But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Galatians 2:11-21 NLT
Follow Christ more than the rules. Peter was living in the freedom of Christ (eating with Gentiles) until some people came from Jerusalem. He wanted to show that he was following the Jewish customs, so he distanced himself from the Gentiles – sending the message that the Jewish cultural laws were superior to the gospel. This hypocrisy cut into the heart of the message of Jesus. Paul confronted Peter publicly because it was a public sin (they were later reconciled; see Acts 15:6ff).
The rules tell us when we are wrong, but they do not make us right with God. Only faith can do that, a walking in loving trust with our Savior. This was true in the Old Testament, too – people were made right and forgiven through the sacrifices, not following the rules. People in Paul’s day were twisting the good purpose of God’s law, just as people do today. Follow Jesus and you will fulfill the rules – and much more. Embrace grace and sacrifice. Cling to the attitude of Galatians 2:20 – Jesus loves you and gave His life; the joy is to love Him in return and give your life for Him. This relationship, if you really live it out, sets you free. This is the fullness of salvation.
Why did Peter act differently around different people? How can you avoid this mistake? How can you follow Jesus and not just rules?
