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Please turn with me to Galatians 
2. I want to echo Pastor Cam and wish a happy Mother's Day 
to all the ladies here. And you may be wondering what 
Galatians 2 has to do with Mother's Day. I believe the best gift 
you ladies can give to your children is a clear presentation of the 
doctrine of justification by faith alone. This morning we're 
going to focus on the conflict in Antioch, specifically verses 
11-14 where the Apostle Paul went I withstood Peter to his 
face." And then in verses 15 and following, he begins to develop 
the doctrine of justification by faith alone. But I'll pick 
up reading in verse 11 to the end of the chapter. Now, when 
Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face because he was 
to be blamed. For before certain men came from 
James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, 
he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the 
circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite 
with him so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the 
truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, if you 
being a Jew live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, 
why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? Why are we who 
are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles? knowing that 
a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith 
in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that 
we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works 
of the law. For by the works of the law, 
no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified 
by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ 
therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not. For if I build 
again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 
For I, through the law, died to the law, that I might live 
to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but 
Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live 
in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved 
me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace 
of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ 
died in vain. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for this beautiful day and truly the heavens declare 
the glory of our God. We praise you as well that our 
Bibles declare the glory of God and redemption. We thank you 
for the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for his perfect 
life and obedience to your law. We thank you for his death at 
Calvary and for his resurrection and his current session on high 
where he must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. 
How we thank you that he ever lives to make intercession for 
us, that he is a great high priest of the new covenant. that He 
has provided every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
to us. And our Father, we pray now that 
You would fill each one of us with Your Spirit and guide us 
and lead us and help us to appreciate the truth set forth before us 
in Galatians chapter 2. And God, we pray that You would 
give us grace as parents rear our children in the training 
and admonition of the Lord, teaching them those things which are most 
essential, those things concerning Christ and Him crucified. And 
do forgive us now for all of our sins and wash us afresh in 
that precious fount. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, Galatians 2.11 to 
14 specifically is a very popular, very familiar portion of Holy 
Scripture, and it doesn't answer every question that we might 
bring with reference to this passage. But God willing, as 
we work through it, Hopefully it will be clear what the issue 
was that caused Paul to withstand Peter to his face. And this morning 
as we take up our exposition, I want to look at three things. 
The first is Paul's action toward Peter set forth in v. 11. Secondly, the reason for 
this action, v. 12-13. And then the issue, the 
real issue, which was the compromise of the Gospel as he sets it forth 
there for us in v. 14. And on the heels, of this, 
he then engages in the doctrinal presentation of the truth of 
justification by faith alone. But as we pick up the action 
toward Peter, we want to remind ourselves of the setting. This 
is in Antioch. It says in verse 11, when Peter 
had come to Antioch. Now, just go back for a moment 
in chapter 1 so we can remind ourselves the movement in this 
particular epistle. What we've found thus far is 
that chapter 1, verses 18 and 19 concern Paul's first post-conversion 
visit to Jerusalem. After he was a Christian, he 
went for 15 days and he spent time with Peter. He also saw 
James, the Lord's brother. That was a period of 15 days. 
Chapter 2, verses 1 to 10, highlight his second visit, which we identified 
with the famine relief visit. recorded in Acts 11, verses 27-30. After that visit, Paul returned 
to Antioch. And according to chapter 13, 
he and Barnabas were then set apart for missionary duty and 
sent out to preach the gospel. And they visited the churches 
of southern Galatia. And that's the ones to whom Paul 
is writing now. Many people identify chapter 
2 verses 11 to 21 as the Jerusalem Council. They say that this is 
Paul's version of Acts 15 and what took place on that particular 
occasion. I disagree with that. I think 
that this incident recorded in verses 11 to 14 took place on 
the eve of, not necessarily the night before. but close to the 
time of the Council, but it's not the Council itself. I think 
there was a lot of things going on in Jerusalem, in Antioch. They were dealing with this issue 
of how Jewish Christians relate to Gentile Christians. There 
was a time of transition. It wasn't just one thing. There 
were several things going on. And Peter was one of those involved 
in this, and Paul reproves him as a result. And it's not long 
after this that the Jerusalem Council takes place according 
to Acts chapter 15. So that's our identifying time 
frame. And then notice what Paul does 
in this section. He confirms what he's already 
said thus far. Remember that he has been setting 
forth the fact that his apostleship and his gospel are divine in 
origin. He's not a second-rate apostle. He's not a third-rate 
preacher. He's not leaving something off. 
He's not preaching faith in Jesus, and if we just would encourage 
him a bit more, he'll add circumcision so that he'll be a full gospel 
sort of guy. No, Paul says that his apostleship 
is divine in origin and his gospel itself is divine in origin. And then also in chapter 1 at 
verse 9, he condemns anyone who preaches any other gospel to 
you. And so it's not accidental here 
that he is reproving Peter. He is showing that he means business. 
