Galatians 2:11-21 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Galatians 2:11-21. Let’s go!
Galatians 2:11-13 (NIV)
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.
12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
On verses 11-13: Why was Paul so upset at Peter (also called Cephas) for not eating with the Gentile Christians in the city of Antioch? Why did Paul even confront Peter publicly on the issue?
Keep in mind that before, Peter, a Jewish Christian, would happily eat with Gentile Christians (v12). God had even used Peter in the past to help Jewish Christians see that Gentiles could also be saved by faith in Christ (see Acts 10-11). But along came certain Jewish Christians from Jerusalem (“from James” in verse 12 is a reference to Jerusalem, where James was leading the church). These Jewish Christians were part of the “circumcision group” (v12) who believed that in order for any person (Jewish or Gentile) to be fully accepted into God’s family, it wasn’t enough to believe Christ; even more, that person had to undergo the Jewish custom of circumcision that God had established with Abraham centuries earlier in Genesis. Since the Gentile Christians had not been circumcised, these Jewish Christians refused to eat with them. By refusing to eat with them, the message they were sending was: we don’t accept you into our circle, and you don’t share in the same spiritual blessing that we share.
Fearing this circumcision group (v12), Peter gave into their peer pressure and began to disassociate himself with the Gentile Christians at meals. Barnabas and other leaders joined Peter in this behaviour (v13). This resulted in racial and ethnic segregation between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. Paul was understandably upset.
Galatians 2:14a (NIV)
14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all…
On verse 14: Sometimes a public sin requires a public rebuke. Otherwise, staying silent on the issue could give people the wrong idea and set the wrong example for others. In this case, Paul would be one of the more appropriate people to speak up to Peter about this issue, since both of them were apostles. The fact that Paul was willing to call on Peter on his behaviour also reflects Paul’s lion-type personality, unafraid of direct confrontation.
Galatians 2:14b (NIV)
… “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
On verse 14b: What does Paul mean by this? How was Peter a Jew but living “like a Gentile and not a Jew”? And how was Peter forcing Gentiles “to follow Jewish customs”? Peter was a Jew but living like a Gentile in that he was not trying to earn his salvation anymore by following Jewish customs. Yet at the same time, Peter was forcing “Gentiles to follow Jewish customs” in this way: by disassociating himself from Gentile Christians at meals, he was giving Gentiles the impression that they were not fully accepted into God’s family unless they followed Jewish customs like circumcision.
Galatians 2:15-16 (NIV)
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’
16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
On verses 15-16: Paul uses this as an opportunity to remind Peter and everyone else what the doctrine of justification by faith is all about: that all people – both Jews and Gentiles – are justified (that is, declared righteous and acceptable in God’s sight), not “by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (v16a). In other words, no one can be justified (declared righteous and acceptable before God) by trying to follow God’s laws (v16b) since none of us is perfect. Why does Paul bring up this doctrine of justification by faith? It’s because Paul is saying, “if God accepts all of us not because of how well we observe Jewish customs but by our faith in Jesus, then isn’t it hypocritical of Peter, Barnabas and others to exclude Gentile sinners from the dining table because of how well they observe the Jewish law?” It goes to show that the way God treats us should determine the way we treat others. Rather than thinking of the Gentile Christians as “Gentile sinners” (v15), Paul was encouraging everyone to remember that we are all sinners justified by our faith in Christ, that we’re all in the same boat and that there should be no segregation between Jewish believers and Gentile believers.
Galatians 2:17-20 (NIV)
17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!
18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker.
19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
On verses 17-20: Here’s my best effort to explain what I think Paul is trying to say here in these four not so easy to understand verses. First, when we as Christians sin, that is definitely not Christ at work in us but it is sin at work in us (v17). Second, when I condemn sin but continue to sin (or in the words of verse 18, when I try to rebuild what I’ve already destroyed), I show just how much of a sinner (a lawbreaker) I am and how much I need someone to save me (v18). Third, “through the law I die to the law” (that is, by knowing what God’s law requires me to do and trying to do it and failing miserably, I die to the idea that I could save myself through perfect obedience to God’s law). This “death” is necessary “so that I might live for God” (v19) (in other words, so that I can experience the new life that God has for me, I need to realize that I can’t earn my way to righteousness). This new life that God has for me is not about me trying to be righteous in my own strength. Rather, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live” (v20a); in other words, I have quit trying to earn my own righteousness through perfect obedience to God’s law; that old part of me is dead just as Christ died). Instead, “…[b]ut Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave myself for me”. In other words, my trust is no longer in myself, but in Jesus Christ who loved me and sacrificed His perfect life so that by faith in God’s grace I could be righteous in God’s sight. Whoever thought that an awkward and uncomfortable confrontation between Paul and Peter could lead to the deep theological statements Paul is making here.
Galatians 2:21 (NIV)
21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
On verses 21: So instead of clinging to his own imperfect adherence to Jewish customs as his hope for salvation, Paul now clings to God’s grace as his hope. We must do the same. That’s the very reason why Christ came and died for us, because we could never gain righteousness by trying to obey the law ourselves.
What can we learn from all this?
1. Stop trying to earn God’s forgiveness and acceptance on your own. Instead, realize that Christ died to give you His righteousness and forgiveness as a free gift of His grace.
2. Be mindful of how peer pressure affects you. Not all peer pressure is bad. Some peer pressure is good. The circumcision group gave Peter a negative peer pressure that led him in the wrong direction. Paul gave Peter some positive peer pressure that steered Peter back in the right direction. Who are you eating with? In other words, who are you allowing to influence you and what kind of person are you becoming as a result?
3. God’s heart is to break down all unnecessary barriers that stand between Him and people, and between one group and another group. Since that is God’s heart, let that be our heart too. Here’s what I find in church: unless you are going out of your way to be welcoming to others, you can – without trying – cause people to feel excluded. So go out of your way to be warm and welcoming to people who are new to our church family. Don’t just stay in your comfortable circle and hide in a clique. Show the inclusive, embracing love of Christ to people who come from a different background from you. Show them that in Christ we have the most inclusive, courageous love that crosses all borders.
Thank You Father that when I was unable to earn righteousness on my own, Christ died for me so that I could have Your righteousness and eat at Your table. Since You showed me that kind of love, help me to show that kind of love to those around me, especially those who are different from me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
