Galatians Week 4 • Galatians 2:11-21

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If you've got your Bibles, going to open up to Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

As you turn there, right, it's good for us to consistently build in reminders of where

we're at, of what we're doing, okay?

So I want to thank everybody.

We've had a great opportunity every Sunday morning as we started off this new year to

gather together as a church family, starting at 945, to come together, to have some coffee,

to have some donuts, to have some snacks, to build relationships as we continue to build

our church family.

And I want to challenge you, if you're a part of our family and you haven't had the opportunity

to join us, right?

You don't have to be here at 945, but get here early as an opportunity to continue to build

relationships, to continue to invest as we continue to work toward becoming one family unified in

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I also want to remind everybody, so next Sunday, it's one of those first Sundays of the month,

and so what that means for us is we'll be taking the Lord's Supper together as a church family,

but we will also be having our first graders all the way through the adults, all of us in

here together, so that we can have a part of the whole family, but then also the church family,

individual families within our church family together.

And so I want to encourage you to be a part of that service with us next week as we take the

Lord's Supper together, as we worship together, and as we have a wonderful time of coming together

and celebrating the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Well, we're going to start reading this morning, Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

We're going to read starting in verse 11 and go through verse 21.

God's Word says this,

But when Cephas, and make a note that when it says this name, this is Peter,

came to Antioch, Paul writes and he says,

I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.

For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles.

But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.

And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,

so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel,

I said to Cephas, again reminding you guys, this is Peter,

Before them all, if you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew,

how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?

This is a key argument that we've been talking about since the beginning of studying and understanding Galatians.

All right, it's how can you impose something that's not the gospel on those converting,

is what Paul is saying.

Verse 15, he says,

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners,

yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law,

but through faith in Jesus Christ.

So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ,

and not by works of the law.

This is important, underline this in your Bible,

because by the works of the law, no one will be justified.

Continue on in verse 17,

But if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ,

we too were found to be sinners,

is Christ then a servant of sin?

Certainly not.

For if I rebuild what I tore down,

I prove myself to be a transgressor.

For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God.

Verse 20,

I've been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

In the life 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 were through the law,

then Christ died for no purpose.

Now there's a lot in this passage of Scripture.

In fact, what we're going to get this week

is kind of message 1A,

and then next week as we take the Lord's Supper

and lead into this,

we're going to wrap up this particular passage of Scripture

and get the second half of what's going on.

As Paul is continuing on and concluding the section

as he's sharing his story of what's going on in his life.

And this is the third segment that we've kind of seen in this

as Paul shares.

If you go all the way back to a couple weeks ago,

it was the second week in our study of Galatians,

we see the first section

where Paul talks about his salvation,

his salvation experience,

and an important part for him

that he focuses in on of what God does in that.

That this gospel that he received

was not the gospel of man.

That it didn't come from one man to another,

but that God revealed it to him.

And it's the supernatural aspect of the gospel

of what Paul is implanting,

that for the Jew and for the Gentile,

for every person who has ever lived,

there is one gospel,

and it's important that this gospel comes from God.

It's the establishment of what he lays down before them.

And then he jumps in scripture,

tells us 14 years later in his story,

and he begins to talk about the Jerusalem council.

And at the Jerusalem council,

it's determined,

this man named Titus,

that even though he is a Gentile,

that he is a full believer of Christ

with nothing else added to that

for him required to do,

that he's a full believer of Christ,

even though he does not follow

all of the customary Jewish laws

or traditions that are there living in the culture.

That now we see the establishment

and the confirmation of what Paul knew

as God imparted the gospel to him,

as God called him to the Gentiles,

that it is one unified gospel

for the Jew,

for the Gentile,

for everyone,

for every nation,

for every tribe,

every tongue.

It's the foundation of the hope that we have

that we're called to share.

It's the reminder that regardless of what we look like,

regardless of what we say,

that there is one gospel,

the gospel of Christ.

And now what we're going to get

is we're going to get the third part.

