“Paul’s Rebuke”

(Galatians 2:11-14)

I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
1. This morning, we’ll jump right back into where we were:
a. Paul cared about the believers in Galatia.
b. He wanted them to be saved from hell and brought safely to heaven.
c. But he knew that only the truth would do it: only a pure Gospel.

2. And so he has been fighting to show that his message is the pure Gospel, as over
against the distortion some Jewish “believers” (Judaizers) had brought from Judea.
a. That may not be easy for him to do:
(i) Paul was not among the original twelve.
(ii) He wasn’t converted until after Jesus had finished His early ministry.
(iii) He effectively had to prove that what he taught was true when the message
coming from Jerusalem – the home of the apostles – appeared to be that of the
Judaizers.

b. And so how does he argue?

(i) First, that even though he wasn’t on that mountain in Galilee when Christ
gave the Great Commission and ascended into heaven, he was still called and
sent by the same God, the Father, and by Jesus Christ, His Son (1:1).
(ii) Second, even though he wasn’t with Christ during His early ministry, as the
others were, still he had seen the risen Lord and had receive his Gospel from
the same Jesus (vv. 11-12).
(iii) Third, the Lord Himself testified through signs, wonders and miracles to the
truth of Paul’s Gospel, just as He had with the twelve (3:5).
(iv) Fourth, Paul’s Gospel had changed his life and the lives of many others, as it
had in the lives and audience of the twelve.
(v) Fifth, that when Paul went to Jerusalem to confront the apostles with the
truth, he not only found that they didn’t know any more than he did about the
Gospel, but they were in perfect agreement with him.
(vi) And finally, far from reproving Paul or considering him to be inferior, the
apostles at Jerusalem recognized the call on Paul’s life and the grace of God
working in him, and received him as a fellow worker in God’s kingdom.

c. All this adds up to the fact that Paul was preaching the authentic Gospel:
(i) Man (both Jews and Gentiles) are not saved by faith plus works.
(ii) Man is saved from his sins through faith in Jesus Christ alone – in His death
on the cross as payment for man’s sins, and in His good works/righteousness
as the obedience that makes man acceptable to God.
(iii) The Judaizers mixed man’s obedience – circumcision, tradition, good works
– into the reason why God should accept us.
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(iv) In doing so, they destroyed the Gospel of God’s grace.

B. Preview.
1. We come now to the final argument Paul gives for the authenticity and therefore the
authority of his Gospel over that of the Judaizers: that this truth exposed hypocrisy
in the one who might arguably be the most prominent apostle of that day: Peter.
a. Peter had already agreed to the fact that Paul’s Gospel was pure.
b. But he was tempted to compromise with the Judaizers and fell into sin.
c. But Paul, by God’s grace, confronted him and reclaimed him from his error.
d. And in doing so, he again demonstrated his Gospel to be the truth.

2. This morning, we’ll consider just one point:

a. That Paul’s rebuke of Peter further strengthens his claim to have the true and
pure Gospel.
b. But we’ll also want to apply the principle of rebuke and admonition to our own
lives to help us help one another to become better Christians.

II. Sermon.
A. First, Paul’s rebuke of Peter further strengthens his claim to have a pure Gospel.
1. The situation: Peter’s fault.
a. We don’t know exactly when Peter visited Antioch, but we know from this
passage that it was after they had all agreed in Jerusalem on the truth of the
Gospel.
b. When he first came to Antioch, this is what he continued to maintain. He was
willing to eat and fellowship with Gentile believers.
(i) We need to remember the lesson the Lord had taught Peter on this subject.
(ii) The Lord had shown him through the vision of the sheet with the
ceremonially unclean animals, that He had now cleansed the Gentiles and was
intending on bringing them into His kingdom (Acts 10).
(iii) It was Peter who went and first preached to the Gentiles (Cornelius and his
household) and saw them first come to Christ (Acts 10-11).
(iv) And so, not surprisingly, we see Peter at Antioch (which at the time was the
center of Gentile Christianity) eating and fellowshipping with the Gentile
brethren, something an Old Covenant Jew would never have done.
(v) Through the Gospel, the dividing wall had been broken down and the two
had been made into one new man (Eph. 2:14-16).

c. But all that changed when certain men arrived (Jews sent from James).
(i) Then he began to withdraw from the Gentiles and separate himself.
(ii) Why? He was afraid of what these Jews might think.
(a) There was still some doubt in the minds of these Jews as to the status of
the Gentiles.
(b) Some – Judaizers – believed then needed to be circumcised and told to
obey the laws of Moses: in other words, they first had to become Jews.
(c) Peter was afraid of losing their good opinion.
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(d) And so, not concerning himself with what the Gentiles might think of his
hypocrisy, he withdrew from them.

(iii) His example led the other Jews present to do the same.
(iv) And finally, Barnabas – who was a Jew himself, but had, with Paul, been a
missionary to the Gentiles – also withdrew.

d. This is a clear example of what peer pressure can do.

(i) When you become concerned/afraid of what other’s think, your principles go
out the window.
(ii) You begin to do the things you know will make others happy or think better
of you, and you stop being concerned about what God thinks.
(iii) But we must live by principle and not pragmatically.
(iv) We must obey God and not concern ourselves with whether or not men are
happy with what we are doing.

e. It also shows not only the possibility, but also the reality of sin in the believer’s
life.
(i) There are no perfect Christians.
(ii) Peter was a leader in the church, he had many gifts and graces, but he was
still a sinner, redeemed by the grace of God: he was far from perfect.
(iii) We shouldn’t take this as an encouragement to sin, but as an encouragement
of recovery when we do sin.

