Fear and Faith Galatians 2:5-21 (NKJV)

Transcription

1 Fear and Faith Galatians 2:5-21 (NKJV) Last week we looked at Paul making his second journey to Jerusalem to visit the pillars: Peter, James, and John. To talk about the judaizers, who Paul would call false brethren who were introducing a false gospel. A gospel that allowed the Gentiles to be saved, but they had to convert to Judaism first, which meant they would have to be circumcised and they would have to obey the Law of Moses. This was a burden even the Jews could not fulfill and pain that did nothing for the heart. And so Paul makes his way by revelation to Jerusalem to make sure that there is unity among the leadership concerning the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, the true gospel. Vs. 5 to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. Paul could be stubborn when need be not even for an hour! Why so stubborn? He answers so that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. It was not just for Titus, but for all Gentiles. I am so grateful that Paul stood his ground on this we might be coming to church with a lamb or a dove in our hand instead of the Bible, a burden to bear instead of joy to express. The gospel continued on because of this meeting and so did a few other things Vs. 6-8 But from those who seemed to be something whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles) Copyright 2014 Chris Fraley 1

2 Not only was there resolution, but there was clarification. Peter was gifted to work with the Jews and Paul was gifted to work with the Gentiles. Notice the affirmation from the rest of the crew Vs and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. The three amigos Peter, James and John (Cephas is another name for Peter). Notice, they give Paul the right hand of fellowship. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1 (NKJV) That had to be a sweet day, the pillars as Paul calls them, gave him a high five walk in the liberty Paul! All good right? Do you remember last week when I told you that unity takes work, that there will be times we have to fight for it? And there will be times like this when you leave a meeting and think, Sweet, that s handled, that s done we re on the same page. You hit the fastball out of the park, but then the next time you re up a curve ball comes at you. That s what the rest of the chapter is about Vs Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. Antioch was the church where Paul seemed to hang out in between his mission trips, it was a hub for Paul, his turf. Copyright 2014 Chris Fraley 2

3 And when Peter makes his way to Antioch he reveals something in his behavior to Paul that causes a riff, a contention. When he first arrived and it was time to eat a meal together, Peter enjoyed the freedom of eating with the Gentile believers. Which would have been an issue growing up a Hebrew. They did not enter the house of a Gentile, they walked on the other side of the street of a Gentile, and so to eat with a Gentile was an issue. It s like being a Giants fan and eating a Dodger Dog blasphemous! There was major segregation, but now in Christ they were freed from laws that kept them segregated; they were one body, one family. So when the judaizers show up and Peter goes hypocritical and separates himself, Paul is concerned it s the wrong message. I believe the key word here for what s taking place is in verse 12 notice the word fearing. When fear showed up Peter failed. Interesting thing about Peter: when he was operating in faith he could walk on water, he preached with power at Pentecost, he was the first to bring the gospel to Cornelius the first Gentile believer. But when he was operating in the flesh he would rebuke Jesus for speaking of His death, he would lop off ears, he would cower to a servant girl, and he would deny that he even knew Jesus. Peter in the Spirit was bold and powerful, but in the flesh he was full of fear and even hypocrisy. That s why we must be reminded I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV) Notice what verse 13 tells us who this affects Vs. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. Copyright 2014 Chris Fraley 3

4 The rest of the Jewish believers saw Peter segregating and they followed suit, even Barnabas. Our example is so powerful, it says a lot about what we truly believe or don t believe. Paul would say to Timothy, a young pastor, a leader... Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. 1Timothy 4:12-16 (NKJV) In other words, what you say and how you live must be in sync. If they are then not only does it say that we are saved, but it has the ability to bring others to salvation. God will use our godly example to bring others to Christ. But if not, then it can be the very thing that the enemy will use to keep people from salvation. The sins of the teachers are the teachers of sins. Trapp Our sin can be the very thing that leads others astray. Now you might ask, why is Paul being so bold? Verse 11 says he got in Peter s face. What s different about this meeting that Paul would go public than the other meeting where Paul would talk this through in private? There are two reasons why Paul rebuked in public The sin was public and so Paul corrected it in public. Some of you that are coaches or teachers, you know what it s like to have a team meeting. Even though it may only be a few causing trouble, you speak to the whole team because it s affecting everyone. Copyright 2014 Chris Fraley 4

