Toward Gospel Congruence

So if you were to be walking just outside here, on the sidewalk, headed west on Summit, just as you cross over Saratoga, if you looked up high at this corner of our building, you would see a statue a man who is bald, has a long beard, and he’s holding a parchment. It’s a statue of the apostle Paul.

And in this sermon I want to tell you part of the story for why that statute is there — and when I say there, what I mean is here, in the middle of North America, a very very long ways from Jerusalem. 

There’s a story behind this, and a big part of the story has to do with Galatians Chapter 2, which is the passage for today’s sermon. And when it comes to the sermon outline, it’s super simple. There are two parts. 

First, we’re gonna see what is happening here in Galatians 2.

Second, we’re gonna consider why it matters for us. 

What’s happening? Why does it matter?

Let’s ask God to help us:

Our Father in heaven, for your glory, so that your glory be known and delighted in, we ask that you, by your Spirit, would open the eyes of our hearts see what you have for us in the preaching of your word. In Jesus’s name, amen. 

What Is Happening?

First, what is happening in Galatians 2?

Now the big event here comes in verses 11–14, but in order for us to understand that, we need to back up a minute and look at this thing as a whole. And overall, I think we can see what’s going on here in three steps: Context, Conflict, and then Confrontation.

Context

For the Context, we’re gonna start in verse 1, and just so you know, this is kind of a long story, but there are some high drama moments. And to help us stay on track, at certain points while I’m telling the story, I’m gonna stop and  ask if you’re tracking. [And I need you to say yes or nod or thumbs up, etc.]

Check out verse 1. This is part of Paul’s autobiography, he says, verse 1, “Then after fourteen years — [he’s talking about 14 years after his conversion to Christ] — after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem.”

So Jerusalem is the setting. That is where Paul is at, and remember from last week, this was only the second time Paul had been to Jerusalem since he became a Christian. And the reason Paul was there was to meet with the other apostles to confirm that he and they were preaching the same gospel of Jesus.

Are you tracking?

Now in terms of the apostles, let me remind you who these apostles are. The word “apostle” literally means “messenger” and these men were the official messengers of Jesus. They were the disciples of Jesus … minus Judas, plus James (Jesus’s brother), and plus Matthias. 

(Now, you’ll notice in this passage that the apostle Paul calls the apostle Peter “Cephas” — why is that? Well, it’s simply because Cephas is the Aramaic way to say Peter. Both names mean the same thing. They both mean rock, which is the name Jesus gave Peter.)

And one thing that’s really important about Peter and the apostles is that these were all men who had witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. They were eye-witnesses of the resurrection — which means they ate and drank with Jesus after he was raised (see Acts 10:39–43). 

These were the men that God chose to be apostles of Jesus and go preach the gospel, which they did, and which we can read about in the Book of Acts.

But now Paul also was an apostle, because he also had witnessed the resurrected Jesus, although he did in a different way. Paul didn’t eat and drink with Jesus after he was raised because at first Paul hated Jesus. Paul was against the gospel; but then Jesus, as the Resurrected and Ascended Lord appeared to Paul and changed his heart. Jesus had a “come to Jesus” talk with Paul, literally, and everything changed. And so God also chose Paul to be an apostle of Jesus and go preach the gospel, which he did, and which he can also read about in the Book of Acts. These men are the apostles. 

We tracking?

Now remember, all of these men, all of these apostles, were Jewish. 

Which means, they had always been taught that faithfulness to God meant that they keep Jewish law. In order to be part of the people of God, in order to be right with God, you expressed your faith through abiding by Jewish laws and customs. It meant that you abided by Kosher food laws. You do not eat unclean meat, and you do not hang around unclean people, such as any non-Jewish people, aka Gentiles. You do not hang out with Gentiles. That was the Jewish mindset that these men had been steeped in their entire lives.

But see, the gospel of Jesus says something different. The gospel of Jesus says that “faith in Jesus plus nothing else” is what saves you, and that goes for Jewish people and Gentile people. 

You don’t have to keep a certain law or perform a certain way or belong to a certain ethnic group to be right with God. You are saved only by faith in Jesus. 

The apostle Paul had been preaching that, because that’s what Jesus told him, and now Paul comes to Jerusalem to meet with the other apostles to make sure they were preaching the same thing. And guess what? They were. 

That is the central thing that is confirmed in verses 1–10 during Paul’s time in Jerusalem. Paul and the other apostles — all the apostles — were preaching the same gospel.

And one of the ways we really see their unity on the gospel is how they handled these “false brothers” in verse 4. 

Here’s what happened: While Paul and the other apostles were convening about the gospel and what they preached, somehow “false brothers” secretly slipped into their gatherings. 

