These small group studies of Galatians 2:11-21 contain outlines, cross-references, Bible study discussion questions, and applications. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Galatians 2:11-21 Bible Study Guide With Commentary And Questions
Outline
I. Paul confronts Peter (11-14)
II. Justification by faith (15-19)
III. New life in Christ (20-21)
I. Paul confronts Peter (11-14)
Discussion Questions
• Who is Cephas?
• What happened when he came to Antioch?
• What does Paul mean that he stood condemned?
• What was Peter doing that Paul disagreed with? What led Peter to change as he had been eating with the Gentiles before?
• How did Peter’s actions influence the other Jews around him?
• What lessons can we learn from this about the importance of leaders and setting a good example?
• What can we learn from this about temptation? Peer pressure?
• How did Paul react when he noticed this? Do you think he was right to mention this in the presence of all? Why might he have done this?
• What lessons can we learn from Paul here? Why is it important for us to confront sinners?
Cross-References
1 Timothy 5:20 – But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.
Galatians 6:1 – Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
James 5:19-20 – My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Matthew 18:15 – If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
Luke 17:3 – If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Peter was influenced by peer pressure – Peter knew the truth. He knew that Gentiles and Jews were both saved by the grace of God. Peter had a vision in which God showed him that “I should not call anyone impure or unclean.” (Acts 10:28) Peter also said the vision taught him that God “does not show favoritism” (Acts 10:34). Finally, Peter baptized Gentiles after they too received the Spirit. In addition, Peter was at the Council of Jerusalem when he and James agreed with Paul that the Gentiles need not follow the law to be saved. He knew the truth of all these things.
And yet, for a time, he was still unwilling to associate with the Gentiles by eating with them. Why?
It’s simple. Peter was influenced by peer pressure. A group of people had gone to Antioch from Jerusalem. Maybe James had sent them, or maybe they were just pretending that James had sent them. But they did not follow the principles that James had agreed to in Acts 15. Instead, they adhered to the traditional Jewish belief that Jews should not eat with Gentiles. They pressured Peter, and he gave in to them. In this case, he chose to please people rather than please God. From this, we learn several lessons:
• No one is immune to peer pressure – Peter was not the type of person who typically cared a lot about what others thought of him. He was the boldest of his “class.” When Jesus asked a question, he was normally the first to answer. He didn’t mind the spotlight. He spoke his mind even when others disagreed. Peter’s failure reminds us that we are not immune, either. Everyone has a natural desire to be liked by others. We want to fit in and be popular. We want to be accepted by others. We tend to want to please people. But we must remember that it is more important to please God than to please man.
• Past success is not a guarantee of future success – In Acts 10, Peter was victorious. Through God’s grace, he rose above his culture and traditions. He obeyed God by going to the Galatians even though it was against everything he had been taught and against all his natural inclinations. It would seem that in Acts 10, Peter won a final victory against his temptation to show prejudice. But it wasn’t a final victory. None of our achievements are absolute until we finally go to meet the Lord. Before that, we may at any time face a repeat temptation. We must remain humble and depend on God’s grace each and every moment, no matter how many times we face the same temptations.
• Satan uses other people to tempt us – Sometimes they merely whisper to us, “It’s okay. No one will see you. No one will know. It will be fun.” Other times they may gang up on us so that a whole crowd is trying to convince us to do something. Have you faced peer pressure? What types of things may people around you pressure you to do? How should you respond when you face peer pressure from others? Will you ever face peer pressure from believers?
• Even professing believers may pressure us – It is possible that churchgoers (professing believers) may also pressure us in certain areas. Many times, it is because those believers are shallow in their faith and influenced by worldly ideas themselves. For example, I have heard in some churches groups of “sisters” telling other sisters that they should marry an unbeliever and then witness to their husband, who will then become a believer. Other times, church goers may suggest getting a divorce, going bankrupt, having an abortion, etc. Our aim should be to surround ourselves with wise counselors who will give biblical and not worldly advice. We should also compare what we hear to the Bible. And we should make sure that our motivations are pure, and that we are not doing things just to fit in or be accepted by others. We must do all things to please God, not man.
Application: Do not be in a “clique” like Peter. Do not just hang out with the same friends every time and ignore others who are not “worthy” to be in your circle or whom you think you have less in common with. Do not just eat with the same set of friends. Yes, you feel comfortable with those people, but look who Jesus ate with! He ate with the sinners, people who you may be very uncomfortable eating with. Think how you can reach out to others. Take the initiative to invite others to your group, to eat with newcomers.
I heard a sad story of a lady who took her daughter with her to church. There were about one hundred people. No one said “hello” to her. She and her daughter were there for the first time, and they were ignored. Is this right?
Unfortunately, in many churches, newcomers are ignored. It is easier for us to hang out with people we know. Jesus took the initiative to greet Zacchaeus and visit with him. Who will your Zacchaeus be?
Application: Next Sunday at church, look around and find someone you have never met before. Walk up to them and introduce yourself. Ask them some questions. Then repeat this until it becomes a habit every Sunday.
2. Paul confronts Peter – For the church to be victorious over false teaching, someone must stand up and confront it, even if it is uncomfortable. Did Paul enjoy confronting Peter? It is unlikely. It was an uncomfortable and unenviable task, but someone had to do it.
The Bible is clear that it is our duty to rebuke those who are publicly sinning. Generally, the process is to go to the person privately first, and then with two or three, and finally, tell it to the whole church. However, in some cases, it appears that it may be necessary to skip the first step or two and go directly to the last step. Why would this be?
