FHBC Sermon Notes

Galatians 2:11-21

What is the context of this passage? See Acts 15:5-11. There appeared a party of people that began to proclaim that all the gentile believers must also keep the entire Jewish law, being circumcised and keeping the dietary laws. Paul here reprimands them, saying that they had been led astray.

1. A historical defense of the gospel. (2:11-14)

• We are hypocrites when we deliberately live apart from the gospel that we proclaim.

What is at hand here is a very unique situation. The Gentiles have been shared the gospel and God has poured out the Holy Spirit on them all. Never before had this happened. This is the beautiful unity of the church that God has made.

 

For the Jews this was difficult. There is no reason to think that the Jews didn't continue to follow the Jewish law. Circumcision, possibly sacrifices in the temple, dietary laws - all of these were still followed. Yet they also fellowship and were at one with all those Gentiles that under the law would have been unclean.

 

Paul calls out Peter and points out that he changed his behavior when the circumcision party confronted him. Peter is still preaching the one true gospel, but in this instance he was not living according to that gospel. He was putting on a show for these men.

 

Paul wants us to understand that we are hypocrites when we accept and proclaim the gospel, but live as is apart from that gospel.

 

2. A theological defense of the gospel. (2:15-16)

• We are justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

What is justification? The declaration that someone is in the right.

So who is the only person that God by their works can say this about? Only Jesus.

Therefore we can only be justified by the righteousness of Jesus alone.

The law is there to condemn us, to let us know that we need a savior. We need Jesus.

We have a fiduciary trust in money that it will buy things for us, but we don't trust that Christ has a greater authority.

 

3. A practical defense of the gospel. (2:17-21)

• We reflect the gospel in our daily lives as Christ lives in us and through us.

Faith alone saves, but faith that saves is never alone. - John Calvin

 

The gospel is not a badge we wear or a certificate on the wall, it is living our lives in the continual light of the gospel, in the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Amen.