The Essential Gospel: A Lesson in Fear and Faith
How does fear affect our faith? In Galatians 2, we see the Apostle Paul publicly rebuke Peter because he allowed his fear to influence his faith and lead others astray. Discover the importance of faith over fear and the significance of justification by faith.
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Paul Opposes Peter
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.[a] 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Justified by Faith
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified[b] by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness[c] were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Fear Fosters Sin
Our passage sets up an unusual circumstance: A well-known apostle in the Bible is forced to correct another well-known apostle in the Bible, and he is forced to do it publicly.
Peter lost his courage and began to care more about what people think than what God thought. Proverbs 29:25 tells us, “The fear of man brings a snare.” It was fear that led to Peter’s fall.
Peter pretended that his actions were motivated by faithfulness when, in reality, they were motivated by fear. Fear sets us up to sin. All of us have what the Bible calls a state of iniquity, which is our fallenness. Theologians refer to our fallenness as an iniquity drive because our vulnerabilities manifest when fear leads our hearts and lives. Fear will drive us to make the wrong choices, which is what happened to Peter.
The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear but one of love and power (2 Timothy 1:7). When we operate in fear, we open doors that can lead us in directions that aren’t God-honoring. In this instance, Peter wasn’t operating with sound judgment; instead, he was allowing his fear to lead him.
Let’s examine what’s at stake for Peter, given his actions in Galatians.
What’s at Stake with Peter’s Actions?
1) The Unity of the Church and Her Expression, Based on the Truth.
“But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.” Galatians 2:11-12
The circumcision party referred to in these verses was the Judaizers, who were false teachers, and Peter was operating in a state of fear of them. This put essential matters in and through the church at stake.
The church has many non-essential things. What I’m referring to are ceremonial stances that differ between denominations, such as baptism. While some denominations use sprinkling, pouring, or submersion, ultimately, the mode is non-essential. It’s what the ceremony represents that matters. It’s not the water that saves you but Jesus. That’s the true birth into God’s kingdom, which is essential.
Peter’s story and what Paul is confronting were essential matters. In verse 14, Paul says, “But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas (Peter) before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews (Galatians 2:14)?”
Put yourself in the Apostle Paul’s shoes for a moment. Do you enjoy confrontation? If you answer, “Yes, I love confrontation,” then we might dissect that some. But the point is that confrontation is painful, and it had to be painful for Paul to confront someone who he knows, loves, and respects.
Not only did he confront him, but he also did it publicly, which raises the question: Why? Why didn’t Paul take Peter aside and privately discuss the matter with him? Why didn’t he practice Matthew 18, where Scripture teaches if a brother or sister sins, go to them privately? Matthew 7 teaches that after several months, if their behavior doesn’t change, then take two or three others to sit with them humbly. Finally, if they still won’t hear you, bring it before the church.
So, why didn’t Paul seemingly do any of that? There are two reasons:
1) Impact
This was a special case and not the norm. Typically, we should go to the person first and give them a chance to repent before escalating the issue.
The problem was that this matter had already circulated and escalated because it was being done in front of the whole church. Paul made a public issue out of this situation because it impacted everyone.
Think carefully about what Jesus said in Matthew 18. He said that the last step is to “tell it to the church.” If the whole church already knows, then this sin is already in stage three, so the first two steps could be skipped.
2) Role
The second reason is because of Peter’s role in the church. He was a leader, so he led others astray. Peter, by his actions, deceived others concerning the Gospel and influenced others.
“And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.” Galatians 2:13
Paul recognized that Peter’s actions didn’t reflect the Gospel because of the perversion of the truth; therefore, Paul called him out. It wasn’t so that Peter could be corrected but so that the church would be corrected. He bills his entire rebuke on the truth of Scripture and sound doctrine.
2) The Clear Understanding that we are Justified by Faith
While the sun is the center of our universe, verses 15 and 16 are the center of the book of Galatians. It’s about the issue of justification.
“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law will no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:15-16 (emphasis added)
Paul taught that we’re justified not by adding works but by what God has done in Christ. Peter had aligned with a false gospel due to peer pressure and fear. They were acting contrary to what they believed, which made them hypocrites. It is so important that three entire New Testament books were written to help us understand it: Romans (see 1:17), Galatians (see 3:11), and Hebrews (see 10:38).
If something is repeated, especially in Scripture, we must notice.
