| Teacher: Rusty Kennedy Series: Galatians |
Rusty's Notes
Where we left off:
- Paul gave Peter a couple of laws to add to the message of grace so as to appeal to the Jews.
- “Give an inch… take a mile.”
Acts 11
1 The apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had welcomed God’s message also. 2 When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who stressed circumcision argued with him, 3 saying, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them!”
4 Peter began to explain to them in an orderly sequence, saying: 5 “I was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a visionary state, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me. 6 When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. 7 Then I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat!’
8 “‘No, Lord!’ I said. ‘For nothing common or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ 9 But a voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call common.’
10 “Now this happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into heaven. 11 At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were. 12 Then the Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers accompanied me, and we went into the man’s house. 13 He reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter. 14 He will speak a message to you that you and all your household will be saved by.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore, if God gave them the same gift that He also gave to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?”
18 When they heard this they became silent. Then they glorified God, saying, “So God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles![1]
Galatians 2
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch,
- Antioch was 300 miles north of Jerusalem (Syria)
- During the New Testament period Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire and boasted a population of more than half a million.
- Peter came to Paul’s home turf.
- The Jewish community formed a significant segment of the city’s population, numbering some sixty-five thousand during the New Testament era.[2]
I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James.
- These were not the same men mentioned in 2:4 (false teachers). These men were sent from Jerusalem by James.
- They ate differently (law vs no law) – piety
- It wasn’t the fact that he was just eating with the Gentiles. He ate like the Gentiles… forgetting Jewish rituals that he practiced with the Jews.
- How does this differ when Paul says, “Be all things to all people.”?
- When the Judaizers came along, they expected the Gentiles to eat like them.
However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party.
- What did Peter have to be afraid of? Intimidation?
- Power of sin working on Peter… He was the one who had authority… not James’ men.
- Peter’s fear was robbing him of his freedom.
- Proverbs 29:25 - 25 The fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.[3]
13 Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
- That speaks of the influence that James had back in Jerusalem.
- Or how strong Jewish rituals were taught.
- Paul used two very strong words in his public condemnation of Peter and the other Jewish Christians at Antioch who had separated from their Gentile brothers and sisters: playacting and crooked walking.
- The word in v. 13 translated “hypocrisy” (hypokrisis) comes from the world of the theater, where it refers to the act of wearing a mask or playing a part in a drama.
- By negative transference it came to mean pretense, insincerity, acting in a fashion that belies one’s true convictions.
- Here is the brunt of Paul’s charge against Peter: He should have known better!
- Peter was not guilty of an honest mistake, nor was there any evidence that he had changed his mind about the extension of salvation to the Gentiles.
- Peter had donned a mask of pretense; he was shamefully acting a part contrary to his own true convictions.
- What Paul rebuked was the inconsistency of his conduct.[4]
14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?”
- 1) Circumcision 2) Food laws & 3) Calendar observances
- Paul is separating Peter’s personal convictions vs Truth of the Word.
- Suppose Peter and Barnabas had won the day and led the church into legalism? What might the results have been?
- Would Antioch have continued to be the great missionary church that sent out Paul and Barnabas? (Acts 13)
- Would they, instead, have sent out the “missionaries” of the circumcision party and either captured or divided the churches Paul had already founded?
- You can see that this problem was not a matter of personality or party; it was a question of “the truth of the Gospel.” And Paul was prepared to fight for it.[5]
15 We who are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners”
- They were “Gentile sinners” from birth because they were not given the Law like the Jews were.
16 know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.
- “How should [a] man be just with God?” (Job 9:2) was a vital question, because the answer determined eternal consequences.
- “The just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4) is God’s answer; and it was this truth that liberated Martin Luther from religious bondage and fear.
- So important is this concept that three New Testament books explain it to us: Romans (see 1:17), Galatians (see 3:11), and Hebrews (see 10:38).
- Romans explains the meaning of “the just”;
- Galatians explains “shall live”;
- Hebrews explains “by faith.”[6]
- Christ died one time and based upon our belief in the Son of God, we were justified one time.
- Proven “not guilty”
- Double Jeopardy – Cannot be tried twice for the same crime.
17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild the system I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ
- Paul is not referring to a physical death here, but a death of his former life.
- What died?
20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
- Faith in the Son of God transforms a person from a slave of the Law to a child of God.
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
- Law says DO! Grace says DONE! “It is finished!” was Christ’s victory cry (John 19:30).[7]
21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.[8]
- Paul’s opponents had accused him of using God’s grace to justify unrighteous living.[9]
Ask yourself:
1) Have I been saved by the grace of God?
2) Am I trying to mix Law and grace?
3) Am I rejoicing in the fact that I have been justified by faith in Christ Jesus?
4) Am I walking in the freedom of grace?
5) Am I walking by the Spirit (that aligns with the Truth of the Gospel)?
6) Am I willing to walk by the Spirit in defense of the Gospel?
