Galatians 2:1-10
Devotion by Tina Miller
Sermon by Rich Lanning
October 5, 2025
Introduction
Let’s take a little true/false quiz on what we learned in the first chapter of Galatians.
_____ The book was written by Peter [False. Who wrote it? Paul]
_____ Galatians is a letter [True]
_____ It was written to explain the true gospel [True]
_____ the people in Galatia had kicked some teachers out of their church for teaching a false gospel [False. The people were listening to the false teachers]
_____ The true gospel does not require us to do any religious works to be saved from our sin and to belong to the family of God. [True!]
Pray
Lord Jesus, help us today to understand the scriptures that are able to make us wise for salvation.
Background
Last week we saw that Paul defended the true gospel by sharing his own “testimony” about how Jesus saved him.
Ask: Do you remember what Paul used to do before Jesus came to him and changed him? What did he do afterwards?
Read the last verse of Galatians 1 to remember who gets the glory when the gospel changes a person’s life.
Looking into the scripture passage
In chapter one as Paul defended the true gospel, he told the story of how Jesus saved him from his own sin. In today’s verses, we’ll read another story that he tells to show how Jesus saves us without us having to obey rules and follow traditions.
Read: Galatians 2: 1-3
Ask: Why did Paul go up to Jerusalem? [to set before the church leaders the gospel that he was preaching to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people)
Someone who was not Jewish (a Gentile) went with him, who was that? [Titus]
Did the church leaders require Paul’s Gentile friend to perform Jewish requirements (to be circumcised)? [No]
While Paul was in Jerusalem, some people who pretended to be Christians tried to argue against Paul to the church leaders that the Gentiles needed to follow the Jewish laws and traditions. Let’s see how those leaders responded.
Read: Galatians 2:4
Ask: What did Paul say the false Christians were wanting to do? [Make us slaves]
What do you think this means? Slaves to what?
Slaves to obeying the law. Is anyone able to always obey the commandments of God? No! the more we try, the more we fail; we become slaves to trying and failing and then facing God’s judgment for not keeping His law perfectly.
This is why we need the gospel!
Read: Galatians 2:6-10
Ask: Who were the church leaders that Paul spoke to? [Peter, John, and James (the brother of Jesus)]
Did they add anything to Paul? Did they add to his gospel or say he should use their names in his preaching? [see verse 6]
What did they see was true about Paul? [that God had given him grace to tell about salvation through Jesus alone—verses 7 & 9]
Apply the passage
Activity1: Would you rather keep trying to slavishly win God’s favor by obeying all the rules all the time, OR would you rather trust in the death of Jesus to pay for your sins?
Do you remember the ABCs of the gospel?
- Admit your sin to God
- Believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died to take the punishment for your sin
- Confess with your mouth what you believe in your heart, that Jesus is your Savior and Lord and that you will follow him
Activity 2: Practice explaining the ABCs of the gospel to each other so that you can explain it to someone outside of your family. What would you say to a person who thinks they can earn God’s favor by being good?
Memorize
Let’s add the next part of the verses we began last week.
Last week’s memory work:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
This week’s verse:
That he was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:4
Practice the verse
These verses lay out the gospel in a “nutshell.” Print off the outline of nut and write the verses’ three points inside.
Extra Stuff
Songs to sing
Yet Not I, But Through Christ in Me” (CityAlight)
Books to read (these can be borrowed from the Kidstuff table in the church foyer)
Athanasius (Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr)