2. The solution: Paul’s rebuke.

a. Paul saw this as compromise on the part of Peter.
(i) The Gospel eliminated the separation between Jew and Gentile.
(ii) It eliminated the need to be circumcised and observe the ceremonial law, the
dietary laws, the separation laws.
(iii) It appears that Peter, at least in some measure, had fallen into the Judaizing
heresy.
(iv) And so Paul rebukes him, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not
like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
(v) Before these Jews came from James, Peter was content to live in the liberty
of the Gospel.
(vi) When they came, he was intimidated into drawing back and acting again
like a Jew.
(vii) To say and teach one thing, and then do another, for whatever reason, is
hypocrisy.
(viii) We’re going to consider how Paul nails the charge on Peter this evening
and makes it stick. I would strongly encourage you to return.

b. The fact that Paul rebuked him and Peter had nothing to say in reply but stood
condemned shows that Paul’s Gospel is true.
c. The Galatians should carefully consider then leaving this Gospel for the
Judaizing gospel of Christ plus good works.
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B. Second, there is also a principle at work here, of how admonition and rebuke are an
important part of the Christian life.
1. Paul wanted to preserve the truth of the Gospel, but he also wanted to reclaim Peter
from his error.
a. He couldn’t compromise and remain quiet:
(i) To do so would mean the Gentiles would be led astray.
(ii) Peter would have gone down a dangerous road.
(iii) It also meant that those who respected Peter – the other Jews and Barnabas
– would go down that road with him.
(a) The more respected a person is and the higher his office, the more easily
he leads others astray both by his teaching and his life.
(b) This is why the qualifications for office in the church are so high.

b. And so Paul opposed him openly.

(i) He did so to preserve the truth of the Gospel.
(ii) But he also did so for Peter’s well-being.
(iii) He also did this openly for the safety of those who were affected by Peter’s
foolish decision.
(a) Public sins need to be dealt with publicly because of the way they affect
others.
(b) Even though you run the risk of offending the person, it effectively
ministers to all those who are aware of it, especially at the time it happens.
(c) This doesn’t mean that every situation warrants public rebuke.
(d) But it certainly does when important issues are at stake.

c. We should also note that Peter didn’t take offense, but appears to have received
that Paul said.
(i) What Paul said was true.
(ii) It was strong medicine, but it was necessary to help him.
(iii) Peter understood the principle, “Open rebuke is better than secret love”
(Prov. 27:5).

2. Along these lines, we should learn:

a. That when our brothers or sisters fall into serious sin, we should be ready to
admonish them.
(i) It is our duty, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the
fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thes. 5:14).
(ii) And it is something each of us is equipped to do by God’s Word and Spirit,
“And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you
yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to
admonish one another” (Rom. 15:14).
(iii) We should do it for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
(iv) We should do it for the sake of those who are encouraged to sin by their
example.
(v) And we should do it to preserve the truth.
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b. Let’s not forget how we are to do so:

(i) We should do it in love:
(a) Let’s not misunderstand.
(b) Some believe that love means we must do so only in a winsome and
passionate kind of affection, so melting that the intent can’t be mistaken.
(c) But Paul does it here in a very confrontational way: “I opposed him to his
face” (v. 11).
(d) If we believe Paul didn’t do this in love, we’re mistaken about Paul.
(e) He did it out of regard for God’s truth, His people’s well-being, Peter’s
well-being and those who followed Peter.
(f) His heart was in it, even though it may have seemed outwardly harsh.
(g) If we disagree with his methodology, again, we reject what Solomon
writes, “Open rebuke is better than secret love” (Prov. 27:5).

(ii) We should do so not being guilty of the same sin:

(a) Jesus tells us to take the log out of our own eye before we try to take it out
of our brother’s (Matt. 7:4-5).
(b) How can we hope to help someone deal with a sin we’re not willing to
acknowledge and deal with in ourselves?
(c) And we should be doing our best to be living a godly life overall – that
will make our admonition more palatable: “If my carriage is unblamable,
my counsel and reproof will be the more acceptable. Wholesome meat
often is distasteful, coming out of nasty hands. One who lives badly cannot
be a good counselor or bold reprover; such a man must speak softly for fear
of awaking his own guilty conscience. If the bell be cracked, the sound will
be jarring” (George Swinnock).

(iii) Most importantly, we must do it: “A foolish physician he is, and a most
unfaithful friend, that will let a sick man die for fear of troubling him; and
cruel wretches are we to our friends, that will rather suffer them to go quietly
to hell, than we will anger them, or hazard our reputation with them” (Richard
Baxter).

b. One final point should be noted: we should be ready to receive admonishment.

(i) Peter didn’t try to justify or excuse himself.
(ii) He didn’t turn on Paul and attack him or try to point out all of his sins.
(iii) He realized this admonition was for his good.
(iv) He realized his error and accepted what Paul had to say.
(v) When someone tries to help us by pointing out our errors, let’s not attack
them, but be thankful and receive what they have to say because it is for our
good.
(vi) This evening, we’ll see further just how serious Peter’s error was and the
consequences of the Judaizer’s position. Amen.