Galatians 2:11-21
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Galatians 2:11-21
“Crucified with Christ”
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But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!
For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Pray
Introduction
I hope you’re reading Galatians each week in preparation. As we go through this letter to the church in Galatia, I want you to consider it from two different perspectives.
First, imagine you’re a member of the Galatian church struggling to understand if you’re truly justified by faith. Was Jesus’ work on the cross enough, or do you need to observe the Law?
The second perspective is from where you are today, living in the 21st-century church. Do we struggle to understand our true freedom in Christ? Have we applied legalism to our church? You might think that giving, attending, or reading your Bible are required to be a good Christian or to secure your standing with God.
Do you truly believe you are justified by faith?
If you’re new, welcome. If you’ve been attending for a while but haven’t yet committed to Christ, welcome. And if you’re a member of this church or a regular attendee, welcome.
This portion of Scripture from Paul should clarify any misunderstandings you might have about being free in Christ and justified by faith alone. Paul illustrates the importance of being justified by faith through an incident with Peter.
Paul previously shared how Peter, James, and John extended the right hand of fellowship to him, signifying their agreement on the truth of the Gospel. They were united in recognizing that Judaizers were distorting the Gospel message.
After this time in Jerusalem, Paul traveled back to Antioch, the capital of Syria at that time. Peter also visited Antioch and, while there, ate and mingled with the Gentiles without any issues. He likely continued to share the truth of the Gospel.
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
At the beginning of verse 11, Paul uses the conjunction “but” to highlight a sharp contrast with what he’s just mentioned.
Peter was a pillar of the church; he agreed with Paul, supported the true Gospel, and opposed any distortions.
“BUT”—Peter and others were not straightforward about the Gospel. They were hypocrites. They withdrew from the Gentiles to impress and fit in with the Judaizers, the so-called party of circumcision.
Not Paul. Paul stood firm on the truth of the Gospel and refused to back down. He was direct, persuasive, and unwavering, even in the face of opposition.
For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
We see in verse 12, the actions of Peter. He ate with the Gentiles, then withdrew from them, out of fear for what others would think of him, that is, the party of the circumcision.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
Notice in verse 13 what happened once Peter left the company of the Gentiles. Remember, Peter is a Pillar of the church, one of the topmost leaders.
Once Peter left the Gentiles, others followed him, including Barnabas. They followed the leader. Thinking, perhaps, well, if Peter is not going to eat and hang out with the Gentiles, neither am I.
But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Notice what Paul said at the beginning of this verse. Paul used the conjunction “BUT” again. Emphasize “But,” when reading.
Paul listened to their conversations with the Jews and noted they were not:
NASB - Straightforward about the truth
ESV - Their conduct was not in step with the truth
NET - They were not behaving consistently with the truth
NIV - They were not acting in line with the truth
This was not a matter of knowing doctrine. For sure Peter knew the truth. It was more about fear from the Jews who preached circumcision and Law. He compromised the Gospel for the sake of pleasing others, for pandering to a group were really not his true friends.
I do not know what it was about this Jewish party that Peter, Barnabas, and others wanted to be associated with, but for sure, they preferred the company and approval over that of “Gentile Sinners.”
encounter Peter had with Jesus. Jesus told Peter he would deny him three times before the sound of the rooster.
And, when Jesus was taken captive, Peter denied he knew Jesus three times, and he fell condemned. Peter wept, because he knew he had betrayed Jesus.
This is the personality of Peter. Peter was consumed with his reputation and fear how people look at him. Peter was all about self-preservation, even over hiding the truth of the Gospel. Or, better yet, not living it out effectively.
Peter pandered to the Jews at the sake of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Who do you pander to? That is, who do you go out of your way to make sure you fit in with? Is your goal of pleasing people. Especially those of higher repute?
How to Live
Who do you gravitate more towards? Is your goal to look good in front of your peers for their approval?
Speaking personally, there have been times in my life where I withhold the fact that I am a Christian. Because I fear how I will be perceived or treated. Or, there have been some I have wished to have their favor. So, I have withheld the truth.
For sure, when I have been asked, I do not deny. But, I have had a tendency to not voluntarily share my faith.
However, I will tell you this, I am constantly a work in progress. Over the years, the more I have proclaimed my faith, and have not hid under the veil of popularity, the more courage and boldness I have grown in.
Paul called out Peter because he was compromising the Gospel and being a hypocrite. To my kids’ credit, they will call me out all the time for being a hypocrite. It is one of the things I love about them. It infuriates me at times. Why? Because I know they are right, and I need to be a better example. And I am convicted every time. Thanks be to God for my kids who call a spade a spade.
We also put expectations on Christians; to live the way we want them to. To do the list of things needed to become a good Christian. You worry about you and your relationship with Christ. Then walk along them teaching, the precepts of Christ allow them to decide how to work out their salvation because each of us answers before God.
The more I deny myself, the more Christ is glorified.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
“Self-denial for the Christian means renouncing oneself as the center of existence (which goes against the natural inclination of the human will) and recognizing Jesus Christ as one’s new and true center.” gotquestions.org
Notice some statements by Paul:
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
One of the major reasons Jesus was rejected, was because He did not fit the mold the Jews were expecting. They were expecting a King, charismatic, handsome, coming in on a chariot to rescue them from the hand of the Roman Empire.
