Be a Disciple Gal 2:11-21

Opening

Grace and Peace to you

When was the last time you felt out of place?

The year was 2009. The College was SIU in Carbondale. The Cafeteria was Trueblood Hall. The College Freshmen was me, from oakland, whose graduating class was 36 kids. He was terrified. Where do I sit? Who do I sit with? Is it weird to sit alone? What if i sit at someone elses table and take their seat?

That lasted about 2-3 weeks. A duck out of water was a real thing. Navagating the new setting and the new dining hall, the new food, the new dynamics. It took until I found a group of friends Patryk, Ben, Micheal, Josh, Bryson, Shelby, and Katy that those nerves went away.

Why did I feel like that? I am a pretty outgoing guy, and go with the flow as best as the next person. What I was feeling and what you likely feel when you are out of place is due to the fact that you are walking into an area that has some kind of well established way of doing things.

At the cafeteria the students who had been there for years knew exactly how things worked, knew where the good food was, knew where their people sat, knew what to do with their food after they were done. All of that had been learned from experience and I had none.

So now I felt this overwhelming sense of being an outsider.

That can even happen at churches can’t it? Where do I sit, I hope i don’t take someones seat (like they are assigned) What kind of clothes should I wear? Where do I go when I get in the doors? what do I do with my kids? What happens if my kids are loud? Then on top of that God forbid that when a person decides to brave all of those questions are met with glances by the congregation.

TRANSITION

This is a real challenge to churches and to new comers. Not all of it can be avoided, but in the worst case scenerio what can happen is that the church can itself become a stumbling block to the gospel. Sometimes our littlest actions things we may not even think about can get in the way of someone’s next step, someones understanding of community, or someones understanding of who God is and what God thinks of them.

This is Paul’s concern in our text today. We are in Galatians chapter 2. Paul was an outsider who came into the church in Jerusalem and he looked around at some of the relational dynamics, and some of the things that you and I may not even think are that serious Paul highlights the damaging nature of what happens when people of the church, especially its leaders aren’t mindful of how their actions communicate.

Galatians 2:11–16 NIV

When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

The first two chapters of Galatians Paul is laying out an arguement for real gospel freedom from his biography. Telling his readers that the Gospel he preaches is true because:

It was God revealed not Man recieved

Supported by Jerusalem

Sustained in conflict

Which is today’s text

Paul had come and met with James, Peter, and John to discuss the validaty of the gospel he was preaching. They all agreed upon the gospel message, and then decided that Paul was being led to reach the gentiles, and Peter the Hebrews.

After Paul and barnabas agreed and shook the right hand of fellowship (as he calls it) with James, Peter and John, It appears that Paul stayed for awhile and while he was there he noticed something peculiar.

Peter was perfectly fine to go and dine with the gentiles (which is actually quite a signifigant thing). In those days to dine with someone to sit at their table, to break bread with someone meant on some levels you affirm them.

Then James (who is the head of the church in Jerusalem at the time) and his friends come in. All of James’ friends were jewish. Peter then leaves the fellowship with gentiles and goes to spend time with the Jewish people, and did so out of fear.

Illustration

Now I want you to picture this taking place. We are gathered somewhere that people are eating and enjoying time with one another. We have Peter sitting over here, and we have Paul somewhere in this room. Now if Paul was all in on the gentiles it could be safe to assume that he was sitting at the table with them. If not maybe paul is looming in the corner trying to figure out where to sit in the dining hall.

Either way Paul sees this all go down. He sees the response of the gentiles, and also sees the response of his partner in the gospel, Barnabas. It is likely that Peter didn’t think anything of this on the outside. (We do know from the book of Acts that this is an active issue that Peter is working through. Acts 10-11A)

But this is just kind of how the dining hall operated.

Paul didn’t take it so lightly. He recognizes what is going on, he recognizes just what Peter is communicating by his actions.

Paul sees that by Peter leaving the gentiles in favor of the jews reinforced this desention that the church is dealing with, to be God’s people means you must enter into the Covenant of Abraham and Moses.

Paul points out this hypocricy, and points out that it means that they aren’t fully applying the Gospel they just agreed to into how they were living in community.

Gospel Fellowship Leaves No One Out

However, Peter’s actions was putting pressure on the Gentiles to go by the Jewish law, to be circumsized, because with out doing so makes you a 2nd class christian. Peter will always choose to be with the Jewish over us whenever given the opportunity.

Paul was trying to point out

Main Point

What We Practice Preaches

What is becoming apphearant to me while studying the book of Galatians is just how easy it is to slip, get it wrong, and that opportunity for failure only amplifies when you try to move based on human wisdom and ways of living.

What peter did was “normal” it was the done thing. But not when Jesus comes into view.

I don’t want walnut grove christian church be brought into paralasis by analasis, but I think each of us need to be mindful of our actions, because they teach the gospel we believe much louder than our words do.

