Hypocrisy of Legalism

When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? Galatians 2:11-14

The setting described here has to do with the love feast that was shared by all in the Church. The Gentiles brought the foods they were accustomed to: meat which had been sacrificed to idols and meat that was forbidden in the Mosaic law. There would be two tables. Peter had been eating with the Gentiles, until the Jerusalem elders came up. Then he joined the Jews at the kosher table. This was inconsistent with the grace he preached. It was man-pleasing compromise. We’ve seen Paul’s intolerance of compromise, where grace is concerned. Peter’s behavior indicated judgment of the Gentiles’ diet, even though he was free to eat anything, and indeed had been doing so. It would have been confusing, to say the least, to the Gentiles who had believed in Jesus’ complete salvation. Even Barnabas got caught up in the insulting behavior of legalism, because he and Peter were concerned about the opinions of the Hebrew Christians. It was a lapse of confidence in the freedom of Christ. Paul called Peter on it, of course. Here's his reprimand: 

“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles  know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!  If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:15-21

“Jews by birth” still considered themselves advantaged over the “sinful Gentiles,” because the Jews had the scriptures and the law in their history. That didn’t make them better, however. Justification does not come by works of the law. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only means of justification for any person. Justified means declared righteous. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, his sins are forgiven and Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to the believer. The Jew had to stop trying to prove he could keep the law and recognize himself as a born sinner (humble himself) in order to receive justification by grace, because “by the works of the law no flesh could be justified.”

Jesus’ atonement doesn’t promote sin. The sin is inborn. Jesus’ atonement forgives sin and makes the believer free. IN CHRIST, we have been crucified, buried and resurrected. We are IN HIM and He is in us. If the law could have given us righteousness, Jesus need not have died.

So, Peter, practice what you preach: GRACE! To preach grace and practice legalism is hypocrisy. There were very few of these incidents between the early Church fathers, before they came to a mutual understanding of the grace that is IN CHRIST. Receiving grace requires humility in the human soul, and that is really a rare characteristic, especially in humans who have spent their previous lives practicing legalism. Legalism strives to be better than others; chalk up points; be recognized for one’s human goodness. Grace can only be received, never earned or deserved. We cannot achieve grace. We must just bring our empty, sinful souls to the well of living water and drink.