Freedom in Christ
Fall 2005 SS Class
Notes
Week 4: Oct 2,
2005
The Great Confrontation: (2:11-14)
Before continuing in
Galatians, there are a few basics of which we should be reminded. The first is that sin is really, really
horrible. We all admit this openly to
others, and likely even to ourselves, but the way we live tells
a different story. Despite the warning
in 1 Jn. 2:15-16, we continue an attempt to .wed.
the
There is no doubt that
the
world will make valiant efforts at winning us to its kingdoms. A day doesn.t go by for anyone without
great
temptation to lust with our eyes, lust with our flesh, or boast about what
we
have or what we.ve done. Yet these are
the very things from which children of God must
set themselves apart. I am convinced
that we are deceived, both by ourselves, and by Satan, that these sinful
ways
are acceptable and right.
This is precisely why
John
urges us to .walk in the light.. When
we
are born, we come plagued with a wicked, rebellious soul. This .flesh., as Paul calls it, must be put
to death if we are to live. Walking in
the light exposes the flesh that is still present on a believer. Once exposed, like a shadow, the darkness
is
quickly expelled.
If deception could only
come from the outside . from Satan and his world . then we would have a
clear
understanding of our present state and be able, with God.s help, to rid our
lives of sin. Unfortunately, we are so
permeated with wickedness, we are even unable to
see
the very sinful acts we are performing.
Because of this, God gave us help.
He gave us the Church, which is to encourage godliness and
righteousness, and he gave us confrontation, which we must use to expel
deceit.
Purpose of Confrontation
In today's world, we use
confrontation for very selfish reasons:
>>
Spite
>>
Pride
>>
Anger
>>
Defense
against
others. confrontation
>>
Desire to
look
better than we are
>>
To cover up
our
own sin by painting someone else.s as .worse.
The purpose of godly
confrontation, however, is to rid the camp of vileness. Consider a godly parent. He learns that his son has cheated on a
math
test. He must confront his son not to
make him feel bad, nor to make the parent feel more powerful, but because
the
parent is very concerned that his son not grow into a liar and a cheat. So it is in the Church. We must
confront all kinds of wickedness! But
not for the sake of tearing someone down or raising ourselves up. It must be our highest passion to grow and
glorify the Body of Christ.
Why is confrontation
necessary? Because bits of our flesh
remain embedded in our wills and must be destroyed. Because we don.t always see our own sin as
clearly as someone else might. Because
we get lazy, scared, shy, etc.
Paul vs. Peter
Paul.s last defense of
his
authority as an apostle comes in his telling us of a time when he called
Peter
to the carpet. Peter knew that
Gentiles
and Jews were now equal in the Body of Christ, but he had slipped back into
hypocrisy, separating himself from the Gentiles. Remember that Peter defended Gentile
reception of the Gospel in Acts 11 with Cornelius. conversion, and he
defended
the same thing in the Jerusalem Council. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but
fear
and rejection loomed over his head.
Peter was a compulsive
man. He had the guts to get out of a
boat and walk on water when Jesus called him, but he quickly lost faith in
himself and started to drown. Peter
told
Jesus at the Last Supper that he would die before leaving Jesus, yet the
same
night denied his Master three times.
Now
he shifts from accepting the Gentiles (the very people to whom Paul was
sent)
to rejecting them.
There are a number of
significances in this. First, Peter is
the .Rock. on whom Jesus was building his church (cf. Mt. 16:18). He was also reputed to be a pillar of
the
Church (cf. Gal. 2:9). Therefore,
Peter.s actions carried a great deal of weight.
He could have easily led the entire Church back into legalism and
snuffed out the Gospel for the entire world.
This is huge.
Today, the Gospel is not
threatened so much by legalism (though legalism is certainly doing its
damage)
as it is by licentiousness. Today.s
.other gospel. says that you can marry the sinful world and God.s Kingdom
and
have everything you ever wanted for free.
Though God.s gift of Sonship is certainly
free, it came at a huge cost, and it is not
to be perverted by the whore of the world.
Christ is returning for a spotless Bride, not for a prostitute who.s
been sleeping around.
Peter.s rejection of the
Gentiles denies several doctrines, and Paul called him out because of these
very issues:
1)
Unity of the Church
2)
Justification by faith
3)
Freedom from the Law
4)
The Gospel itself
Peter.s Response
We don.t have any record
of
how Peter responded to Paul.s confrontation, but we can make an educated
guess. We can assume that Peter
repented, welcomed again fellowship with the Gentiles, and continued his
ministry with Paul.s full support.
This
is precisely how Christians ought to respond to confrontation, if that confrontation is done
appropriately. It must be a collective
goal to build all members of the Body into godly, blameless, pure men and
women
of God. If we understand that we may
still be self-deceived, and that our friends have a pure motive and
God-created
desire toward godliness, then confrontation becomes a blessed gift from
above
by which the Spirit will cleanse Christ.s holy Bride. Paul (contrasted with Jonah) would be
overjoyed to have Peter back in the fellowship not because he .won the
argument. and gained respect, but because Christ was exalted and
honored.