - October 17

Read Galatians 2:3-5

But even Titus who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Reflect

What false doctrine or ideology has slipped into your sphere of influence? Are yielding in submission or fighting to preserve the gospel for present and future generations?

In an article titled “The Old Cross and the New,” A.W. Tozer wrote: “We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports, or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.”

If you aren’t familiar with Tozer, you may think he wrote this article just this year. But no, it was originally printed in 1946 and Dr. Tozer has been in heaven since 1963! But you see, every generation has to fight for the truth of the Gospel. Satan is always seeking to distort the truth because it is easier to believe a distortion of the truth than an outright lie. If it seems pretty close to the truth, we are more likely to believe it and are easier to deceive. But this is also why we cannot compromise one iota on the truth of the Gospel. We can’t give in to anyone’s demands to change it. As believers, our job isn’t to make the Gospel more palatable to the masses. Our job is to preach it to the masses and preserve the truth of it for every generation.

In today’s verses, Paul continued contending for the truth of the Gospel over and against the false teaching the Judaizers are preaching. The Judaizers preached that Gentile Christians must convert to Judaism (which required circumcision) and follow the Mosaic law. But that is not the Gospel that Paul or the other apostles were taught by the Lord. Paul pointed out that Titus, a Greek, was not forced to be circumcised, and yet, he was a genuinely saved convert to Christianity.

Paul said these false teachers “slipped in” among them as spies in order to find a way to bring them back into spiritual bondage. Jesus’ Gospel is a message of freedom from the striving of a works-based religion. It is knowing that Jesus accomplished for you what you could never accomplish for yourself! Why would anyone ever want to go back?

Cleverly, the deceivers didn’t outright reject the message that anyone who believes in Jesus would have eternal life. But they did add to the message. It was a “Jesus plus works'' system that they preached and the result was pulling people back into spiritual bondage and burdening them with trying to earn their salvation once again.

That is why Paul emphasized the importance of not yielding in submission to the false teachers. They would not budge on the truth of the Gospel. There is only one message that saves and that message needs to be passed on and passed down.

Tozer concluded his article with this thought: “Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid.”

Friends, it may be tempting to play the diplomat to try to please everyone. You may want to fudge on a few doctrines in effort to preserve your image and go down in what the world says will be “the right side of history.” But we cannot “yield in submission even for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved.”

Respond

Lord, I need Your courage to always contend for truth. I want to be used by You to help preserve the Gospel truth so that people can know the only Gospel that saves. Amen.

Reveal

Paul refused to yield even when it would have been easier to go along quietly, and sometimes our faith is tested in the same way—not in debates, but in everyday conversations. This week, pay attention to moments when someone around you expresses discouragement, guilt, or a sense that they’ll “never be good enough.” Instead of rushing to fix it or offering a pat answer, gently share a time when you felt the same weight and how you discovered that God’s love isn’t something you earn—it’s given freely. Maybe this comes over lunch with a coworker, in a late-night text to a friend, or while listening to a family member vent. By admitting your own struggles and pointing to the freedom you’ve experienced, you’re doing what Paul did—preserving the truth of the Gospel, not by force, but by showing that it brings real relief in real life.