Galatians 2:11-14

¹¹ “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² For prior to the coming of some men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and separate himself, fearing those from the circumcision. ¹³ The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

I opposed him: Peter wouldn’t eat with Gentiles because James, who was confused, influenced him negatively. James was a racist and did not see Gentiles as equal to Jews. This is why Paul confronted Peter. Peter didn’t live like the Jews. He did not live under the law. And yet, because of the influence of James he was trying to get the Gentile Christians to live under the law. We see the same issues in contemporary Christianity. Gentiles were never given the law! And yet we constantly try to put ourselves under the law’s authority. Sometimes we even do this by creating pseudo laws such as thou shalt read the Bible, and thou shalt go to church. But none of this makes the Gospel any richer. It actually nullifies Christ because it adds to what He did for us.