We're going to get the third part of his story.

And as we see,

it's the culmination of what Paul is drawing together

as he explains that it is the gospel

who saved Titus.

It is the gospel who would save Peter.

It's the gospel who would save Paul.

It's the gospel who would save you.

It's the gospel who would save me.

But that even after salvation,

it's the gospel that keeps us.

It's the gospel that's the standard.

That when we are saved,

it's not then we walk away

and carry the gospel just to share it.

But we walk away,

we carry the gospel to share it,

but also the gospel to live by.

And we see the transforming power of the gospel.

Well, here in the third section

of what we read this morning

is Paul addresses an issue

that he had with Peter.

Now before,

back in the Jerusalem council,

Peter was there.

And he and Peter were unified

concerning Titus and the gospel.

But now they're no longer in Jerusalem.

They're in Antioch,

a largely Gentile city.

And Paul stands in opposition to Peter.

He rebukes him.

He calls him out.

He challenges him.

So what in the world was going on?

You see, to simplify it,

Peter had changed his eating habits.

Peter had changed his social status

when he would eat,

before he would eat with the Gentiles.

But now he has stopped his eating with them

and in doing so,

stopped his fellowship with the Gentiles.

You see, there begins to now be a break

in what was fought for to be unified.

Not only is the gospel unified in message,

but it's always important

that the gospel is also unified

in its application.

And Peter had walked away from that.

And so Paul is addressing him.

So why would he do this?

Why would Peter, who knows,

why would Peter,

who with boldness,

would proclaim who Christ is,

why would Peter,

one of those closest,

to have walked with Christ,

the leader of the core of what was there,

being willing to charge

a Roman centurion

with a knife to set Jesus free,

why would Peter,

who would write scripture,

why would Peter,

who would be such a foundational leader

in the church,

why would he break away from this?

Why would he head down this path?

It's because of the sin

that was in his life.

You see, let me explain to you

Old Testament,

what we're going to call clean laws.

The Old Testament clean laws

found in Leviticus

were a series of regulations

for worshipers to follow.

And God had put them in place

for them to be ceremonial clean

and acceptable

in the presence of God for worship.

And so a handful of them were,

they were required to eat certain foods

and not eat certain foods

because the certain foods

they were not eat

were deemed to be unclean.

They were not allowed

to touch dead things.

If someone had a disease,

they were not allowed to touch them.

Or if you had a disease,

that you were forbidden

from touching others

and there were many other

clean laws that are there

that are found in Leviticus.

And God is doing these

to teach his people something.

God is doing this

to teach them something

about themselves,

but also God is doing this

to teach them something

about himself.

And what God wanted to show

with the clean laws

was that a sinful people,

everyone,

needed to be clean

in order to enter

into the presence of God.

It's a beautiful picture

of what would take place

of the work of Christ

to allow you and I,

sinners,

to be brought into

a right relationship

with the Holy God.

What we would see

in the know

of the hope of the gospel

was that in order

to be made clean

is not found

in anything that we do,

but it's found

in the work of Christ,

of what Christ does

on our behalf.

And Jesus comes

and he addresses

the clean laws.

In Mark chapter 7,

Mark 7 · chapter mention

Jesus says that

even with his arrival

that these laws have passed.

And then there's

a wonderful picture

in the book of Acts

where God sends a vision

to Peter of all people

specifically to show him

why this law has gone away.

And then in a wonderful part

where Peter understands this,

he meets a Gentile

named Cornelius

who gets saved.

And Peter says,

these are Peter's words,

truly I understand

that God shows

no partiality,

but in every nation

anyone who fears God

is acceptable to him.

See the beautiful hope

of the great commission

call of the gospel

to take it outside

of a race,

to take it outside

of a nationality,

and to spread it

to the hope

of the nation.

But after this,

we begin to see

that in spite of criticism,

Peter continues

to eat with Gentiles.

In spite of all

of these things

of what could take place,

Peter pushes forward.

But in Antioch,

it changes.

