But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:
The apostle brought with him to Jerusalem a Greek man named Titus. In this environment, Paul says that Titus was never “compelled” to be circumcised.
Gill writes that there was such agreement between Paul and his fellow apostles that this was not an issue.
A person might be compelled in different ways.
- He might be physically forced.
- He might be instructed and convinced.
- He might be intimidated and shamed.
None of these were the case. None of the leadership of the church, or the members of the church in Jerusalem whom Titus met, made him feel lesser as a believer or that he was left out of their fellowship because he had not been circumcised.
And, I might add, the physical event was not all that was implied. Circumcision was used to represent all that meant following the Law of the Old Testament. One might never know whether a man was physically circumcised, but he would be able to observe whether he practiced other parts of that Law.
The point is that the church in Jerusalem gave no impression to either Paul or Titus that they believed a Gentile must observe those laws.
Peter experienced a time when he was intimidated by the Judaizers. Barnabas and some others followed suit. We are all human, and we all can fall under peer pressure.
But even in Jerusalem, overwhelmed by the influence of Jewish culture, the believers knew that Gentile believers (as well as the Jewish ones) were free from the Law.
The Law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. We thank God for it and have much to gain by studying it.
But we are under no obligation—and indeed do ourselves great harm—if we attempt to revert back to the observation of it.
#LibertyInChrist #NotCompelled #FreeFromTheLaw #GraceNotWorks #GospelFreedom
The Quiet Test in Jerusalem: A Living Example of Christian Liberty
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