Last week, we discussed the agreement between Paul and the Jerusalem church leaders over the issue of circumcision. This week, whatever unity was achieved in that meeting has seemingly dissipated. Paul recounts Peter's visit to Antioch, his practice of eating with Gentile Christians, and then his "forcing" them to practice Jewish customs due to external pressures from more conservative Jewish/Jewish Christian groups. It's a deeply embedded text, but surprisingly, there's a good bit of application for us.
the restoration project. Joshua James. 17 September 2017
Small Group Study Questions
(1) Collectively, can you recreate the setting of Galatians: why is Paul so upset? what is happening in the churches of Galatia? why does Paul stress the "independence" of his gospel? what did the Jerusalem church leaders decide about Titus: did he need to be circumcised to be a full follower of Jesus?
And from this week's teaching: why is Paul so mad at Peter? what did he do wrong?
(2) NT Wright sets the context for our understanding of Galatians 2:11-14, stating, "It’s hard for Westerners today to see how serious a matter table-fellowship was in the early church. … A moment’s thought, however, will remind us that there have been many places in the world until very recently, and there are still some, where if your skin is the wrong color, or if you are known to belong to the wrong religion, or perhaps simply if your accent gives you away as the wrong sort of person, there will be some who will not sit down and eat with you."
Discuss.
(3) Peter was being pressured by more conservative Jews and/or Jewish-Christians to break fellowship with Gentile (or non-Jewish) Christians. Why?
(4) Can you sympathize with these conservative groups? (Another way to ask this is, have you ever had struggled to change your mind with regard to an issue of biblical interpretation or theology or the beliefs and practices Christian faith?)
(5) Paul identifies Peter as a hypocrite, which in this time period would have evoked an image of a play actor wearing a mask. Have you ever struggled with your acceptance or perception to the point where it caused you to be untrue to who you really are/what you really believe? Tell the story.
(6) NT Wright concludes his commentary on this section by writing the following: "All those in Christ must be who they truly are. You don’t need masks or make-up in the kingdom of God."
Discuss.
