Taught 6/15/2008
Galatians 2:11-21
Fighting for the Gospel of Grace ~ part 2
Open your Bible to…
Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Pray
Intro
√ Fighting for the Gospel of Grace ~ part 2
You may recall from our last study that I quoted Wendell Phillips who said…
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
The context of his statement was the political battle over the issue of slavery here in the United States.
His point was that any liberty gained must be carefully guarded lest it be taken away in the future.
That truth is even more valid with regard to our spiritual freedom!
√ Paul’s fight for freedom
As we’ve already discovered in our study of Galatians to this point…
…Paul’s letter before us represents his fight to protect the spiritual freedom we have in Christ.
You see he had already risked his life to carry the God-given Gospel of Grace to nations and peoples that no one else dared to go.
So, he wasn’t going to stand idle while the enemy was working to steal the spiritual freedom from the people that he had led to faith in Christ.
So, in this next round we find that Paul confronted Peter, Barnabas and some influential friends of James, Jesus’ half-brother because they weren’t practicing what they preached!
Ap. Conflict in the Church
No dislikes conflict more than me!
It is the one aspect of leadership that I hate the most!
Yet, I’m reminded as I read this section of Scripture that there are times when I must respond to the words and behavior of others for the sake of the flock.
That truth applies to you also! Don’t go looking for a fight but be willing and ready to defend the Gospel for it is the one means of salvation!
The other application that I find is a sweet reminder of the benefits of God’s Grace!
Easy to forget just how awesome Grace is!
To review the special favor of God toward those who trust in Jesus will add a fresh passion to our lives for the Lord and our service to Him!
Peter’s Relapse (vs. 11-13)
Gal. 2:11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;
Gal. 2:12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
Gal. 2:13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
√ Peter’s relapse
Paul describes a confrontation with Peter at his home church in Antioch.
It must have occurred some time after the counsel in Jerusalem.
The important point to note is that when Peter first arrived at the church he was walking in the freedom of God’s Grace!
“…for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came…” ~ vs.12
That is, Peter was practicing what he preached!
He himself had preached the Gospel of Grace to Gentiles!
He defended the Gospel of Grace before the Church leadership in Jerusalem in both Acts chapters 11 and 15.
He ate with the Gentile believers in Antioch!
But, now that some influential Jewish believers had come from Jerusalem Peter relapsed!
He withdrew from the Gentile believers and started acting like he was still bound to the Law.
So Paul rebuked him!
√ Peter’s weakness
Peter certainly understood God’s Grace, after all he had been a recipient of a huge portion of it!
Ex. Peter’s denials and subsequent restoration
So, one has to wonder what happened in Antioch to cause Peter to fall from Grace?
In a word…
…fear!
Look at vs. 12…
“for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.”
Peter’s old nemesis reared up in his life and dragged him from faith back into fear just as it had when he…
Sank into the sea after walking on the waves!
Swore that he didn’t know Jesus after boasting he was ready to die for Him!
Now Peter traded away his freedom in God’s Grace because he feared these men from Jerusalem who still held onto the Law.
Ap. Fear of man
Peter’s failure isn’t that hard to understand as most of us have probably made bad choices because of the fear of man.
Fear of what others might think.
Fear of being rejected.
Fear of missing out on some benefit.
The Bible says that the fear of man is a dangerous thing because it will lead us into a trap, Proverbs 29:25…
“The fear of man brings a snare…
But, the solution that frees us from fear is found in the second part of the verse…
“But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.”
Peter’s wavering between faith and fear, and ours…
…can be traced directly to the level of our trust in God.
Ex. What or who are you afraid of?
Take that situation or person that brings fear into your life and acknowledge that God is bigger than anything or anyone that you might be afraid of!
Ask God to take your fear away and replace it with a total trust in Him to effectively deal with your fear.
Your fear may not disappear immediately, but like Peter you’ll find that as you learn to trust God your fear will fade away.
√ The consequence of Peter’s relapse
Before we move on we have to look at the serious consequences of Peter’s relapse.
The reason it’s important to do so is that once we see just how damaging Peter’s actions were we’ll better understand Paul’s stern rebuke!
And we’ll be strengthened to stand firm on God’s Grace in our own lives so that we don’t misrepresent the Gospel.
1) First, notice that Peter’s relapse threatened to undermine the authenticity of the Gospel
“And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. “ ~ vs. 13
Paul’s point is that Peter was a preacher and defender of God’s Grace…
…yet, now because of fear he went back to practicing the Law!
By so doing he undermined the authority and authenticity of what he had been teaching!
How could anyone trust the message of Grace that he preached if he didn’t practice it himself!
So, Peter’s hypocrisy threatened to undo everything that he, Paul and Barnabas had been teaching!
2) Peter’s actions led others astray
Look at the end of vs. 13…
“…so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. “
Barnabas! Remember that he had played a central role in the Antioch church since it’s inception!
For him to turn back to the Law and separate himself from the Gentile believers would have had an enormous impact on the church.
Consider what might have happened had Paul not confronted Peter and Barnabas!?
The church would have slid back into legalism creating a division within the church between Jewish and Gentile believers.
Ultimately they would have lost their power and authority and would not have become the powerful missionary church they were!
Ap. The world is watching!
If we don’t live out the Grace of God in our lives and in this church the lost in our community won’t be able to see any difference between Christianity…
…and every other religion invented by Man.
Paul’s Rebuke (vs. 14-21)
√ Paul’s rebuke
Paul’s argument is a little hard to follow at times especially in the KJV and NKJV…
…so at times I’ll also read from the NLT to help us work through it.
Paul’s rebuke is important because it lays down a defense for the Gospel of Grace by demonstrating that when you abandon the foundation of God’s Grace…
…you also destroy the framework of the Church that God is building!