In Peter’s case, the sin was about a doctrinal matter that influenced the whole church. It affected not just that church but the entire church worldwide. The issue was about grace and justification by faith. Paul made a public issue out of it because it impacted everyone. But this was a special case and not the norm.
Typically, we should go to the person first and give them a chance to repent before escalating the issue. The problem was that this matter had already escalated because it was being done in front of the whole church. Think carefully about what Jesus said in Matthew 18. He says that the last step is to “tell it to the church.” If the whole church already knows, then this sin is already in stage 3, so the first two steps could be skipped.
So, what do we learn from this?
God has given us fellowship in the church to protect each of us. We are sinners, needing all the help we can get to be holy. The brothers and sisters around us are a safety net. We should first be willing to listen to them when they confront us about something they see as a sin in our lives, and secondly, we should be willing to point out the sin in their lives. This should be an uncomfortable job. If you enjoy doing that, there is something the matter with you. But even though it is uncomfortable, it is necessary. God designed the church this way.
If the body is not fulfilling its function to point out sin, then the body is broken, and it will affect everyone. The church needs people like Paul, who will make a stand for what’s right and wrong. It needs people who will speak out and call black, black and white, white. When we do so we must be humble, and as gentle as possible. We must also confront sin in others with a spirit of love and base our conclusions on the Word. If we fulfill that role, the church will be stronger and purer. A pastor once said that his goal was to let his congregation feel comfortable. To that, I say, “NO!” That is not our job. Our job is to make sinners feel uncomfortable.
3. Unchecked sin breeds more sin – The sin of prejudice spread when no one stood up to the Jews preaching prejudice. Paul speaks first to Peter, then other Jews, and finally to Barnabas. Paul mentions Barnabas because Barnabas was a champion for the “justification by faith” and “Gentiles are equal” principles. He went with Paul on his first missionary journey. Barnabas traveled to places far away from Judea to build up churches among the Gentiles. He was teaching the very things we are learning in Galatians. And he, too, fell. This is the result when no one takes a stand. Thus, we must actively speak out when we see believers in sin around us.
II. Justification by faith (15-19)
Discussion Questions
• What does he mean that they since they are Jews by nature, they are not sinners from “among the Gentiles”?
• What do we learn about the Law from this passage? Faith? Works? Justification?
• What does verse 18 mean?
• What does it mean that Paul died to the Law (19?)
Cross-References
Matthew 5:17-18 – Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Romans 8:3 – For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh.
Titus 3:7 – So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Romans 3:28 – For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Romans 5:9 – Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Philippians 3:9 – And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Paul re-emphasizes justification by faith – Here, Paul returns to his theme for Galatians–justification by faith. In general, Jews were not as sinful as the Galatians were, at least not on the outside. Their culture and traditions seemed better; they had more “good deeds.” But even so, Paul states that they knew salvation was by faith, not by works or the law. This is the doctrine they held. They agreed on a doctrinal level, but we see that the application of that doctrine was faulty. To correctly apply that doctrine to their lives demanded that they treat Gentiles the same (since both were lost, both needed grace, and neither could save themselves).
All of us would agree with this doctrine, right? So that brings us to a question: Do you look down on sinners? Are you prejudiced toward certain people?
2. Verse 17 –
Paul makes it clear that he is not encouraging sin. Eating with the Gentiles is not promoting their pre-salvation lifestyle. When Jesus let the adulteress go, he was not promoting her lifestyle. Jesus’ compassion was not an endorsement. He told her to go her way and sin no more. That is the same salvation message that Paul preached. Anybody can come to Christ, no matter what their background. When they do, they must go their way and sin no more, which means they must repent.
3. If I rebuild what I tore down I am a transgressor – Paul is referencing the traditions of the law, including circumcision. The apostles had already agreed that following all the rules of the Old Testament law wasn’t necessary. Those things had been proven ineffective for salvation, which is why Christ had to come.
But Peter’s actions were, in essence, rebuilding/re-establishing those very things which Jesus’ coming had rendered mute. In other words, Paul is saying, “Those who refuse to eat with Gentiles and preach the law and circumcision are, in fact, the lawbreakers themselves. The most important ‘law’ is salvation by grace through faith.”
III. New life in Christ (20-21)
Discussion Questions
• What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? What kind of life do we need to live if we no longer live, but Christ lives in us?
• What should be guiding our new lives?
• How can you live this transformed life for Christ during the upcoming Spring Festival?
• What is Paul’s conclusion in verse 21?
Cross-References
Romans 6:2-6 – By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
Teachings Points
Application: What should the Galatians do with everything they learned? What should we do? The answer is not the old “sin more so that grace may abound” idea. We are now free. We are free of the Old Testament law. We are free of the belief that we must earn our salvation. We are free of the guilt and despair that comes from constant failure. We are free to serve God with the right motivation. That motivation is our love for Him and our response to His love for us, not a desire to earn our salvation, which is impossible. This freedom must not be used as an excuse for sin. Neither can we be successful by our own strength.
We must cling to God’s grace. We must, through His strength, crucify our earthly passions and live for Him. When we first come to Christ, we take our sins, nail them to the cross, and ask for forgiveness. But this is not a one-time thing. We must continually take those same sins and nail them to the cross again and again.
Consider your life for the past week. What is one sin that kept popping its ugly head? Pray and ask for God’s forgiveness. Nail it to the cross again.
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