Ver. 21. +If righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.+--Died needlessly, without just cause. Christ's having died shows that the law has no power to justify us, for if the law can justify or make us righteous, the death of Christ is superfluous. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-9. _Confirmatory Proofs of a Divine Call--_ +I. Seen in a prudent consultation with the acknowledged leaders of the church+ (vers. 1, 2).--The men of reputation referred to in these verses are not so called by way of irony, but because of their recognised authority in the mother Church. Paul was not summoned to Jerusalem, but Divinely directed to take the journey. Neither his teaching nor his office was called in question, nor did he fear the most searching inquiry into his commission. Conscious of his Divine call, he claimed equality of status with the rest of the apostles and explained to them and to the Church the principles and methods of the Gospel he preached. He had nothing to fear, whatever might be the judgment of the Church leaders in Jerusalem. He expected from them nothing but sympathy and encouragement in his work, and he hailed with joy the opportunity of sharing the counsel of men as interested as himself in the success of the Gospel. With his God-given convictions and views, it was impossible for him to meet the apostles on any other ground than that of perfect equality. +II. Seen in a prompt and stern refusal to compromise principle+ (vers. 3-5).--The object of Paul's visit to Jerusalem was to discuss a vital principle of the Gospel--the right of the Gentiles to the privileges of the Gospel without observing the works of the Jewish law. A misunderstanding at that critical moment might have imperilled the liberty of the Gospel. The presence of Barnabas and Titus was significant--the one a pure Jew, a man of gentle disposition and generous impulse; and the other a Gentile convert, representing the world of the uncircumcised. It is to the credit of the Church leaders at Jerusalem that, with their strong Jewish prejudices, they admitted that the legal rite of circumcision must not be imposed on Gentile converts. They were so convinced that this was the will of God, and that He had already sanctioned this an essential feature of the Gospel, that they dared do no other. An attempt was made, not by the apostles, but by certain "false brethren," to insist that Titus should be circumcised; but this was promptly and stoutly opposed. A concession on this point would have been fatal to the universality of the Gospel--the whole Gentile world would have been trammelled with the bondage of legal ceremonies. It was then that the great battle of Christian liberty was fought and won. The victory was another testimony of the validity and power of the Divine commission with which Paul was entrusted.