Fear & Hypocrisy

a) As we continue in Galatians Paul has shifted the scene from Jerusalem (the center of Jewish life) to Antioch (where the mission to the Gentiles began & where the disciples were 1stcalled Christians). Last week in Jerusalem we saw Peter, James & John give Paul the right hand of fellowship. b) The Apostles were aligned in their doctrine that all believers are justified or made right w/ God by faith, & not any work. But in today’s passage, we see a time when Paul opposed Peter to his face. Now Paul’s opposition of Peter here wasn’t intended to suggest any division between the apostles.

c) This was a confrontation between fellow believers & brothers in the Lord. Like all who belong to the family of God, we are responsible to correct 1 another if & when 1 of us go astray. So, what caused this confrontation? Why was this confrontation necessary? Here are our 3 points for today.

d) 1st in v11-12 we will see Peter’s fear. 2nd, in v13, we’re going to see Peter’s hypocrisy. Then 3rd & finally in v14, we are going to see Paul’s rebuke & remedy.

So here’s our 1st point in v11-12: Peter’s fear

a) Look back at v11. “But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, b/c he stood condemned.” Last week in Jerusalem Paul stood w/ Peter to protect the truth of the gospel. But now, we see Paul standing against Peter to protect the truth of the gospel.

b) Paul says he opposed Peter “b/c he stood condemned.” Peter was wrong. See, whether it was false teachers, angels or even Peter, Paul stood ready to denounce anyone preaching a different gospel - whether that preaching was by word or deed. So what caused this confrontation? Look at v12:

c) “For before certain men came from James, he (Peter) was eating w/ the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back & separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.” Here’s the situation. Peter had come to Antioch & he regularly ate w/ & enjoyed table fellowship w/ Gentile believers.

d) Now in our culture that doesn’t seem like a big deal. But at that time, sharing a meal w/ someone was a big deal. To sit w/ someone & to fellowship w/ them & to eat w/ them carried significant social & cultural implications. To do so indicated you accepted & welcomed that person.

e) See, that’s why the Jewish religious leaders rebuked Jesus. For example, we read in Lk. 15:2: “the Pharisees & the scribes grumbled saying, ‘This man receives sinners & eats w/ them’.” They charged Jesus w/ accepting & welcoming unclean sinners into His presence.

f) And that was b/c the OT instituted laws that told Israel what would make them clean or unclean. To be ceremonially clean & able to come into God’s presence, they had to avoid certain unclean foods. They couldn’t touch anything unclean like a dead body or someone w/ a disease.

g) Now the purpose behind these laws was to show Israel that they, nor anyone unclean or stained by sin, could draw near to God or come into His holy presence. They 1st needed to be cleansed. And we know w/ the coming of Jesus how sinners are made clean so they can draw near to God.

h) We are made clean by ceremonially washing our hands, or keeping certain rituals, or eating certain foods, or avoiding people, but we’re cleansed to come into God’s presence by the blood of Jesus.

i) But b/c of these OT laws, many Jews in Jesus’ day would not eat w/ Gentiles. Gentiles were considered unclean. And the Gentiles ate unclean foods. But here in Antioch, Peter gladly sat w/ & ate w/ Gentile believers. But that all changed Paul says when “certain men came from James.”

j) Now Paul’s not saying here that these men held James’ beliefs. As we saw last week in v1-10, all the Apostles including James were aligned on the gospel truths. But these men, who Paul calls at the end of v12 “the circumcision party”, were Jews from Jerusalem claiming to be Christians.

k) And as we’ve seen already, these men insisted that for Gentiles to become part of God’s family, they needed to be circumcised & follow the OT ceremonial laws like what foods they could eat. And Paul says everything changed when these Judaizers or false believers came to Antioch.

l) Peter no longer ate w/ or enjoyed table fellowship w/ Gentile believers. Peter “drew back & separated himself.” And this shocked Paul b/c Peter should’ve known better. Not only b/c he knew the gospel, but b/c of a vision he received confirming the ceremonial laws had come to an end.

m) We don’t have time to read the whole story today, but we see this in Acts 10-11. God sent Peter a vision of a great sheet that contained unclean animals Israel was forbidden to eat in the OT. But then Peter heard a voice saying: “Rise Peter; kill & eat.” Peter responded: “By no means.”

n) Then we read in Acts 10:15 the voice from heaven: “came to him a 2ndtime, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened 3x & then the sheet was taken up to heaven. And if you know the story, you’ll remember that when the vision ended, 3 Gentile men came to Peter.

o) These men were from the house of Cornelius. And the HS told Peter to go w/ these men & to make no distinction. Essentially, the HS revealed to Peter there was no distinction between Jew & Gentile. So, Peter went w/ these men to Cornelius’ house he told those gathered in Acts 10:28:

p) “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate w/ or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” Then as Peter shared the gospel, the HS fell on the Gentiles, just as the HS fell on the Jews at Pentecost.

