Crucified with Christ

Galatians 2:11-21 Introduction

This is a unique passage in that it describes conflict between two of the most prominent apostles of Jesus.

Why is this conflict shared with the Galatians (and therefore us)?

What do the arguments of Paul have to do with deciding who you eat with?

What are we to make of the Law/Grace distinction mentioned here as in so many other places?

These are some of the questions we will be considering as we go through this text.

The Hypocrisy

This isn’t gossip.

It is something that is already resolved (that part is included).

It was public in nature.

It gets to the heart of the problem in the Galatian churches.

Do we trust the judaizers (who no doubt used Peter’s hypocrisy to their advantage) or do we trust Paul (who was a second tier apostle).

Paul’s refutation of Peter serves two purposes here.

First, it shows that Peter’s actions are not the final word here.

Second, the response to Peter is the point Paul is trying to make to these Christians.

Eating together represents full acceptance (Gal. 2:12; cf. 1 Cor. 5:11).

There is a process of hypocrisy here (Gal. 2:12-13).

You can imagine the kinds of justifications that would have come into play here.

The gentiles may not be as particular about dietary restrictions as we are so…

It is all well and good to say we are all Christians, but God has called the Jews to stay separated.

Of course, it was never about ethnic separation and always about moral separation.

But the point here is that it would have been easy to feel moral conviction in this hypocrisy.

The Confrontation

The charge starts with simple hypocrisy (Gal. 2:14).

Peter’s behavior is a rejection of things he knows (Gal. 2:15-16).

He knows that loyalty to Christ is the basis for justification and not simply following the protocol of Moses.

Loyalty to God has always been the foundation of justification and not some specific rule.

Paul is NOT saying here that you don’t have to keep those rules but you do have to keep these.

It has always been about loyalty to the King and to the King’s people (which of course means doing what the King requires).

If following Christ leads to sin, then who is Christ (Gal. 2:17).

The real sin is trying to rebuild a wall that Christ tore down (Gal. 2:18).

Christ Lives in Me

I died so that I might live (Gal. 2:19; cf. Deut. 30:19).

Christ is now my standard for life (Gal. 2:20).

My life is defined by loyalty to Him (Gal. 2:20).

To set anything ahead of Him is to set aside God’s grace (Gal. 2:21).

Conclusion

When you act by impulse and are driven to hypocrisy:

You can usually find a way to make yourself feel better about it.

But there are always greater implications to what you are doing than just what is happening in that moment.

When you set aside God’s people for your own desires, you are setting aside the thing Christ died for.

Is your life characterized by undying loyalty to the one who died for you?