Now, these “false brothers” were not apostles and they were not Christians. They were false. They were “counterfeit Christians.” They were the “troublers” that Paul mentions in Chapter 1, verse 7. And the trouble they caused is that they were going around saying that the apostles got it wrong. These troublers were false teachers who were saying that you DID have to keep Jewish law in order to be saved. 

And they didn’t just say that theoretically, but they were pointing at Titus. Remember Titus was with Paul at these meetings in Jerusalem, and Titus was Greek. He was a Gentile. And so these false teachers were calling for his circumcision. Could you imagine the tension in this place? 

These false teachers were saying that Titus is not really “in” unless he is circumcised and becomes like a Jewish man. And they were saying this against all the apostles, and so all the apostles unite in their rejection of this false teaching. The apostles all said NO. That’s verse 5: “to them [the false brothers] we [the apostles] did not yield in submission even for a moment.”

And that’s the whole point of verses 1–10. The whole point of the context here is to let us know that Paul and the other apostles — namely Paul and Peter — they are united on the gospel. The gospel is that you are saved by faith in Jesus alone. Nothing else. Peter preached that gospel. Paul preached that gospel. They preached the same gospel. 

Are you tracking?

That’s the context. 

Conflict

And now we can see the conflict in verse 11, which takes place in Antioch. So we started in Jerusalem, verses 1–10. Now we’re Antioch, verse 11 — and Antioch was a majority Gentile city in what is today southern Turkey (Antioch is directly north of Jerusalem, about a ten-hour drive). Paul and Barnabas had been in Antioch, preaching the gospel to Gentiles, and Peter visits. 

Now we don’t know how often Peter visited Antioch, but apparently he had been there enough times or a long enough time to develop the habit of eating with the Gentile Christians there. Now, if you read any commentary, the word scholars use for this is “table fellowship.” Peter had table fellowship with Gentile Christians. It means that he hung out with them. Peter ate and drank with Gentiles; he spent time with them. And this was a Christian act. 

Because remember, in Jewish law and custom, Jewish people did not eat Gentile food or hang out with Gentile people because they were considered unclean. But Peter is a Christian; he believes the gospel; he believes that everyone is only saved by faith in Jesus; including these Gentile Christians he hung out with.

So a normal day in Antioch was that, during the day, everyone went about their work doing whatever they did, but every mealtime, they’d all come together: Paul, Barnabas, Titus, all the Gentile Christians, and Peter — they would come together and they’d eat and drink and talk and fellowship, and this was a simple, glorious thing.

But then one day Peter didn’t show up for dinner. Oh, he must have something else was going on. But then it’s the next day and again everybody’s like: Where’s Peter? Y’all know where Peter’s at? What about Barnabas? Where’s he? Hmm? Oh, maybe they’re doing this or that. 

But see, actually, Paul knew what was going on. Look at verse 12. 

Peter’s absence has to do with “certain men” who came from James in Jerusalem. Because before these “certain men” came, Peter was hanging out with Gentile Christians all the time, but now since these certain men came, Peter has stopped, he has drawn back and separated himself, verse 12, “fearing the circumcision party.” 

Now what does that mean? 

Are you tracking?

Who are these “certain men” and who is this “circumcision party”?

Now like Pastor Joe said last week, we’re not 100% sure about all the details Paul is writing into, but there’s enough here — and enough we know historically — that we can piece together what’s going on. Here it is:

At this time historically, there was a lot of tension between the Romans and Jewish people. The Romans ruled the world at this time, and there had been several Jewish revolts against Roman rule. And these Romans, these Gentiles, had done horrible things to the Jewish people. And so in response to that, Jewish people doubled down on their hostility toward Gentiles, and the “circumcision party” of verse 12 led that hostility. 

The “circumcision party” was made up of Jewish leaders — they were not Christians, but they were Jewish leaders and they led the way in making sure all things Jewish and Gentile stayed polarized. This circumcision party intensified an “US” vs. “THEM” mindset in Jerusalem. 

And then they heard that Jewish Peter —who followed Jesus — was now hanging out with Gentiles. And so these Jewish leaders, this circumcision party, they went over to James and the other Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, and they said: “You have betrayed your people.” 

This “gospel” you preach — it’s not the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures; this Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah, but you are traitors to your heritage. You have joined sides with our Gentile enemy — do you not know what they’ve done to us?

And James hears this and knows this is not good, especially in terms of optics. Because he was trying to win the Jewish people to believe in Jesus. He wants them to become Christians, but now this is a problem in the way. And so James in Jerusalem gets some men together — the “certain men” of verse 12 — and he sends them to Antioch to tell Peter what’s going on:

Hey, go tell Peter that his hanging out with Gentiles is making things difficult for us here in Jerusalem. It’s causing the circumcision party to bully the Jewish Christians and it’s ruining all of our chances at evangelism.