If a man tampers with, Whether it by word or by deed, if he 
tampers with the truth of justification by faith alone, then Paul will 
get in his face. Paul will deal with him. Paul 
will, in fact, defend the Christian gospel. One man, one commentator 
says this with reference to Paul's relationship with Peter up to 
this point. He says, the passage reveals 
an interesting development in the relation between Paul and 
Peter. Paul is successively Peter's guest. Chapter 1, verses 18 and 
19. At 15 days, he spent with Peter. He was his guest. Also, he is 
his fellow apostle. Chapter 2, verses 1-10. What 
did the Jerusalem leaders do? They saw that Paul was preaching 
the truth, and they extended to him the right hand of fellowship, 
and they commended to him that he must remember the poor. The 
very thing he says he was eager to do. Well, Peter was one of 
those men that shook his hand. So he's his fellow apostle. But 
now he's also his critic. Paul is answering the charge 
of the Judaizers. Paul is answering the charge 
that he is half-hearted or that he is leaving things off. He 
says that he is so consumed with the truth of the Gospel that 
whether it be an angel, a heretic, a Judaizer, or a well-meaning 
but misguided apostle himself, he will withstand them to his 
face. This man goes on to say, from the standpoint of the apologetic 
purpose, that means his defense against the Judaizers in Galatia. The passage goes beyond the earlier 
ones and brings his argument to a triumphant climax. In Jerusalem, 
not only was Paul not commissioned by Peter, but his independent 
status and work as an apostle were also officially acknowledged 
by the pillars of the church. Paul's saying, I'm not dependent 
on these men. But at the same time, they affirmed what he was 
doing. Now he goes on to say at Antioch, he even opposed Peter 
to his face when the latter engaged in conduct which Paul regarded 
as a deviation from the truth of the gospel. The divine origin 
of his apostleship and his gospel is thus to be seen as impeccable. He's not lying. He's not making 
these things up. He is the real deal. And then 
notice what he says in verse 11. When Peter had come to Antioch, 
I withstood him to his face because he was to be blamed. This is 
not popular today. This is not the way men like 
to traffic today. Now, I'm not saying we withstand 
each other to the face when it's some peripheral issue. You may disagree with me on eschatology. I shouldn't get in your face 
all the time. Maybe sometimes, but not all the time. And conversely, 
people shouldn't get in my face over those particular things. 
We shouldn't get in each other's face for just any old offense. But when it comes to the truth 
of the Gospel, we ought to get in people's face. Why? Because it's that important. 
Men oftentimes, as Machen says, consider consequences rather 
than truth today. Paul was consumed with truth. 
He didn't stop and say, man, if I withstand Peter to his face, 
what will these guys think? Or what will these guys think? 
No, Peter is with his actions betraying the truth of the gospel. Therefore, he says, I withstood 
him to his face. He was blameworthy. He stood 
condemned. What he was doing was wrong. 
The text does not indicate whatsoever that there was any debate on 
this issue. Paul was right and Peter was 
wrong. And so he says, I stood in his 
face. Luther says, what is Peter? What 
is Paul? What is an angel from heaven? 
What is all creation? in comparison with the doctrine 
of justification. He says, therefore, if you see 
this threatened or endangered, do not be afraid to stand up 
against Peter or an angel from heaven. It's a great sentiment. One I wish was shared by the 
church today. Very often when men call attention 
to a false gospel, the response is, well, that's not loving. 
That's not kind. That's not gracious. You're not 
being gentle. You're not exhibiting a spirit 
of humility. What's that saying? That we're 
more concerned about consequences than the truth. And I dare say 
the most loving thing we can do is try and correct somebody 
who is not straightforward about the gospel. If you're not straightforward 
about eschatology, you won't make it to heaven by grace alone, 
through faith alone and Christ alone. But if you are not straightforward 
concerning the gospel, you will go to hell. God puts a great 
deal of premium on His truth. We must believe on the Lord Jesus. We must believe the truth of 
the Gospel. What's loving? To withstand a 
man to his face because he's teaching heresy or error? Or 
is it loving to just say, well, you know, I don't want to cause 
any waves. I don't want to be an offense. I don't want to be 
unhumble. I don't want to be ungracious. 
I'm going to just let him go and hopefully he'll sort himself 
out. No, it is loving. According to 1 Corinthians 13, 
to rejoice in the truth. That's what Paul's about. That's 
what the church today needs about. Moms, raise your children to 
be about the truth. To be like the Apostle Paul. 
Whether they're boys or girls, this ought to be the model. This 
ought to be the hero. This is the kind of man every 
one of us ought to aspire to be. Now notice, secondly, the 
reason for this action. Verse 12, it says, Before certain 
men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when 
they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were 
of the circumcision. Remember, we've seen James thus 
far in chapter 1. He is the Lord's brother, the 
Lord's half-brother. He was unconverted during the 
life and ministry of Jesus, but at the resurrection, God saved 
him. God saved James, and throughout 
the book of Acts, we see him in a position of leadership in 
the Jerusalem church. He was a godly man, as far as 
history tells us, and we have no reason to suspect otherwise. 
