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Overcoming Our Tendency to Hypocrisy Galatians: Set Free, Part 4 Today the football playoffs resume. If you play for the NY Giants, you know that your enemy is anyone with a white and green jersey: the Philadelphia Eagles. For the team known as the “Big Blue,” it is not hard to discern who is your opponent. They are on the other side of the field dressed in green and white! What if one of the Giant football players is a traitor and is gambling and is in fact going to do something to throw the game so that the Eagles win? Let’s say that Tiki Barber, the running back for the Giants secretly wants the Eagles to win. He will not run as hard as he should. Perhaps he will fumble the ball at a critical moment in the game to help the Eagles win. I am not saying Tiki Barber would do this, but what if he did? He would be a bigger enemy than anyone in a white and green jersey, because he is a subtle enemy. He is an enemy from within. He would be difficult to identify. He would be a traitor. The greatest enemy of any team would be an enemy from within. The greatest enemy of any army would be an enemy from within. The greatest enemy of the church of Jesus Christ are the enemies from within. Why? Because they can spread their cancerous and traitorous ways in order to destroy the unity, fellowship, and doctrinal position of the church. Sad to say, but Christianity in the new millennium is overrun with professing Christians who are nothing but enemies of the Gospel. They profess to know God but in works they deny him. They profess to love God but in fact they are lovers of this present world. They profess to preach the Gospel, but many in fact preach legalism, a Gospel of grace plus works, which is no gospel at all! These are greater enemies than the ones who say they are not Christian! Hypocrites! That is what keeps many people away from the church. The fear of being a hypocrite also keeps many people from Jesus and His salvation as well. In this tense passage of Scripture we see the two leaders of the early Christian church face to face in an open conflict. It is like the shootout at the OK Corral! Paul is confronting Peter for his hypocrisy. The word in our King James Version, “dissemble” means hypocrisy. The Greek word is “hupocritos.” What is hypocrisy? It is essentially a lack of sincerity. It is when our CONDUCT does not measure up to our CONVICTIONS; our behavior is not consistent with our beliefs. It is when we do not do what we know we ought to do. A hypocrite is an actor. A hypocrite is someone who wears a mask. A hypocrite is not someone who is struggling with sin; a hypocrite is someone who pretends they have no struggles! The real person is concealed and a hypocrite is a pretender. Hypocrisy leads us to being found out and confronted (v.11). Hypocrisy causes us to condemn ourselves (v.11) Hypocrisy leaves us worthy of blame. The word “blamed” means that he was “self-condemned” as a result of his salvation. The hypocrite knows better, he is guilty, and he knows it. Peter knew better and he knew he was guilty. Hypocrisy is often motivated by fear (v.12) Peter was plagued with the thought, “What will the Judaizers think if they find out that I am eating with Gentiles?” Hypocrites set up a double standard (v.14b) Peter was not keeping the Law of Moses even though he was Jewish but was requiring the Gentiles to “pay their dues” and keep the law that he himself was not keeping and could not keep! All of us struggle with living according to what we know is right. All of us are hypocrites to one extent or another because all of us are sinners. We must overcome our tendency to hypocrisy, however, because it devastates the church and brings disunity and distrust to the body of Christ. Peter was eating on a regular basis with the uncircumcised Gentiles in Antioch. He was fellowshipping with them and he was not requiring them to be circumcised. When a delegation of Judaizers came from the Jerusalem church, however, Peter separated himself from these Gentile Christians. These Judaizers claimed to be apostles and brothers in Christ. They were neither. Peter, however was duped by them. Peter did not want these Judaizers to think that he would eat unclean food with uncircumcised Gentiles. No doubt some of the food that he ate was not “kosher.” Remember that these Judaizers were professing believers in Christ but they were “false brethren.” In 2 Cor.12 they are called “false apostles.” There is such a thing as those who say they are saved but they are not saved. Here is such a case! Sometimes the greatest attack against the church comes from professing Christians who influence even the leaders into hypocritical conduct. Why was Peter influenced by them? He was afraid. He feared what they would think of him if he ate with uncircumcised Gentiles in their midst. Peter knew that a man did not need to be circumcised for salvation, but he was not acting according to his belief. His conduct did not measure his conviction. His behavior was contradictory to his belief because he lacked the courage to stand up to the false brethren who were adding circumcision to salvation. This resulted in even Barnabas being influenced and also swept off his balance by Peter’s lack of sincerity. Fear is a plague that spreads very easily. Fear often leads to a fall! Peter was a saved man, but he was not perfect. That same impulsiveness that led him to deny the Lord Jesus three times returns and he cowers before the Judaizers. Peter’s hypocrisy affected others. Barnabas was led astray by Peter’s lack of courage. Galatians was the earliest letter written by Paul. It was his first letter that he wrote by direct inspiration of the God of heaven! It was written in 48 A.D. just after his first missionary journey. So what happens? There was a showdown in Antioch! Paul openly confronts Peter “to the face” and “before them all.” Paul sets the record straight. Paul had no doubts as to what was the truth. Now, no one relished such confrontations. We do not go out of our way to confront other believers, but sometimes we have to stand up and lovingly yet boldly