As his shadow darkened the door of the room where they were eating, his heart sank in his chest. Tears hurried down his face. It was one of those moments in the life of a pastor when, try as he may, he can't separate anger from sadness. It was as if all he'd worked for was slipping away before his very eyes. (PAUSE) His name is Paul and after over 17 years of ministry he finds himself facing a problem of eternal significance involving one of his closest friends.
Where will you be in 17 years? What problems will you face? Recently the Lord used an unlikely source to ask me the question, "Is this really what you want?" Do you really want a wife and family? Because there will be problems. Do you really want to shepherd My people? Because there will be problems. I ask you the same. Are you really ready for the time when the person you've labored alongside month after month after month makes that one decision that could cause it all to crumble to the ground? Are you ready for the day when the leader above you loses sight of why they're even in the ministry and their character threatens the furtherance of the gospel? What will you do when the actions of this person whom you love and respect begin to lead others astray? What we're about to see today is how the apostle Paul himself handles the same kind of problem. What was the MAIN thing that characterized Paul's confrontation? Turn with me if you would to the book of Galatians, Chapter 2, verses 11-14. Galatians 2:11-14...
Gal 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
Gal 2:12 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.
Gal 2:13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
Gal 2:14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas 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?" (ESV)
Before Paul tells us about this encounter we learn that he, Barnabas, and Titus all took a trip up to Jerusalem to aid the poor. During this trip they had a run-in with the Judaizers. These were a group of men who were trying to blend the Christian faith with Judaism in a way that tore the grace from the gospel itself. The Judaizers were adding circumcision as a requirement to be saved. Paul and the others stood up against this heresy and protected the truth of salvation by grace alone. During this time they met with Jesus' inner circle (Peter, James, John). Peter and the others saw that Paul's ministry was to the Gentiles and God was working through that, just as Peter's ministry was to the Jews. I can only imagine what the fellowship for that group must have been like. With all the heresy threatening the church I'm sure it was a refreshing thing to be united in the gospel of Christ. They acknowledged and encouraged the gospel going out to the Gentiles as they sent Paul and Barnabas on their way.
While this was a beautiful picture of unity, it didn't last very long. There came a day when Peter arrived at Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas were serving. Peter saw that Jews and Gentiles were eating together. To share a meal with someone was no small thing. You may remember in Luke 15 when the Pharisees grumbled at Jesus because He "receives sinners and eats with them." When a Jew ate with a Gentile it was about the same as Martin Luther King Jr. and the head of the KKK at the table sharing a meal as brothers in Christ. And Peter was alright with this. What greater joy could there be to see such fellowship and diversity among the body of Christ! After all the hostility, after all the rejection of the Messiah, after all the persecution, these two peoples were breaking the social norm of the day because Jesus meant more to them than their culture! What they had in common meant more to them than their differences. The Greek tense tells us Peter joined in these meals and did so regularly. Day after day after day and with every bite of his food Peter placed his stamp of approval on the fellowship of Gentiles and Jews.
But Peter wasn't the only visitor to Antioch... an unwanted group of men snuck their way into the community at Antioch like serpents ready to cause trouble. V.12 tells us these were certain men from James. James was the pastor of the Jerusalem church. Were these men a group sent by James to check up on Paul and Barnabas? No. James would never send men like this as we're about to see. These were very likely the same Judaizers who Paul faced at Jerusalem. They'd done their damage there and now they were set on Antioch. It's possible they even claimed to be sent from James. But how hard did they have to try?
I imagine when they entered the city word began to spread. People knew who they were. After all that happened at the church in Jerusalem, these men had a quite a reputation. As they were in the midst of the Christians at Antioch, as they traveled the same roads, and shopped in the same marketplace, Peter began to worry. He wouldn't have reason to worry if they were men who belonged to the church at Jerusalem. The pressure of their presence began to weigh on him as he gradually drew back from the Gentiles and began separating himself from them. And this separation was just as gradual as the way he began. Maybe he began eating less with them per week and sat by the Jews more. Maybe he began a meal with the Gentiles and ended it with the Jews. One can't help but think of a middle school cafeteria where kids alienate each other and play favoritism in a way that breeds those emotional scars that last for years.
Application: Now when we read this passage we're quick to condemn Peter aren't we? This is the same Peter who often put his foot in his mouth. This is the same Peter who denied Christ even though some of the church fathers and the Roman Catholic church like to say this is a different Peter. His Aramaic name, Cephas is used both here and in the preceding context. This is the same Peter who verified Paul's calling. We know Peter's reputation and it's easy for us to look down on him for what he did, but put yourself in the sandals of Peter... who of us is immune to fear, temptation, and social pressure? Maybe someone of influence comes into the ministry where you serve and you've respected this person for years. You've bought their materials and read their books. But when working with them you find that they do things in a way that you don't agree with... and for good reasons. Yet you find yourself changing what you do just to accommodate this person instead of standing up to them...? We're not immune to that.
