Hypocrisy and the Gospel

Opening Comments:

Please meet me in your copy of God’s Word in Galatians 2:11-14. The book of Galatians is about the Gospel and how we, as believers, should live in light of the good news of Christ. How does a Christian live a life that is rooted on the gospel? The passage before us today will illustrate for us what happens when we fail to live in light of the gospel as Paul details a tragic situation that took place between him and the apostle Peter. In just a short time, Peter’s hypocrisy caused a major rift in the Antioch church and through it we will see how when we live in Hypocrisy it is damaging to the gospel going forward.

This is the word of the Lord.

Galatians 2:11–14 NKJV

11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

Introduction:

Paul and Barnabas were elders in the Antioch church and apparently had either invited the Apostle Peter to visit them or Peter had taken it upon himself to go Antioch and have some interaction with the Antioch Church. Antioch was a great church,. It was the first place the name “Christian” was used, the first church to send out missionaries and the first church to be made up of both jews and gentiles. When Peter arrived in Antioch, he joined in with and was fellowshipping, eating, and sharing with the gentile believers who were there. However, when the band of Judaizers from Jerusalem showed up and began visiting the church, they were astounded to see Peter fellowshipping and eating freely with Gentiles, even though they were christians.

Keep in mind, the Judaizers believed in Jesus, but, they thought belief in Jesus was an addition to their existing religion of Judaism. They said that if people wished to become believers in Christ, then,

They had to undergo ritual circumcision.

Subject themselves to the laws, rituals, and ceremonies of Moses (Torah)

Adopt the traditions of Judaism. (Mishna)

Separate from Gentiles because they are unclean.

It seems when these Judaizers saw Peter interacting with the Gentiles in Antioch, they let him have it, even saying that James had sent them. (This wasn't true). Peter weakened under the onslaught, and withdrew himself from having any interaction with the gentile believers in Antioch. This caused a split in the Antioch church.

A tragic divide took place because of Peter’s hypocrisy. The split was severe, it even led to the senior minister in the church, Barnabas, to join the ranks of the Judaizers. Paul stood alone among the leaders in Antioch to fight for the truth of the gospel.

Peter, gave into the pressure to be a people pleaser. When he was around the gentile believers, he did one thing and when he was around the Judaizers, he did another. In other words, this story regarding Peter is a case study in gospel hypocrisy. When ever we fail to live out the truth of the gospel in every aspect of our lives, we have veered into hypocrisy. So, in order to stay faithful to the gospel, we must be vigilant to fight against the presence of Hypocrisy in our lives.

We do this by:

Knowing what hypocrisy is.

Where it comes from.

The harm it causes.

How to keep it away.

1.) What is hypocrisy? (v.9, 11-12)

Hypocrisy is a word that gets tossed around frequently in our culture. It has come to be used for when a person fails to live up to his or her ideals. Someone who fails to practice what they preach. But, if that’s the case, then every one in the world is a hypocrite because no one lives up to their own ideals all the time.

In antiquity, a hypocrite was another name for a play actor, someone who dawned a mask in order to play a role. The word came to mean “the concealing of a persons true character, thoughts, or feelings, under a guise implying something quite different. When a person is acting hypocritically, they are masking their true convictions to play a part that is not truly theirs.

This is exactly what Peter and the rest of the jewish believers in Antioch were doing in our text this morning.

Because of this delegation of Judaizers who came to Antioch from Jerusalem, Peter metaphorically put a mask on and changed the way he had been interacting with the gentile believers.

He went from enjoying his freedom in Christ to playing the hypocrite along with other Jewish believers in Antioch.

Hypocrisy is not simply failing to live up to what we believe, but when we live out our gospel convictions in one situation but then cover them up in another situation.

Its when we as believers play the part of unbelievers. It’s when we assume a role that doesn't demonstrate the gospel we believe. It’s when a Christian acts the part of a non-christian.

Hypocrisy is exactly what Peter was guilty of in Antioch when he chose to mask his true gospel rooted convictions.

When we can affirm something to be true and yet intentionally live in a way that covers up our belief and makes it look like we believe its untrue. That is the biblical definition of hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is a form of treachery similar to when a husband removes a wedding ring so he can pretend he’s not married. It’s an act of dishonesty and disloyalty.

2.) Where does hypocrisy come from? (v.12)

Why did Peter mask his convictions in this situation?

It was expedient to him personally. He caved to the pressure of the crowd and the fear that they would retaliate of he didn't.

Peter was worried what might happen to him if he didn't bow to the will of the Judaizers.

Notice what Paul observed about Peter in vs. 12

Galatians 2:12 NKJV

12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.

Peter played the hypocrite because he allowed fear to win out. He was afraid of offending the religious Judaizers by continuing to interact with the gentile believers. Being Jews, they had the religious power to have Peter punished for breaking the law of the Jews. So he drew back and separated himself from the gentiles because he wasn't willing to take a stand for what was right because it could cost him his life.

Hypocrisy is born from an unhealthy desire to please others.

In Galatians 1:10 Paul said:

Galatians 1:10 NKJV

10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Now, he shares an example of the truth.

People-pleasers don’t make good servants of Christ but they do make for good hypocrites.

Servants will stand for the truth regardless of what it may cost but a hypocrite will adapt to play the part of an unbeliever should circumstances require it.

Hypocrisy is born out of fear of man as a way of navigating difficult situations where competing social pressures are at work. So, we’ll put on a metaphorical mask to keep us from having to deal with an awkward situation.

Fear of what others may think is the number one reason we’re tempted to cover our gospel convictions.

Matthew 10:28 NKJV

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

3.) What damage does hypocrisy do? (v.13)

Peter was liable to face judgement from God if he didn't repent of his sin. In other words, hypocrisy is harmful to the hypocrite.

But, it is harmful to others as well. Likely all of us can share stories about how we have been hurt by the hypocrisy of another.

A parent, pastor, youth leader, teacher etc.

Religious hypocrisy is perhaps the most damaging because its the least expected and hardest to move beyond.

Hypocrisy functions like a virus. It has to have human interaction to survive and it spreads and thrives in contact with others and when it finds just the right environment it can cause an outbreak.

This is what happened in the Antioch Church.

Galatians 2:13 NKJV

13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

But Barnabas wasn't the only one affected, Peter’s hypocrisy was even causing Gentiles to behave like they were Jews.

Galatians 2:14 NKJV

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

When you or I play the part of a hypocrite we are doing more than just setting a bad example but we are in affect compelling others to stray away from living out the gospel themselves.

This means that we who are parents need to remember that we are the key influencers in our homes. While we may be able to hide our hypocrisy at church or on the job, we cant hide it in our own homes. Your children will sniff it out and follow your example or even walk away from the faith all together and, like Peter, you will be to blame.

When God’s people play the hypocrisy game and live like there is no gospel, we infect other believers and cause them to do the same and cause unbelievers to miss out on hearing the gospel as well.

Conclusion:

Balance beam illustration:

The Gospel is like a balance beam. Our task once we have become believers is to live in light of the gospel like a person on a balance beam try's to stay on it. The world around us and within us is going to constantly try to knock us of course. How do we stay on:

Look Straight ahead.- Don’t worry about falling off, keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing or trying to please them. Make pleasing Jesus your goal.

Hold out your arms- To keep balance. Accountability. (Have others help to steady him.

Trust you’ll stay on- The truth of the gospel isn't some narrow behavioral sliver we need to worry about staying on, once we’re on it, we find out its not as hard as we thought it was. We need to step with the truth of the gospel, confident God’s grace will guide us.

What if we fall off? Get right back on