confront those in error with the truth of the Gospel. Notice this phrase, “truth of the gospel” in verse 5 and verse 14. Whether in Jerusalem or Antioch, the truth was the truth and the truth is what mattered, not Peter, Paul, feelings, or man’s position. This was not merely a personality clash between Peter and Paul. Paul was not jealous of Peter or vice versa. Paul loved Peter and that is why he openly confronts him. Did not Jesus openly and compassionately confront Peter as well and say to him on one occasion, "Get behind me, Satan!” We saw in Galatians 2:1-10 that Paul respected Peter and never for a moment questioned his apostleship. Peter also recognizes Paul as an apostle and his writings equal to the writings of the prophets of old (2 Peter 3:15,16). Peter calls Paul his “beloved brother” who wrote some things hard to be understood. Let’s see this morning what Paul says to Peter in confronting his hypocrisy. This can relate to any form of hypocrisy and can help us in overcoming our tendency to hypocrisy. 1. REMEMBER our: Justification by faith, v.15,16 Any hypocrisy on our part, anytime we do not behave according to our beliefs, it brings an attack upon our justification by grace through faith. Paul did not invent the doctrine of justification by faith. Abraham was justified by faith, too! (Rom.4:1-3) Justification is a LEGAL TERM from the courtroom. It means a believing sinner is declared righteous in the sight of God on the basis of faith in Christ. Justification deals with our legal standing before God. Regeneration deals with a change in the essential nature of a believer as we receive a new heart and God’s Spirit to quicken our dead spirit. Three times in this verse Paul uses the word “justification” and three times he uses the phrase, “works of the law.” Three times he uses the word “faith” or “believe.” The works of the law speak of the law of Moses. The law was an indivisible unit comprising of moral, ceremonial, and civil issues. We are not declared righteous by obedience to the law, because all of us have broken it at one time or another. A. General Statement on Justification: Here Paul uses the present tense, emphasizing that our justification is never by the works of the law. IT IS ALWAYS TRUE THAT OUR JUSTIFICATION IS NEVER BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW! Paul dogmatically states that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. We know that a man…What kind of man? A Jew or a Gentile? A male or a female? A slave or a freeman? Any man! Religious or non-religious. Gal.3:28. Peter was treating the Gentiles differently than the Jews. B. Personal Statement on Justification: Even WE have believed that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. Here Paul uses the PAST TENSE, emphasizing that our justification is a completed past action. When we believe on the substitutionary and sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ we are declared righteous by our God. He IMPUTES His righteousness onto our account. C. Universal Statement on Justification: Here Paul uses the FUTURE tense. This emphasizes that for anyone to be justified from this moment on, it will NEVER be by the works of the law, or any works, for that matter. NO FLESH will ever be justified by lawkeeping or by good works. It is utterly impossible, for no matter how many good works we do, the good will not forgive the bad. Now, remember, the issue in this passage of Scripture related to the Law of Moses. What if someone says, well, baptism and the taking the LORD’s Supper are not part of the law of Moses, so if you make those things necessary to salvation, it is all right. NO! The works of the law can be APPLIED to any work that we do in this flesh. Peter’s hypocrisy was rooted in his forgetting that he was declared righteous by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. D. Defending statement on Justification by faith, v.17,18 Justification by faith is a doctrine greatly challenged and attacked. The argument goes like this: Your doctrine of justification weakens a man’s sense of moral responsibility. If a person can be declared righteous by God on the basis of faith in Christ alone, then they can go and do whatever they want. You are encouraging a person to break the law! If a bad person can be instantly justified, what is the point of being good? Can’t that person just live as they like and do as they please? You Christians are eliminating the law, so your preaching encourages LAWLESSNESS. Your Gospel encourages SINFUL LIVING. Paul answer this attack in two ways: First, if after we are justified we still sin, Jesus Christ is not the “minister of sin.” In other words, Jesus can never be blamed for our sin. Paul says, we have have only ourselves to blame. Jesus never encourages sin. The doctrine of justification by faith does not promote sin! Then he answers how sin is completely incompatible with the doctrine of justification. At the heart of our justification is the cross of Christ. Christ died for sinner’s sin! How can I go and live in what Jesus so shamefully and sorrowfully suffered for? This would be building the very thing He came to do away with! Are we to build the very things we are seeking to tear down? That would be sin on my part. Hypocrisy builds up the things that were torn down. The hypocrite goes back to wallow in the mire. Remember our JUSTIFICATION by Faith Secondly, to overcome our tendency to hypocrisy, we must: 2. REALIZE our UNION with Christ, v.19,20 I am DEAD to the Law and ALIVE unto God, v.19. If you were put to death under the law, you would be dead to the law. Let’s say you committed murder, and received the death penalty. You would be dead to the law. Paul is saying, that I am crucified with Christ, who died under the law for the sins of the world. Because I am in Christ, I now am dead to the law. I am not under the power of the law. Now I live with Christ and I live by faith in Him. Do you know why there is so much hypocrisy among professing Christians? We are failing to reckon on our identification with Christ. I am Crucified with Christ and the risen Christ lives in me! What does this