02 Galatians 1:11-2:10 Paul’s defense of his gospel

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Do you ever doubt this whole Christian thing? Do you ever worry that this message of grace and peace with God is simply someone’s clever invention? Maybe that group of 12 just made it up? Or how do you know you aren’t just here because you’re parents brought you when you were young and it’s a habit now? Or how do you know you weren’t just duped when you hit bottom in your life and you would just cling to any message of hope? We all have those doubts at times. Paul’s addresses them in Galatians 1:11-2:10.

In this passage, Paul argues that you can have absolute confidence in the message of the gospel he preaches because the gospel message was revealed by God himself; it does not result from human invention.

Outline

Galatians 1:11-12—he states his point that he received the gospel through revelation. Then he supports it by reviewing his biography:
1:13-14 — what happened before his conversion
1:15-16 — what happened at his conversion
1:16-24 — what happened after his conversion

Galatians 2:1-2: Paul goes to Jerusalem and meets with the other apostles; Paul notes two significant events resulted from this meeting:
2:3-5 — Titus (a Gentile believer) was not compelled to be circumcised
2:6-10— the other apostles approved Paul’s message and gave him the right hand of fellowship