Galatians - To The Churches In Galatia
Week 7 - Hypocritical Actors

In this section of Galatians, there is an encounter that feels like one of the most awkward moments in the early church: Paul goes after Peter for separating himself from Gentiles he was eating with previously. After a group of Jewish men show up in Antioch, Peter reverts to the old ways of keeping distance from those who were not Jewish.

• What new freedoms have you experienced in walking with Jesus (e.g., forgiveness, love, grace)?
• How often do you forget those freedoms and stumble back into old habits?
• How does God remind you of His grace in those moments?

When we read in Galatians 2:11-14, we may miss what is happening because we usually don’t get angry over who eats with who (unless you weren’t invited and wanted to be). In Paul’s culture, the table, a meal, equated to friendship and relationship. Earlier, Peter was willing to sit with Gentiles as though they were his peers or equals (which probably meant to eat a non-kosher diet); he was walking in the freedom he had found in Christ and not in his dietary historical law. When the men “from James” come, Peter is swayed by these men and pulls back from table fellowship with the Gentiles.

• What does sharing a meal with others mean/not mean in today’s culture?
• Are there any equivalents today to sharing a meal with someone in Biblical time?
• What does it mean to walk in freedom found in Christ and not in legalistic law?

There is a difference between hearing why the Gospel is good news and actually believing and living in it; it is like the difference between a diagnostic and a treatment. A diagnostic can show us what is wrong, and the proper treatment can heal us. The Old Testament Law was a diagnostic, but what Jesus has done for us in the Gospel—His life, death, and resurrection—is our cure. Many Christians do not live and walk in the freedom of Jesus. Matt Chandler writes, “Instead of running to and clinging to what heals us, we continually run back to and cling to the diagnostic.”

• In what ways have you experienced the gap between hearing why the Gospel is good news and believing/living it out?
• Where do you think it is easy for you to forget the Gospel and drift?

Peter fell back into his old ways, because he is human, and benefited from Paul speaking into his life; however, we see that Paul needed others as well. There are places in the book of Acts where you see Paul react poorly and he needs other believers around him to ground him back down.

• Who around you can ground you back to understanding God’s truth even if/when you blow it?
• How should an understanding of the grace of God outweigh our embarrassment of being called out?

In Christianity you will hear the word “accountability’ thrown around a lot. Some people have been taught that accountability means we are one another’s policemen and that is all we need to live a godly life. Some people are more than happy to give others “accountability,” because they love to play the role of righteous judge. We do need to be accountable to one another, but it must always be with an eye on the Gospel, or it will always fall short. True accountability should return us back to understanding and seeing the Gospel. A law-based Christianity will be a life filled with hypocrisy based on the diagnostic, but a truly accountable one will be centered in the cure, the Gospel.

• Where do you seek people’s approval more than God’s acceptance of you?
• Who can you invite into your life to call you back to the Gospel?
• Who can you also be a Paul for (in love), seeking their best, but not being afraid to say where you see them drifting?

Our eyes are meant to be fixed on Christ. Not only did He save us, but He is sanctifying us. The Gospel isn’t only what rescues us, but it’s result is what continues to purify us.

• Who could you “share a meal with” today?
• How do cultural laws affect how you see and experience relationship with others?
• How is the Good News, Good News for everyone?