September 15, 2017
Galatians 2
Racism, classism and culturalism are problems that have plagued our world for millenniums. Satan has owned this turf and he uses it to oppose God's plan of reconciliation. This was certainly true for the early church. Racism, classism and culturalism were rampant in that society. Yet, God clearly showed the apostle Peter his plan of overcoming these issues through the gospel. Peter received a clear vision (Acts 19) that God was changing the past standard and creating a whole new entity called the church, which would unite hostile groups.
Did Peter get it? Absolutely! He went down to the home of Cornelius, and there he introduced Gentiles to the new reality of the King Jesus. So impactful was this cross-cultural experience that Peter even went over to dine with the Gentiles on their side of town. In Galatians 2, we find Peter enjoying a glorious, sumptuous meal. In fact, he even brought some of his Jewish buddies with him; they all sat and dined together. All was fine until some Jewish friends, sent by James, showed up and castigated him for what he was doing: "Peter, how dare you cross this line. You know we don't do this in our neighborhood. We don't fraternize with people like that. Oh, we're all one in Christ, but that's just theology. Let's get practical. In this neighborhood, you don't hang out with people like them."
Being afraid of what his other brothers thought, Peter disregarded the vision he had clearly seen. This is no small omission. Whenever you see the list of disciples in the NT, Peter's name is always first because he was the leader of the disciples. And when the leader withdrew, as it says in Galatians 2:12-13, the rest of the Jews joined him in his hypocrisy. Peter was the leader, and the speed of the leader determines the speed of the team.
Even Barnabas, who was raised with Gentiles, was carried away by the hypocrisy. That's how bad racism and culturalism is. It can take a good man and make him bad. Barnabas, the encourager, was now one of the ones who withdrew because of the pressure of failed Christianity, influenced by racism.
Peter would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for one person. Paul showed up. How did Paul deal with racism, classism and culturalism? Did he have a workshop on race relations, hold a seminar on unity, or write a book? No!! The text says when Paul saw Peter, he got in his face!! He opposed him personally, he opposed him publicly and he opposed him biblically.
The great omission in the church today is that we have failed to treat racism, classism and culturalism as sin. We give it names like "our orientation", "our comfort zone", "our heritage" but if it divides people, it's just SIN.
Here is the thing nowadays about racism, classism and culturalism ; it's very subtle. Like the proverbial frog in the kettle, you might not know you are slipping into it unless you have true friends who are helping you. Racism, classism and culturalism are still prevalent in our world. The gospel and the church remain the first and best hope for reconciliation in our world.
Thanks to Tony Evans for the light he shed on this passage.
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