Confronting Hypocrisy

Galatians 2:11–21 NASB95

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! “For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, 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; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

INTRO: Do you know what hypocrisy is? The word for hypocrisy or hypocrite is the same word we derive ‘actor’ from. It is used to describe a person who pretends or puts on a show for a particular audience. Hypocrisy is most often defined as a pretense of having a virtuous character though not true of the individual. It’s a form of deceit and it comes across in both words and actions.

ILL: I’m sure most of you have watched movies and tv shows… here’s the thing: Jim and Pam are not a real couple. Harry met Sally, but those aren’t even their real names! Johnny Depp is not really a pirate. They are putting on a show for you, the consumer.

But we are aware of that, and so we aren’t too surprised when we find out that this nice guy on screen is really a jerk in real life. The problem is that this acting doesn’t just take place in Hollywood, and that’s where we see the real problems. If you are a critical thinker on any level, you can recognize hypocrisy in politics, sports (esp. soccer and basketball), social media, and tragically even in our homes and churches.

A Barna research study done in 2007 revealed that 85% of the people surveyed believed the church to be full of hypocrites, a major reason people gave for not attending a church.

One could speculate the reasoning for this: perhaps many in the church pews each Sunday are not truly saved. They have not really given their life in surrender to Jesus Christ. But here is the shocker:

.... several years ago a poll was taken that showed that the lifestyle activities of Christians were statistically the same as those of people claiming not to be Christians when it came to the following list: gambling, visiting pornographic websites, taking something that didn’t belong to them, saying mean things behind someone’s back, consulting a medium or a psychic, having a physical fight or abusing someone, using illegal or nonprescription drugs, saying something to someone that’s not true, getting back at someone for something they did, and consuming enough alcohol to be considered legally drunk.

There was no statistical difference between a Christian and a non-Christian in these ten areas of their lives. The only activity that was less common for Christians (and this is not a joke) was recycling (68 percent vs. 79 percent)! (https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/hypocrisy-is-keeping-people-from-the-church-an-excerpt-from-the-problem-of-god)

This morning, as we continue our study in Galatians, we are given a lesson in Confronting Hypocrisy. Paul shares about an instance where he recognized hypocrisy in the actions of Peter when Peter was visiting the church in Antioch (Syria). As he shares, he gives the Galatians and us 3 steps for confronting hypocrisy. My prayer is that we will look not just at those around us, but primarily at our own lives.

If you picked up a bulletin, I want to invite you to open it to the sermon guide as I pose this question: How can we effectively share the hope of Jesus Christ with the world if our lives do not reflect it?

Let’s dive in then, shall we? The sermon is entitled “Confronting Hypocrisy” and we see that once we’ve identified the hypocrisy, the first step for us to take is to

Rebuke the Hypocrisy (11-14)

I want you to notice a few things here.

First, Paul goes face to face with Peter. (Read v. 11) This is exactly how Jesus taught to confront a brother who is in sin. (Matt. 18). He didn’t talk about Peter’s hypocrisy behind his back. He didn’t just mope around and act all self-righteous. No, Paul understood what was going on and went straight to the source.

Second, I want you to see how Paul takes into account Peter’s motivation. Peter was not necessarily intentional in being a hypocrite here. He wasn’t likely thinking about how his actions were contrary to the Gospel. Paul saw that it was a weakness of Peter’s that led to him falling into this trap.

Let’s look at v. 12 again (READ). Paul points out that Peter was doing just fine until some folks from James’ church came to visit. He treated the Gentile believers as brothers. He sat with them, even though they didn’t do any ceremonious hand washing. He shared meals with them even though they might eat what were considered unclean foods to the Jewish church. I’m thinking they were eating some pulled pork bbq with baked beans and coleslaw- maybe some homemade cornbread.... you’re thinking you might go eat with those Gentiles after church today, and that sounds good to me too!

But these folks that came in from James’ church- They were born Jews and still practiced many of the Jewish traditions even though they knew that they were simply traditions. Yet, Peter evidently worried that they might judge him for his behavior and so he pulled away from the Gentile believers. He began to pretend that he was more righteous than them.

ILL: I knew a guy in school who was generally a nice guy… but he wanted to impress some popular kids so he would insult others in front of them or try to shame them for their “Wal-mart-brand clothes” and knock off Nikes. It was completely unnecessary and he never did that sort of thing except when he was trying to show off for this one group of kids.

This points to a very real danger: Hypocrisy is contagious. READ v. 13

Peter’s hypocrisy drew in the other Jewish Christians and before you know it there was a division in the church. And here’s the thing- it’s a manufactured division.

The Gospel message had been tossed aside in order for one group to pretend that they were somehow better than the other. Beyond that, there was a message being sent that you should desire to be like this group- to live as they appear to be living.

Do you remember that Dr. Suess book, the Sneetches? This is where one group thought they were better because they had stars on their bellies… perhaps go home and read that with your children/ grandkids. - it’s as crazy as proposing that one’s skin color or language or political party makes them better or more righteous.

Paul rebuked Peter, and called out his hypocrisy. He did this in front of everyone because Peter was a leader and his actions were harming the body and causing others to sin.

