Paul continues his letter to the church of Galatia solidifying his belief in Christ’s redemptive love through grace and not by works. Paul shares that he did eventually go to Jerusalem and spoke with the apostles regarding the law he received from the risen Christ. When they confirmed that what Paul was teaching is the same Word as that which was given by the living Jesus, Paul is reaffirmed in the gospel of grace that he is sharing. Accepting this gift of grace secures our justification in Christ, which then shapes how we live. I’m so glad he’s not finished with me yet!
We practice the physical act of baptism (Romans 6) in accordance with symbolizing our joint death with Jesus (dying to our sinful lives under the first Adam) and being risen again in Him – now free from the spiritual bondage of sin and able to live life fueled by the Holy Spirit in us. It is written, the punishment for sin is death, by His death on the cross, Jesus fulfilled the law of punishment on our behalf. God justifies us through Christ despite our inability to keep the law.
Paul went on to call out Cephas (Peter) as he observed Peter breaking bread with the Gentiles, but quickly retreating as the “old school” Jewish Christians came into view. Plainly called out for hypocrisy, the actions of Cephas fall out of the realm of grace and back into the belief that the Jews and Gentiles were not equal in God’s eyes. How many of us have slipped into the same trap? That truly is how the enemy works. When a believer allows any room for doubt in the truth of grace, the enemy can embellish his own partial truth to cause believers to sway. In a world of influenceable men, it only takes the pull of a few to run with partial truths in the group think pattern. But this would result in grave spiritual danger for all that doubt and teach against the Truth! I commend Paul for the way that he addresses Cephas’ falling short in the end of this chapter. It takes a great deal of faith, courage and wisdom to know how to address these types of behaviors in your spiritual family. Let us learn from that actions of Cephas – as followers of Christ, our identity should be so deeply rooted in Him, that our external actions provide no confusion about who we are and the truth that we believe.
At the end of the day, the responsibility is yours to know the Word and rely on the Holy Spirit to guide your understanding. While God has gifted religious leaders and mentors in our lives, it is up to you alone to invest your time and energy into learning the truth of your Savior, so that when the time comes and the enemy tries to deceive you, you may stand solid in your factual knowledge of Him and be able to decipher what you know the Word to be and not what the enemy has distorted it to.