SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT FOR TODAY (October 4, 2013) GALATIANS 2:11-21 DON’T BE A HYPOCRITE (Part 1) MEMORY VERSE: GALATIANS 2:13 “THE OTHER JEWS JOINED HIM IN HIS HYPOCRISY, SO THAT BY THEIR HYPOCRISY EVEN BARNABAS WAS LED ASTRAY.” We have so far considered how Paul defended himself against those who saw themselves more highly than him and how he reacted to them. It must be noted that Paul wrote all these to the Galatian believers just to let them know that he indeed had encounters with the Jerusalem believers and sorted all their differences. The conclusion reached between Paul’s team and the believers in Jerusalem is what we find in 2:9, 10. “They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” Today’s message is about Paul’s encounter with Peter and how he confronted him about the truth. It cannot be denied that the body of Christ today is plagued with a growing number of hypocrites. Many people who claim to be Christians are not believers at all. They pretend to be Christians, carry the name of Jesus but do not actually live like Christ. They are so numerous that it sometimes becomes very difficult to distinguish them from genuine believers. MANY PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS HAVE MORE THAN ONE WAY OF LIFE. THEIR LIFESTYLE AT HOME, WORKPLACE AND CHURCH ARE ALL DIFFERENT. They may behave as genuine believers in the presence of fellow believers, but as soon as they leave the church setting, only God knows the kind of people they are. They sing all sorts of songs (without exception), dance to all sorts of music (without exception), and dress in any way they wish the moment they are out of the church setting. They may believe strongly in certain things but easily give in when they are confronted by others. Many people who live differently at different places do that out of fear, with the intention not to offend others; or better still, try to please everyone. But as Christians, we are to live like Christ wherever we are. We should be Christians at home, at church, at school, at the workplace, at the bus or train station, the market place and even in the street, driving. We should not allow any individual or group of individuals to push us into hiding what we truly believe. We should not try to please everyone because the gospel which we have heard and preached is offensive to unbelievers. Peter found himself in a situation like this and Paul rebuked him for acting like a hypocrite. Paul tells us why he rebuked Peter from Galatians 2:11-21 and we are going to take time to study this passage gradually. The setting was Antioch when Peter visited the church. The Antioch Church was the church which sent out Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles. According to Paul, Peter was comfortable, ate and lived with the Gentiles when he went to Antioch. He saw no difference between the Gentile believers, who were uncircumcised, and himself. This was because of what the Lord had taught him in Caesarea at the house of Cornelius (Acts 10). Peter began his sermon at Cornelius’ house by saying: “I now know 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 shows clearly that Peter knew that Gentiles were accepted by God, whether circumcised or uncircumcised. Yet at Antioch, he behaved like a hypocrite. He started withdrawing himself from the Gentile believers the moment some Jewish believers visited Antioch while he was there. This is hypocrisy demonstrated out of fear of his peers. PETER WANTED TO PLEASE THE OTHER BELIEVERS FROM JERUSALEM WHO HELD THE NOTION THAT IT WAS UNLAWFUL FOR A JEW TO EAT WITH GENTILES WHO WERE REGARDED UNCLEAN BY THE JEWS. SO IN HIS QUEST TO SHOWING HIS JEWISH FRIENDS THAT HE WAS STILL CLEAN AND ALSO TO AVOID BEING CRITICIZED BY THE OTHER JEWISH BELIEVERS IN JERUSALEM, PETER ACTED LIKE A HYPOCRITE. This was very dangerous for the believers at Antioch because it could have easily led them to start thinking they were not saved. Peter did not want to offend the Jewish believers. He wanted to please them. He did not know that by so doing he was also displeasing God by causing doubts in the minds of the Gentile believers. He did not stand by the truth he knew. This led to him being rebuked by Paul. He erred by succumbing to pressure from his friends. Many Christians of today behave like how Peter did. We always try to be people pleasers instead of being God pleasers. We live lives of hypocrisy by trying to let everyone know how spiritual, how kind or how nice we are. We hardly think of doing what will be acceptable before God. We tend to fear men instead of God. This is a dangerous Christian life. We as believers of this day and age should avoid what Peter did. We should not try pleasing people, but the God who has saved us through his son Jesus Christ. ANY ATTEMPT WE MAKE AT TRYING TO PLEASE PEOPLE INSTEAD OF CONFRONTING THEM WITH THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL AND PLEASING GOD IS A STEP AWAY FROM CHRIST. Watch out for Part two in the next edition. THE WORD OF THE LORD!
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 09:40:09 +0000
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