Galatians 2:11-21
Stand Firm in Your Gospel Freedom!
When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 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. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 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, “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? We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 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. 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! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 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. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is the weekend that we gather together as Americans to celebrate the many blessings that we enjoy here in this great land of ours. As Americans we treasure the freedoms that we enjoy here in this great country of ours. As Americans we understand that the freedoms we enjoy are not free. We understand that many of our fellow Americans have fought and died to defend and preserve the freedoms that we enjoy. As Americans we also need to realize that we can lose and/or forfeit the freedoms that we enjoy. That’s why as Americans we need to be vigilant, we need to be diligent as we stand firm in the freedoms we enjoy.
All of that is taken to a much higher level when we stop to look at this from a Christian perspective. As Christians we treasure the freedom we have been given. As Christians we understand that the freedom we have been given are not free. As Christians we know that the One who died to give us our freedom was none other than the Son of God Himself. (Pointing to the cross) As Christians we also realize that we can lose and/or forfeit the freedom we have been given. That’s why as Christians we need to be vigilant, we need to be diligent as we strive to: Stand Firm in Our Gospel Freedom!
Our sermon text for today gives us a real-life example of how a Christian can lose and/or forfeit the Gospel freedom they had been given. The example placed before us today is the apostle Peter. You may recall that Peter is the one who made that bold confession of faith upon which the entire Christian Church is built right down to this very day: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Peter is the one who boldly proclaimed that he would rather die with Jesus than deny Jesus. (Matthew 26:31-35) And yet, Peter was the one who forfeited the Gospel freedom he had been given. Look at what Paul reveals to us in the opening portion of our text, “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 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. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.”
Antioch was one of the cities to which many of the believers fled after “the persecution in connection with Stephen” (Acts 11:19). Antioch quickly became an important center of the Christian faith in the early days of the Christian church. It was here at Antioch that the Jews boldly shared the message of the Gospel with the Gentiles. It was here at Antioch that many Gentiles worshiped side-by-side with their Jewish brothers and sisters in the faith. It was here at Antioch that the disciples of Jesus were first given the name “Christian” (Acts 11:26). It was here at Antioch that Barnabas and Paul were commissioned to go out on their first missionary journey. (Acts 13:1-3)
Then Peter went to visit the church in Antioch. Peter was a prominent figure among the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. For that reason Peter’s words and Peter’s actions had a powerful impact on his brothers and sisters in Antioch. When Peter first came to Antioch he enjoyed the Gospel freedom that God Himself had taught him, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34, 35). This Gospel freedom enabled Peter to openly express his fellowship with the Gentile Christians in Antioch by eating with them.
Then the Judaizers arrived in Antioch. The Judaizers maintained that if the Gentiles wanted to be accepted as followers of Jesus they were required to follow the Law of Moses— especially the Law concerning circumcision. The arrival of the Judaizers led Peter to “draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles” who were members of this congregation. Peter was no longer willing to recognize them as equal brothers and sisters in Christ. Why? Paul tells us, “Because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.” Fear. Fear of being criticized. Fear of being rejected. Fear led Peter to forfeit the Gospel freedom he had been given, the Gospel freedom he once enjoyed! Peter’s fear then had a powerful negative impact on others. Paul reveals this when he says, “The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.”
How did the apostle Paul react to what Peter was doing? First, he called Peter out for his hypocrisy! Paul said to Peter, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?” Once Paul had used the Law to point out Peter’s hypocrisy, he then pointed Peter back to the freedom that only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can provide, the Gospel freedom that drives out fear! He said to Peter, “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by obeying 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.”
Note how Paul uses the pronoun “we.” Both Paul and Peter were “Jews by birth.” Both Paul and Peter knew from personal experience that “a man is not justified by observing the law.” By the power of the Holy Spirit both Paul and Peter “have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ.” In a very personal and caring and pastoral way Paul was using the message of the Gospel to encourage Peter to get rid of his fear of the Judaizers, to get rid of his fear of being criticized for believing and for teaching that the Gentile believers have equal status in God’s church. Get rid of your fear, Paul said, and stand firm in this Gospel freedom— the Gospel freedom that was secured for Peter by Someone he knew extremely well— “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Keeping our eyes focused on the cross (Pointing to the cross) is the only way for us to stand firm in our Gospel freedom. Paul emphasizes that truth for us when he says to us in the closing verses of our text, “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. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Living through dying are foundational themes in Paul’s theology. In fact, in Romans chapter six Paul reminds us that when we were baptized in the Name of the Triune God we died to sin and we were buried with Christ. When we were baptized in the Name of the Triune God we were “united” with Jesus— not only in His death, but also in His resurrection! (See Romans 6:1-14) Dying to live. It sounds strange to our limited, logical, mortal minds, but that is how Christ brought life to this dying world. He died (Pointing to the cross) so that we could live! In fact, the only way we could live is if the Son of God willingly died in our place. That is why Paul says, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Anyone who says that we can and we must contribute to at least a little bit to our own salvation by performing certain works is “setting aside the grace of God.” If it were possible for us to do something— anything— to contribute to our own salvation then, as Paul says, “Christ died for nothing!”
This entire text serves as a very powerful reminder to us of how important it is for us to stand firm in our Gospel freedom. It also serves as a very powerful warning to us! If Peter, the apostle who so boldly proclaimed concerning Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” if Peter could forfeit the freedom that the Gospel gave to him because he was afraid of being criticized by people who claimed that there are certain requirements that a person must fulfill before they can become a Christian— we are in danger of doing the very same thing for the very same reason.
Think about it, my friends. Satan is constantly trying to instill in our hearts the fear that comes from doubt: Did God really say that all of your sins are forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross, or does it make more sense to believe that while Jesus may have died to pay for your “big” sins, you have to pay for all the rest of your sins!
The unbelieving world in which we live is constantly trying to instill in our hearts the fear of being rejected and ridiculed by others: Who are you to say that Jesus is the only way to eternal life in heaven? Who are you to say that someone who simply wants to be and to live as their “authentic” self— no matter what that might possibly mean— is wrong? Who are you to say that someone does not have the “right” to do what they want with their own body— even if that means terminating the life of their unborn child?
When we look at ourselves in the mirror our old sinful nature tries to instill in us the self-conscious fear that comes from low self-esteem: How many times have you promised God that you are going to give up that sin? Do you really think He is going to listen to you this time? You really laid into so-and-so for what they did or said! They’ll sure think twice about crossing you again!
The freedom of the Gospel, the freedom that Jesus secured for us on the cross (Pointing to the cross) is the freedom upon which we need to stand firm, my friends. The Gospel gives us the freedom of knowing that through faith in what Jesus has done for us all of our sins are completely forgiven. There is nothing we must do, there is nothing we can do to contribute even a little bit to our salvation. The Gospel gives us the freedom of knowing that no matter how much rejection and no matter how much ridicule we endure from this unbelieving world our Savior-God daily showers us with His everlasting love and acceptance. The Gospel gives us the freedom of knowing that every time we turn to the Lord with a repentant heart and say, “God have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13), He gently lifts up our eyes to the cross and says, “I already have!”
As Americans this is indeed the weekend that we celebrate all of the wonderful freedoms that we enjoy in this great country. My prayer this morning is that as Christians we will not only thank the good Lord for these wonderful freedoms, but I pray that we will thank the good Lord for the greatest freedom of all— the freedom of the Gospel! So stand firm, my friends! Stand firm in your Gospel freedom!
To God be the glory!
Amen