In Antioch,

we see a different reaction.

Why?

What would cause Peter,

someone who understands

the gospel,

what would cause Peter,

someone who teaches

the gospel,

what would cause him

to break away

from what he knew,

to abandon

the implications

of the gospel

on his life?

You see,

Peter hasn't walked away

from what he knows

will save him,

but what he has walked away

from in this moment

as he refuses

to eat with Gentiles

is what the gospel

does in his life

every single day.

And when I look around

the room

and I look in the mirror,

what I know with us

of what we do

when we fall into

patterns of sin

is you and I,

we do not walk away

from the reality

that the gospel saves us,

but all too often

we walk away

from the application

of what the gospel

calls us to

every single day

in our life.

So what would cause

Peter to do this?

Look back at verse 12.

Paul says,

for before certain men

came from James,

he was eating

with the Gentiles.

But when they came,

he drew back

and separated himself.

Why?

Because fearing

the circumcision party.

It was fear.

Fear is what

crept into him.

Fear of criticism

from others.

Fear of judgment

from others.

Fear of abandonment

from his culture.

And what we find

in the life of Peter,

what we find in verse 12

is so often

what rings true

in our life today

is this,

is that oftentimes

fear is what

pulls us away

from obedience

to God.

We become

the insecure

child

who's afraid

of losing

what's all around

them

as opposed

to being obedient

to the God

who saves us.

And fear

creeps in.

What are they

going to think

about me?

What are they

going to say

about me?

What are they

going to exclude

me from?

What is going

to happen

to me?

And fear

pulls Peter.

Fear pulls

me.

Fear pulls

you

away

from obedience

to the gospel.

And so Paul

addresses him.

Paul's like,

we're going to deal

with this.

And we're going

to look at

two ways

in which Paul

addresses him

this morning.

The first thing

that Paul does

is Paul reminds

Peter of walking

in the gospel.

Look back

at verse 14.

He says,

but when I saw

that their conduct

was not in step

with the truth,

underline that

in your Bible,

was not in step

with the truth

of the gospel,

I said to Cephas

before them all,

if you,

though a Jew,

live like a Gentile

and not a Jew,

how can you force

the Gentiles

to live like Jews?

Here's Paul's issue

with Peter.

It's not that he's

not being a good host.

It's not that he's

breaking protocol.

It's that Peter's

actions and life

are not reflective

of the truth

of the gospel.

Because for the message

of the gospel

to be made known,

it is fully in

what we say

and what we do.

You see,

we can't separate

our actions

from our message,

from our words.

It is all tied

into this.

And so Paul's like,

Peter,

you can't proclaim

this with your mouth

or write this

with your pen

but yet live

different from what

the gospel implies

for your life.

And so in the separation,

in the removal,

I have to address this.

By Peter doing

what he is doing,

it actually says

the opposite

of the gospel.

And what Peter

is doing

is he is no longer

walking in the gospel.

He's no longer

walking in what

saves him

but he is walking

in the world.

He's walking

in the culture.

He's walking

in the standard

that others

have set for him

and not the standard

by which God

has set

before him.

Let me ask you this

this morning, church.

How do you walk?

How do you walk?

In every aspect

of your life,

how do you walk?

He addresses Peter.

He calls him

a hypocrite.

And let me tell you,

let me explain

one of the criticisms

from the outside

of the church

is that gathered here

in this place

and in every church

that the church

is filled

with a bunch

of hypocrites.

And let me say,

as the world

looks at us,

they're right.

They're right.

If we examine

the way that we walk

and we're not

walking in line

with the gospel,

they are right.

You see,

hypocrisy comes

when you intentionally

walk some

with the gospel

and some

in the world.

Let me ask you this.

As a church member,

as a Christian,

do we walk

in the gospel

in the areas

that we select?

So when I step here

in this place,

I want to walk

in line

with the gospel

and the things

that I say

and the things

that I do

and how I live

and how I interact

and how I greet

that in this place

I walk in line

with the gospel

that when I interact

with my wife,

when I interact

with my family,

when I interact

with them,

I want to walk

in line

with the gospel.

