Galatians 2:11-16

Well, it's comforting that I'm not standing here condemned today. I'm just standing here to bring the word of the Lord. Unlike the situation we read of in the passage before us.

! Last week we began to see how Paul addressed the challenge that arose in the gathering of the apostles in Jerusalem.

He had taken Titus with him to Jerusalem and there was this insistence by the other apostles who were Jews that Titus should be circumcised.

And Paul felt that was not right and for him it contradicted the truth of the gospel.

So he rose to confront and challenge that because he felt the truth of the gospel was in question and he fought to defend the truth of the gospel.

So last week dealt with circumcision and today, today's passage seems to be dealing with yet another issue but this time the matter of dietary laws.

Because in the passage before us, some apostles came from Jerusalem.

They had been sent by James or they were from the big gathering in Jerusalem.

But before then, Peter who had been with Paul in Antioch and the other Gentiles had been enjoying wonderful fellowship with the Gentiles.

No difference, no discrimination and he would eat with them celebrating his freedom that came to him even in the gospel.

Because having been saved, having enjoyed the liberty that the gospel brings, he felt there was no need to be different, to refuse to eat with the Gentiles.

So he ate with them.

But when this party came from Jerusalem, he now found himself in a difficult situation.

He decided to keep away from these Gentiles and would no longer participate in the fellowship with them, which I'm sure must have made them to feel one, must have made them to feel welcome, must have made them feel one in the body of Christ.

If Peter or Kephas, these apostles who had been with the Lord Jesus and Paul would come and sit with them, then truly it meant that the gospel has a way of making people from different nationalities and backgrounds one.

But this time, he kept apart.

But not only did that happen, others followed his example.

And again, Paul felt he had a responsibility to defend the truth of the gospel.

For him, the challenge was, their action kind of presented the gospel that had come to us, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And what the gospel stood for, it presented a challenge to the truth of that gospel.

And he felt it needed to be defended.

And he stood staunchly to talk against it.

And he confronted Kephas to his face.

And did it publicly.

And I'm touched that, I'm impressed that he dealt with the matter publicly.

I'm sure if I was the one, I would have felt, well, Brother Peter is an important person in the body of Christ.

This is a man who had had wonderful experiences.

There's so much that is said about him in the faith.

You don't speak to such a leader publicly.

You call him aside.

And in the spirit of Christian love, rebuke him.

If he had done that, the Gentiles would still have felt not part of the gospel.

They would have felt cut out.

What Paul felt, this gospel should be defended publicly.

Why?

Because the gospel is not just a message.

It is the good news that there is a privilege that has come to us in Christ Jesus.

And the privilege is that we who are sinners, and all who are sinners, and who are worthy of the condemnation and rejection of God by virtue of sin,

could now come and find membership in the body of Christ as a result of the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

So for Paul, here was an important matter that needed to be defended.

God had provided solution for the breaking of every form of wall of division.

And why would Paul choose to want to raise him on the basis of insisting on Jewish traditions?

Because the reason for the separation of Peter or Kephas was the fact that Jews were to observe strict dietary regulations,

and they were not to have fellowship with Gentiles, lest their relationship with Gentiles would contaminate their holy appearance or holy nature.

So Paul told him, this is wrong.

And he said it in the presence of the Gentiles.

This is wrong.

And he told him, here is something that you and I have in common.

You and I have known this.

In verse 15, he explains what is common knowledge to both himself and to Paul, to Peter.

He said, you and I are Jews by birth.

We know the law of Jewish lifestyle.

We have lived by the Jewish requirements.

We have observed all of the requirements.

But, yes, we cannot be compared to, by virtue of Jewish positions, we do not see ourselves as Gentile sinners.

Yet, here is something that happens to us.

Though you and I were Jews, we came to faith in Christ Jesus.

And by virtue of our coming to faith in Christ Jesus, something significant has happened to us.

We have come to the assurance of salvation.

Not because we have observed the Jewish regulations.

Not because we have been wonderful people as Jews.

But because we have placed our faith in Jesus and accepted the salvation.

The free offer of salvation from him.

Therefore, we have assurance of standing before God only in the grace of Jesus.

Because you and I know this.

You and I have had experiences of this.

Why would Paul be so sure that Peter knew this or Kephas knew this?

If you just flip back to Acts chapter 10, you will remember the experience that Peter had.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

When in a vision, a sheep came from heaven.

With all manner of animals.

And they were all animals that by Jewish law and regulation, he was not supposed to eat.

And he was told, rise, kill and eat.

And he presented his Jewish regulations.

He presented his righteousness by observation of the Jewish regulations.

He said, I have never eaten anything that will defile me.

And God told him, why would you, how can you call that which God has cleansed unclean?

Right after that experience, he now saw how the grace of God appeared to the family of Cornelius.