5 This was a sin that was affecting the whole group, the whole team, and so Paul saw a teaching opportunity. Remember, this is Paul s turf, this is not the church of Jerusalem, this was the church in Antioch where he was ordained and sent out from. 2. The dinner probably included communion. Many commentators believe the meal they were sharing was called a love feast something the early church practiced. And with the love feast they would also take communion together. So there was division at the communion table, the very thing that celebrates our oneness, and Peter was leading the pack. Now, before we throw Peter under the bus, I think we all would have to admit we can relate to Peter. We all know too well what the old person can be like, what our old flesh is like, and when it shows up it is not good. Fear can set in, peer pressure sets in, we start acting in ways that we know are unhealthy, we say things we should not say, and that s what s going on with Peter and I am sure we can all relate to him. I believe the key here is that if you look at Peter s life overall, you see much less of this and much more the power of the resurrection and baptism of the Spirit at Pentecost. What we all need to be asking ourselves is, In my walk of faith, what are people seeing more of: the flesh or the Spirit? We may see Peter failing here, but it s much less than what we know of Peter back in the day. Now, notice Paul s argument here... Vs But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works Copyright 2014 Chris Fraley 5

6 of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. Now Paul is going to get into this in more detail in chapter 3, so we won t get too deep here. Notice Paul s argument in verse 14 If you, Peter, being a Jew, are living in the manner of the Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? You know what Paul is saying? While they are all eating, chowing down, Paul stands up and basically says, Peter, you know what it s like to eat a bacon burger and last week you had a ham sandwich with us. You ve been set free from the kosher thing. What s up? And if that s not enough, then he calls them all out. Now that the judaizers are here you re acting all kosher, you re playing the hypocrite. I can still smell the bacon on your breath. What s up? Could you imagine what s going on with Peter at this moment? His heart rate speeds up, he breaks out in a sweat, he puts his head down, and the guys next to him are just looking at him. What about Barnabas? He is scooting his chair over, hoping that Paul is not going to call him out next. It s one of those moments where there is an elephant in the room and Paul has finally made everyone aware. I am sure the meeting that they had back in Jerusalem is now coming to Peter s mind: the right hand of fellowship thing that was offered, the high five at Jerusalem. Paul is reminding Peter of the liberty that we all have. Notice Paul uses the word justified here a few times. The word justified means Justified: to render just or innocent, to be free or righteous. How are we justified? How are we righteous before God? Copyright 2014 Chris Fraley 6

7 Not by the works of the law, but by faith in Christ Jesus (vs.16). Remember the purpose of the law? Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:24-26 (NKJV) The law did not have the power to enable us to carry its demands out. It only proved to us that we were a lawbreaker. My office window is facing the exit here at Wildwood. Once in a while I look up and will watch someone come in our exit. They have to blow through the signs that actually say, Exit Only. I know what they re trying to do, they want to get to the parking lot near our offices quickly, the shortest route, but in doing so it can create some confusion because if a car is coming out, then Houston, we have a problem. Those signs for many serve the same purpose that the law does to remind us when we enter that we are lawbreakers. The law served its purpose in that it showed us that we were lawbreakers, but it does not have the ability to make us right with God. That s what Paul is reminding Peter and Barnabas we could not attain a righteous standing with God through obedience to the law, by eating the right foods or by honoring the Sabbath. It demands perfection if you break one law, you re liable for all. It really pointed to a Savior; one who fulfilled the law. And now when we put our faith in the righteous one that makes us righteous, He imputes righteousness into our lives. When did this all happen? Notice, he reminds us Vs I have been crucified with Christ; 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 for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. Copyright 2014 Chris Fraley 7

8 Paul knew that on the cross there was a great exchange that happened. At the cross he died to the old man, the man who had fallen short, the man who missed the mark. And now Paul could say, It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. He is simply managing the new life. When Wendi and I had our first child 20 years ago (Wow! What an amazing thing!), to hold him in our hands, to watch over him, to hear him say his first words, to see him take his first steps it s amazing the love you have for this one that God gave you and it doesn t take long to realize that God gave this gift to you. That s why we have baby dedications: to honor God, to give them back to God, it s recognition that this is His child and they are just on loan to us, we are just the managers. As they get older, as they move into adulthood, I still look back on that day and it is there I remind the Lord, He is Yours. So it is with our lives. When we came to cross that s the day we died to religion and its rules and regulations, and found a relationship with Jesus. That s when He became owner and we became manager. Notice how this life is to be managed in verse 20 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 for me. This new life is to be managed by faith. Now the just shall live by faith Hebrews 10:38 (NKJV) The just, those who have put their faith in the justifier, live by faith. That s why Paul told the church of Corinth For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) Walk by faith, in other words our faith is alive and it moves us. There is no sitting by faith; no, we walk by faith. Copyright 2014 Chris Fraley 8