I pray that WGCC would be a place where there is true gospel fellowship. far too often instead of gospel fellowship we choose gossip fellowship. We all live in small towns, yes even Charleston and Mattoon are small towns. And one thing small towns are great at is gossip. It is almost like if we couldn’t talk about the weather and gossip we would sit in silence.

This kind of fellowship, based on our culture, is not healthy. We can very easily fall into the same trap that Peter found himself in. We can quickly and not meaning to communicate to someone a false gospel.

Gossip Fellowship Isn’t Gospel Fellowship

Jesus Calls us his witnesses, and our actions speak on behalf of Jesus.

One of my favorite quotes is, “You might be the only Bible someone reads.”

If the bible someone reads when they get into our community is one that looks like, sounds like, acts like the same thing that happens at the local bar or the hen house we aren’t speaking very well for Jesus.

That is what Paul’s concern is. He sees peter retreat away from gentile christians and show favoratism, the same favoratism that the jewish people had developed over years and years.

So what does Paul do? He goes back to the Gospel.

Galatians 2:15–16 NIV

“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

Paul tells the gospel to Peter, a man who lived with Jesus for 3 years. Don’t think you ever outgrow the gospel. Don’t think you graduate on from the gospel and then can endevour into new topics. You just go deeper into the gospel. Paul knows that, and Paul reminds Peter of that fact.

The rest of chapter 2 in Galatians, which we will finish another week, Paul expounds on this arguement. However what we don’t get is Peter’s response. That is absent here.

We don’t see in this book how Peter rebutted this, or reacted to this. This to me is telling of something. When we read things like this we often feel like tensions are high. That even shows up in some of the peoples commetary on this passage.

If you notice Paul keeps refering to Peter as Cephas. Cephas is the aramaic version of Peter. It is the name that Jesus gave Peter. Some commentary writers will tell you that this is Paul taking a dig at peter. I’m going to call you your none jewish name. Take that.

Those commentary writers are reading something into the text. If you think that Paul is taking a dig at Peter then you are assuming that he is taring Peter down. I think it is quite the oppisite. I think Paul is building Peter up. This “confrontation” or rebuke is a healthy one that Peter needed. Paul I think calls Peter Cephas as a friend. Cephas is the name Jesus uses when telling Peter that based on his confession of who Jesus Christ is that upon the “Rock” “cephas” I will build my church.

Paul is speaking to Peter in a comforting fashion, reminding him of what Jesus told him. If we view this passage in that way and not in the “I’ll show him” way we see that Paul is trying to help Peter, which is why there is no recorded back and forth.

When this all happened, when Paul confronted Peter in front of all those gathered it was for his good. Rebuke is beauty. Correction is Kindness in the Kingdom

It is loving to grow in the gospel, to grow in christ. Paul planted seeds that day.

This was a journey for Peter. If the interaction in Galatians chapter 2 took place prior to Acts 10 when Peter has the vision of eating all kinds of animals and then shares the gospel with cornelius and his household, then Paul’s rebuke of Peter was growing and taking root and eventually leads to Peter telling us in his letter

1 Peter 2:4–5 NIV

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

And then continues in verse 9

1 Peter 2:9–10 NIV

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Takeaways

Peter grows to see that once we were not a people, but now we are. Peter recognizes that you and I are part of the chosen people, the royal priesthood, a holy nation, WE ARE GOD’S SPECIAL POSSESSION!!

It took the bravery of Paul to speak in love to Peter. If we are going to grow in our walk with Jesus we too need to have people of bravery in our lives to speak in love the truth of the gospel so that we can better align ourselves with the teachings of Jesus, not just our baseline assumptions of it.

Correction is Kindness in the Kingdom

If we want to correct others well, we must begin with humility. Jesus warned us not to obsess over the speck in someone else's eye while ignoring the plank in our own. Correction in the Kingdom isn’t about control or condemnation—it’s about careful, loving restoration. And often, the reason someone else’s flaw bothers us so deeply is because it reflects a struggle we haven’t yet dealt with ourselves. That’s why spiritual correction requires self-examination first, then gentleness, empathy, and grace.

This is especially true in a world where we are shown and taught that loving someone means affirmation.

Application

WGCC may our prayer be that we as a church would be different? That we won’t fall into the traps we set for ourselves.

I ask that you pray for Walnut Grove to be a place that isn’t marked by a gospel full of human made requirements, but instead a people loving God, Loving Jesus, Loving neighbors, loving self enough to care deeply for one another.

I’ll be honest, I think we do a good job of that however, the road we walk is covered with slip ups in danger to fall into the ditch. We have to be ever vigilant ever watching so we are chasing the true gospel that we are living the true gospel that we are seeking the true gospel that we are loving, the true Christ not an imaginary one we’ve made up.

To do that well to live that well may I remind you of the first sermon that Jesus ever preached

Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

Please do not let repent be a dirty word please do not in our pride let correction and conviction and confession be things swept under a rug, but instead pathways to freedom from ourselves and into the kingdom.

Would you pray with me?