Gospel People Part 4: Living In Jesus
Gospel People was a series I taught through the book of Galatians. The title came from the primary issue of the book: whether people define themselves by the Gospel or works they can accomplish. This writing series will outline the points I used in teaching the book of Galatians and will hopefully serve as a starting point for you in teaching it as well.
One of the main reasons people choose not to engage with church today is perceived hypocrisy. On one hand, people hear Christians talking about and claiming to uphold a very high moral standard, while on the other, they watch their Christian friends disappoint them all the time as famous Christian leaders fall into egregious sin. It's easy to grow defensive to this charge. As members of God's family, we should love the church the way God does. That does not mean, however, that we turn a blind eye to the things the church gets wrong. The second half of Galatians 2 gives us a great example of how we can deal with hypocrisy in the church.
1. Confronting Peter's Hypocrisy
Paul lays out the basics of his episode with Peter in verses 11 through 13:
But when Peter came to Antioch, 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.
There are a few cultural things in these verses that need to be unpacked to teach this passage well. The first is that James was one of the preeminent members of Jewish leadership. This gets seen in Acts 15 as he presides over a counsel that was determining what relationship the Gentiles should have with the Gospel.
The second is what eating with a person meant. In our day, we go out to eat with people we don't want to welcome in our homes. But back in that day, eating with another person was the ultimate sign of acceptance. Most meals had shared elements, normally sharing bread from the same loaf and dipping it into a common bowl. In that culture, this symbolized becoming one with another person. This turns the question of Peter eating with Gentiles from a matter of keeping dinner plans to one of showing acceptance. Seeing that this whole book is about the Gospel making all believers one, this issue becomes critical to living out the Gospel well.
Paul begins to confront Peter in verse 14:
But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to 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?”
Paul's main issue with this kind of living was that it created a standard others needed to meet despite the fact that Peter felt no obligation to meet it himself. Peter knew that he was free in Christ, and yet he did not accept the freedom that others had. Sometimes it's easy for us to know that we are on good standing with Christ as we look our nose down on another person's relationship with Christ.
The other issue this verse brings up is that Paul took his issue directly to Peter. Confrontation is a scary thing for most people, but Paul saw it as a loving thing when something as important as living out the Gospel was at stake. In many cases, the person playing the hypocrite is the last one to see their hypocrisy. One of the many blessings of the church family is the ability to learn from these other perspectives and become aware of our own blind spots.
2. Correcting Any Hypocrisy
Paul's speech continues in verses 15 and 16:
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, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
This is a crucial point in dealing with hypocrisy. Many try to keep up a presentation of righteousness because they believe their own good works keep them loved by God. Paul's important reminder here is that no one earns God. While the church should be the place people are most open, it often becomes the place people hide their sin most. Hypocrisy can be defeated in two ways: either perfectly follow your own standard or admit when you don't. The truth of justification through faith gives us the freedom to admit when we fall short.
Verses 17 through 19 continue to elaborate on that:
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.
The main topic Paul is working through is what saves a person. What saves a person is not their own effort or work; it's Jesus. This means, then, that believers must be careful not to build up a system by which they determine who is in and who is out. If God, in His perfect love, welcomes anyone who would come to Him in faith, who are we to deny some that God has welcomed. If we deeply believe in the Gospel, then one of the ways it will work itself out in our lives is through accepting all believers, whether they meet our standards or come from entirely different backgrounds.
The last two verses of the chapter provide a nice conclusion:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life 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 nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
The end point in all of this is coming to grips with a new identity. We love to be welcomed or celebrated for our own accomplishments, but for every believer in Jesus, the most noteworthy and identity-shaping thing about us is something done for us. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are made new and find fellowship with all who are being made new. Regardless of where others are in the process, they are our brothers and sisters through Jesus. This is the end of claiming we are great. By falling on Jesus, we cannot help but welcome in others who have done the same. This passage creates for us a great heart-check for hypocrisy. If we feel comfortable claiming our own goodness made us right with Christ, we've missed the point entirely.