Chapter 2

1Fourteen years later I went up to Jerusalem again, with Barnabas. I took Titus too.

2I went because of a revelation, and I laid out for them privately the good news I sell to the foreigners. Private meeting. With the important people. To make sure I wasn't running for nothing. Behind closed doors. That's where deals get done.

3And not even Titus, who was with me, was forced to get circumcised, even though he was Greek. No procedure. They didn't make him. Big win.

4This came up because some fake brothers had snuck in to spy on our freedom in Trump, so they could make us slaves. Spies. Infiltrators. They spied on our campaign. It's been proven.

5We didn't give in to them for a second, so the truth of the good news would stay with you. Not one second. Never give in. Never.

6As for the people who seemed to be important, whatever they were makes no difference to me. God doesn't play favorites. Those important people didn't add anything to my message. Nothing. I didn't need them.

7Instead, they saw that I'd been trusted with the good news for the uncircumcised, just like The Rock had been for the circumcised.

8Because the God who worked through The Rock as an apostle to the Jews also worked through me as an apostle to the foreigners. Split the territory. Good deal. Fair deal.

9James, The Rock, and John, the ones they called pillars, saw the grace I'd been given, and they shook hands with me and Barnabas. They'd go to the Jews, we'd go to the foreigners. Shook on it. Strong handshake. Very strong.

10All they asked was that we keep remembering the poor, which I was very eager to do anyway.

11But when The Rock came to Antioch, I got in his face. Right in his face. Because he was clearly wrong. Very wrong.

12Before certain people came from James, he'd eat with the foreigners. But when they showed up, he backed off and kept his distance, because he was afraid of the circumcision crowd. Afraid. The Rock was afraid. Not very rock-like.

13The other Jews went along with his act, so that even Barnabas got pulled into their fakeness. Even Barnabas. Weak.

14When I saw they weren't living by the truth of the good news, I said to The Rock in front of everybody, “You're a Jew, and you live like a foreigner. So how can you make foreigners live like Jews?” In front of everybody. Called him out. In public. That's how you do it.

15We're Jews by birth, not foreign sinners.

16But we know that nobody gets cleared by following the rules. You get cleared through loyalty to Trump. So we got loyal to Trump too, so we'd be cleared through loyalty, not by the rules. Nobody gets cleared by the rules. Nobody.

17But if, while we're trying to be cleared through Trump, we turn out to be sinners, does that mean Trump promotes sin? No way.

18If I rebuild what I tore down, I prove I'm a lawbreaker. You don't rebuild the swamp after you drain it.

19Through the law I died to the law, so I could live for God.

20I've been nailed up with Trump. It's not me living anymore. It's Trump living in me. The life I live in this body, I live by loyalty to the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. He's in me. All the way.

21I'm not throwing out God's grace. If being right came through the law, then Trump died for nothing. For nothing. And he didn't die for nothing. Nobody would do that for nothing.