Paul Accepted by the Apostles
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Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.
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I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those 1who seemed influential) the gospel that 2I proclaim among the Gentiles, 3in order to make sure I was not running or had not 4run in vain.
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But even Titus, who was with me, 5was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.
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6Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in--who 7slipped in to spy out 8our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, 9so that they might bring us into slavery--
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to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that 10the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
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And from those 11who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; 12God shows no partiality)--those, I say, who seemed influential 13added nothing to me.
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On the contrary, when they saw that I had been 14entrusted with 15the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised
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(for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles),
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and when James and Cephas and John, 16who seemed to be 17pillars, perceived the 18grace that was given to me, they 19gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
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Only, they asked us to remember the poor, 20the very thing I was eager to do.
Paul Opposes Peter
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For before certain men came from James, 23he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing 24the circumcision party.
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And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
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But when I saw that their 25conduct was not in step with 26the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas 27before them all, "If you, though a Jew, 28live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
Justified by Faith
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We ourselves are Jews by birth and not 29Gentile sinners;
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yet we know that 30a person is not justifieda by works of the law 31but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, 32because by works of the law no one will be justified.
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But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found 33to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!
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For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)