Connect Galatians 2:3 with Acts 15:1-2 regarding circumcision and early church debates.

Setting the Scene

• Galatians 2 describes Paul’s private meeting in Jerusalem with the “pillars” (2:1-2).

• Acts 15 records the public council in Jerusalem that settled the same controversy.

• In both accounts the core issue is identical: Must Gentile believers adopt circumcision to be saved?

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Titus as a Test Case

• Galatians 2:3: “Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.”

– Titus, a full-blooded Gentile, stands beside Paul as living evidence of salvation by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).

– His uncircumcised status is deliberately highlighted: the leaders “compelled” no ritual change.

– This matches Acts 15:19, where James concludes that Gentiles should not be troubled with the yoke of the Law.

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The Immediate Conflict

• Acts 15:1-2: Certain men from Judea insisted, “Unless you are circumcised … you cannot be saved.”

– Paul and Barnabas “had no small dispute,” underscoring the gospel’s purity at stake (Galatians 1:8-9).

– The church sends them to Jerusalem, linking the timeline with Paul’s Galatians 2 visit.

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What Was at Stake

• Salvation by faith versus salvation plus works.

• The sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14).

• Unity between Jewish and Gentile believers (Ephesians 2:14-16).

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Parallel Details

• Same traveling companions: Acts 15:2 lists Barnabas; Galatians 2:1 adds Titus.

• Same opponents: “men from Judea” (Acts 15:1) align with “false brothers secretly brought in” (Galatians 2:4).

• Same verdict: freedom from circumcision requirements (Acts 15:10-11; Galatians 2:5).

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Related Scriptures

• Genesis 17:10-14 – Circumcision instituted for Abraham’s physical seed.

• Romans 4:9-12 – Abraham justified before circumcision, showing it as a sign, not a means of salvation.

• Philippians 3:2-3 – “We are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God.”

• Galatians 5:1-6 – Receiving circumcision as a merit forfeits grace.

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Key Takeaways

• Scripture presents a unified, literal narrative: both passages confirm salvation apart from Mosaic rituals.

• Titus’s uncircumcised status serves as a practical demonstration of the gospel’s power to save Gentiles unchanged by Jewish ceremony.

• The early church, guided by the Holy Spirit and apostolic authority, protected the gospel from legalistic additions.