He is also the author of the Epistle of James. So James was 
the leader, one of the leaders in the Jerusalem church. So these 
certain men came from James. That's a reference to Jewish 
Christians. Men who were in Christ, members 
of the Jerusalem church, going over to Antioch to see probably 
how they were working through the issue of Jewish Christians 
and Gentile Christians. Now, the text does not demand 
that James sent them to stop any table fellowship. The text 
does not demand that James is opposed to Paul in these issues. 
It simply reports that these certain men came from James. Now, notice Peter would eat with 
the Gentiles. We work our way through this. 
You might say, well, this just doesn't seem to be that big of 
a deal. But Paul explains why it is that big of a deal. Before 
these certain men came from James, Peter ate with Gentiles." Now 
Peter had a vision about this very thing. Remember back in 
Acts chapter 10, he's staying in the house of Simon the Tanner, 
which in itself is a compromise of the ceremonial law. You weren't 
supposed to touch dead things as a Jew. You weren't supposed 
to go near dead things as a Jew. When you walk into a Tanner's 
house, what do they have all over the place? Dead things. They're tanning hides. Right? So Acts 10, the first few verses 
prepare us for this vision that Peter gets. Peter has this vision. God tells him to kill and eat. 
Peter says, I've never eaten anything unclean. God says, kill 
and eat. This happened three times, Peter 
says. Peter's kind of like us. He needed threes. Some of us 
don't respond the first time. We don't always respond the second 
time. We need to hear it three times. And that's how Peter was. But what was the point of this 
vision? He said that God caused me to see that I am to treat 
no man as common. or unclean. So Peter understood 
that in Christ there was no longer this need for social separation. And here he's practicing the 
very thing. He's eating with Gentiles. Probably 
the common meal, which means that Peter was not eating kosher 
foods, and probably the Lord's table, meaning that Jewish Christian 
and Gentile Christian were enjoying that highest expression of fellowship 
one with another. And so then these certain men 
come from James and what does Peter do? He withdraws. He pulls back. He doesn't do 
it anymore. Now I doubt Paul would be happy 
if a Jewish Christian didn't want to eat with a Gentile Christian 
on principle. But Paul wouldn't call him a 
hypocrite. There's something bigger going on here. Paul calls 
this an act of hypocrisy. Peter had settled it in his mind 
that it was okay to eat with Gentile Christians. But when 
these certain men come from James, Peter gets afraid, and so he 
withdraws from these Gentiles. Everybody with me? You've got 
to get this. It's very applicable to Tillawack 
in the 21st century. Our issue may not be eating with 
Gentiles. It may be a whole host of other 
things. But the idea here is that when 
we elevate something to the place of law or compel someone to do 
something in addition to believing the gospel, we have sinned, we 
have committed the Judaizing heresy. So be with me now. Now notice. His activity. He withdrew and separated himself 
from these men, came from the Jerusalem church, and then he 
says, notice, specifically later in verse 14, if you being a Jew 
live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you 
compel Gentiles to live as Jews? Again, this isn't just a matter 
of I don't want to do this. He's compelling these Gentiles. He is setting the example by 
his withdrawal from them that they are not as good as the Jewish 
Christians. They're not as full as the Jewish 
Christians. In fact, this was one of the 
problems facing the early church. Does a Gentile have to become 
a Jew and a Christian? Does he have to believe and be 
circumcised? Does he have to believe and keep 
the law of Moses? F.F. Bruce says this, he says, 
having been happy to live like a Gentile among Gentiles, Peter 
had now turned around and begun to practice Jewish style social 
separation. Go back in the Old Testament, 
way back, you see this. Jews didn't want to eat with 
Gentiles. Why? Different laws concerning how 
you kill the animals. Different laws and how you do 
these basic common things. They did not want to engage in 
the same social activities. He says, this in effect amounted 
to saying to Gentile Christians, unless you conform to the Jewish 
way of life, we cannot have social relations with you. Now get this, 
Peter didn't tell them this. Peter didn't stand up and say, 
you Gentiles need to eat like I do, and you need to be circumcised 
in order to be saved. I think Peter was actually probably 
right in his desire. I think he was evil. He's not 
wicked. He's not, man, I want to compromise 
the truth of the gospel. No, he says, man, these certain 
men are coming from James. I'm a little bit afraid. I don't 
want to cause any problems. I don't want there to be a rip. 
I don't want to rock the boat at all. But by His getting up 
and withdrawing from them, He's telling them something. He's 
telling them they're a little bit lower on the social scale. 
They haven't come all the way. So what would the Judaizers say? Get circumcised and you've come 
all the way. Believe on the Lord Jesus and 
do this and you've come all the way. Bruce goes on to say, if 
Gentile Christians were not fit company for Jewish Christians, 
it must be because their Christianity was defective. Everything was 
cool, and now Peter is withdrawing. The Gentiles are scratching their 
heads, saying, what's the problem? What's the deal? What's the issue? And the Judaizers were all too 
happy to say, well, the issue is you need to be circumcised. You need to eat kosher foods. You need to add this mosaic precept 
in order to your faith in Christ so you can be saved. That's the 
deal. Paul saw this for what it's worth. 
