The Scourge of Hypocrisy

“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation”.  Galatians 2:11-13

Hypocrisy is not a good look on anyone, but apparently, there are many folks who wear that look at times.  The folks in scripture were no different than we modern-day knuckleheads who can’t seem to be honest in all areas of our lives.  It is easy to get caught up in whatever the crowd is doing even if it means going against standing for what we believe regardless of the consequences.  We compromise for various reasons:  we don’t want to rock the boat, stand out as different, or have to explain why we think or do a certain way that doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of all of those around us.

Peter was one of Jesus’ apostles who became a close associate of the apostle Paul.  Peter was Jewish, had been reared under the law, was circumcised, but came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior, thereby coming out from under the law and having the freedom that Christ provides.  There were no more rituals to follow or rules, regulations, and traditions to uphold other than the law of Christ, which is to love one another.  When we try to emulate Christ in our lives, we will automatically obey God’s commandments, not to earn His acceptance, but because we love Him and desire to live righteously.

In the days of Peter and Paul, there was a real problem in the church with false teachers.  Paul gave his readers a personal example of how easily a believer can be swept up in anti-gospel rhetoric if he or she is not careful.  The setting was Antioch.  When Peter and Paul met, Paul stood up to him to his face to find out what was going on with him.  Apparently, Peter had been causing some controversy between the Jews and the Gentiles, and Paul knew that this controversy had the potential to undo all that Paul had done to bring both Jews and Gentiles to Christ.

The controversy developed when Peter was enjoying the fellowship with the Gentiles who were in the church at Antioch, one of the Gentiles’ main churches.  Peter ate with them, not concerned at all that they were uncircumcised and were not previous followers of the law.  However, one day some friends of James, other believing Jews came for a visit to the Antioch church.  Peter decided that it was better for him to not be associating with the Gentile believers while James’ believing Jewish friends were present.  He was actually fearful of what these Jews would say.  If they were friends of James, wouldn’t they know that salvation is through Christ alone and not in following the law of Moses?  Perhaps they were legalists and, therefore, Peter was intimidated by them.  Or perhaps he didn’t know for sure their policy on the law after conversion, and he didn’t want to take a chance that they would rebuke him for fellowshipping with those who were uncircumcised.  Either way, Peter decided to separate himself from the Gentiles.

What made Peter’s actions worse was that his decision to separate from the Gentiles influenced the other believers who were with him to do the same, even Barnabas.  Peter, Barnabas, and the others who walked away from the company of Gentiles were acting as hypocrites, that is, they had acknowledged that circumcision wasn’t necessary any longer because of the new covenant that Christ had initiated with His death and resurrection, but, in effect, sided with those who were insisting that circumcision was still necessary along with faith in Christ.  Paul could not let this go unnoticed.  He had to make the truth known and stop this false teaching before it gained a foothold in the churches.

The bottom line is that we are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ and not the works of the law, including that of circumcision or any other law that puts us under bondage to sin.  Paul asked Peter, “If a Jew can live like the Gentiles, why force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”  In other words, Paul was asking Peter why he was correctly living by faith, but compelling, by his actions, the believing Gentiles to live under the law.  That makes no sense.  One can’t have it both ways.  Either a person lives by his or her faith in Christ or one lives under the law, except that the law cannot justify anyone.  God never intended the law for justification, but rather for condemnation in order to show people their need for a Savior.  Thus, there are two choices: justification by faith in Christ or condemnation by living under the law; freedom in Christ or bondage to sin.  Seems like a no-brainer to me.  Don’t let folks who have no real depth in scripture and the truth of the word intimidate you into being a wishy-washy and weak believer in Christ.  Stand for truth at all times and don’t be a hypocrite.