Covering Up What Christ Has Already Covered

“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to  his face, because he stood condemned...” Galatians 2:11

In other words, Peter was being a hypocrite and Paul called him out on it. Not so says John Chrysostom:

Many, on a superficial reading of this part of the Epistle, suppose that Paul accused Peter of hypocrisy. But this is not so, indeed it is not, far from it; we shall discover great wisdom, both of Paul and Peter, concealed herein for the benefit of their hearers…But when some came from Jerusalem who had heard the doctrine he delivered there, he no longer did so fearing to perplex them, but he changed his course, with two objects secretly in view, both to avoid offending those Jews, and to give Paul a reasonable pretext for rebuking him.

Looks like it was just a secret plan concocted by Peter and Paul and not a true rebuke. What would motivate Chrysostom to engage in what seems like textual gymnastics to keep it from being the apostle Peter? His argument was that it couldn’t have been as it reads because Peter showed great boldness elsewhere:

He who when scourged and bound would not [shrink a bit] in his courage, and this at the beginning of his mission, and in the heart of the chief city where there was so much danger—how could he, long afterwards in Antioch, where no danger was at hand, and his character had received lustre from the testimony of his actions, feel any apprehension of the believing Jews?

It’s unthinkable to Chrysostom that Peter could have engaged in such hypocrisy. But isn’t that Paul’s point? Why the rush to defend Peter and come up with an intricate behind the scenes plan that is no where evident in the text?

Do We Do This Today?

I laughed at Chrysostom for a couple of minutes. Then I started to see myself in him. I find myself wanting to quickly come to the defense of some of the leaders that I greatly respect. Yes, even if they something stupid and wrong or do something hypocritical. When someone “opposes” one of the dudes that I look up to my first tendency is to come to their defense.

I actually think that is a good thing. It would be much better if our first response was to defend brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet this first instinct can quickly morph into something unhealthy. When Peter is wrong, he is wrong. No need to defend his hypocrisy or make up an imaginary scenario. To do so is verging on adopting a Corinthians mindset (“I follow Paul”, “I follow Cephas”). Peter’s identity—as is ours—is firmly wrapped up in Christ. He was being a hypocrite on this point. The gospel is big enough to cover that.

Let’s thank God that the blood of Jesus not only covers us but also the leaders that we revere. When they do something silly we don’t have to dismiss everything they have ever done or no longer respect them. We aren’t encouraged to tear 1 and 2 Peter out of our Bibles just because he was a hypocrite on this occasion. In the same way we hold our leaders in their proper place as dim reflectors of the splendor of Christ.

There is no need to spend our time trying to play cover up for sins that Christ has already covered. Let’s let the gospel rebuke our leaders. But let’s also be quick to remember that the gospel that rebukes is also the gospel that covers them. 

That Angel Is an Idiot

That title bothers you doesn’t it?

It bothers me too. But that is telling. We revere angels—as maybe we should. So I invite you to imagine a scenario with me for a moment.

You’re driving home from work. You haven’t had codeine or any other mind-altering substance. You’ve been sleeping well. You didn’t have Indian food for lunch, either. All of a sudden you get this weird urge to pull over to the side of the road. You ignore it for awhile but after it keeps gnawing at your guts you sheepishly veer off to the shoulder.

Your car has not been stopped for more than 15 seconds when a man that looks like Michael Landon gets in your car. He tells you that he has a very important message for you. He explains that he is an angel. And he even shows you his wings and his drivers license to confirm it.

His important message is that most Christians have gotten the gospel message of Jesus entirely wrong. He lets you know that the message that Christians proclaim is only partially true. Because of a vast conspiracy, that Satan himself was behind, an entire book of the New Testament has been left out.

The angel hands you a tattered scroll with some funky ancient writing on it. He opens it and reads the important portions to you. It turns out that Christians are correct about salvation in Jesus by grace through faith. That is what gets you into the kingdom. But you do not stay there simply by a continued faith in Jesus. The way that you stay in the kingdom is through a complex set of rituals that mark you off as the people of God. Everyone that does not engage in these rituals (similar to the putting blood on the doorpost in Exodus) will not inherit eternal life even if they have initial faith in Jesus.

How You Decide If This is Bunk

This seems really weird to you, but the guy is really convincing. So, how will you determine whether this is true or not? How will you go about getting at the truth? Some might answer, “Well, I need to figure out if this is really an angel or not. If it’s really an angel then I ought to really consider what he’s saying. But if it’s just some crazy guy dressed up like Michael Landon then I can dismiss this.”

That might be your answer. And you might also be totally wrong.

The Scriptures teach you that it doesn’t matter if this really is an angel. If it’s an angel then the angel is an idiot. This is what Paul says in Galatians 1:8,

“…but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” 

You don’t need to know whether or not this is an angel to know that what he is telling you is bunk. It doesn’t match up to the gospel and so the credentials of the messenger really do not amount to a hill of beans*. What matters is the content of the gospel. As soon as this Pa Ingalls look-a-like starts blathering on about a different gospel you know his words are nothing more than serpent talk—even if he is an angel.

Today’s “Angels”

It doesn’t take wings to teach a different gospel. There are many different gospels that are being promoted in our world, sadly even from “Christian” pulpits. For many of them they are followed simply because of their credentials. Their book deals, the number of people coming to their church, the massive amount of people they have “helped”, etc., serve as an angel license. Surely they aren’t preaching a “different gospel” if the Lord is giving them so much success.

