Hw t be a Gd Christian and ther religius nnsense 2.2.11 Galatians Series Sermn 3 The Gspel Creates Unity Galatians 2:11-14 Title Reading and teaching frm the NLT This week is a message fr Christians Next week wuld be a gd week t bring friends The prblem presented in the bk f Galatians is this: In the Apstle Paul s absence certain men have crept in wh are teaching that thugh the Gspel is the way t start the Christian life (I.e. hw we are saved), it is nt the way t cntinue the Christian life If ne wants t be a Gd Christian and maintain a gd standing befre Gd daily, then ne must d the right things. Frm their perspective the right things were t be circumcised and bey the Law f Mses They knew Paul taught the Gspel means we are daily accepted and daily apprved f by Gd regardless f what we d r fail t d, because f what Jesus has dne fr us (nce we accept that in faith) S, what they did was cast aspersin n bth Paul s Apstleship and his message they said he was a secnd hand apstle wh had gtten his message secnd hand and then cnfused it S, in Galatians, Paul defends bth his Apstleship and his message by saying that he gt bth f them frm Jesus Himself! (see 1:1&12) And that the riginal Apstles cnfirmed bth his calling and his message ( = last week) We ended last week with this realizatin: That Peter wh affirmed Paul s calling and message (see 1:6&9) wuld never add t the Gspel, that in rder t be daily accepted by Gd we need t daily perfrm well there is just n way! (After all, Peter was the ne wh denied Christ 3 times n the day f His crucifixin and had then been restred a few days later nt because he perfrmed better, but because f what Jesus had dne n the Crss) Here is what we discver in tday s text that is s interesting: That when it came t issues f identity and acceptance, inclusin and exclusin (which we all struggle with daily), Peter was willing t act in a way that was incnsistent with what he truly believed abut the Gspel and its implicatins I.e. Thugh he believed that everyne was accepted by Gd strictly n the basis f the Crss f Christ and by grace (and s we shuld accept ne anther ne that basis), he ccasinally acted as thugh there were smething better in perfrming a certain way I.e. In being a Gd Christian What Peter s actins are representative f is ur prclivity t hld urselves alf frm ther Christians wh dn t measure up in ur minds fr ne reasn r anther Peter s mtive may have been different slightly different in that he did it in respnse t a srt f peer pressure But it is indicative f the same rt prblem: We smetimes value classing/lcating peple, ver the relatinal implicatins f the Gspel Let s lk t the text and see hw all this unflds
2 Paul is recunting an actual cnfrntatin that tk place between him and Peter in Antich SHOW MAP (Lcated n page 6 and attached as separate file) Antich (still a majr twn f suth-central Turkey) is abut 300 miles away frm Jerusalem, was the 3 rd largest city in the Rman empire n the 1 st C. It was ne f the great early centers f Christianity and the first place where the fllwers f Jesus were ever called Christians (Messiah-peple). Paul and Barnabas had spent a year there (Acts 11:26) The reasn Paul brings this cnfrntatin up is nt t shame Peter, but t shw that his versin f the Gspel is authritative enugh t even crrect the Apstle Peter Verse 11 The implicatin being, Paul has the ne true Gspel message t cmmunicate and nt sme distrtin f it A pint we may glean frm this may be, n Christian is abve the call t fllw the truth f the gspel message in hw we live, and especially hw we live in relatin t ne anther But = In cntrast t Peter agreeing with Paul s message (in the previus passage) Even thugh Peter knew the Gspel and he (f all peple) understd life was all by grace accrding t what Jesus has dne fr us and nt smething we have dne r failed t d urselves, there was an incnsistency in his behavir Fr what he did was very wrng = it wasn t an issue f cnvictin but actin; nt f belief but behavir Our behavir is nt always cnsistent with ur beliefs, is it? I had t ppse him t his face = Paul was willing t cnfrnt the great Apstle Peter because f the truth that was at stake Because it is what we d (nt necessarily what we believe) that has the mst prfund affect S, what did Peter d that was very wrng? Verse 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, wh were nt circumcised Gentile = any ne wh is