Galatians 2:5

• We did not give in to them for a moment: Titus was not circumcised (2:3). Paul did not require circumcision for non-Jewish Christians.

• so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you: The false teaching would ruin the the gospel (the good news about Jesus) by adding extra requirements and questioning the effectiveness of the death of Jesus and the grace of God (compare 2:11–21).

The false Christians entered the church in either Jerusalem or Antioch to weaken Paul's message. He taught that non-Jews (Gentiles) do not have to obey Jewish practices like circumcision.

When Paul visited Jerusalem for the second time, the other apostles agreed that what he was teaching was correct. According to tradition, Paul was writing about the important meeting of church leaders described in Acts 15:1–41. However, it is more likely that Paul was talking about his earlier visit to Jerusalem (Acts 11:30; 12:25; see Galatians Book Introduction, "Date of Writing").

The Judaizers (people who insisted on following Jewish customs) came to Galatia. They preached that both faith and circumcision were necessary. They questioned Paul's authority as an apostle and tried to discredit his message. Paul defended his authority by showing that past events proved his message was the true good news.

Some people were against Paul and questioned whether he was a true apostle. They did not believe he was honest and did not think he had the right to be a leader in the church. So Paul begins his letter by explaining that he really was an apostle with authority from God.