42 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Galatians 2:11–21"
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date = "2023-08-06"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Galatians2.11-21)
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Now that Paul has established his apostolic authority, he addresses the attack
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saying he was modifying his message to suit his audience. Remember that Peter
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(called Cephas in Aramaic) was the one to receive the vision of the sheet full
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of unclean animals before meeting Cornelius the Roman centurion and baptizing
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him and his household. Peter was also at the Jerusalem council that Paul and
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Barnabas attended wherein the church officially welcomed Gentile believers and
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laid out the relatively few expectations of conduct. So then, it is not unusual
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for him to fellowship with Gentile believers when he visits Antioch. When the
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circumcision party arrives and Peter starts pulling away and others follow
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after him in this hypocrisy, Paul has to remind him of the truth of the gospel.
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Paul has used "the truth of the gospel" twice now, which is his shorthand for
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the fact that Christ's sacrifice is completely sufficient to save sinners. Even
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the faith in His work on the cross is a gift of grace from the Lord, and to
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impose any other conditions or requirements is to deny His sufficiency. Paul
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shows that both the Jews who kept God's law and the Gentiles who didn't are not
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justified before Him in either case. Instead, both groups of people must have
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faith in Jesus Christ in order to be justified.
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The next part of Paul's argument is a little hard to follow, but I will
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endeavor to explain it clearly. The agitators were calling Paul a sinner in the
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same sense he himself used it in verse 15 to describe the Gentiles: one who
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doesn't follow the Law of Moses. However Paul responds by saying that if he is
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a sinner _because_ of his justification through Christ, then wouldn't that make
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Christ a promoter of sin? But that cannot be. Instead, Paul claims unity with
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Christ in His death and resurrection which allows him to be justified before
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the law. If this were not the case, then God's grace wouldn't mean anything; if
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it were possible to be justified by doing the works of the law, then Christ's
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death would also be meaningless.
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* * *
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We are sinners who do not deserve Your love for us that allows us to be
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justified in Your sight.
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