q) But then look what happened in Acts 11:2-3 in response to these events. “So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him,saying, ‘You went to uncircumcised men & ate w/ them.” Do you see? This wasn’t Peter’s 1st encounter w/ these men of the circumcision party.

r) Now in Acts 11 Peter responded by telling them what happened in his vision & what the HS told him & how the HS fell upon the Gentiles. But now here in Antioch, v12 says Peter feared the circumcision party & drew back & separated himself from the Gentile believers.

s) Why? We don’t know. Perhaps Peter knew or believed they were capable of violence. Perhaps he feared falling into disfavor w/ the Jews in Jerusalem. We don’t know why, but we know fear wasn’t a new struggle for Peter. The gospels remind us how fear led him to deny the Lord 3x.

t) Now in Antioch, b/c of fear, Peter cut off fellowship w/ Gentile brothers & sisters in Christ. Fear is powerful, & typically in damaging & destructive ways when it comes to other people’s opinions. Haven’t you found that in your own life? And the fear of man is a repeated theme in Scripture.

u) Prov. 29:25 says: “The fear of man lays a snare” or a trap. Or as Jesus said in Lk. 12:4, “do not fear those who kill the body & after that have nothing more that they can do.” In other words, don’t fear man, but fear God alone who holds our enteral destiny in His hand. But here in Antioch, Peter feared these men of the circumcision party more than he feared God.

And that brings us to our 2nd point in v13: Peter’s hypocrisy

a) Look at v13. “And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along w/ him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.” Peter was being a hypocrite. Kevin DeYoung defines hypocrisy as: “a failure to practice what you preach.” The literal Greek word means to play a part or pretend.

b) In the Greco Roman world, when you played a part or acted you would wear a mask. The real person was hidden. See, Paul accused Peter of putting on a front or a mask. Peter still believed & held the right gospel doctrine. But now, Peter wasn’t practicing or living out those gospel truths.

c) Peter had not departed from the right beliefs, but he had departed from living out those beliefs here in Antioch. In Acts 10-11 & last week at the beginning of Gal. 2, Peter confirmed that Jews & Gentiles are saved in the same way: by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

d) Peter confirmed the Gentiles were made clean, just like Jews, by the blood of Jesus. Peter confirmed the Gentiles didn’t need to be circumcised or adhere to the Jewish ceremonial laws. Peter believed their righteousness, just like his, came by faith in the person & work of Christ.

e) But now here in Antioch, Peter drew back from the Gentiles as if those things weren’t true. And he left the Gentile believers feeling like 2nd class citizens in God’s Kingdom. Peter’s actions told the Gentile believers they were somehow less than b/c they didn’t share Peter’s Jewish heritage.

f) In withdrawing, Peter was declaring they weren’t good enough for him, & in turn, they weren’t good enough for God. It was not only demeaning to the Gentile believers, it was also an insult to the finished work of Christ on the cross which has the power to save sinners from all nations.

g) And that’s why Paul confronted Peter. B/c his behavior contradicted his doctrine. He wasn’t practicing what he believed & preached. And notice, Peter’s actions didn’t just affect Peter. The great lie of the enemy is that our sins are private & individual & don’t hurt anyone else.

h) But the Bible shows us over & over again how our sin impacts others. Consider the sin of Adam & Eve. It affected all of humanity & creation itself. Consider the sin of Achan in Josh. 7. God told Israel before he helped them overthrow Jericho not to take any of the things devoted to destruction.

i) But Achan disobeyed. And when Israel then went to war at Ai, they not only lost the battle, but 36 men of Israel lost their lives. Consider King David’s unlawful census in 2 Sam. 24. 70k Israelites died when the Lord sent a pestilence on the land b/c of David’s arrogance & pride.

j) Here’s the point. Peter’s fear & hypocrisy toward the Gentiles didn’t just affect him, but the whole church. It affected the unity of the church & the truth of the gospel. v13 says: “And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along w/ him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.”

k) Peter’s hypocrisy spread. His actions led other Jewish believers to draw back & be separated from Gentile believers in the church. Even Barnabas was led astray. Barnabas, who was called the son of encouragement, who was Paul’s right-hand man who went w/ him to Jerusalem in v1-10.

l) But now, Peter’s hypocrisy even led Barnabas astray. And it grieved Paul to see Peter & the rest of his fellow Jews act this way. Now it’s easy to criticize Peter here in Antioch. But friends, do you know how often we do the same? Our gospel beliefs don’t match our gospel living.

m) We believe the gospel, that we’re all saved or made right w/ God by God’s grace alone through faith alone in the person & work of Christ alone. But yet, we act like some sins or sinners are worse than others. We act like some people our beyond God’s saving grace.