And when Peter fell, he didn't fall alone. V.13 says, "And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him..." Hypocrisy is contagious! I took a class with Dr. Quiggle once where he told us, "When you graduate you'll know more about the Bible than the average person in your local church." Is that true? Yes it will be and it's true even now. People will expect so much of us because they know we're studying this stuff. Have you ever watched an old movie where an unbeliever is talking to a pastor or someone else who works in the church and they say, "you're supposed to have God's ear, right?" Both the Church and the world will look at us and watch our every step.
-They see when our road rage speaks louder than the fish symbol on our trunk.
-They hear when our words to other students make us known by something zip-codes away from our love for one another.
-They remember what we preached 6 years ago and compare that to what we're doing today.
And just as the disciples of Jewish Rabbis would follow them around and being to look and even smell like their teachers, those to whom we minister will look to our knowledge and our experience to follow our example assuming we are following Christs' example. When we fall they may fall with us. Of course it's one thing to lead people astray generally and to think in impersonal terms of a group of faces, but what happens when it gets personal? V.13 also tells us, "even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy." A friend of mine from home is coming here in the Fall to be a new student and my roommate for my last semester. As I've labored alongside him in evangelistic ministry over the past few years it has spilled over to so much more than that. He has needed me when his home life wasn't the greatest. He has needed me when he was in love and didn't know what to do next. Recently he's even begun to imitate my prayer life. This is what disciples do. What do you think would happen if a moment came where a decision had to be made and I chose hypocrisy and he had to choose who to follow? That's scary. You may find yourself one day with a Barnabas at your side. Remember in that moment... hypocrisy is contagious.
SHIFT: If you can imagine yourself as Peter sitting there eating with Barnabas and the Jews while the Gentiles sit on the other side of the room like a segregated church service... your eyes drift to the door to see a man standing there with tears hurrying down his face. As your eyes meet his, they become your eyes. You become Paul. You're standing in that door frame looking at Peter... as a feeling of betrayal fills your heart like dirty water fills a clean glass. You close your eyes and walk up to Peter to oppose him to his face, because he stood condemned (v.11). He was "to blame" (KJV) for his sin of hypocrisy. (PAUSE)
What was going on here was not in line with the truth of the gospel (v.14), with the truth of the mystery that was revealed of the inclusion of the Gentiles into God's plan of salvation. And oh what a glorious truth that is for us who are not Israelites! And what a filthy thing it was for Peter to threaten this truth! How could he do this?!
When Paul saw this he spoke to Peter in front of them all and he asked a question that would cut to the heart of hypocrisy. "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?" (v.14) Paul reminds him of what he hoped to forget and what he hoped others would forget. He used to eat with the Gentiles and he in fact now lives like a Gentile, but by his actions... by his leading astray the other Jews and leading astray Barnabas, he was threatening to lead astray the Gentiles and get them to live like Jews.
Application: What lessons can we learn from Paul's encounter...
1. His confrontation was toward someone of authority. (v.11)
Years ago I was serving at a mega-church taking attendance for the men's Bible study. That night the topic was what the Bible says about drinking and how we should respond to this. I had to leave the room to turn in the attendance sheet to its rightful place on the other side of the church. When I walked back into the room I saw a beer bottle sitting next to the Men's minister. As he taught, he would occasionally take a sip of the bottle. With every sip conviction welled up in my heart. He was gonna hear it from me. Later that week I called him and said, "You're a leader. You're a teacher. Why did you do that?" He said, Joseph... there was tea in that bottle. He used it as an illustration to stir conversation before I walked back in the room and had told all the guys that it was tea. I was embarrassed. He was older than me. He'd been in the ministry for a few years. he was my authority. While that wasn't threatening the gospel, I confronted him in my teenage zeal. Peter was already a leader in the Church and Paul wasn't one of the original twelve Apostles. Yet to Paul it mattered more that God's truth be upheld and Peter had to be confronted.
2. His confrontation was direct and it didn't wait. (v.14)
The implications of what Peter was doing threatened their entire outreach there at Antioch. If the Jews were too good for the Gentiles it would promote a favoritism that opposed the gospel. The gospel says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." If the Gentiles saw that they weren't worthy of fellowship with the very leaders of the faith who were with the Jews they would get the impression that they were second class Christians that had to jump through extra hoops for fellowship. The gospel was meant for everyone and when favoritism starts it needs to be dealt with. Imagine you're on a mission trip to the people of China and you find one of your teammates ignoring the American tourists who are also lost? Would you confront that person or would you wait? Don't wait. Paul didn't.
What characterized Paul's confrontation? What should characterize our confrontation?
From all this we learn that Our confrontation should be a respecter of the gospel first and the gospel is no respecter of persons. (REPEAT)
So when the time comes for us to stand up for the truths of the gospel, may you and I not only stand in our hearts, but may we stand with our words regardless of who stands before us.
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