As Paul continues this letter, it seems that his reputation and authority were under attack. He tells of his ministry and how no one ever added to or subtracted from the message he proclaimed – the message he had received, after all, from God Himself. He goes on to show that he even corrected Peter once, whom many regarded as the chief of the apostles, because Peter was behaving hypocritically.
At the heart of the issue here is the question, “How can a person be justified before God?” Some were saying that the only way to be justified or squared up with God was to keep the Old Testament law. That meant if a man came to faith he had to be circumcised. It meant that if a woman came to faith she’d adopt kosher cooking habits. The first thing a new believer would need to do would be to adopt all the traditions of the Jews (therefore those who taught this error were called Judaizers).
This is where Peter ran afoul of Paul, and God’s Word. As Peter had traveled around to non-Jewish communities and spent time with Gentile Christians he ate the food that was presented to him and enjoyed the hospitality of these new brothers and sisters in Christ. Peter was the one who had received the vision in Acts 10 indicating that all food was now permissible to eat for the believer, yet when some of the influential Judaizers came, he turned his back on the freedom he had in Christ and began being strict about following those Old Testament rules and obligations again. Sympathetically, I think we can say that Peter went back to his roots, as did Barnabas, however, Paul wants us to know that we do not receive salvation because of what we do or what we eat. So he confronted Peter.
Basically, the heart of Paul’s comments to Peter boil down to a couple key thoughts. First, he says, “we grew up Jews and we couldn’t keep the law, how can we put that burden on someone else?” Over and over again in their lives they had had to struggle with what was “clean” or “unclean”, what behavior was okay and what was not. Paul says, that’s not how we came to have a right relationship with God. In fact, the second key thought is, “a person in not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”
Good works cannot save us. It is only through Jesus’ death and resurrection that we can experience the new, right, and blessed life in God’s love. What is more, that new life is received only when we believe in Jesus. The gift of salvation was given to all people in Jesus’ death and resurrection, but the only way to receive that gift is through faith.
This is one of the most difficult parts about being a Christian, and one of the most important teachings we have. All of the Bible can be split into two basic teachings: Law and Gospel. Both are God’s Word, and both speak to us. However, our salvation comes only through the Gospel and nothing in our lives earns that salvation. “If righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Yet, having been saved, we will live differently and our behavior will better reflect God’s will revealed in the Law. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who lie, 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.”
Father, let me live in Jesus’ love and salvation, and change my behavior to fit it! Amen.
At the heart of the issue here is the question, “How can a person be justified before God?” Some were saying that the only way to be justified or squared up with God was to keep the Old Testament law. That meant if a man came to faith he had to be circumcised. It meant that if a woman came to faith she’d adopt kosher cooking habits. The first thing a new believer would need to do would be to adopt all the traditions of the Jews (therefore those who taught this error were called Judaizers).
This is where Peter ran afoul of Paul, and God’s Word. As Peter had traveled around to non-Jewish communities and spent time with Gentile Christians he ate the food that was presented to him and enjoyed the hospitality of these new brothers and sisters in Christ. Peter was the one who had received the vision in Acts 10 indicating that all food was now permissible to eat for the believer, yet when some of the influential Judaizers came, he turned his back on the freedom he had in Christ and began being strict about following those Old Testament rules and obligations again. Sympathetically, I think we can say that Peter went back to his roots, as did Barnabas, however, Paul wants us to know that we do not receive salvation because of what we do or what we eat. So he confronted Peter.
Basically, the heart of Paul’s comments to Peter boil down to a couple key thoughts. First, he says, “we grew up Jews and we couldn’t keep the law, how can we put that burden on someone else?” Over and over again in their lives they had had to struggle with what was “clean” or “unclean”, what behavior was okay and what was not. Paul says, that’s not how we came to have a right relationship with God. In fact, the second key thought is, “a person in not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”
Good works cannot save us. It is only through Jesus’ death and resurrection that we can experience the new, right, and blessed life in God’s love. What is more, that new life is received only when we believe in Jesus. The gift of salvation was given to all people in Jesus’ death and resurrection, but the only way to receive that gift is through faith.
This is one of the most difficult parts about being a Christian, and one of the most important teachings we have. All of the Bible can be split into two basic teachings: Law and Gospel. Both are God’s Word, and both speak to us. However, our salvation comes only through the Gospel and nothing in our lives earns that salvation. “If righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Yet, having been saved, we will live differently and our behavior will better reflect God’s will revealed in the Law. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who lie, 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.”
Father, let me live in Jesus’ love and salvation, and change my behavior to fit it! Amen.
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