n) We act like we can’t be around certain people until they 1st clean themselves up. We can also play the hypocrite when it comes to our own sin & struggles. We pretend we have it all together. We act like we are w/o sin, or our marriage is great when it’s not, or that we aren’t anxious or depressed.

o) We act like we are too blessed to be depressed. We act like we are too anointed to be disappointed. And why? B/c we don’t want others to know our business or our struggles. And what drives that? A fear of man. We care too much about other people’s opinions of us or our reputation.

p) See, that’s what was happening here w/ Peter. He was trying to save face w/ these men who came from Jerusalem. His actions here are eerily similar to his betrayal of Jesus. Remember when the servant girl confronted Peter, he denied having anything to do w/ Jesus or even knowing Him.

q) Now, when the circumcision party confronted him, he acted like he wouldn’t have anything to do w/ the Gentile believers. He knew & believed the right doctrine, just like He knew Jesus & He was His follower, but he played the hypocrite & put on a mask & played a part to avoid pain.

r) May God help us so that our beliefs & lives are aligned. May our gospel doctrine lead to gospel living. May both our words & our deeds proclaim gospel truth.  

Here’s our 3rd & final point in v14: Paul’s rebuke & remedy to this confrontation in Antioch

a) 1stlook at Paul’s rebuke in the 1st part of v14: “But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all.” Notice 2 things here. 1st, notice the nature or context of Paul’s rebuke. Paul not only opposed Peter to his face, but he did so publicly.

b) He rebuked Peter: “before them all.” See, Peter’s sin wasn’t a private matter between 2 believers. Peter’s sin was public & it affected the whole church. So, Paul didn’t go to Peter in private, or just pray for Peter, or tell how they should pray for Peter, he rebuked Peter before the whole church.

c) 2ndnotice the content of Paul’s rebuke. “But when I saw that their conduct was not in step w/ the truth of the gospel.” See, Paul could’ve rebuked Peter for fearing man or acting hypocritically. But he addressed the sin beneath the sin. Peter’s conduct was not in step w/ the truth of the gospel.

d) See, what was at stake here in Galatians wasn’t merely how we are justified or made right w/ God. What was at stake here was also how we should live - if we have been justified by faith.

e) As John-Mark said last week, gospel doctrine should lead to gospel living. Peter’s behavior denied the truth of the gospel & communicated the opposite of the gospel. As Paul said: “If you though a Jew live like a Gentile & not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

f) Before these men came, Peter enjoyed & lived in gospel freedom. He realized even as a Jew, he was free in Christ, to live like a Gentile. To eat w/ Gentiles & to eat what they ate. But when these men came, Peter nullified the grace of God & the truth of the gospel by his conduct.

g) See, it’s possible to witnesses to the gospel w/ our lips, while we witness against the gospel w/ our lives. We either give living proof of the gospel, or we deny the gospel by our conduct & way of life. That’s why Paul’s primary rebuke of Peter was about his conduct not being in step/ the gospel.

h) It wasn’t primarily about fear or hypocrisy or being rude to Gentile believers. Fundamentally, Paul rebuked Peter for not walking in a manner worthy of the gospel. He stopped living as 1 set free from the ceremonial law. He stopped living as someone who knew Christ came & made peace.

i) Dear friends, we must always come back to the truth of the gospel & bring our lives in line w/ the truth of the gospel. Peter feared these men b/c he forgot God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love & self-control. He feared b/c he forgot if God is for you, who can be against you.

j) He feared b/c he forgot who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies, who is to condemn? Like Peter, we all have our temporary lapses of living out the truth of the gospel. But God graciously sent Paul to Peter to bring him back in step w/ the truth of the gospel.

k) Where do you need to look at your own life & make sure your conduct is in step w/ the gospel?

Let me end this way.

a) What we see here is that gospel culture is just as important as gospel doctrine. Friends, our vision here at CrossWay is to be a Rom. 12 community & culture. The 1st 11 Chapters of Romans remind us of the great truths of the gospel. What God has done to save sinners like us.

b) But starting in Rom. 12, we then see how we should live, what our lives should look like, what our church culture should look like, if we have been saved & justified & made clean by faith in Christ. Ray Ortlund says: “The gospel is more than just a place to stand. It’s a path to follow.”

c) And that’s why Paul fought for a gospel culture here in Antioch. B/c the gospel message that we are saved or made right or justified by faith alone can’t be preserved in a culture that at the same time promotes self-justification or justification by works.

d) What is at stake in having a gospel culture isn’t just the unity of the church, but our effectiveness as a church. The world isn’t just listening to us, but watching us. Friends, there is so much fear, anger, hypocrisy & division in our world. But if our churches begin to live out these gospel truths, how magnetic & attractive might we be?

Let’s pray.