Jesus did not come and pander to the Pharisees, Sadducees, or Jews of high reputation and position. He did not come and say, “I am so proud of you! Good Job!” No, he called them a brood of vipers. They had been given the very Word of God and were entrusted with it. They did not shepherd the people to the truth of the Gospel and Messiah. They acted as royalty over the Law and people and stoned those who did not follow the Law.
These are the same people Paul is dealing with. They are still struggling with the Law as being the first thing man must follow, not justification by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.
For certain Jesus came to rescue all. Rescue all from being bound by the Law. To justify their sins by His blood, sacrifice, death, and resurrection.
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;
The Jews had the Law. They were not justified by it. But it was their guard until the time of the Messiah. Everybody is judged for their sins, apart from the Law. Why did the Law come, because of Lawlessness.
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
The Messiah would come to rescue the Jews from being salves to the Law. Through His blood they would be saved.
Many Jews rejected, and still do, that Jesus is the Messiah.
Gentiles are non-Jews who do not have the Law. They were not required to follow the Law of God. At least, not from a Jewish perspective.
Paul addressed the Law unto the Gentiles in:
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
Galatians 2:15 is not unlike what we have today as Christians. For those who have been saved and have received the Spirit, we have the Gospel. We know the truth.
But, when we look out at the world, what do we see and call those who do not have Christ? Sinners.
They are automatically sinners, and we are not to judge them in their sins, we are not to call them out for their sin. This is God’s role. And how dare we try to act as if we are God.
Our role is to preach Christ and Him crucified. To love God and love others. These are the two greatest commandments.
When in history have you ever judged a non-believer for their sin, condemned them for sinning, that they turned around and repented and were saved?
No, we present the Gospel truth and allow God to work in their hearts. The Law condemns a man, their conscience bearing witness.
We simply share their is a Law, sin is real, and there is a way to be justified by faith in Christ. To be reconciled before God.
Justified by Faith
After Paul shared about the confronting of Peter, he moved into the centrality of the Gospel message. That Jesus justifies all who believe in him. We are justified by faith.
We are not justified by works of the Law. That is by follow God’s commands. We are not justified by doing good. We are not justified by reading the Bible, going to church, giving offering, serving.
As one pastor put it, faith ought to produce obedience.
Philippians 2:12-13 - Work out your salvation.
So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God.
Justification in the court system.
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
No one can be justified by works (Good Deeds).
“There is no way to be justified by the law, there was one way to be justified by faith.” – Alistair Begg
Every belief that requires anything other than faith in Christ is a false religion or false belief system.
And, any religion or belief system that adds works to justification in faith is a false religion.
The Living waters of Christ are clear and perfect. Do not muddy the Living Waters of Christ’s truth and grace!
The purity of the Gospel is muddied when it is added to. This is what the Judaizers were doing, so do all other religions, outside of pure Christianity, do. It was we do when require anything, other than justification by faith. This includes requirements within the church.
Many people are turned off by God because of the list of expectations and rules. We demand in the church for people to follow. That is not freedom that is not justification. Our flesh has been crucified with Christ.
If you have faith in Christ, you are judged on what He did for you on the cross. He bore your sins. Therefore, the judgment no longer falls on you who have faith.
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!
How are you seeking to be justified in Christ? It is only through faith.
If it is a sin to seek justification, then would Jesus be a minister of sin. No!
Righteousness does not lead to sinful living
For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
If Paul rebuilds the Law, then he is a sinner. What he is saying is that he would need to bring back the Law for one to be justified. This would be a sin. Not from Christ, but from the one who tried to rebuild.
For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
Since Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law, that is that a sacrifice must be made in order for one to made righteous. Through the sacrifice, Christ Jesus, all can be saved. By placing their faith in Him.
So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God.
We must die to the Law, the law of sin and death. When we accept the calling of God to believe, we die to the Law, in order that we may live for Christ.
Crucified with Christ
Which is what brings Paul to his next point.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Paul is telling the church in Galatia, and by extension, you and I, what it means to be crucified with Christ. This is his apologetic by means of justification by faith.
Christ lives and dwells within Paul. The Word of God is living and active in Him (Heb. 4:12).
When Christ bore his body and blood on the cross, and ultimately died. He took on the sins of the world. Your sins.
Having faith in Christ, indwells you with the Spirit, and helps you to live the way He has called you to.
He paid the price.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
And when you believe in Christ Jesus. That he died for your sins, and whom God rose from the dead. You will be saved.
Now, back to verse 20. Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Because of Christ’s sacrifice, because of His blood, death, and resurrection, you live by faith in Him. Faith in the one who loves you and gave Himself up for you.
We live a life in the flesh. That flesh is dead and was placed on the cross with Christ. So, the only way to move forward is by faith. Faith in Christ. Faith that he will guide me each day. Faith that He will cause me to grow in Him. Faith in His return. Faith that I am not my own, my life belongs to Him. Faith in awaiting His return to call us home to His Kingdom.
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
At this point I wonder if Paul was emotionally exhausted over the Gospel to the Galatians. He did not want to work in vain.
It is as if he is saying, here is the conclusion of the matter. If it is all works, then there was no point in Christ’s death. If you can work your way to eternity, then have at it. It is not possible.
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
None would be saved.
Conclusion
This is the conclusion of the matter.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.