Even Barnabas Was Led Astray (Galatians 2:13)

Recall that Peter was afraid of the men sent from James who pressured him and the others to reject grace and return to the law for relating to the Gentiles and for righteousness.

Not only did Peter and the others reject grace and return to the law, so did Barnabas (Galatians 2:13).

This walking away from grace by Peter, Barnabas, and other Jews occurred in Syrian Antioch.

In Acts 11, Barnabas brought Paul to Syrian Antioch to teach the new believers about the gospel of God's grace, which is what Jesus sent Paul to do (Acts 20:24).

Ironically, several years later, Barnabas walked away from the very grace in the very city that he brought Paul to for the purpose of teaching others the gospel of grace.

This occurrence shows how powerful leaders can be in leading people away from grace and into a law-based system for relating to God.

These leaders persuade people to believe that closeness with God is not only through faith in Jesus but also through following the list of daily discipleship disciplines.

These leaders convince people that spiritual growth happens by following the disciplines.

However, authentic, genuine spiritual growth happens as we grow in our understanding of the gospel of God's grace, which is everything he did for us in Christ.

Barnabas understood the gospel of grace.

He is the one who brought Paul to Syrian Antioch to teach it to others, (Acts 11:19-30) which is why Paul was surprised that "even Barnabas was led astray."

If Barnabas can be led astray from grace, it's likely that any of us can be, and the Galatians were.

This is why Paul wrote a letter to the Galatians - to convince them to return to grace.

The Galatians were led away from the grace of God that Paul taught them.

I examine this in my Blog - The Galatians Gave In To Religious Pressure: CLICK HERE

If this post was helpful, you may enjoy Brad’s books and his commentary on Galatians: CLICK HERE