Does it mean for us

that when we walk

with our children

and we want to mold

and shape

and develop them

that we want

to walk in line

with the gospel?

Can I tell you

in those three things,

if you want to walk

in line

with the gospel,

praise God.

But if we walk

out of here

and we don't want

to walk in line

with the gospel

as a coach,

if we don't want

to walk in line

with the gospel

on social media,

if we don't want

to walk in line

with the gospel

at work

or in our cul-de-sac,

if we don't want

to walk in line

with the gospel

in our hunt club,

if we don't want

to walk in line

with the gospel

in the social settings

with our friends

who maybe many of them,

and let me tell you this,

I hope most of your friends

are not believers

because God's planted you there

to be a missionary

for them.

If we're not walking

in line with the gospel

in those settings,

then we are a hypocrite.

What is good

for your house

and what is good

for here

is not what's good

for you there.

But we must walk

in line.

We can't have a foot

in both worlds.

I started taking my kids

hunting with me

at a really early age.

Probably too early.

I think Grayson was three

the first time

he went with me.

There was not a deer

within five square miles

of us

that did not hear him

in that deer stand.

And I'll never forget,

I got a picture of it

that Aaron took of us

in our kitchen

that afternoon

as we were going

to go hunting

and I'm bent down

and he's there

probably like 35 pounds

and he's ready to go

and he's got his toy gun

on his shoulder.

And we head out there

and of course we didn't.

We didn't see a deer.

And we get ready

to walk back

and I pull up my phone

because that's where

my flashlight's on.

And as I turn

on my flashlight,

it's pitch black dark,

we hunt on a piece

of property

called Gum Swamp.

There's alligators.

There's rattlesnakes.

There's water moccasins.

There's wild hogs.

I go to walk

out of there

and I go to turn

on my flashlight

and my flashlight dies.

And now I've got

a whole bunch of stuff

because you got to take

a three-year-old

a lot of things

to stay engaged, right?

So I've got like

two bags,

I've got my rifle

and I've got my son.

And I look at him

and I said,

buddy,

we're going to walk

back to the truck.

We got to walk

past the swamp.

There's some stuff there.

Here's what I need

you to do.

For you to be safe

where I walk,

you walk.

Don't go to the side

of me.

Don't try to get

around me.

But where I place

my feet,

you place your feet.

And we'll work

our way.

And even though

we,

even though you and I

can't see what lies

ahead of us,

I will make

a path for us

and the path

will be safe

for you

as long as you

stay

on the path.

And he looked at me

and said,

okay,

he asked if he could

hold my hand.

And I said,

absolutely.

And so for about

500 yards

through the woods,

I walked like this

as my three-year-old son

walked behind me,

putting his foot

in my footprints.

Church,

God set a path

for us.

And he says

if we're going to walk

in the gospel,

it's not one foot

on his path

and one foot

on our path.

It's not that

at home

this is how I walk,

but when I'm out

at work,

when I'm over

with my friends,

when I'm doing

all the things

that I want to do,

then I choose

my own path.

That's not

gospel living.

And it's not

who he has

called us

to be.

It's not

what he has put

within our hearts

to do.

It's not the

transformation

that's there.

You see,

here's the truth

about the path

of the gospel.

Here's the part

that my story

doesn't tell.

Sometimes the path

is still hard.

Sometimes there

will still be things

to try to lead us

off of the path.

Sometimes our culture,

sometimes our friends,

sometimes those

we trust the most,

sometimes even others

that are gathered

in here

will try to pull us off.

But it's why

it's so important

that the people

in this room

are not our standards.

It's why it's important

that the rules

of our culture

are not what sets

our path.

But it's why

it's important

that an understanding

and an application

of God's word

is what's laid

down before us.

So God set

our path.

Make it clear.

And as the gospel

transforms us,

we keep going on.

So Paul reminds him

of the path.