Paul understood the implication. Paul's not overreacting, a la 
Tertullian, one of the early church fathers. He wasn't overreacting. Paul was a gracious man, a humble 
man. According to 1 Corinthians 9, he'd be all things to all 
men so that he could win his son. If it meant shaving his 
head and keeping a vow in Jerusalem, he'd do that. If it meant circumcising 
Timothy so he wouldn't offend Jewish sensibilities in certain 
regions, he'd do that. In so far as it did not compromise 
the truth of the gospel. But when something as basic and 
elemental as eating with Gentiles would compromise the truth of 
the gospel, He withstood him to his face. Bruce says, and 
he says, it must be because their Christianity, Gentiles, was defective. Faith in Christ and baptism into 
his name were insufficient and must be supplemented by something 
else. And that something else could 
only be a measure of conformity to Jewish law or custom. They 
must, in other words, Judaize. So Peter by his action is doing 
the very thing that the Judaizers, Paul is combating, was doing. Faith is good, but so is circumcision. Or circumcision completes the 
activity. Now look back at the text for just a moment. I realize 
this is a little bit more detailed than some of us are used to, 
but I want you to get what Paul is doing here. Verse 12, For 
before certain men came from James, He would eat with the 
Gentiles. But when they came, he withdrew 
and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision." 
Peter was afraid of those of the circumcision. Many commentators 
identified those of the circumcision with the certain men from James. 
There's a certain bit of a logic there. They were circumcised 
men. It's a legitimate option, I would think. But we need to 
ask the question, why would Peter be afraid of James? Why would 
Peter be afraid of these certain men from James? I think those 
of the circumcision just means Jews in general. I think that 
James sent these men to survey the scene in Antioch. Again, 
they're working through it. They're wrestling through it. 
They want to come to grips with it. Peter knows they're coming, 
and so Peter withdraws. So that these certain men will 
go back to James and say, Peter isn't eating with Gentiles, everything 
is hunky-dory. And that would keep pressure 
off from unbelieving Jews. I want you to follow this for 
a moment. Peter's motives at this point 
are very good. If his eating with Gentiles will 
bring heat upon the Jerusalem church, he doesn't want to do 
that. You might ask the question, how 
do you know that those of the circumcision, unbelieving Jews, 
were pressuring the early church? Because Paul tells us. 1 Thessalonians, 
chapter 2, verses 14 to 16 indicate this very, very sharply. The book of Acts sets this forth 
very sharply. In fact, look at 1 Thessalonians 
2, 14 for a moment. I just want you to appreciate 
this because I think it really highlights the fact of Paul's 
position here. 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 14. This was written just a couple 
of years later than Galatians was. As I've said, you see evidence 
throughout the book of Acts that there was this pressure from 
unbelieving Jews upon Jewish Christians. Not least of which 
was due to the fact that they were hanging out with Gentiles. 
They were receiving Gentiles. They were eating with Gentiles. 
They weren't circumcising Gentiles. Notice in 1 Thessalonians 2.14, 
For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which 
are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same 
things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans. Judeans are circumcised unbelievers, 
Jewish people living in Judea. who killed both the Lord Jesus 
and their own prophets and have persecuted us." Why, Paul? Why have they persecuted you? 
He says, "...and they do not please God and are contrary to 
all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may 
be saved. So as always, to fill up the 
measure of their sins, but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost." 
So we go back to Galatians 2. See it in this light. Peter's 
eating with Gentiles. Certain men come from James. 
Peter says, I don't want them to get the wrong impression. 
I don't want them to have problems. I want them to go back to James. 
Tell them that Peter doesn't eat with Gentiles so that Jews 
will not persecute my brethren. You got that? You follow that? If you do, I think you'll appreciate 
Paul's stance even more. It doesn't matter if you're being 
persecuted. It doesn't matter if you're being 
imprisoned. It doesn't matter if you're going 
to be killed. And for here, it's not even Peter. He's concerned about his brethren 
in Jerusalem. He doesn't want them to get hurt. 
He doesn't want them to be in danger. I just do this to keep 
the heat off so that James is happy, his people are happy, 
and the Jews are happy. No, I don't think that would 
have made James happy. James and Paul are consistent. 
