2Fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.G1899G1180G2094G1223G305G3825G1519G2414G3326G921G4838G5103G4838G2532 2I went because God revealed to me that I should go. In a private meeting with the leaders I explained the gospel message that I preach to the Gentiles. I did not want my work in the past or in the present to be a failure.G1161G305G2596G602G2532G394G846G2098G3739G2784G1722G1484G1161G2596G2398G1380G3381G4458G5143G2228G5143G1519G2756 3My companion Titus, even though he is Greek, was not forced to be circumcised,G235G3761G5103G3588G4862G1698G5607G1672G315G4059 4although some wanted it done. Pretending to be believers, these men slipped into our group as spies, in order to find out about the freedom we have through our union with Christ Jesus. They wanted to make slaves of us,G1161G1223G5569G3920G3748G3922G2684G2257G1657G3739G2192G1722G5547G2424G2443G2615G2248G2615 5but in order to keep the truth of the gospel safe for you, we did not give in to them for a minute.G3739G1502G5292G3761G4314G5610G2443G225G2098G1265G4314G5209 6But those who seemed to be the leaders - I say this because it makes no difference to me what they were; God does not judge by outward appearances - those leaders, I say, made no new suggestions to me.G1161G575G1380G1511G5100G3697G4218G2258G1308G3762G1308G3427G2316G2983G3756G444G4383G1063G1380G4323G3762G1698 7On the contrary, they saw that God had given me the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the task of preaching the gospel to the Jews.G235G5121G1492G3754G2098G203G4100G2531G4061G4074 8For by God's power I was made an apostle to the Gentiles, just as Peter was made an apostle to the Jews.G1063G1754G4074G1519G651G4061G2532G1754G1698G1519G1484 9James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, recognized that God had given me this special task; so they shook hands with Barnabas and me, as a sign that we were all partners. We agreed that Barnabas and I would work among the Gentiles and they among the Jews.G2532G2385G2532G2786G2532G2491G3588G1380G1511G4769G1097G5485G1325G3427G1325G1698G2532G921G1188G2842G2443G2249G1519G1484G1161G846G1519G4061 10All they asked was that we should remember the needy in their group, which is the very thing I have been eager to do.G3440G2443G3421G4434G846G5124G3739G4704G2532G4704G4160 11But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him in public, because he was clearly wrong.G1161G3753G4074G2064G1519G490G436G846G2596G4383G3754G2258G2607 12Before some men who had been sent by James arrived there, Peter had been eating with the Gentile believers. But after these men arrived, he drew back and would not eat with the Gentiles, because he was afraid of those who were in favor of circumcising them.G1063G4253G5100G2064G575G2385G4906G3326G1484G1161G3753G2064G5288G2532G873G1438G5399G1537G4061 13The other Jewish believers also started acting like cowards along with Peter; and even Barnabas was swept along by their cowardly action.G2532G3062G2453G4942G2532G846G5620G921G2532G4879G846G5272 14When I saw that they were not walking a straight path in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you have been living like a Gentile, not like a Jew. How, then, can you try to force Gentiles to live like Jews?"G235G3753G1492G3754G3716G3756G3716G4314G225G2098G2036G4074G1715G3956G1487G4771G5225G2453G2198G1483G2532G3756G2452G5101G315G1484G2450 15Indeed, we are Jews by birth and not "Gentile sinners," as they are called.G2249G2453G5449G2532G3756G268G1537G1484 16Yet we know that a person is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the Law requires. We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be put right with God through our faith in Christ, and not by doing what the Law requires. For no one is put right with God by doing what the Law requires.G1492G3754G444G1344G3756G1344G1537G2041G3551G3362G1223G4102G2424G5547G2532G2249G4100G1519G2424G5547G2443G1344G1537G4102G5547G2532G3756G1537G2041G3551G1360G1537G2041G3551G1344G3756G3956G4561G1344 17If, then, as we try to be put right with God by our union with Christ, we are found to be sinners, as much as the Gentiles are - does this mean that Christ is serving the cause of sin? By no means!G1161G1487G2212G1344G1722G5547G2147G846G2532G2147G268G687G5547G1249G266G3361G1096 18If I start to rebuild the system of Law that I tore down, then I show myself to be someone who breaks the Law.G1063G1487G3618G3825G5023G3739G2647G4921G1683G3848 19So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead - killed by the Law itself - in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on his cross,G1063G1473G1223G3551G599G3551G2443G2198G2316 20so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.G4957G5547G1161G2198G3765G1473G1161G5547G2198G1722G1698G1161G3739G2198G3568G2198G1722G4561G2198G1722G4102G5207G2316G3588G25G3165G2532G3860G1438G5228G1700 21I refuse to reject the grace of God. But if a person is put right with God through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing!G114G3756G114G5485G2316G1063G1487G1343G1223G3551G686G5547G599G1432
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