Is there hypocrisy in your life?

Discuss: Why is hypocrisy so common? How does hypocrisy create division?

When we identify hypocrisy in the church, we must rebuke those who are caught up in it, helping them to see their error so they might repent.

Paul continues to share his words to Peter as He took steps to

Refute the Hypocrisy (15-18)

To refute is to argue or give reasoning for why the hypocrisy is wrong.

It’s not enough to say, “You are wrong”. If you are going to be helpful, you must help people to see why they are wrong. Paul does a good job of walking the Galatians through his logic and reasoning with Peter.

Paul acknowledges that he and Peter were born Jews, and thus had the joy of a heritage that pointed them to God’s salvation. Yet, the truth is that the Law that the Jews were given was never meant to justify or make anyone righteous.

ILL: We can think of it like this: Some of us were raised in church- we grew up going to a service every Sunday and Wednesday. But that church service, that tradition - as great as it was, was not ever going to save me. In order for you and I to have salvation, we had to place our trust in the Son of God and His sacrifice on that old Roman cross. There is no other way. My good deeds, as hard as I might try, they are but dirty rags before the Lord when they are done in an attempt to secure my redemption.

The hard truth for many who grew up in Jewish tradition and even in Christian religion is that in order for us to put our faith in Christ, we have to recognize our own sinfulness and insufficiency.

As someone once said, you can’t get saved if you don’t know you need saving!

And that was Paul’s point to Peter. He said, look Peter, we had to trust Jesus just as much as these Gentiles had to. They were no more lost than we were. It was by the same wonderful grace of God that we and they were reconciled to the Father!

The reason that Peter’s actions were hypocritical was because he acted as though he had some level of righteousness that the Gentiles did not.

Now I want you to think about this. That prostitute who gave her life to Jesus, the drug addict, the murderer, the homosexual, the most vile offender in the earth who has trusted in the shed blood of Jesus Christ is counted just as righteous as you are because it is the righteousness of Christ that we adorned with!

I’d like to argue that if you are in Christ this morning, you are justified. I’m no more righteous than you because I’ve gone to seminary. The deacons are no more righteous because they are set apart to serve the church. You know why? Because You cannot add to the righteousness of Christ.

Paul says (18) that when you try to rebuild that which you have destroyed, you prove yourself a sinner. In other words, when you go back to thinking you can earn salvation or righteousness, you are backwards of the Gospel.

To paraphrase Johnathan Edwards, that old Puritan Preacher of the Great Awakening: The only thing you and I contributed to our salvation was the sin that made it necessary.

I’ll ask again friends, is there hypocrisy in your life?

Discuss: Why is it important to remind ourselves of the truth? Where has tradition replaced the Gospel in your life?

When we identify hypocrisy, we must rebuke those caught up in it and refute their hypocrisy so they can see clearly their error. This leads us to the final step Paul gives in confronting hypocrisy. That is, we must

Redress the Hypocrisy (19-21)

To redress means to set right that which is wrong.

If you have kids, you know that it’s not enough to simply show them that they are in error or even why it’s wrong. You must also show them what is correct or help them discover the right thing.

Paul does this for Peter- He sets him back on the right path by giving his own testimony about his approach to the Christian life.

Listen as I read these verses (READ v.19-20)

Here’s what Paul is saying: Through the Law, we deserve death. Thus, I have died to the Law, having been crucified with Christ. — Not literally (dead men can’t write letters), but

B/C Christ took my penalty, my sin, my failures, my shame that was all revealed through the Law was placed upon Him. Therefore, being crucified with Christ, I am also raised in newness of life in Him. So, this life I live now is not in my own power and effort nor is it in my own worth, but it is by faith in Christ.

I know that He has accomplished all that is necessary and so I live as Jesus taught his disciples in

John 15:5 NASB95

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Apart from Christ, we are nothing but dead twigs, but in Him, we have fruitful lives, knowing that it is His Spirit within us that produces fruit which brings glory to Him.

God took the initiative, because of His love for the world, to save me and you, and so the life of a Christian is wrapped up in Jesus Christ. My identity is in Him alone, so I don’t need to compare myself to you or to anyone else.

For us to live any other way would be to proclaim through our lives that Christ did not need to die.

Hypocrisy must be confronted in the church. We must rebuke those caught up in it, refute their actions so they can see their error, and redress the hypocrisy so as to set them on the right path.

Discuss: What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? How does this mindset correct hypocrisy?

As we close our time, I want to go back and ask:

How can we effectively share the hope of Jesus Christ with the world if our lives do not reflect it?

It’s real easy to look around at others, but as Jesus taught - we need to remove the log in our own eye first.

So, Is your life consistent with the Gospel? Or is their hypocrisy in your life? Perhaps you are one of those statistics we read earlier.

Friends might I encourage you to come and be crucified with Christ- stop pretending, and experience the gospel power.

PRAY

As we sing… if the Holy Spirit is bringing conviction upon you, don’t let the fear of what someone else might think keep you from responding. Do not quench the Holy Spirit, instead, REPENT-

1 John 1:9 NASB95

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

You can have that forgiveness this morning.