In a very real sense without Grace there is no Gospel message and no Church!
So, let’s look at how Peter’s hypocrisy undermined five key doctrines of the New Testament.
1) The unity of the church
Gal. 2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?
I think the NLT is a clearer translation…
Gal. 2:14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you trying to make these Gentiles obey the Jewish laws you abandoned?
Paul’s point is that Peter began life as a Jew, but through his faith in Jesus has become a Christian.
In Judaism there was a hard line drawn by the Law separating the Jews from the Gentiles.
But, through the power of the Cross that distinction was erased and all who trusted in Christ are then untied into one Body…
…the Church!
In the Church there is to be no distinction between peoples, not racial separation, no gender prejudice, no class superiority…
…everyone is made an equal member in the Body of Christ!
But now Peter’s act of hypocrisy threatened the very unity of the church!
He preached that there was no distinction between Jews and Gentiles.
He defended that truth before the counsel in Jerusalem and added his signature to the letter affirming that position.
Yet with the arrival of the legalists from Jerusalem, Peter by his actions made a distinction between Jew and Gentile and thereby threatened to destroy the unity of the church.
Ap. What about you?
Do you let the fear of what others might think keep you from loving other people who are rejected by the world?
Don’t forget that the religious leaders rejected Jesus for loving the outcasts of society.
Think about it, who do you want to please…
…the people you’re afraid of or Jesus?
Justification by faith
Gal. 2:15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
Gal. 2:16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
“Justified”! That’s one of the most important words in the economy of God’s Grace!
What does it mean?
Simply put the Bible declares that anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ is declared perfectly righteous before God! Some have described the truth this way…
“Just as if I’d never sinned”
That is, the moment you place your faith in Jesus, God declares you by an act of His authority to be not guilty!
It’s not the result of our good works or religious practice…
…it’s a sovereign act of God!
It’s not forgiveness because you could be forgiven today and sin tomorrow and become guilty again…
…when you’re justified by God you’re “not guilty” forever!
It’s not a pardon from God because a criminal who is pardoned still has a record…
…those who are justified have their record cleared and their past sins are remembered no more!
When Peter separated himself from the Gentile believers he destroyed this truth because his actions communicated…
“We Jews are different from you Gentiles, we’re better and that’s why we can’t eat with you.”
That’s contrary to the Gospel message which declares that people, Jews and Gentiles are sinners…
…who all need a Savior to justify them!
3) Freedom from the Law
Gal. 2:17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!
Gal. 2:18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
The counsel in Jerusalem had made clear that the Law cannot save us, rather we are saved by Grace alone.
Peter himself had argued strongly for that belief and compared the Law to a heavy yoke that neither Jews nor Gentiles could carry.
Yet, here we find Peter putting the yoke back on his neck!
So, Paul points out that Peter’s hypocrisy actually implies that Jesus made Peter a sinner!
That is, Peter knew that he had wasn’t saved under the Law.
It wasn’t until Peter met Jesus and put his faith in Him that he received salvation.
By going back to the practice of the Law Peter was saying that simple faith in Jesus wasn’t really enough to save him, that’s why he was practicing the Law again!
Paul’s point is that if that’s true then Jesus actually made Peter a greater sinner because for a time Peter believed that he could be saved by faith alone.
Paul is simply pointing out that we’re either saved by Grace or the Law…
…it can’t be both because they exclude each other!
4) The heart of the Gospel
Gal. 2:19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.
Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Paul’s argument is that if a person is justified by works and keeping the Law…
…then why did have to Jesus die?
If we could be saved apart from God’s gift of Grace as demonstrated on the Cross then there would be no point in Jesus’ death!
Obviously that’s a wrong conclusion because Jesus did die and through His death revealed that there is no other way for Man to be saved.
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the heart of the Gospel message!
We are saved by faith in Jesus (He died for us)
We live by faith in Christ (He lives in us)
Paul reminds us here that when we place our faith in Jesus we also die with Him, that is…
…we acknowledge that all our sin and even our sin nature were pinned to the Cross in Christ!
That means we’re dead to the Law!
To go back to the Law as Peter did was in effect going back to the graveyard to resurrect our old nature!
5) The Grace of God
Gal. 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
The men from Jerusalem were trying to mix the Law and Grace, but Paul says that’s impossible for to try is to…
“set aside the grace of God” ~ vs. 21
Peter had experienced God’s grace in a marvelous way, he preached it to Jews at Pentecost and Gentiles at Cornelius’ home.
But when he withdrew from the Gentile believers he in effect denied the reality of God’s grace.
Grace says…
“There is no difference, all men are sinners and the can all be saved by faith in Jesus Christ.”
Peter’s actions declared…
“There is a difference between us and God’s grace is not sufficient we must keep the Law!”
Grace says…
“Done!
The Law says…
“Do!”
Peter’s hypocrisy nullified that truth because his actions declared that it wasn’t done there was still more to do!
Peter’s Response
√ Peter’s response
Our text doesn’t reveal Peter’s response, in fact, we don’t have any record of it in the Bible!
But, I think we can safely conclude that Peter received Paul’s rebuke and corrected his behavior based on Peter’s own testimony in the letters he wrote years after this conflict.
For example, read 1st Peter and you’ll find him defending Grace with as much passion as Paul does here in Galatians!
Then in Peter’s 2nd letter he calls Paul “our beloved brother” and acknowledges his letters as scripture!
Further more Church history reveals that Peter spent the last years of his life ministering to both Jews and Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire.
So I think we can make the case that Peter received Paul’s rebuke and threw off the yoke of the Law.
Close
√ Fighting for the Gospel of Grace ~ part 2
The enemies of God’s Grace are still with us today, though they aren’t always as obvious in their