For Your Edification and Encouragement

Galatians 2:11–16

There’s a moment recorded in Galatians 2 that Christendom simply ignores—a confrontation between two of the most influential apostles in the early church. Paul withstands Peter “to his face,” not over a minor disagreement, but over the very truth of the gospel. Why? Because Peter, the apostle to the circumcision, had compromised the message of salvation by grace.

This wasn’t a debate over table customs. This was about the core of our faith.

The Context: Why Paul Was Sent to Jerusalem

(Galatians 1–2, Acts 15)

To understand why Paul confronted Peter in Antioch, we need to look at the backdrop: the Jerusalem church and the rising tension over whether Gentile believers needed to obey the Law of Moses to be fully accepted by God.

In Galatians 1, Paul makes it crystal clear that the gospel he preached did not come from man. He wasn’t taught it by Peter, James, or John. He received it directly “through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12). After his conversion, he didn’t rush to Jerusalem to get approval—instead, he spent three years before ever meeting Peter, and even then, it was a brief visit (Galatians 1:18–19).

Years later, a serious issue arose. Certain Jewish believers began teaching that unless Gentiles were circumcised and kept the law, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). This heresy threatened the very foundation of the gospel Paul preached—salvation apart from the law.

So the Lord Jesus sent Paul and Barnabas up to Jerusalem—not to learn doctrine, but to defend it.

“Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles…”
—Galatians 2:1–2a

Paul’s companion Titus—an uncircumcised Greek—became a living example of grace. Paul refused to have him circumcised, despite pressure from false brethren who had infiltrated the church.

“…to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.”
—Galatians 2:5

That one sentence says everything. Paul would not compromise, not even for a moment. The truth of the gospel was at stake—and Paul stood firm. The result of that meeting was a mutual agreement: the apostles in Jerusalem recognized Paul’s divine calling, and extended the right hand of fellowship to him and Barnabas (Galatians 2:9). They acknowledged that Paul had been entrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision (Gentiles), just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel of the circumcision (Jews).

And yet, despite this clarity, old habits die hard. Legalism is a powerful force—especially for Jewish believers like Peter and Barnabas, whose entire worldview had been shaped by the Mosaic system. That’s what makes the confrontation in Antioch so critical.

The Gospel on Trial: Galatians 2:11–16

In Antioch, Peter had been freely eating with Gentile believers—until certain men from James arrived. Then, fearing those men who were Jews, Peter pulled back. His withdrawal wasn’t just a personal decision—it sent a message that Gentiles were second-class unless they kept the law.

Even Barnabas was carried away with the hypocrisy.

“But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all…”
—Galatians 2:14

Paul’s response is bold, clear, and theological:

“…a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ…”
—Galatians 2:16

The moment Peter stepped back, he blurred the lines between law and grace, implying that righteousness still depended on law-keeping. But Paul wouldn’t allow it. The gospel he preached was not law reformed or Judaism extended—it was a completely new revelation (the mystery): salvation apart from works, apart from Israel, apart from the Law.

Peter’s Final Words: Go to Paul

Years later, Peter wrote his final epistle before martyrdom. He knew his time was short. And with his last inspired words, he pointed believers—not back to the Sermon on the Mount, not to his own Pentecost sermon, and not to Christ’s earthly ministry.

He pointed them to Paul.

“…our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you… in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things… in which are some things hard to understand…”
—2 Peter 3:15–16

What “things” was Peter talking about? He had just spoken of being found by the Lord “in peace, without spot and blameless” (v.14)—in other words, how to be saved. And he continues in verse 15, saying, *“consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation”—*a direct reference to God’s present offer of grace to all. Then Peter points his readers to “our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him.” That “wisdom” is none other than the revelation of the gospel of grace—truths previously hidden, now made known through Paul alone. So if you want to understand salvation in this dispensation, Peter says: go to Paul.

Peter knew that Paul’s gospel was the final revelation of salvation for this dispensation of grace. It was Paul’s gospel that explained the cross—not just as a tragic end, but as a triumphant means of justification for both Jew and Gentile.

Why This Matters

This confrontation in Galatians 2 isn’t just a historical footnote—it’s a warning and a revelation.

✅It shows that even apostles can falter.
✅It shows that good men, like Peter and Barnabas, can waver under pressure.
✅And it shows that when the gospel is at stake, silence is not an option.

But more than that, it proves that we are not under law but under grace. We are justified freely by faith in what Christ did on the cross—not by what we do, or don’t do, under the law.

“I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
—Galatians 2:21

Final Thoughts: Stand Fast in the Liberty of Christ

The confrontation between Paul and Peter is recorded for us—not to shame Peter, but to safeguard the gospel. This confrontation is recorded to remind us that law and grace do not mix. It affirms that justification comes only through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as revealed to the apostle Paul.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
—Galatians 5:1

Let’s not be bewitched (Galatians 3:1). Let’s not return to bondage. Don’t settle for any other gospel other than the gospel revealed to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:1-3). And don’t be afraid to stand, like Paul did, for the truth, the gospel of the grace of God.

to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

Galatians 2:5