A Gentile.

And he saw how God brought Cornelius, an outsider to the Jewish race, into the faith.

And he saw how the spirit of God did not discriminate between him, Peter, being a Jew, and the family of Cornelius.

But they were blessed by the spirit of God, the presence of God.

Maybe that is why initially he could sit to eat with other Gentiles.

And then suddenly, because other fellow disciples from Jerusalem had come,

he now turned against this experience he had had.

He turned against this deep knowledge he had received and acted wrongly.

Peter said, this is not right.

In doing this, you've betrayed your conscience.

You've betrayed the truth of the gospel that came to you and I.

You've betrayed the fellowship that you started to establish,

even in the initial relationship you had with these Gentiles.

And we all do the same.

In various ways we do the same.

When in our churches we think we are more Christian than others because of race,

we are behaving just like Peter behaved in his relationship with these Gentiles.

When we would refuse to see and have fellowship with fellow believers,

creatures, children of God created in his image and likeness.

But if we would differ on the basis of race,

on the basis of our educational standing,

on the basis of something that is not a criteria for entering into the relationship with God,

we behave just like Peter.

And I hear the voice of the Lord speaking strongly through Paul

that this does not present the truth of the gospel.

The truth of the gospel is less.

The salvation of God has come to all,

irrespective of color, skin, knowledge, wealth, status also.

Salvation has come to all who would choose to place their faith in Jesus Christ.

So yes, though they had a joint theology and joint understanding,

Peter betrayed it.

And we have a responsibility to draw others into this faith.

When I first arrived in this country,

I had some wonderful experiences in the people,

in some of the churches I went to,

but the truth also is that in some of the churches I visited,

I left wondering whether I had been in a church

that truly believed in the name of Jesus.

Because after service,

they all had fellowship with each other,

would greet each other and say hello to each other.

But this Nigerian felt out of place.

No one would say hello to me.

And I wondered whether I was really a child of God

and was among the children of God.

Yet, there are other churches that when I went to,

oh, they so embraced me.

And I felt at home.

And that is exactly the experience I have had in this lunchtime talk.

This is why I keep coming again and again and again.

Because here I have a sense that I'm among children of God.

I'm among family.

I'm among brethren.

And this is what Paul fought for.

This is what the truth of the gospel makes clear.

If our faith in Christ will cause division when we go out,

if our relationship with others outside

will make them feel condemned, rejected, despised,

because we are holier people,

we are so righteous that we are doing them,

those who do not believe in Christ,

a favor in inviting them,

then we are not representing the gospel correctly.

And that is why Paul went on in verse 20

to say,

look, here is a truth.

We have been crucified with Christ.

I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ that lives in me.

And in that statement,

Paul was acknowledging that

the gruesome nature of the death of Christ

was a result of who I am

and who I had become.

And that is what I was deserving.

But when Christ died that horrifying,

that gruesome death,

he died in my place.

So in him I died.

I died to a desire

to prove my standing with God by my works.

I died because I realized

that it is only in Christ

that I am accepted

and I can please God,

not by any works of righteousness.

It's not my wonderful prayer life

that qualifies me

for a right relationship with God.

It's not good as prayer is.

It's not my knowledge of Bible

and my ability to recite all of it

that qualifies me

for a right standing with God.

Good as that is,

it's not even the good works I do

to prove that I am a wonderful Christian

that qualifies me

to enter into right standing with God.

It is only faith in the fact that

what you and I

have not been able to do

would for all of eternity

not be able to do

to merit eternity with God.

Christ did it on our behalf.

And by virtue of our placing faith in Him

we are accepted,

we stand right with God,

we stand justified with God,

we stand beyond condemnation,

beyond rejection with God.

That is what has happened also.

Though I continue to live,

according to Paul,

he says,

though I have been crucified with Christ,

it is no longer I that lives,

but Christ who lives in me.

My responsibility is to allow Christ

to live in and through me.

So I become merely a channel

through which the life of God

will be expressed in and through me

in my relationship with people.

Electricity passes through the cables,

but the cables never take credit

for the power that passes through them.

Water flows through the pipes

to come to my house.

I benefit from the water,

I use the water,

but the pipes never take credit for it.

Why would we then

take credit for the life of God

that should be flowing in and through us

to bring others

to the knowledge of God

and the love of God in Christ Jesus?

So Paul says,

when you, Peter,

when you try to rebuild those things

that you have been convinced were wrong,

when you try to bring back

the lifestyle you have been convinced was wrong,

when you try to live by the regulations,

by the laws,

in the hope that observing them

is what qualifies you

to be a proper Jew,

then you are rebuilding those things

that you say Christ has destroyed in you.

So when we show difference,

when we live with a sense of superiority

over others,

when we treat others

as though they are not good enough,

they are not as good as we are

to come to the Lord,

we are now destroying

what Jesus has done for us.

