Speak the truth in love

Galatians 2:11-21

¹¹ But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. ¹² 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. ¹³ As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

¹⁴ 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?

¹⁵ “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. ¹⁶ 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.”

¹⁷ 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! ¹⁸ Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ 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. ²¹ 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.

We need to remember that Paul and Peter were friends. They had spent 15 days together getting to know each other as mentioned in Galatians 1:18. Many years later Paul is back in Jerusalem and the church leaders, including Peter, fully endorse Paul’s testimony and doctrine. These guys were not enemies or even strangers to each other. They were co-workers and fellow apostles. They were friends. They were brothers in Christ. They were family.

So, how do you say hard things to those you love?

That’s what Paul had to do in this passage. Peter had made a decision (he refused to eat with Gentiles, even though he had been told by Jesus that that was ok because the Gentiles are now accepted because of the cross and faith in Him. See Acts 10:28) out of fear and the seeking of approval from man – in this case the visiting devout, law-insisting Jews. This was after Peter had already eaten with Gentiles on a previous occasion. Worst still, other believers, pillars in the church like Barnabas were following Peter’s example. This is monumentally important because a false gospel of “Christ + the law = salvation” was getting around. It meant that a gospel was being preached that, as Paul says in verse 21, “If keeping the law could make us right with God” (which it clearly can’t – who keeps God’s law perfectly?) “then there was no need for Christ to die”. 

Paul had to step in and say something.

I heard a great quote in a movie recently, “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies. It takes a great deal more to stand up to our friends.”

I need to get good at this. I must improve in this area. The life and eternal destiny of those I love could depend on me speaking up. Worse still, the bible says I will he held accountable for THEIR sin if I don’t speak up (see Leviticus 19:17 and Ezekiel 3:18). Paul knew the stakes – he had to act.

So how did he do it? In love, in gentleness, with reasoning and humility, and in person. Paul rebuked Peter quickly, and he did it with the gospel. It is in the gospel, and only in the gospel that we can hear loving critique and not be crushed by it. I may fall but I am loved by God through Christ. It is only through the gospel that I can speak with love because how could I possibly be less forgiving in my address than Jesus was for me? I imagine Paul had tears in his eyes as he pleaded with his brother to turn back to God. So must we.

Jesus, please help me get good at this – to speak truth in love – especially to those I love. Amen

Written by B van Noppen