The Truth of the Gospel, Part 2

Hello everyone

It has been afew weeks since I have posted anything.  I am ready now to get back writing more.  We will continue in Galatians 2 today, and finish up some thoughts on verses 11-14, where Paul has reprimanded Peter to his face over table fellowship and association with Gentiles.  Here is my translation again:

11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood convicted of grave error. 12 Before the arrival of certain men sent by James, Peter had eaten with the Gentiles, but afterwards, he separated himself because he feared the circumcision group. 

 

13 The rest of the Jews joined with him in his hypocrisy, to the point that even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that their behavior was not compatible with the truth of the Gospel, I called out Cephas in front of everyone, saying, “If you are Jew who lives like a Gentile, then why are you trying to force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

In verse 13, Paul calls Peter’s withdrawal from the Gentiles hypocrisy, then states that such behavior was not compatible with the truth of the Gospel.  This is what we have been talking about.  So determining what exactly is the truth of the Gospel is a very important question to answer.  I think that Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia is an answer to that question.  We can be certain that it involves God's grace and mercy rather than the keeping of a codified set of rules. 

Paul had freely abandoned the purity standards established in the Torah, (or at least the Pharisaic view of these standards,) by eating freely with the Gentiles.  He took the view of being like a Jew to win the Jews and being like a Gentile to win the Gentiles. (1 Cor. 9:19-23.)   In verse 14, Paul states that he had asked Peter, “If you are Jew who lives like a Gentile, then why are you trying to force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” 

How far had Peter come toward living as a Gentile?  It is unclear.  What is clear is that, with his actions, Peter was now putting an expectation on the Gentile converts that he himself had not been living.  Obviously, Peter could not go back to a state of uncircumcision, but there were many other remnants of the old law that Peter could and perhaps did do away with in his own personal walk.  

Perhaps this was the reason for the charge of hypocrisy.  Peter was living one way, but now suddenly, in the face of opposition, expecting the Gentiles to live under a more strict code.  

A lot of time and thought was being given to the question of how the interactions between Jewish and Gentile Christians should be, and much fuss was made about table fellowship, who you were willing to sit and eat with.  Jesus' detractors found fault with him over this point.  He ate with “sinners’ and the Pharisees complained about it. Jews did not eat with Gentiles. That and the issue of circumcision were traditions that many Christian Jews were holding fast to.  

John Stott makes a great point here concerning the Gentiles.  He says, “If God accepted them, how can we reject them? He has reconciled them himself; how can we withdraw from those whom God has reconciled?” (Stott, 55.)    

Was this all settled in Acts 15?  Since the timeline is unclear, we can’t be sure.  It could be that there lingering doubts by the circumcision group that had infiltrated the churches in Galatia, and were spreading their version of the gospel?  

However, Paul’s point of view was that these Gentile converts owed nothing to the old law, because they were saved by grace.  However, it seems that he continually had to fight this fight, as legalism doesn’t seem to go away easily.  

Paul has given a lot of attention to his own story since the beginning of the letter, but in this section, he brings his story to a close.  Douglas Moo explains that he has given the reader a history of his background in Judaism, his conversion and his relationship with church leaders.  He has also established his special mission to the Gentiles and the Gospel of grace that he preaches to them.  (Moo, 141.) 

Moo later points out that up to this point, Paul has used the phrase, “the truth of the Gospel” twice.  In 2:5, where he talks about Titus, a Gentile, who could not be compelled to be circumcised, and then , in 2:14, within the context of Peter and other Jewish Christians being pulled away from fellowship with the Gentile Christians.   In both instances, the compelling of Gentile converts to be circumcised and the withdrawal of self from the fellowship of certain believers, is incompatible with "the truth of the Gospel.” (Moo, 153.) In the verses that follow, verses 15 to 21, we learn more about this truth of the Gospel. Stay tuned. 

Tom