They're working through it. It's transition time. But Peter 
takes this step and is thinking, I'll just withdraw. They're in 
the Jerusalem church. That won't be an added element 
of persecution for the brethren. Paul says, that's unacceptable. That is unacceptable. If you are threatened with the 
sword, if you are threatened with the prison, if you are threatened 
with bloodshed, if you are threatened with lions, if you are threatened 
with machine gun fire, you do not compromise the truth of Christ's 
Gospel. Ever. Never. Peter, when you 
stood up and withdrew yourself, you put in those Gentiles' heads 
that there was faith plus. And when you do that, Peter, 
You have done a lot worse damage to them than the Roman sword, 
or the Jewish sword, or the Jewish lash, or the Jewish whip, or 
the imprisonment. You do not compromise even if 
persecution or the desire to avoid persecution is your underlying 
desire. That's what Paul is saying. Peter 
was afraid, not of James, not of certain men from James, but 
of the Jewish persecution of the early church. And Peter thought 
in his mind that if I withdraw, I can head it off at the pass 
and it will not happen. Paul says, no, you don't do that. You do not do that. See, a Gentile 
who believes the Gospel and knows the joy of Christian liberty, 
and by liberty I don't mean you get to go drink or smoke or watch 
or whatever. I mean that freedom which is 
yours as being in Christ, justified freely by His grace, receiving 
the forgiveness of sin and the righteousness that avails with 
God. When you have that Christian liberty as a Jew or a Gentile, 
it doesn't matter what men can do to you. Persecution is not 
the problem. Compromising the truth of the 
Gospel. That's the problem. That's why 
Paul says what he says. When he came to Antioch, I withstood 
him to his face because he was to be blamed. He engaged in a 
practice and then he undid it and he demonstrated hypocrisy. And then look what he says. It's 
a scary passage for leaders here. The rest of the Jews were carried 
off. But I don't think that hurt Paul 
like what he says next. Even Barnabas. Even Barnabas. What was Barnabas to the Apostle 
Paul? Barnabas was the one who in Acts 
9 went to the Jerusalem church and said, God's really saved 
Paul. He's really converted. Receive 
him in your midst. Receive him in your race. Remember 
the Jerusalem church, Paul walks in. What's he doing here? Is 
he going to cut our heads off at the back of the church? This 
is the persecutor of the church. Barnabas said, no, he's good. 
He's a good man. Barnabas was his mentor. Barnabas 
was his companion. When the Holy Spirit comes to 
the church in Antioch, He says, I want Paul and I want Barnabas. 
Separate them unto Me, lay hands on them, and send them out. What 
do they do? They go to Cyprus, preach the Gospel. Barnabas' 
hometown. Then they go to these churches 
in Southern Galatia, preaching a law-free Gospel. Preaching 
justification by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ 
alone. When Peter got up and withdrew from the Gentiles, the 
rest of the Jewish Christians did too. And even Barnabas was 
carried away. You see the power in leadership. 
You see the power in an Apostle Peter. When Paul comes to deal, 
he doesn't go to Barnabas and he doesn't go to the rest of 
the Jews. He goes to Peter. Why? Because James says it well. Let not many of you be teachers, 
for we shall incur a stricter judgment. You mess up doctrinally. You mess up practically and souls 
go to hell. There is a lot at stake involved 
in all of this. It's not a matter of, I feel 
called to preach. I'm just going to go do it. No. The Spirit calls a man. The Spirit 
equips a man. The church recognizes the man. 
The church ordains the man. God sets His seal upon His men. Why? Because it is a grave responsibility. When a Peter withdraws, People 
follow Him. When a Peter stands up and says, 
it's been real and it's been fun, Gentiles, but I ain't hanging 
out with you anymore. Even if his motive is good, he 
doesn't want his brethren in Jerusalem to be persecuted. That's 
what we need to appreciate here. Peter's not an evil man. He's 
not a wicked man. He's not looking how he can thwart 
the spread of Christianity. He's not saying, man, I wonder 
how I can best botch this up. Any more than back in Matthew 
16, after Jesus pronounces to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. 
Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father is 
in heaven. Jesus announces the fact that 
he must go to Jerusalem. He must die. He must do all these 
things. Peter says, no, I don't want you to go. I don't think 
it was evil. I don't think it was malicious. 
I don't think he was saying, man, I just want to thwart this plan. 
What does Jesus say? Get thee behind me, Satan. Same 
kind of thing here, brethren. If Peter did what he tried to 
do and protect Jewish Christians in Palestine from persecution, 
I believe this adds another dimension to Paul's defense of the Gospel. 
He cares about you being persecuted. He doesn't want you to get axed. 
He doesn't want you to get killed. He doesn't want you to die at 
the hands of angry Jews or Romans. But he'd rather you do that than 
compromise the truth of the Gospel. Thank you very much. We do not have the prerogative 
to change the message. We cannot add to it. We cannot 
take away from it. If somebody's got a sword at 
your throat or a gun to your head, you do not have the right 
to be a Judaizer. You do not have the right to 
say faith plus. You take that bullet for King 
Jesus, realizing He'll receive you into His blessed and most 
holy arms. Do not compromise. Defend the 
truth of the Gospel. Withstand men to their faith. 
Not because they do the periphery different, but because they compromise 
justification by faith alone. That's what we learn from the 
Apostle Paul. And then notice, thirdly and 
finally, here's the issue. Verse 14, But when I saw that 
they were not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel, 
I said to Peter before them all, If you being a Jew live in the 
manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles 
to live as Jews? Don't miss that word, compel. 
Don't miss that word. Remember Paul says when he went 
to Jerusalem with Titus, not even Titus was compelled to be 
circumcised. That's what's going on here. 