nt an ethnic Jew. Gentile Christian = a Christian wh is nt frm the Jewish race Wh were nt circumcised = they did nt bserve the Jewish Law (Paul = they dn t need t) Religius Jews wuld nt generally eat with Gentiles wh were nt circumcised There are 2 general reasns: (1) The Law and (2) the cultural value f eating tgether (1) The Law: Frbidden fds, cntaminated pts, plates etc. These wuld make the Jew unclean (2) Eating tgether: It is hard fr mst f us t understand hw big f a deal this was in that ancient culture Yu get a glimpse f it in the Gspels where the religius leaders are appalled at the fact that Jesus ate with drunkards and prstitutes and tax-cllectrs and sinners. Yu see, eating with smene was ne f the mst pwerful symbls f assciatin and identificatin. We dn t think f it this way, we will eat with peple frm wrk r schl that we barely knw. When we have peple ver fr dinner we d nt ask them abut their ethnic r religius backgrund befre we ll have them. But, it wasn t that lng ag that we culd relate t this directly in ur sciety. Our parents remember separate restrms, drinking funtains and eating areas fr peple f ther backgrunds in this cuntry! And if yu crssed that bundary it was tab and culd be a radical statement f assciatin and identificatin. 2.2.11 Galatians Series Sermn 3
3 That is srt f what was ging n here, thugh the mtivatin was nt s much pure racism (thugh it certainly crssed int that fr the Jews at times) The mtivatin had mre t d with wh was in r ut accrding t behavir Did yu bserve the Law r nt, and were yu circumcised t prve it? Circumcisin tuches n this f issue(s) f identity and inclusin and rejectin What we lk t d is find easy ways t identify wh is in and wh is ut We want t lcate urselves in relatin t thers and knw wh ur tribe r family is = The questin f identity nt nly knwing wh yu are, but wh else belngs in yur grup (nt bad unless ) We practice inclusin r exclusin accrding t identity & identifying factrs Fr Jews, circumcisin settled identity (males n the 8 th day) It was an utward sign that they were in a relatinship with Gd It was always suppsed t represent a deeper reality circumcisin f the heart (see Deut 30:6; Rm 2:29; Cl 2:11-12) But, external bservances are always easier than true heart and life transfrmatin The reasn that circumcisin became srt f that identifying thing fr the Jews was that it was hard t always knw exactly wh was keeping the Law Partly because there were lng running debates as t exactly what it lked like t keep the Law But circumcisin was clear cut (n pun intended) Yu knew wh was in and wh was ut This was the srt f antiquated, Gspel-nullified thinking that Peter was falling prey t The Gentile Christians were clearly nt circumcised, s they were clearly ut Verse 12 b = When sme friends f James came, Peter wuldn t eat with the Gentiles anymre. He as afraid f criticism frm these peple wh insisted n the necessity f circumcisin Peter wuldn t eat with the Gentiles anymre Peter was nw refusing t partake in that expressin f fellwship, acceptance and inclusin Falling t peer-pressure and the fear f man, Peter is functining purely accrding t the ld rules f exclusin (and nt the truth f Gspel which is always inclusinary) Verse 13 As a result = Peter s actins had an affect n the rest f the bdy (as is always true) Other Jewish Christians fllwed Peter s hypcrisy Hypcrisy = When we g t see a perfrmance, a play r a mvie, the actrs are transfrmed by makeup and wardrbe This was nt the case in this in this ancient culture (nt as advanced) They wuld hld a mask in frnt f their face. Crude, but it helped the audience get the idea that the actr was pretending t be smene they were nt these actrs were called hypcrites The wrd came t be used nt just t dente an actr but anyne wh was pretending t be smene r smething they are nt; smene playing a part Peter was playing a part His actins did nt square with his cnvictins 2.2.11 Galatians Series Sermn 3