It might be easy for us to point a finger at those goobers that embrace a different gospel simply because of the flashy teachers credentials, but let’s be really honest…we can be just as awestruck.

Dude…it’s John Piper**. You can trust what he’s saying. And you can. He’s not going to preach you a different gospel nor is he deserving of an anathema. So, in that sense Galatians 1 doesn’t apply at all. I still think that we can learn a lesson here, though. We ought to be careful not to be so enamored with some dude’s credentials (even if it’s a long list of gospel-centered talks) that we begin weighing what people say based upon their name instead of on the unchanging gospel message.

So, let’s weigh the veracity of a message based upon it’s faithfulness to the gospel of Christ instead of Preacher Joe and his stellar gospel credentials.

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*I’m not really sure what the exchange rate for a hill of beans is these days, but my grandma seems to think that they aren’t much.

**You can substitute John Piper for any other solid Bible teacher.

One Reason My Wife is a Better Reader Than Me

I have a really bad reading habit.  I tend to skip introductions, forewords, and all of those silly pages in the beginning.  My wife is the opposite.  I think she may even read all of the disclaimers and Library of Congress numbers.  Even though it’s really hard for me to plod through those pages I need to start, those introductions are often really important to understanding the whole book. 

Scripture is the same way.  Especially in letters.  Introductions are often really important to understanding the purpose of the letter.  I usually skim the first few verses. 

“Yeah, yeah.  Paul.  Apostle.  Grace.  Okay let’s get to the meat”.

I’m trying to slow down.  So I started reading Galatians 1 today.  And rather than skipping the intro and jumping right into verse 6 I decided to spend a little time unpacking it. 

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—
(Galatians 1:1 ESV)

There are two major themes introduced in this single verse (that I typically skim over).  The first major theme is that Paul’s apostleship (read authority) is being questioned in Galatia.  That is why he has to say that his apostleship is something that comes directly from God. 

As a side note, here is one more place in Scripture that proclaims the deity of Christ Jesus.  If it’s not from man but from God, and Paul puts Jesus on the “God” side that means that Paul believed in the Deity of Christ. 

The second major theme introduced is the resurrection.  Dr. Schreiner points this out far better than I could:

“The resurrection signifies that the new age has dawned, in which God will fulfill all his saving promises to Israel and to the entire world…The Galatians were turning the clock back in salvation history by submitting to circumcision and the Mosaic law.  Since Jesus has been raised from the dead, believers are no longer under the Mosaic covenant.”  (Schreiner, ZECNT Commentary on Galatians, 75)

All of that in one verse that I typically skim through.  I need to learn from my wife the benefit of slowing down and reading introductions. 

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In case you were wondering.  I have no idea how this picture is relevant to the article. 

Review of ZECNT Commentary on Galatians by Thomas Schreiner

Perhaps my favorite professor at SBTS is Dr. Tom Schreiner.  He is extremely wise but is also exceedingly humble.  In his classes I not only learn about the text that we are studying, I also learn what it means to be a gracious pastor, expositor, and writer.  Obviously, then, I was excited for the opportunity to review this book.  I received it free from Zondervan in exchange for a review. 

The particular copy that I received is the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians.  The ZECNT is a new commentary series designed with pastors and students in mind.  It is not bogged down by overly technical details, nor is it a simple running commentary.  The ZECNT is unique. 

Each Bible passage has addresses seven primary components: Literary context, main idea, translation and graphical layout, structure, exegetical outline, explanation of the text, and theology in application. 

Probably the most unique feature of the ZECNT is the translation and graphical outline section.  Dr. Schreiner has his students do something very similar in all of his classes.  These are helpful ways of seeing the flow of a passage and how all of the different propositions relate to one another.  It is encouraging to see these in commentaries.  This is probably the most helpful treatment of biblical passages that I have seen in a commentary. 

If you are looking for a really in-depth commentary the ZECNT is only going to scratch the surface.  But if you are looking for something to provide a “feel” for the passage, or if something to help place the text in its literary context, then the ZECNT will be the commentary for you. 

Specifically, this commentary on Galatians is wonderful.  I did not have time to read through all of it but what I did was phenomenal.  I also have the advantage of having sat through Dr. Schreiner’s classes and I know how trustworthy he is as an expositor.  You may not agree with all of his conclusions but you will certainly have a clear understanding of his position.  In my opinion Schreiner is definitely one of the top 5 bible commentators in our day (perhaps the best on Paul). You will richly benefit from this volume.

Who is this commentary for?  Schreiner writes in the preface that this is “especially for pastors and students who want some help with the Greek text”.  And he is certainly right.  Those with a knowledge of Greek and some seminary training will probably be the ones that benefit the most from these commentaries.  But I do not think those without formal education will be hopelessly lost.  There may be some things that are unfamiliar to those without training (like calling something a “gnomic aorist”), but these are not so prominent that you would get lost. 

I highly recommend these commentaries for any student of the Bible.  Especially this commentary on Galatians by Dr. Schreiner. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

You can buy the Galatians commentary for under 20 bucks at Amazon .  That is a GREAT price for a commentary like this!