Walking in Step with the Gospel
galatians 2:11-16
Main Idea: We must strive to uphold the truth of the gospel both in doctrine and in conduct.
I. Eating & Drinking
This apostolic confrontation was a monumental moment in the early church because of both the people and the place involved:
People: The Apostle Peter received a direct revelation from the Lord (Acts 10:9-16), indicating that God has made all foods clean, the ceremonial distinctions between Jews and Gentiles have been broken down (10:28; Mk. 7:18-19; Eph. 2:14-17), and that God “shows no partiality” (10:34). He preaches the gospel to the Gentiles who then receive the Holy Spirit and are baptized.
Place: The church in Antioch began when Gentiles heard the gospel, turned in faith to Christ, and then were taught by Barnabas and Paul (Acts 11). Antioch is the first place where followers of Jesus were called “Christians” (11:26) and later became the home-base for Paul’s missionary journeys to the “ends of the earth.”
In Antioch, Peter freely shared “table fellowship” with the Gentiles, despite criticism (Acts 11:2), knowing that the gospel of God’s grace overcame deep cultural division and animosity between Jews and Gentiles.
We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies.
~ Justin Martyr
II. Hypocrisy & Fear
When “certain men from James” came to Antioch from Jerusalem (presumably Jewish Chrsitians), Peter “drew back and separated himself” from the Gentiles, acting in hypocrisy.
There was nothing intrinsically wrong with Peter's Jewish customs. But there was something very wrong with requiring adherence to them after Christ had fulfilled them, which Peter did by distancing himself from the unkosher Gentile believers. In effect, Peter was saying that Gentiles had to believe the gospel and adapt to Jewish culture for them to be good enough for Christ - and good enough for Peter! They were not his equals, because they weren't like him. In doing this, Peter obscured the all-sufficiency of Jesus and exalted something of himself in the Lord's place. What an insult to the finished work of Christ on the cross! How demeaning to those blood-bought Gentiles!... What a violation of justification by faith alone!
~ Ray Ortlund, The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ
‘Hypocrisy’ is not simply failing to live up to what you believe; it is to be a “play-actor” and wear a “mask,” hiding your true self. Peter’s hypocrisy led him to live out his gospel convictions in one situation, but then cover them up in another.
Peter’s hypocrisy in Antioch is driven by his “fear” of the circumcision party. His desire for the approval of this group allowed cultural differences to become more important than gospel unity, and risked creating a church in which there was “one Lord, but two Lord’s tables” (~ Stephen Neill).
Like all of us, Peter had a history of fear. When he denied Jesus on the night of his Lord’s arrest, he feared physical harm. In Antioch, he effectively denied Jesus because he feared social harm. Driven by the primitive fear, he falsified the gospel. In other words, the problem entered in not at the level of doctrine but at the level of culture. It started with personal fear, not with reading a book of bad theology.
~ Ray Ortlund, The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ
Peter’s fear of the “circumcision party” caused his conduct to be “not in step with the truth of the gospel.” This had serious consequences: he “stood condemned” before the Lord and he also led the other Jewish Christians - “even Barnabas” - astray.
III. The Equalizer of Grace
Paul, knowing what was at stake by Peter’s actions, courageously confronted Peter “to his face” and “before them all.” His confrontation highlights two theological realities that were inconsistent in their hypocritical behavior.
There is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles in their sin, since no one will be justified by “works of the law” (cf. Rom. 10:3; Ps. 143:2)
There is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles in their salvation, since we are only justified by faith in Christ alone
Romans 3:21–24: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 15:7: Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