4 Verse 14 Peter wasn t being true t his cnvictins abut the Gspel and hw it freed him frm having t d thse things They were nt fllwing the truth f the gspel message Literally = they were nt walking straightly (NASB = nt straightfrward abut the truth f the gspel) What they were ding, hlding themselves alf frm ther Christians fr n gd reasn, and refusing t accept int fellwship peple that Gd had accepted int fellwship Wasn t squaring with the Gspel It was straightfrward it was crked (s t speak) They were veering frm (nt fllwing) the truth f the Gspel The Gspel, when fllwed, always creates unity amng Christians The ld markers f wh is in/ut are meaningless nw We have all been brught int fellwship with Gd and ne anther by the Gspel What binds us tgether is greater than anything that culd ever threaten t separate us T break fellwship with ther believers (fr n gd, biblical reasn) is t deny the Gspel and be a hypcrite! It is a serius sin! (Hence Paul s public cnfrntatin f Peter) We cmmit this sin in different ways as Christians all the time this breaking f fellwship The issue fr us is nt circumcisin It is things like Calvinism; when the rapture happens; style f wrship music; Bible translatins; the gifts f the Spirit And even lesser things: Des a Christian dance, dress a certain way, drink alchl, like certain music We are nt talking abut sin issues (there are times when we separate accrding t Scripture 1 ) We are nt talking abut the cre, essential truths f Christianity (we may separate there) We are talking abut lesser issues f perspective r preference That may have been meaningful befre But are nullified by the Gspel When we d this we are creating 2 classes f Christians (which Galatians is ppsed t!) Galatians 3:26-28 26 Fr yu are all children f Gd thrugh faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all wh have been united with Christ in baptism have put n Christ, like putting n new clthes. 28 There is n lnger Jew r Gentile, slave r free, male and female. Fr yu are all ne in Christ Jesus. It was nt wrng fr Peter (as a Jew) t bserve the dietary laws It was wrng if he did s in thinking that it gained merit befre Gd He was wrng if he brke fellwship with ther Christians wh did nt There may be certain (nn-sin) behavirs that we can either d r nt d accrding t ur wn cnvictins (r understanding f Scripture) But, the mment we assign merit t thse behavirs and create anther class fr Christians wh differ n thse preferences r perspectives we sin We are nt fllwing the truth f the gspel (v. 14) 1 See fr example Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Crinthians 5:9-13 2.2.11 Galatians Series Sermn 3
5 Birds f a feather will flck tgether, and that is kay (explain) But, it is a heart issue If yu are rejecting smene accrding t their failure t perfrm accrding t what yu cnsider t be gd Christianity then yu are the sinner yu have failed! When we d this, we are essentially creating a 'gd Christian/bad Christian' dichtmy that Gd des nt create! That is the big pint... yu are ding smething Gd refuses t d D yu think that when we get t heaven Gd will say, "Okay, Pre-tribbers ver here, Calvinists ver here, hly-rllers yu t, rgan and cell music nly ver here... the rest f yu ver there in 'lesserheaven' We are making value calls that are f n ultimate value t Gd Hear the wrds f Christ in Jhn 17:21-23 (NLT) 21 I pray that they will all be ne, just as yu and I are ne as yu are in me, Father, and I am in yu. And may they be in us s that the wrld will believe yu sent me. 22 I have given them the glry yu gave me, s they may be ne as we are ne. 23 I am in them and yu are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the wrld will knw that yu sent me and that yu lve them as much as yu lve me. What achieves this unity is the Gspel It is nly thrugh the Gspel that we all receive the Hly Spirit and becme children f Gd The gspel creates unity What brings us int fellwship in the first place and binds us tgether nw is way bigger than any differences we may have It is nt enugh that we believe the Gspel, r wrk t preserve the Gspel, we must learn t apply the Gspel t daily life and relatinships that is what Peter failed t d Dn t d what Peter did and create 2 nd class Christians, think yurself t be better and break fellwship Scripture said tday: This was very wrng and nt fllwing the truth f the Gspel Be true t the Gspel dn t be a hypcrite Rmans 15:5-7 (NLT) 5 May Gd, wh gives this patience and encuragement, help yu live in cmplete harmny with each ther, as is fitting fr fllwers f Christ Jesus. 6 Then all f yu can jin tgether with ne vice, giving praise and glry t Gd, the Father f ur Lrd Jesus Christ. 7 Therefre, accept each ther just as Christ has accepted yu s that Gd will be given glry. 2.2.11 Galatians Series Sermn 3
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