Galatians lesson 5 - Fairhaven Baptist Church

Galatians

Lesson 5

Text: Galatians 2:11-21

Intro: Last study we looked at the Jerusalem counsel, How there was a dispute that came up, and the church needed to deal with it. And when we get to vs.11 we see Paul confronting Peter, about a issue.

So before we move into the study tonight, we need to do some work and look at the time, the place, and the issue, to see if the rest of this chapter is a continuation of the first 10 verses, or if it is something different. So let’s look:

Galatians 2:1-10 Galatians 2:11-21
Takes place in Jerusalem, (vs.1) Takes place in Antioch (vs.11)
Issue: can a Gentile be saved without Can a Jew be saved and not keep
- being circumcised? Jewish dietary laws?
The underlining question is; is the Christian, be them Gentile or Jew required to keep the Mosaic Law?

This is what Paul is taking on, in Jerusalem, at Antioch, and in the churches in Galatia.

Paul Confronts Peter,
1. Peter “comes” to Antioch,
  1. Paul was already there,
    1. In vs.11 Paul indicates that he was in Antioch when Paul came there.
    2. Acts 15:22-31 The counsel at Jerusalem sends a letter by Paul and Barnabas, with Judas and Silas, to tell them about the meeting they had.
      - The outcome of the meeting was, that they would lay no burden on them greater than necessary.
        
        The four things they did say was, keep from meat that had been offered to idols/ keep from blood/ from meat that had been strangled/ fornication.
    3. So Paul was already there, but, Peter came some time later.
  2. Peter brought error,
    1. before Peter came, vs.12 tells that the Jews (Judas, Silas, and Barnabas) ate with the Gentiles.
    2. But when Peter got there, he withdrew himself from them to eat “Fearing” the Jews.
      - As a result, the Jews that were there withdrew with Peter. (vs.13)
    3. It says that Peter did it out of “fear” (Fob-eh-o)
    4. What does this teach us?
      - First, it shows us how quickly something is to grow back.
        
        It had been less than a year that Paul confronted the Jerusalem church about the same issue, wrapped in different clothing.
        
        Religion is hard to root out.
      - Second, it points to a weakness in the Jerusalem church, that they would so easily fall back in line with Peter.
      - Third, Fear can be a powerful and deadly leader.
        
        Where Peter should have enjoyed his freedom, he feared, and that brought him into bondage.
  3. Paul confronts Peter,
    1. vs.11 says He withstood Peter to the face,
      - in person, eyeball to eyeball. No middle man, just the two of them.
        
        Why? Because he was to be blamed, blamed for causing others to err,
    2. Vs.14 says that He said to Peter before them all,
      - Plain speech is easy understood.
        
        Paul didn’t milly mouth around, hemming and hawing, he spoke directly and clearly to Peter.
        
        This would be a good lesson for any of us to handle our disagreements,
        
        go to the person, and in a clear and direct way, state out our issue.
    3. The bible does give us guidelines on conflict resolution:
      - First, the goal for conflict resolution is Unity,
        
        do we realize that ever letter in the New Testament has at least one verse that directs believers to live at peace with one another?
        
        It is with this in mind that we want to resolve conflict.
      - Second, there are two places in scripture that we are taught how to deal with conflict when sin is involved:
        
        See Matthew 18:15-17 & Luke 17:3&4
        
        Matthew 18:15-17 “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”
        
        Luke 17:3&4 “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”
        
        If He trespass against you, Go to him alone and tell him his fault.
        
        There has been much division in the church simply because people have not adhered to this step.
        
        Go to him, tell him.
        
        If he doesn’t hear you, then take a couple with you,,
        
        not talk to a couple about it, but take them with you.
        
        Also notice this is for your own protection, that every word can be established, no he said they said.
        
        Then tell it to the church,
        
        But what if he repents and ask for forgiveness? Then Luke says: forgive him.
    4. Now I do confess, I do not understand why vs.14 says he confronted him to his face.
      - Considering what we just looked at, I have issues with that.
        
        But, it could be, that the first steps of this were taken care of in Jerusalem.
        
        It can also be, that vs.11 and vs.14 happen at different times, and vs, 11 deals with it according to Matthew 18.
      - anyhow, Paul deals with him,
2. Paul points out the Hypocrisy of Peter. Vs.14-21
  1. First Question to Peter, If you get to live as a Gentile, why do you want the Gentiles to live like Jews?
    1. How had Peter lived as a gentile? We know the dietary laws he broke when with Jesus, (not washing their hands/ picking corn on the Sabbath/ etc…)
    2. But it was Peter that was sent to Cornelius.
      - See Acts 10:10-16 Peter was on top of the house, when the Lord gave him a vision of unclean meat, and the Lord told Him it was clean,
      - Acts 10:28 was the conclusion of the matter “And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. ”
  2. We who are Jews by Nature,
    1. Vs.15&16, go together, Paul was pointing out, that they were Jews by nature, born into it, and were circumcised the 8 day, and not “Sinners” missing the mark of gentiles.
      - This is simply saying, they were not born Jew, we were not born gentile.
    2. But, even us that are Jews know that man is not justified by works of the law
      - why, if they were, they would have not needed salvation.
      - Being circumcised doesn’t save any one, or else, all Jews would be saved
    3. it is the faith of Christ.
  3. Vs. 17, Question 2, is Christ the minister of sin?
    1. That is, does Christ make men sinners?
      - If we seek to be justified by Christ, but we are already living according to the Law, and if the law justifies us from sin, does Christ have to make us sinners in order to save us?
      - Think about the logic of what Paul is saying here: you say we must keep the law to be justified. But we Jews have kept it, yet we turned to Jesus for justification, did He need to make us unsaved, before He could save us? Did He have to put sin on us, in order to deliver us from sin?
    2. God, forbid,
  4. How long does the Law hold us?
    1. Vs.18&19 ask this question.
      - If I build again the thing I tore down, then I make myself a transgressor.
        
        Let me put it this way. If the law says, do not throw away this law and we do, but then we get it back, we are already a breaker of it.
      - But in Christ, we are dead. And if dead, then the law no longer has an affect on us.
      - But, I’m alive to God, he is the new ordinance that I live under.
    2. Christ lives in Me
    3. the life I now live, I live by faith.
  5. Vs.21 The Conclusion of both the Jerusalem and the Antioch conflict.
    1. I do not frustrate the Grace of God,
      - to frustrate means to neutralize, or to put aside.
        
        It is Paul’s way of saying, I add nothing to Grace.
      - If you could be made righteous any other way, then Christ died in vain.
    2. Remember, this is all in line with the concern of Paul with the Galatians.
      - Why have they been removed from what he has fought so hard for?

Points for home:

Plain speech is easily understood. In conflicts, we need to be Biblical in the way we handle it, and direct. Go to the person, let them know in plain speech, and deal with it.
We should always seek to preserve unity. We do not do this simply for making a point that they wronged us, or others, it is always for the restoration of unity and fellowship.
Grace plus anything is no longer grace. Be it keeping laws about diet or circumcision, when we add anything to Grace we “frustrate” it (set aside)

Next lesson Ch.3 “O foolish Galatians…”