A Liberating Rebuke

“But when I saw they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel…”

Galatians 2:11

In Galatians 2:11, Peter ate with the Gentiles when he arrived in Antioch. Still, over time, Peter gradually withdrew from that crowd, fearing his behavior would be reported to the legalist faction of Christians in Jerusalem, who believed in a Jesus-plus form of Christianity. Peter wanted to be popular.  Even worse was the way Peter withdrew; the Greek language in this text implied that it was gradual and deceptive.  Sneaky. Peter had lived like the Gentiles, modeling Christian love and freedom between Jews and Gentiles, but his refusal to do so now implied that Jewish laws and works were necessary for holiness. However, what was even worse was his discriminatory behavior. He knew God recognized no difference in nationalities, but he was implying to the Gentiles the Jewish ways were the right ways, the only way. So Paul rebuked Peter publicly to his face, calling him a hypocrite not aligned with the gospel truth.

While at the bookstore last weekend, I flipped through the pages of an actor's autobiography where he talked about his anger issues and his search through the religions — all New Age, mystic or Eastern religions — for answers, and he was still searching. All his sought-out religions were performance-based, good works scorekeeping variety and created within oneself, an inside out approach, and one will find God and peace. The truth of the gospel Paul confronted Peter with is the opposite. God came down, revealed in the flesh in Jesus Christ to pursue and seek us, and said, "Give me your burdens. Do not burden yourself, and you will find God and peace.”  The truth of the gospel is life-changing.  It is not do all these good works (or in Galatians the Jewish laws Peter went back to modeling), and then Christ will save you.  Accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, and this personal transformation leads to good works through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

C. S. Lewis teaches this gospel truth in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eustace, a young man immersed in the ways of the secular world, stumbles on a dragon's lair, sees the riches in the bags of gold, grabs the gold (representing the material world), and changes into a dragon.  Eustace thought it was neat for a time but eventually tried to change back to a human by tearing off the skin repeatedly himself, but to no avail.  Only when Aslan, the lion as the analogy of Jesus Christ, appears and engages Eustace deeply does Eustace transform back into a person and a better version of himself. I urge you to read and share the Narnia tales with your kids and grandkids.  This story is an imaginative telling of one of the absolute truths of the gospel —  it’s not through our works and effort that we are saved, but in Christ alone.

Verses 15 and 16 in Galatians 2 record Paul's rebuke of Peter about the absolute and unchanging truth of the gospel of grace through justification—declaring a person righteous through Jesus Christ. Three times, Paul declares that a person is saved only through faith in Jesus Christ and not through works. In a week when we celebrate freedom living in this country, this truth of the gospel should be liberating to us all.

-Dan Nickel