mean? It means we are executed with Christ and have exchanged our old life with a new life in Christ. We are now empowered by His Holy Spirit to live a life of faith for His glory. A. This is POSITIONAL TRUTH. This is an amazingly bold statement. How can I be crucified with Christ if I am standing here? You never died on a physical cross of wood. We must count ourselves as crucified together with Christ. This is positional truth that you must RECKON upon by FAITH. Do you believe that Christ died for you? That is salvation. Now you must believe that YOU died with Christ. That is sanctification. As we reckon on this positional truth daily, we will overcome sinful temptations of pride, anger, and lust. I am dead with Christ, and Christ lives in me! B. This is POWERFUL TRUTH: (Power of the cross, resurrection, faith, love) The cross was a powerful element in the Roman world. It put people to a painful and sure death. But notice also the power of this truth: Christ liveth in me! The power of His crucifixion but we see also the power of His resurrection! Christianity is all about the cross and the empty tomb. There is power in His resurrection! Christ liveth in me. Is this not power to have the indwelling Christ in me? I live by the faith of the Son of God! Is not this living faith in the living Savior powerful? Yes, this kind of faith can move mountains. This is not merely a faith ABOUT Jesus but a faith IN Jesus. Living by faith is not a life of apathy and laziness. This does not lead to a life of hypocrisy and selfishness. Is this not a life of holiness? Of prayer? Of faithfulness? Of witnessing? His love is powerful. Is love not a mighty power? He loved me! Oh, what wondrous love! C. This PERSONAL TRUTH: Notice all the personal pronouns Paul uses. EIGHT in all. “I…I live..not I, liveth in Me…I now live…I live..loved me…gave himself for ME.” In just verse 20 alone, there are eight personal pronouns. You must enter by faith into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. My faith will not save you. Your mother’s, father’s faith will save you. YOU MUST BELIEVE PERSONALLY in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are not born a Christian, you must BELIEVE PERSONALLY in Christ to be a Christian. Do not make the same mistake as the Jews of old who said, “we have Abraham as our father.” That did not make them God’s children. The life which I NOW live in the flesh I live by the FAITH of the Son of God. He loved ME and gave Himself for ME! Yes, Jesus personally loves ME! No matter what man does to you, Jesus loves YOU! This love is not deserved. Jesus did not love you because you were so loving and lovely. His love is a divine, unconditional love. This love is REAL love. No matter what man does to you, Jesus gave Himself for YOU! What an amazing interweaving of our personality with the life and love of Jesus Christ! Is this verse not the secret of Paul’s consistent, unhypocritical life for Jesus? May this be our theme verse for 2001. D. This is PRACTICAL TRUTH: Is this LOVE that Jesus showed not practical for me right now? Yes, it is. His love is so practical! In love he paid your sin debt so you do not have to go to hell! Is that not practical? Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. If you can grasp to even a small degree the love of God for you through the work of Jesus Christ, this will change your life and KEEP it changed. When I am living in a living recognition of my identification with Christ, I am living a holy, God glorifying life. The problems come when I fail to reckon on my position in Christ and act out in the flesh, and walk by sight and not by faith. Since I have been declared righteous, now I live out that righteousness. A believing Christian must realize his union with the death and resurrection of Christ. I am dead to the law! I am crucified with Christ! I am risen with Christ. Christ liveth in me! How can I live as a hypocrite since these things are true? How can I live in secret sin? How can I disobey my God presumptuously since this is my testimony? 3. REFUSE to: Reject God’s Grace (v.21) The word “frustrate” means to set aside or to reject. Sometimes we buy sour cream for a taco meal. We do not finish the sour cream, so it goes into our refrigerator. Soon it is in the back of the fridge. Two weeks later, we may have tacos again. We look for some sour cream. Oh yes, we have some, but when we check the date, it is old, and when we look at it, it is now full of green mold. We reject the sour cream. We set it aside in the garbage can. This is what many have done with the work of Jesus Christ. They have rejected it, refused it, and considered it a vain thing. This kind of professing Christianity will lead to hypocrisy. Any professing Christianity that does not have as its center and heart the Gospel of Christ will be a false, hypocritical thing. Charles Spurgeon has a sermon on this verse entitled, “Salvation by Works: A Criminal Doctrine.” Works salvation must continually be refuted, because every religion in the world preaches a works based salvation, from Buddhism, Islam, Romanism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, etc. They all teach that we are saved on the basis of our works. If you believe in this kind of works religion, you may as well be an atheist. You do not need God, go and live that motto of humanism, “God helps those who help themselves,” that is, if there even is a god. If you think that your works will save you, what do you need the Lord Jesus for? If your works will save you, then Jesus died in vain for you; if you think your works will save you, then Jesus did not need to rise again. You will not need His power to give resurrection power to your dead soul. No, no, no, says the one who thinks works can save him. I can save myself! My friend, this is the gospel that is the enemy of the cross. Anything that makes the death of Christ a vain thing is what we must unashamedly, boldly, lovingly, consistently, stand against with all our soul. If we are saved by our works, then we are refusing the grace of God! May it never be that we would set aside God’s grace found in Christ! |