Peter didn't grab him by the arm and put up behind him and 
say, you better get circumcised, you better eat kosher food before 
you go to heaven. That's not what he did. His simple withdrawing 
from them compelled them. It taught them something. It 
taught them that they were not as good as the Jews. It taught 
them that they were missing a vital element. Or dare I say, they 
possessed a vital element they needed to miss. And so they were 
then open to Judaizers. Paul will not have anything of 
a faith plus gospel. He will not have anything of 
a faith and gospel. He will not have anything of 
you trying to bring your tattered, filthy words before a thrice 
holy God and say, Lord, reward me. He will not have anything 
of a condign or a congruent merit. He will not have anything of 
an addition to this gospel. It is grace alone through faith 
alone in Jesus Christ alone to the glory of God alone. And when 
men compromise that, We need Paul's to say, I saw that they 
were not straightforward concerning the truth of the Gospel. Interesting 
Greek word. It's where we get our word orthopedic. 
They were not straight walkers. They were not in line. They were 
not in step. Again, you might think, wow, 
what's the big deal? The big deal is that through 
Peter's actions, he laid on those Gentiles an obligation to keep 
the ceremonies of Moses. Paul says no. When a man does 
that, he stands justly under reproof. I mentioned Tertullian. He said that Paul overreacted 
to Peter. Jerome, one of the early fathers, 
said that the whole incident was faked for the sake of the 
Galatians. You can't have our two main apostles 
fighting with each other. That can't be. You can't do that. So Jerome said, oh, they just 
faked the whole incident so that it would send a message to those 
in Galatia. Augustine saw things properly. 
He said it wasn't faked. He said that for Paul, the truth 
of the gospel trumped rank, dignity, and privilege. Even if we or 
an angel from heaven preach another gospel to you than what we have 
preached, let it be anathema. What's the lesson here, brethren? 
If a man who has position in the church botches up justification 
by faith alone, withstand him to his faith. If an angel out of heaven comes 
to this pulpit and preaches something that Paul has not preached, withstand 
him to his angelic faith. John Calvin hit the nail on the 
head with this. Christian liberty was in danger. The doctrine of the grace of 
Christ was overthrown. And therefore, this public offense 
must be publicly corrected. He does it, verse 14, when I 
saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, 
I said to Peter before them all. Barnabas heard him. The rest 
of the Jews heard him, to be sure. But Peter was the ringleader 
here. And he wasn't going to let this 
go. He could have taken him aside and charted him privately. But 
he did it publicly, as Calvin says. Therefore, this public 
offense must be publicly corrected. Brethren, that's what's going 
on in chapter 2, verses 11 to 14. It's not just, what's the 
big deal? All he did was not want to eat 
with Gentiles anymore. Well, in his not wanting to eat 
with Gentiles, he added to the Christian gospel. He added the 
justification. He said that it's not enough 
for you only to believe the gospel, to be baptized in the name of 
Christ, but you need to be a Jew also. Paul says, no, no. Well, we learn a few lessons 
and then we close. The first, defense of the gospel. 
We've already brought this out. If someone perverts the gospel 
of Jesus Christ, we must defend it. We must defend it. I believe that argues that we 
must know it first. You can't effectively defend 
that which you are unconscious of. So I believe Peter's strategy 
in 1 Peter 3.15, sanctify the Lord in your hearts. Sanctify 
the Lord as Christ in your hearts. What's the deal? You need to 
first know this Christ before you go out and be an apologist. 
You must first understand justification by faith alone before you go 
to blog comments and start arguing with people who don't know what 
they're talking about. You need to understand what's 
going on in Galatians 2. Next week, when we start to get 
into the doctrinal aspects of justification by faith alone, 
you need to listen. You need to pay attention. Quite 
frankly, there is enough fuzzy, imprecise, and unarticulated 
thinking going on in the name of Jesus today. God is not honored 
by that. God calls us to love Him with 
all our heart, with all our soul, with all our minds. You cannot 
effectively defend this Gospel if you don't understand this 
Gospel. You cannot effectively understand this Gospel if you 
don't read your Bible. You don't pray to the Lord. You 
don't listen to sermons. You tune out. You can't wait 
till it's 1230. You can't wait till it's Monday. You can't wait 
till it's Wednesday. You can't wait till you get to 
do what you really want to do. You realize that souls hang in 
the balance over these things written in Galatians chapter 
2? Do you realize how important it is to take that little child 
that you have brought into this world and teach them justification 
by faith alone? What's John the Apostle say in 
one of his epistles? I have no greater joy than my 
children walk in the truth. Not us, man. I have no greater 
joy unless my son's the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. I have 
no greater joy than if I... Truth is what matters. Truth. Please pay attention. It doesn't 
matter if it is a God-hating rebel. It doesn't matter if it's 
a legalist. It doesn't matter if it's a well-meaning 
but misguided apostle and leader of the Jerusalem church. We must 
defend the gospel. When Jude writes his letter, 
he's not writing to the doctors, he's not writing to the seminary, 
he's not writing to the elders, he's not writing to the super-spiritual 
teachers within the church. Or has there any sense? Well, 
I wanted to write to you about our common salvation. I found 
it necessary to exhort you to contend earnestly for the faith 
which was once for all delivered to the saints. In 1 Peter 3.15, 
when he's highlighting the need to sanctify Christ as Lord in 
your hearts and always be ready to give a defense for the hope 
that is within you, he doesn't say, okay, all the brethren, 
I want you to just tune out for a moment. Pastors, give me your 
ear. It's not just James White and 
Alpha Omega Ministries. It's not just CRI and the Bible 
Answer Man. It's not just the pastors in 
the church. Every man, every woman, every 
boy, every girl confessing faith in Jesus Christ ought to be able 
to render a defense of justification by faith alone. I don't think 
that's a lot to ask. If it is, we have really lowered 
the bar. If you can't get your mind wrapped around Westminster's 
shorter catechism, number 33, which accurately reflects the 
biblical data, try harder. Oh, my mind just doesn't work 
that way. Train it. Oh, I just don't have time. I 
love that argument. Oh, I just don't have time to 
read my Bible. I don't have time to pray. What did God say to 
Joshua? Go out and conquer Canaan. The 
whole time you're conquering Canaan, meditate on my law. We think that we're the only 
people that don't have time. Moses had to lead a million people 
out of bondage. What did Jesus do when he didn't 
have time? He got up a long while before 
daylight. He went to a solitary place and 
there he prayed. Brethren, the stakes are too 
high for you not to have time to study justification. The stakes 
are too high for you to be sloppy in your thinking with this doctrine. 
