Galatians 2 (4)

Pray Psalm 71.23, 24, 3
My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You,
And my soul, which You have redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;
For they are confounded,
For they are brought to shame
Who seek my hurt…
Be my strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.

Sing Psalm 71.23, 24, 3.
(Solid Rock: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
My lips with joy and praises ring; to You, Redeemer, praise I bring!
I praise Your goodness all day long; LORD, humble all who do me wrong.
Refrain, v. 3
A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
my Rock and Fortress ever be!

Read Galatians 2.1-13; meditate on verses 11-13.

Preparation
1. What did Paul do with Peter?

 2. Why did he do that?

Meditation
We can’t help but wonder how Peter arrived at this point. Perhaps he knew some of the Judaizers personally? Was he hoping to befriend them into a proper view of the Gospel? Did he “tone down” his disapproval of their salvation-by-works message?

Whatever it was, Peter’s lapse in Antioch, where he moved away from eating and fellowshipping with Gentiles to save face before the Judaizers (who had come “from James”? How could that have happened?), was a compromise, and Paul wasn’t going to let it pass. Especially not since he dragged Barnabas and certain other Jewish believers with him into his transgression (v. 13).

Paul “withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed” (v. 11). Indeed, he was. And the lapse and transgression were public, so Paul confronted him publicly (v. 14). Peter feared what “those who were of the circumcision” might think or say about him if they saw him eating with Gentiles (v. 12). Had he forgotten how God revealed to him that the Gentiles were no longer to be regarded as unclean? And how he had come to the home of a Gentile and led him to faith in Jesus (Acts 10)? Or how he and the others had approved Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles during the council meeting in Jerusalem (Acts 15)?

Or had he simply given in to the fear of men? Paul may have had this incident in mind when he wrote to the Corinthians to be careful about being overconfident in your faith (1 Cor. 10.13). We must always be on guard, trusting in the Lord and looking to Him, so that we can recognize temptation, resist the devil, and grow in the Lord through obedience. Peter drifted then fell. Don’t let this happen to you (Heb. 2.1-3).

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 16.25).

Whatever reason Peter glommed onto for the sake of his hypocrisy was wrong, even if it seemed right to him. Pragmatism never works in the Kingdom, for everything is evident and clear. God spells out our way without deviation—He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13.8); and His Law is solid and secure. Unbending.

However, Peter began to deviate and bend on this point, and that was not a good thing. And if one is willing to give in at one place, it is not too long before other things become easier to equivocate upon. It is a slippery slope that our enemy loves for us to step onto, as he is always more than willing to give us a little shove.

“He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD” (Prov. 17.15). For Paul to have turned a blind eye to Peter’s misguiding behavior would have been an abomination to the Lord.

“A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well” (Prov. 25.26). Peter was sullying his own good reputation and was guilty of leading other believers astray. His behavior can only be described as murky for himself and polluting for others.

But Paul stepped into the picture as a good friend, and an agent of the Holy Spirit for conviction (Jn. 16.8)

“Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed…Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful…Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel…As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Prov. 27.5 6, 9, 17).

Being a faithful and good friend is not easy. It sometimes requires guiding, heartfelt love that is not always well received. But if it is done in love, and there is a strong basis for love in the relationship, it may have the same good benefit that Paul’s love had for Peter. And it was not done just for Peter’s sake; but for the sake of all those who would possibly stumble because of his sin. Hypocrisy most assuredly leaves wounded bodies and souls in its wake.

The danger of drift is as real for the drifter as the observers; so, let us say with determination, as the psalmist said: “I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the very end” (Ps. 119.112).

“LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments” (Ps. 119.166).
“With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!” (Ps. 119.10)
Don’t ever let me drift or be the cause of someone else’s drift. Never, Lord, no never.

Reflection
1. Why do you think people “drift” from the truth that is in Christ Jesus? What causes us to “drift”?

2. What can you do to keep from experiencing such drift in your walk with and work for the Lord?

3. How can you encourage your fellow believers not to drift? Whom will you encourage today?

When he saw that Peter and the others did not live up to that principle which the gospel taught, and which they professed, namely, that by the death of Christ the partition wall between Jew and Gentile was taken down, and the observance of the law of Moses was no longer in force; as Peter’s offense was public, he publicly reproved him. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Galatians 2.11-14

Pray Psalm 71.3, 12-18
Pray that the Lord will keep you from drifting away from Him, and that, by serving and bearing witness to Him every day, your faith will increase and you will grow more and more to be like Jesus.

Sing Psalm 71.12-18, 3.
(Solid Rock: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
O God be not too far from me; my ever-present Helper be!
Consume and shame my enemies; let them reproached and humbled be.
Refrain, v. 3
A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
my Rock and Fortress ever be!

But as for me my voice I raise to sing in hope and constant praise!
With saving grace my voice will swell Your never-ending grace to tell.
Refrain

O LORD, I praise Your righteousness Who me from youth have taught and blessed.
Forsake me not when I am old, ‘til I Your mercies all have told!
Refrain

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.