TOPIC: BEWARE OF HYPOCRISY
Text: Galatians 2:11-21
2:11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;
2:12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing [c]those who were of the circumcision.
2:13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, [d]why do you compel Gentiles to live as [e]Jews?
2:15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
2:16 knowing that a man is not [f]justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
2:17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!
2:18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
2:19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.
2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died [g]in vain.”
STUDY:
Hypocrisy is when someone pretends to believe something that is opposite to what he does. It involves presenting oneself in one way and acting in another. In other words, it is an act of deception. Peter was confronted with this act of hypocrisy by Paul because of the attitude of Peter eating with the Gentiles before the arrival of the Jews but changing his position as soon as He knew that some Jews were around. It is noteworthy that Peter was supposed to be a defender of the faith in Christ but he failed to act appropriately. Painfully, Peter’s behaviour also affected some brethren who were Jews like Barnabas (vv. 11-14).
Beloved, you don’t need to live in deceit or hypocrisy. This is not part of the teachings of Christ to His Church. Christians are supposed to be true at all times and not claim to be who we are not. Christians must not be like a chameleon but be true to their confessions, whether in the open or in secret. Whatever we do, whether good or bad, can influence those around us. We must be careful not to lure innocent souls into the pit by our unbalanced Christian lives. Our ‘Yes’ must always be ‘Yes” and our ‘No’ must be ‘No.’ If we are standing for Christ, we must stand with the whole of our hearts and be ready to defend our faith, whether it is convenient or not.
Prayer:
Father; give me grace to always stand without deceit before you in Jesus’ Name.
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