The stakes are too high when the threats have come upon the 
church and reformed churches are adding our works to the equation 
in order to be right with God. When reformed churches put us 
in the justification equation, I say it's time for another reformation. We need Sola Fide preached again. from every rooftop. And even 
if insisting upon the truth of justification by faith alone 
will result in us or someone else being persecuted, guess 
what? We must defend the truth. We 
must defend the truth. Secondly, what was the effect 
of this on Peter? We're a sentimental lot, aren't 
we, in the 21st century. We're very relational. We like 
to make sure nobody had their feelings hurt. I'd like to make 
sure everybody's happy and there's peace and harmony and everything's 
good on this horizontal level. Some commentators have observed, 
and rightly so, it doesn't say anything here about what happened. 
Did Peter say, wow, you're right, I need to repent? Did Peter say, 
you're wrong and I'm going to fight you to the nail? It doesn't 
say. Paul just highlights what he 
said to Peter on this occasion. Well, the rest of the New Testament 
fleshes this up. We know that Peter was not removed 
from his office. He wasn't defrocked. He wasn't 
sent to Walmart to be a greeter. Not that there's anything wrong 
with being a greeter at Walmart. But he was not relieved of his 
duty. Peter didn't hate Paul. 2 Peter 3, he highlights Paul 
as a writer of Scripture. He calls him our beloved brother, 
Paul. As well, Paul didn't hate Peter. 
Get this idea that Paul's the equivalent of the Western cowboy 
with his six shooters and he just wanders in and shoots people 
for Jesus, flips the gun, blows the smoke, gets on his horse 
and rides to the next town so he can bring down more heretics. 
That's not Paul. Paul loved Peter. That's why 
he did what he did. Paul loved the gospel. That's 
why he did what he did. Well, brethren, if our reconstruction 
of the history here is correct, I submit that the Jerusalem Council 
indicates that Peter took the reproof and that he took it very 
well. That he was corrected, that he 
was helped, that he was benefited. Look at 2.16 in Galatians. He says, knowing that a man is 
not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus 
Christ. Even we have believed in Christ 
Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by 
the works of the law. For by the works of the law, 
no flesh shall be justified. Turn to Acts 15 for just a moment. If this occasion or this situation 
happened on the eve of the Jerusalem Council, as we've argued, as 
we've compared the book of Acts, as we've sought to do the chronology 
comparing those two documents, then I submit that Peter received 
it, and he received it very well. Notice in 15 at verse 6, it says, 
Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. Very specifically, Judaizers 
coming and saying, unless you keep the ceremonial law or you 
be circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be 
saved. So the church gathers, the elders 
gather, the apostles gather to work through this issue. So what 
happens? Various men give testimony. Notice 
in verse 7, And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose 
up and said to them, Men and brethren, you know that a good 
while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles 
should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows 
the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, 
just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and 
them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why 
do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples, 
which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? And notice 
verse 11. Keep 216 in your mind. But we 
believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we 
shall be saved in the same manner as they. Sounds like he's got 
Pauline theology reverberating in his mind. He goes to Antioch. He engages in this practice. 
Paul gets in his face not long after they convene. What does 
Peter do? Does he stand up and say, that man made me feel bad. 
That man reproved me publicly. We need to deal with him. He's 
ungracious. He's unloving. No. He says exactly 
the same thing. We are saved. We are justified, 
whether we're Jew or we're Gentile, by grace through faith in Jesus. I submit that the rest of the 
New Testament tells us very clearly. Paul was right. Peter was wrong. 
Peter was corrected. And he moved on. He didn't need 
therapy. He didn't need a long sabbatical. 