But Paul also

addresses for Peter

what I'm going to refer to

as hidden sin.

Hidden sin.

Acceptable sin.

It's okay sin.

Sin that as he does it,

the culture that's around

embraces it

and says,

that's fine.

That's who we are.

That's fine.

That's what we do.

That's fine.

That's the way

things are done

around here.

You see,

what Peter is struggling

with in this moment,

it is the sin

that has been

accepted in his culture.

It's the,

Peter is struggling

with the way

that he was raised.

Peter is struggling

with the things

that have been imparted

to him,

the things that have

been taught to him.

He's struggling

with a layer

of nationalistic pride.

He's struggling

with a layer

of racism.

He's struggling

with a layer

of elitism.

He's struggling

with being able

to implement

the gospel

in every aspect

of his life

because of fear.

And what we see

is the hidden sin

that begins

to come out.

You see,

Peter struggles

that when he walks

in the room,

that when he's there,

what's socially

required of him,

what's culturally

required of him

is to think

Jew

over Gentile.

But he knows

the difference.

But he chooses

not what he knows

from the gospel,

but Peter

chooses what he knows

from culture.

He chooses

what he's comfortable

with.

He chooses

what he feels

is best.

What he chooses

is his people.

What he chooses

is his race.

What he chooses

is his nation,

not the gospel.

And it's the gospel

over all things.

I want you to think

about a time

in your life

when you've walked

into a setting

that culturally

was difficult

for you.

Maybe it took place

in another country.

Maybe it took place

from a co-worker

who's maybe

from a different country

and they invite you

over for a meal

and you walk in

and cultures

are different.

Maybe it happened

in a friendship

or a relationship

of a neighbor

that you have.

I want you to think

of a point in time

and a moment

for you

where you felt

awkward culturally.

You felt

uncomfortable

culturally

because you

were different

than everyone else

who surrounded you.

Now,

think about

Jesus.

Jesus was always

different

than every person

that he ever met.

Every man,

woman,

and child

that Jesus

ever encountered,

he was different then.

He was different

from his neighbors.

He was different

from his mom.

He was different

from his siblings.

What made him

different?

The lack

of sin

and the presence

of holiness

in his life.

And in spite

of fear,

in spite

of criticism,

in spite

of persecution,

when Jesus

walked into

a room

where he was

different than

everyone who was

there,

what rang

true

was the gospel

in spite

of what

awaited him?

He went

to the home

of Zacchaeus,

a betrayer,

a tax

collector,

a thief,

and he had

dinner with him.

He sat

there

in the midst

of those

that would

surround him

in their

self-proclaimed

righteousness

and let what

the Bible

describes

as a sinful

woman

wash his

feet

with her hair.

He's walking

down the road

with a group

of people

who were

surrounding him

and out of

his corner

of his eye

he sees

Matthew,

a tax

collector,

another crook,

another thief,

someone that

culture said

was lower

than a dog

and he said,

hey man,

come follow

me.

Not only

follow me

but be my

closest friend,

be my

closest ally,

be my

disciple.

He sat

there

during the

middle of

the day

when it

was hot

outside.

He sat

there at

a well

with a

woman of

a different

race,

with a

woman of

questionable

moral standing

and said,

hey,

can you

give me

some water?

I'm thirsty.

And she

says,

why would

you talk

to me?

Because he's

the savior

of the

world.

The gospel

is him

and he

shared with

her the

hope that

he had.

You see,

Paul addresses

the hidden

sin in the

life of

Peter.

And Jesus

taught and

Jesus showed

what it

meant to

look past

nationalistic

pride,

to look

past

race,

to look

past

social

standing,

to look

past

the sinful

living of

others

and a

desire

to love

others

and a

hope

to bring

the gospel

to them.

And so

Paul says

to Peter,

when you

walk in

the room

and you

create the

divide,

when you

walk in

the room

and you

and your

sin

chooses

who's

better,

when you

walk in

that,

the gospel

that has

saved you

is not

the gospel

that you're

displaying.