And so then when Peter hears this from these certain men, of course, he doesn’t want that to happen, and so what does he do? Well, he didn’t show up for dinner last night. He’s not here this morning. Has anybody seen him? Where’s Peter?
Peter had stopped hanging out with the Gentile Christians. And it wasn’t just Peter, because he influenced others to do the same, including other Jewish Christians in Antioch — and even Barnabas got mixed up in this. The Jewish Christians had stopped table fellowship with Gentile Christians, and Paul called this hypocrisy. 

Are you tracking?

So Context. Conflict. Now that leads to confrontation.

Confrontation 

This is verse 11, and then verse 14. First, Paul tells us he opposed Peter to his face because Peter stood condemned. That word “condemned” simply means to be found guilty. When Peter stopped eating with Gentile Christians he was in the wrong. And Paul told him that.

Verse 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?” 

Now Paul mentioned the word “hypocrisy” in verse 13, but here in verse 14 is where he explains the hypocrisy. And we all know what hypocrisy means. Hypocrisy is when you say you believe something, but your behavior contradicts it. You say this, but you live that. 

And what’s implied is that actions speak louder than words — so the way you act will reveal if your convictions are pretense. The way you live is the real measure of what you believe, and so if you say you believe something but don’t live it, it means you’re lying. You’re pretending.

That’s what hypocrisy means, and we get it. We understand how it works. My late grandfather understood how it works. 

My first year of seminary in North Carolina, I only took one class because I worked everyday with my dad and my grandfather in my dad’s drywall business. And a lot of those days at work I would drive all over Raleigh with my grandfather — we called him Papa — and as we drove I would talk to him about Jesus. 

My Papa had heard the gospel, and he had been to different churches his whole life, but his big hangup was the hypocrisy he had seen in so many so-called Christians — and he had a list of stories. There were all these people who were part of churches and claimed the name of Christ, but if you looked at their lives, they were no different than anybody else — and that’s confusing, right? When our conduct is out of step with our confession, it’s confusing.

That’s true today. And that was true in the First Century. 

Peter said we’re saved by faith in Jesus alone, and that this salvation is for everyone who believes, Jewish people and Gentile! We are Christians. We are one people in Christ — but by not eating with Gentile Christians he was acting like you have to become Jewish in order to become a Christian. 

See, Peter’s behavior is contradicting what he believes and preaches, because his behavior (motivated by fear and good intentions) suggests (even faintly) that you have to keep Jewish law in order to be saved. 

Because of his behavior, Peter was in the wrong, and the real turning point is that Paul confronted him. This is where we move from Part One to Part Two. 

In Part One, What Is Happening? — we’ve seen Context, Conflict, and Confrontation, and now that takes us to Why It Matters

Why Does This Matter for Us?

This is why:

Paul confronted Peter because his conduct was out of step with the truth of the gospel, or more specifically, it was because Peter was behaving as if you need more than faith in Jesus to be saved. Peter’s behavior was undermining the all-sufficiency of Jesus for salvation. 

And just categorically, this means it is possible for you to live in a way that contradicts the gospel. Like Peter did here, you can do things that deny the all-sufficiency of Jesus, and that is was wrong. 

Are you tracking?

Now get this: if it’s possible for us to get it wrong, the converse must also be true. We can get it right. Which is why Paul is doing what he’s doing here!

Hey, it’s possible for you, for me, for us! — it is possible for us to live in a way that is congruent to the all-sufficiency of Jesus! Gospel congruence is what it’s called. Gospel congruence is the way we wanna live, right?

We want to live — and we can live — in step with the gospel. We can show with our lives that Jesus alone is our salvation. But guess what? We have to help one another. 

I think that’s the main takeaway for us here. This is the main thing we see in Paul and Peter. It’s that gospel congruence is the way we help one another live. 

Gospel congruence — living in step with the gospel — is the way we help one another live. 

Now, in closing, I want to give you three reasons why:

#1. Because it is right.

It is right that we live in congruence with the gospel because the gospel is meant to change how we live. The gospel is for all of us. Head to toe, mind to heart, every part of who we are, is who Jesus came to save, because every part of us needs saving. 

Remember, we’re fallen humans. We are sinners who are totally depraved, which means every part of us is broken, and we cannot save ourselves. We have to start there, and when we realize that we can’t save ourselves, and that we need a Savior from outside of us, then we look to cross. 

We look to the gospel of Jesus — that Jesus came here to save sinners like us. He walked through this life in our shoes, and in all the ways that we have failed, Jesus was perfect. And being perfect, he became a spotless sacrifice. Jesus went to the cross in our place and he took upon himself the punishment we deserved for our sins, and he died for us bearing that punishment. 