He didn't need to lick his wounds. These were men. And today, everybody 
is so delicate. You can't ever present an argument 
without people questioning your love. Without questioning your 
integrity. Look, if you're wrong, let's 
deal with it. Isn't this what Solomon says? 
Iron sharpens iron? So one man sharpens another? 
Let's not be so insular that we can't even learn from one 
another. Third, we need to understand the effect of our actions upon 
the gospel. There is a teaching today that 
we must live the gospel. There is a teaching today that 
our actions communicate the gospel. One man in the history of the 
church has said it well. He said, preach the gospel every day. 
If necessary, use words. For the most part, I believe 
these sentiments, while well-intentioned, are incorrect. Our actions do 
not communicate blood atonement. Our actions do not communicate 
the imputed righteousness of Christ. Our actions do not communicate 
a thrice holy God is going to send us to hell if we violate 
His law. We must preach and teach doctrine. to communicate the Gospel. Now, 
having said that, there are times, obviously, that our actions can 
undo the Gospel. And those actions are generally 
our preferences. They're generally our peripheral 
commitments. As Hodge says, every man has 
a pope in his own bosom. That means the desire to To lord 
it over men's conscience is in all of our hearts. You need to 
believe the gospel and you need to do it the way we do it. This 
happens with individuals. It happens with churches. People 
come into our church. They say, wow, I don't look like 
them. I don't do like them. I must not be saved. We need 
to make sure that we try and dispel that error. You are saved, not because you 
join the Free Grace Baptist Church, because you believe the gospel. We need to be very careful with 
our preferences, with our desires, with those things that define 
us as human beings, that we don't somehow elevate that to the position 
of faith in Jesus. Now, you could probably fill 
in a whole bunch of them. We've mentioned them before. 
I don't need to rehearse them. But we all have our ways of doing 
things. I'm not saying that's bad. I'm 
not saying you're a wicked, evil person because you have that 
preference. I'm saying you're a wicked, evil person if you 
say that preference is essential to someone's salvation. We all need to guard. We all 
need to examine our hearts in this matter. For Peter, it was 
something as simple as withdrawing from table fellowship with Gentiles, 
compelling them to become Jews. If people were to report about 
us, what would they think is required for heaven? Hopefully 
they'd say, that man believes and that man lives like one who 
believes. Justification by faith alone. I know he likes these 
other things. I know these are important aspects 
of his life, but he has never communicated to me that it must 
be faith and that thing in order to be saved. We need to be careful 
as a church that we don't fall prey to this. We need to be careful 
as individual Christians that we don't fall prey to this. We 
need to make sure that we don't elevate any peripheral thing 
to the level of believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And finally, 
for all of us, this is the truth, or this is the truth, I'm sorry, 
this is the hill to die on in the Scripture. When you see Paul 
getting this excited about something, you should go therefore and do 
likewise. This is what it's about. This 
is what's most important, is this truth, that our God is a 
holy God and that He made man upright, but we have sought out 
many devices. That we like sheep have gone 
astray, but God sent His Son into this world. God sent a champion. God sent a redeemer. God sent 
His only Beloved. And that only Beloved in the 
fullness of the times was born of a woman and He was born under 
the law. Why was He born under the law? 
So that He could fulfill it. So that He could carry it out. 
So that He could provide the righteousness that we do not 
have. And then He went to the cross 
at Calvary. And on that cross He died. Not 
as an example. Not as a demonstration of, you 
know, what we ought to be toward one another. He died as a substitute. God put Him in our place. God heaped our sin upon Him by 
imputation, and God punished Him in our stead. And then He 
went into the tomb. Death had no dominion over Him, 
so on the third day He rose again. He appeared to His disciples 
for several days, and then He ascended on high. And now He 
sits enthroned at the right hand of God Most High as a High Priest 
of the New Covenant. And all those who by God's grace 
come to Him in faith, they will have the forgiveness of sins. 
They will receive a righteousness that avails with God. Brethren, 
that is most important. Mothers, this gives great cause 
for rejoicing in your workaday lives. You want to teach your 
children this doctrine. You want to point them to this 
Savior. Husbands, fathers, as you leave 
your home, this is the grand thing. This is the great truth. 
This is what we want to major on. This is what we want to be 
about. And when it comes to us as a church of Jesus Christ, 
what is that which defines us? Hopefully, we can say with the 
Apostle Paul, while Jews seek after signs and Greeks seek after 
wisdom, we preach Christ and Him crucified. May that be what 
defines us as a church. May that be what defines us as 
individuals. And may we take step behind the 
Apostle Paul and seek to promote this glorious gospel of free 
and sovereign grace. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for Your Word and we just pray that You would help 
us to understand these truths and help us to rejoice in them, 
Lord God. What a great that You have justified 
us freely by Your grace. What a great doctrine that Christ 
has come into this world, sinners, to save. And God, may these things 
promote worship and praise and adoration, and may they also 
cause us to defend these truths with every fiber of our being. 
I ask now that You would go with us, that You would fill each 
one of us with Your Spirit and cause us to rejoice in our great 
High Priest, even Jesus Christ our Lord. And it's in His name 
that we pray. Amen.