We are saying,

yes, Jesus,

granted you died for me,

you cleansed my sin,

but here is some good

that I have done

that qualifies to be accepted.

No, it's not that

we will not do good works,

but whatever good works we do

should be Christ leading us.

We will walk in grateful response

to who we have been made

and what God has done in us.

not that our good works

will be a way of earning

God's merit of commendation.

Paul tells us,

when we begin to trust

in the same works

that we looked up to God

to deal with

so that we will be accepted,

then we are nullifying

the grace of God.

As we go out

to relate with people

and they meet with us

and we try to evangelize,

which is what I encounter

every day,

what do we present to them?

What do we,

how do we come up

to those that we seek

to share the gospel of Jesus with?

Do they meet

very wonderful,

holy people

that are so far

that they cannot begin

to aspire to reach up to

by virtue of

their good works?

The only things

we have to present,

what do we present

to cause us to be accepted?

Our wonderful works?

Or do we present the truth

that we are also sinners

that have been saved by God?

We are sinners

being saved

by the cleansing

of the word of God

that comes to us

constantly

and we are people

that will be saved

from the very presence

of sin itself

when we finally stand

in the presence of God?

What do we make them

feel very bad?

In 1998,

I remember,

back in Nigeria,

when we were trying

to plant a church

in a very remote part

of Abuja.

Abuja is the capital city

of Nigeria.

It's a new capital

that was formed.

So there are loads

of villages

that were unreached.

We had been sending

women who had gone there

as part of women fellowship,

youth had gone there,

but they had not been successful.

On this particular day,

I went along with them

and they were happy.

Their pastor,

a leader in the church,

had come along with them

and so maybe I would do

something unique

that would make the people

accept the gospel.

And on that day,

the people decided

they are tired

of these people

that have been coming

to try to make them

change their way of life.

They would do something

so despicable

to keep us away.

And we went to preach

and they brought food.

And the manner

from the dish

to the place

we start to eat

to the appearance

of the people,

it will take

exceptional grace

for you to sit

to eat with them.

And we start to eat.

And the leader

of the group

did something

that is so terrible

I wouldn't want to tell you

so that you will be able

to eat your next meals.

And when he had finished,

he came

and I looked at his hand

and his hand was

in bad need of water.

But he looked at me

and came

and dipped his hand

right in front

of where I was sitting

and ate

and everybody waited

to see what I would do.

I was struggling

between vomiting

and getting

up of that place.

But I quietly prayed

and asked God

to help me.

And I ate

from the same spot

that he ate.

And that moment

was when

he decided

to give his life

to Christ.

Two years later,

he was preaching

in the community

where we had gone

to plant

the church.

and he said

the one thing

that made him

give his life

to Christ

was the fact

that they were

filthy

yet we did not

reject

to eat with them.

They had done

they were living

in squalor

in great filth

but it did not

turn us away.

They now believed

that we had

genuine love

for them.

but I told him

we had received

greater love

from the Lord

Jesus.

Because you see

everyone

who has sinned

is deserving

of the judgment

of God.

But God

chose to send

Jesus

who died

so that we

who are deserving

of

condemnation

would find

life eternal

with him.

all around us

are people

that are

desperately

in need

of

a true

manifestation

of the love

of God.

All around us

are people

who are interested

in meeting

Christians

who would not

present

how wonderful

they are

but would present

the wonderful

loving God

they are in

relationship with.

so that

when they

see that

lifestyle

they will be

drawn

into the

relationship

with the

Lord Jesus

that will

transform them

and they

will stand

because of

the love

of God.

Do we go

out

being such

people

or do we

go out

lifting up

our noses

looking down

on people

despising

them

because

they have

not

entered

into the

relationship

you and I

have in

Christ Jesus.

God expects

that

because

we have

received

of his

salvation

freely

we have

experienced

his love

and we have

been drawn

into a

loving

relationship

with him

so freely

we will

be extension

of his

hands

in reaching

out to

people

I mean

we would

be available

to be

channels

through whom

he would

pass

to touch

others.

Let them

see our

lifestyle

let them

see our

submission

to God

let them

see how

desperately

we love

God

and are

appreciative

of the

message we

have received

that they

can be

attracted

and welcome

into this

wonderful

fellowship

that you

and I

have.

And I

assure you

in case

you are

here and

you are

thinking about

what the

Christian

faith is

all about

it is

entering

into a

wonderful

loving

relationship

with Jesus

and he

will not

condemn

you.

Most of

us humans

are a

poor

reflection

of what

the true

gospel ought

to be

but I

tell you

if you

would just

give in

to the

Lord Jesus

you

would

know

love

that is

beyond

understanding.

Let's

pray.