I'm just

going to ask

you guys

this.

What path

are you

walking on

this morning?

What path

are you

walking on?

Is your

life,

as Paul

says,

in step

with the

gospel,

flowing to

the rhythm

of what God

has called

you to?

To the

hope of

what has

saved you?

To the

hope of

what's

transforming

you?

Or are

you on

another path

altogether,

walking on

the path

of the

world,

figuring it

out yourself,

trying to

understand how

to make

your own

self

righteous?

Or are

you like

so many

of us,

living your

life as

a hypocrite?

Sometimes I'm

on this

path,

sometimes I'm

on the

other.

It all

depends on

who I

want to

be.

Would you

pray with

me?

God, we

come to you

this morning.

Lord, and I

just ask you,

Lord, through

the power of

your spirit,

through the

conviction of

who you are,

Lord, to lay

out before us

our path.

Lord, as you

gave Peter a

vision in

Acts, Lord, I

pray that your

Holy Spirit would

speak to our

hearts.

Show to us as

individuals,

Lord, what

path we are

on.

Lord, show us

what we

choose.

Lord, for

those of us

who proclaim

that it's the

gospel of

Christ and

Christ alone

that has

saved us.

Lord, show us

where we have

wandered off of

the path.

Lord, show us

and how your

grace can

show us

as only you

can, where we

have embraced

hypocrisy, where

we are not who

we have claimed

to be, where

we are not

walking in the

boldness of

faith.

Lord, and I

pray for those

of us who

were there

that this

morning, through

the grace of

your heart,

through the

kindness of

your spirit,

Lord, that you

would bring us

to the sweet

spot of

repentance.

Lord, if it's

a, if it's

like Peter, if

it's a heart

of racism, or

to help us

understand that

you heal all

things, that

you restore all

things, and that

we will no longer

see people as

defined by their

culture, as

defined by their

skin color, as

defined by their

language, or

but that we

would see them as

individuals created

by God, who

either need the

gospel, or who

are already

fellow brothers

and sisters of

the gospel.

Lord, change the

way we see.

Lord, heal us.

Bring us back.

Lord, maybe we're

wandering off

another path because

of fear.

Fear that if I'm

not this way, then I

won't be accepted.

If I'm not this way,

then I won't have

my job.

If I'm not this way,

then I won't be

useful.

If I'm not this way,

then the world will

no longer need me.

Lord, set us free

from that.

Lord, bring in line

in every aspect of

our life.

May our walk at

church, may our walk

with our spouse, may

our walk with our

kids, may our walk

with our friends, may

our walk with our

coworkers, may our walk

with our neighbors, may

our walk by

ourselves be on the

path of the gospel

and step with who

you are.

Lord, and for those

of us in this room,

we're completely on

another path.

Lord, bring us back

to the very important

thing that we began

with, that it's Christ

in Christ alone.

With every head

bowed and every eye

closed, whatever

brought you here,

whatever sin or

failure that you may

feel that you have,

whatever pursuit

you've been on,

there's one road.

It's the road that

leads to Jesus.

We'd like to talk to

you this morning about

a relationship with

Him.

We'd love to show

you what a relationship

with Him looks like

so that you may walk

out of here on a

path of the gospel.

Jesus, do what you're

going to do, or draw

our hearts to you, and

we'll praise you for

it.

And it's in Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

Just a moment, we're

going to stand and

we're going to respond.

We've got prayer

encouragers on either

side of the auditorium.

Pastor Dave is back

here at the tables.

I will be down

front.

If you'd like to talk

to someone about a

relationship with the

Lord, if you'd like

to talk to someone about

a struggle that you're

going through, we'd

love to talk with you,

we'd love to pray with

you, but please don't

respond to us.

Respond to God and how

He's leading you this

morning.

Would you stand as we

worship Him?

thanks again for listening

to the Willow Ridge

Church weekly podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed

listening to this week's

message.

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more about who we are or

explore additional

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