[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ac 11:1–18). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 170). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Pr 29:25). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 177). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 694). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 695). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 696). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[8] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ga 2:11–21). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 2:21). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
- Paul gave Peter a couple of laws to add to the message of grace so as to appeal to the Jews.
- “Give an inch… take a mile.”
Acts 11
1 The apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had welcomed God’s message also. 2 When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who stressed circumcision argued with him, 3 saying, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them!”
4 Peter began to explain to them in an orderly sequence, saying: 5 “I was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a visionary state, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me. 6 When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. 7 Then I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat!’
8 “‘No, Lord!’ I said. ‘For nothing common or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ 9 But a voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call common.’
10 “Now this happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into heaven. 11 At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were. 12 Then the Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers accompanied me, and we went into the man’s house. 13 He reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter. 14 He will speak a message to you that you and all your household will be saved by.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore, if God gave them the same gift that He also gave to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?”
18 When they heard this they became silent. Then they glorified God, saying, “So God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles![1]
Galatians 2
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch,
- Antioch was 300 miles north of Jerusalem (Syria)
- During the New Testament period Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire and boasted a population of more than half a million.
- Peter came to Paul’s home turf.
- The Jewish community formed a significant segment of the city’s population, numbering some sixty-five thousand during the New Testament era.[2]
I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James.
- These were not the same men mentioned in 2:4 (false teachers). These men were sent from Jerusalem by James.
- They ate differently (law vs no law) – piety
- It wasn’t the fact that he was just eating with the Gentiles. He ate like the Gentiles… forgetting Jewish rituals that he practiced with the Jews.
- How does this differ when Paul says, “Be all things to all people.”?
- When the Judaizers came along, they expected the Gentiles to eat like them.
However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party.
- What did Peter have to be afraid of? Intimidation?
- Power of sin working on Peter… He was the one who had authority… not James’ men.
- Peter’s fear was robbing him of his freedom.
- Proverbs 29:25 - 25 The fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.[3]
13 Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
- That speaks of the influence that James had back in Jerusalem.
- Or how strong Jewish rituals were taught.
- Paul used two very strong words in his public condemnation of Peter and the other Jewish Christians at Antioch who had separated from their Gentile brothers and sisters: playacting and crooked walking.
- The word in v. 13 translated “hypocrisy” (hypokrisis) comes from the world of the theater, where it refers to the act of wearing a mask or playing a part in a drama.
- By negative transference it came to mean pretense, insincerity, acting in a fashion that belies one’s true convictions.
- Here is the brunt of Paul’s charge against Peter: He should have known better!
- Peter was not guilty of an honest mistake, nor was there any evidence that he had changed his mind about the extension of salvation to the Gentiles.
- Peter had donned a mask of pretense; he was shamefully acting a part contrary to his own true convictions.
- What Paul rebuked was the inconsistency of his conduct.[4]
14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?”
- 1) Circumcision 2) Food laws & 3) Calendar observances
- Paul is separating Peter’s personal convictions vs Truth of the Word.
- Suppose Peter and Barnabas had won the day and led the church into legalism? What might the results have been?
- Would Antioch have continued to be the great missionary church that sent out Paul and Barnabas? (Acts 13)
- Would they, instead, have sent out the “missionaries” of the circumcision party and either captured or divided the churches Paul had already founded?
- You can see that this problem was not a matter of personality or party; it was a question of “the truth of the Gospel.” And Paul was prepared to fight for it.[5]
15 We who are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners”
- They were “Gentile sinners” from birth because they were not given the Law like the Jews were.
16 know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.
- “How should [a] man be just with God?” (Job 9:2) was a vital question, because the answer determined eternal consequences.
- “The just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4) is God’s answer; and it was this truth that liberated Martin Luther from religious bondage and fear.
- So important is this concept that three New Testament books explain it to us: Romans (see 1:17), Galatians (see 3:11), and Hebrews (see 10:38).
- Romans explains the meaning of “the just”;
- Galatians explains “shall live”;
- Hebrews explains “by faith.”[6]
- Christ died one time and based upon our belief in the Son of God, we were justified one time.
- Proven “not guilty”
- Double Jeopardy – Cannot be tried twice for the same crime.
17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild the system I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ
- Paul is not referring to a physical death here, but a death of his former life.
- What died?
20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
- Faith in the Son of God transforms a person from a slave of the Law to a child of God.
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
- Law says DO! Grace says DONE! “It is finished!” was Christ’s victory cry (John 19:30).[7]
21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.[8]
- Paul’s opponents had accused him of using God’s grace to justify unrighteous living.[9]
Ask yourself:
1) Have I been saved by the grace of God?
2) Am I trying to mix Law and grace?
3) Am I rejoicing in the fact that I have been justified by faith in Christ Jesus?
4) Am I walking in the freedom of grace?
5) Am I walking by the Spirit (that aligns with the Truth of the Gospel)?
6) Am I willing to walk by the Spirit in defense of the Gospel?
[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ac 11:1–18). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 170). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Pr 29:25). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 177). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 694). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 695). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 696). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[8] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ga 2:11–21). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ga 2:21). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
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