If God inspired the Apostle Paul to pen these words, then he’s reminding us of the centrality of justification by faith. This is our root system and the center of the solar system in your walk with Jesus Christ through faith. Justification is the act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1
If works justified us, then justification would be a gradual process. Justification is an act of faith, not a process. Justification is an act of God (Romans 8:33). It’s not a result of your character (more on that in a second); otherwise, you could become justified by works of the law.
Jesus is our only antidote for sin, and Paul explains later in the letter that the law was given to reveal sin and not to redeem us from sin (Romans 3:20). God, in His grace, has put our sins on Christ, and His righteousness has been put to our account.
Returning to the matter of character, when a person comes to know Jesus, justification leads to a changed life. John Wesley devoted much of his preponderance to his instruction among the early Methodists to understand the lenses of how God’s prevenient grace works. This is grace that goes before your conversion, which is God drawing you to the Son (John 6:44). It’s when your faith awakens and you begin moving toward trust in Christ.
After prevenient grace comes justifying grace, which is sometimes called pardoning grace. After becoming reconciled with God, you are forgiven and in communion with Him. But as we grow in grace, which is the empowerment of God in our lives, we move towards sanctifying grace, which is the restoration of God’s image.
On the day that we enter Jesus’ presence in eternal glory, we’ll be fully transformed into being like Him, and Wesley described that as glorifying grace and the beauty of what’s at stake.
3) False Gospels Produce False Christians
When I was a kid, my dad told us we were going to Disney World on vacation. When my dad turned into the Disney World entrance, a whole new world opened up. Adventure. An awakened imagination. New possibilities
In Galatians 2:20, Paul is beginning to make his turn into all that the Gospel opens up for the believer.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
When Paul says, “I’ve been crucified with Christ,” it’s natural to wonder what he means. While there are many ways to look at this, I want to point out that when we acknowledge our lives as crucified with Christ, we acknowledge, “God, I’m no longer living for my preferences, but give me the grace to live for your purposes.”
Only the Gospel can birth the life of Christ in you, which means a false Gospel is at stake. It’s no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me. Jesus doesn’t want to change your life. Instead, He wants to exchange your life.
If the works of the law justify a person, then why did Jesus die? The Gospel isn’t just for unbelievers—it’s also for Christians! His death, burial, and resurrection are the key truths of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-18). We’re saved by faith in Christ (He died for us), and we live by faith in Christ (He lives in us).
These truths are liberating, and when we accept them, the reality of Christ gets into our experience, and everything changes.
4) The Gift of Understanding the Grace of God
Grace is forgiveness. It’s also the empowerment of walking with, knowing, enjoying, and manifesting the fruit of Jesus. This isn’t the totality of the reason, but part of why Paul said, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose (Galatians 2:21).”
Paul is correcting people because he loves God’s truth, and he loves people. He’s also correcting Peter because he loves God’s truth, and he loves Peter. However, here’s the catch: We have no record of Peter’s reply to Paul’s rebuke, but Scripture would indicate that he admitted his sin and was restored to the fellowship once again. When you read what Peter wrote later in 1 and 2 Peter, then it indicates that both letters are the true grace of God.
Peter didn’t allow this episode to crush him; instead, he allowed himself to be corrected. He responded in a God-honoring way. The greater issue is that Peter, while prominent, is willing to reconsider his position. He didn’t allow his pride to overwhelm him to the point that he was unteachable.
The greater issue is that Peter is a Christian leader who remains teachable and an apostle who is humble enough to change. That’s the greater testimony.
Without the Gospel, there is no justification by faith. Without the Gospel and without being justified by faith, there’s no fruit of the spirit. There’s no accessibility of Jesus living within us without justification by faith. You have to have the Gospel. You have to have Jesus and the justification by faith in the risen Son.
TL;DR
Paul publicly rebukes Peter for acting out of fear and leading others astray (Galatians 2:11-12).
Peter’s actions threaten the unity and truth of the church, necessitating Paul’s confrontation.
Paul emphasizes that we are justified by faith, not by works (Galatians 2:15-16).
False gospels lead to false Christians, highlighting the importance of true faith (Galatians 2:20).
Understanding and embracing God’s grace is essential for living a Christ-centered life (Galatians 2:21).
Related Reading
There Is No Other Gospel by Rev. Paul Lawler
Empowered by Grace: Finding a Life Rooted in God’s Love by Rev. Paul Lawler
The False Gospel of Legalism by Rev. Paul Lawler