The judgment of God that I deserved for my sins — judgment that was coming at me — Jesus took it instead, and he died and was buried, but then on the third day he was raised. Jesus was raised and ascended victorious over sin and death. By his resurrection, Jesus proved that he has overcome both the power and penalty of sin, and when we put our faith in him, when we trust him, his victory is applied to us. By faith, we are united to Jesus, and all the favor that God has for his Son becomes favor that God has on us. We become the adopted sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus.

That is the gospel, and Jesus didn’t just do that so we’d “agree” with it, he did it to change us.

Look, I used to think that the biggest problem for the church was the issue of behavior. From all those conversations with my Papa, I thought, If Christians could just live right and not be stupid! I used to think that was the issue, but it’s not. The issue is that if Christians, if we, could just truly understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Church, Jesus’s love for you is not shallow. He is saving all of you, and his salvation shows up in how we live. This is gospel congruence. And it’s just right. It’s our calling. 

Gospel congruence is the way we help one another live … 

#2. Because we cannot do it alone.

We help one another live in gospel congruence because we have to help one another. Remember that when we become Christians, we become part of the family of God; we’re part of the church, and we live that out in her local assemblies, in local churches like this one. 

As a church, we are together learning to obey all that Jesus commands us. We’re learning how to follow Jesus together on this journey of faith through life in this world. We are pilgrims in progress.

John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress in 1678 — one of the most famous books in the world. And it’s an allegory of a Christian’s journey of faith. Christian, the main character, is on a pilgrimage from the City of Destruction (which is this world) to the Celestial City (which is heaven). And on this journey, Christian experiences all the things that we Christians might experience here — it’s really amazing how relevant this book is hundreds of years later. And part of the genius of the story is that Christian, the main character, does not make the journey alone. 

At first it was Christian’s friend Faithful, who traveled with him, but then after Faithful was martyred, it was Christian’s friend Hopeful. And Christian and Hopeful journey together, and at different times in the story they both need each other to remind them of the gospel. They’re both correcting and encouraging one another along the way. And as the church, we are called to do that for one another. 

There will be times on this journey when we as brothers and sisters will see the gospel more clearly than the person next to us, and when that happens, we have to tell them. Because there’s also gonna be times when we don’t see the gospel clearly, and we need our brothers and sisters to tell us. There will be times for all of us when our step is off, and we have to help one another.

We can’t do this alone. Gospel congruence is the way we help one another live.

And lastly, #3, that’s …

#3. Because the truth of the gospel will be preserved. 

I think there are some things we can learn here from Paul and Peter that apply to our current situations, but the main way that Galatians 2 is different from any other situation is that the stakes are uniquely high.

Peter’s hypocrisy was that his conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, which didn’t just undermine what he believed and preached, but it threatened to rip apart the church. 

Peter’s behavior suggested that something more than faith in Jesus is needed for salvation, and if that behavior was left unchecked would have created a kind of Jewish syncretism that distorted the message of the gospel. 

And Paul understood this. He understood how high the stakes were, which is why in verse 5 he said that the apostles did not yield to the false teachers even for a moment, “so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.”
What is driving Paul more than anything is the integrity of the gospel. Paul’s highest allegiance was to the gospel. 

And I think the same thing could be said of Peter.

You’ll notice in Galatians 2 that Paul doesn’t say anything about Peter’s response to him. We have no indication anywhere that Paul and Peter argued about this, which means it’s best to assume that when Peter heard Paul say all this to him, he received it. Because his highest allegiance was also to the gospel.

Paul’s highest allegiance was to the gospel, not his ego, so he confronted Peter and risked being disliked. Peter’s highest allegiance was to the gospel, not his ego, so he didn’t argue with Paul but accepted that he was wrong, and he showed up for dinner that night.

And because our brother Paul and our brother Peter — because their highest allegiance was to the gospel — God used this confrontation to preserve the truth of the gospel for us. 

See Peter and Paul continued to preach the truth that we are saved by faith in Jesus alone, plus nothing else, and through Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, that gospel message has advanced to the ends of the earth … even to here, in the middle of North America, where there’s now a statute of Paul on our building in a city named after him. 

Look, it’s not about Paul. When Paul looks down from the cloud of witnesses and sees this statue, he probably face palms. It’s not about Paul, but Jesus used Paul, and Jesus used this moment in Galatians 2, so that we would know the gospel today.

Hey, you are saved by faith in Jesus alone. Stop looking to yourself. Stop looking anywhere else. Look to Jesus and trust him. 

And if you do, we come now to this Table to give him thanks. 

The Table

At this Table, the bread represents the broken body of Jesus; the cup represents the shed blood of Jesus; and when we receive it, we remember Jesus’s death and give him thanks. We are saying that Jesus is our only hope, and if that’s your confession this morning, let’s eat and drink together.

His body is the true bread.

His blood is the true drink.