CELEBRATING ETHNIC DIVERSITY

Text: Galatians 2

I. IS THE THEOLOGY OF PAUL DIFFERENT FROM THE THEOLOGY OF THE OTHER APOSTLES OR JESUS?

A. The Judaizers said Paul’s theology was different from the other Apostles, which emboldened them to preach their false Gospel (Galatians 1:8-9).

1. The Ebionites were a heretical sect in the late 2^nd century AD that regarded Paul as an apostate Jew and rejected all Paul’s writings. The Ebionites were Jewish Christians, separated themselves from Gentile Christians, observed a Saturday Sabbath, and observed circumcision and the Mosaic Law.

2. Marcion was a 2^nd century heretic who loved Paul but rejected the Old Testament and much of the New!

3. Since the reformation it has been debated whether James and Paul taught different methods of justification (cf. Romans 4 and James 2:14-26).

4. For almost 200 years liberal theology has argued that much of Paul’s teaching is contrary to that of Jesus.

a. “Paul's words are not the Words of God. They are the words of Paul- a vast difference.” (Bishop John S. Spong; Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, p. 104, Harper San Francisco, 1991)

b. George Bernard Shaw called Paul the “eternal enemy of women.”

c. Liberal theologians sometimes argue that Paul condemned homosexuality not because he was an apostle of Jesus Christ but because Paul was trying to suppress his own homosexual tendencies.

B. Reformed theology has always maintained that the teaching of Paul is the teaching of Jesus. Unlike many other liberal theologians, we believe:

1. Jesus Christ rose again bodily from the dead.

2. Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

3. We believe in a personal God Who does reveal Himself in history to His Apostles and prophets.

4. We believe that the other Apostles accepted Paul as having the same authority Jesus had given to them (Gal.2:7-9; 2 Peter 3:2,15).

II. PAUL’S INFLUENCE

A. Paul had more of an influence in his shaping of the church than any of the other Apostles.

“Moreover, we can see continuity between the messages of Jesus and of Paul. Jesus' two focal points were "the way" as a path of radical personal transformation and "the Kingdom of God" as a radical political vision.

In the Gospels, Jesus speaks about "the narrow way" that leads to life, of "taking up one's cross," as the path of personal transformation. Paul speaks about "dying and rising with Christ." Jesus speaks about "the Kingdom of God"; Paul proclaims "Jesus is Lord." Despite the differences in language, I see these two sets of phrases as parallel in meaning….Like Jesus, Paul was executed by the Roman Empire [and rejected by the Jews]. Is this coincidental? I don’t believe so. I believe it is because both subverted the conventional wisdom of their day.” (Marcus Borg, “Paul’s Unconventional Wisdom”)

1. Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament. We can say that almost half of the New Testament is “Pauline.”

2. Paul’s extensive travels and organization of churches impacted the Mediterranean world.

3. With little or no help from the other Apostles, Paul took the Gospel all the way to Rome.

B. What would the church look like today if there was no Apostle Paul?

III. PAUL’S UNIQUENESS: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PETER AND PAUL

A. The “differences” between Peter and Paul can be explained by the different focuses of their mission (Galatians 2:7-9).

1. Peter was an Apostle to the Jews. Paul was an Apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews or rest of the world) (Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17; Rom.1:5; 11:13; 15:16; Gal.1:16; 2:7ff; Eph.3:1, 8; 1 Tim.2:7; 2 Tim.4:17)

“Peter, so far from usurping the title of universal bishop, confines his charge to the circumcision, and resigns the rest of the world to Paul. Peter opened the gate to the Gentiles, but Paul gathered them in. A universal bishop could make out a better claim by proving his succession to Paul than to Peter” (John Brown, Galatians, 79).

2. Paul’s referring to Peter as “Cephas” may also stress Peter’s apostolic calling to the Gentiles.

a. Galatians 2:7-8 is the only time Paul refers to Cephas as “Peter.”

i. In Galatians 1:18; 2:9,11,14 Paul uses Cephas

ii. Paul uses the name “Cephas” 4x in 1 Corinthians (1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5).

b. The name Cephas is Aramaic and Peter is Greek. Both mean “stone/rock.”

c. Paul’s usage of the Aramaic name may serve to highlight that Cephas was an apostle to the circumcised (Gal.2:7-9).

d. Paul never refers to himself by his Hebrew name (Saul) but always by his Greek (Paul). Paul may do this to highlight that he was the apostle to the Gentiles (Gal.2:7-9).

B. Peter preached the same Gospel as Paul, but in a completely different context (1 Corinthians 9:19-21).

1. The Gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection were the same for Peter and Paul.

2. How they lived out the Gospel among the Jews and Gentiles and what they emphasized was different.

a. These differences emboldened the Judaizers and their false Gospel.

b. It allowed the Judaizers and their descendants to drive a wedge between Peter and Paul.

C. The great irony:

1. While liberal theology has generally had contempt for Paul’s teaching, it has appreciated Paul’s ability to adapt:

a. Paul was all things to all men.

b. Paul’s ministry was to Gentiles, while Jesus’ earthly ministry was to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6; 15:24-27; Mark 7:27-28).

2. Reformed theology has always loved Paul, but we haven’t adapted as well as Paul.

D. When you become a Christian you need to repent of your sin and resolve never again to go back to it. But when you become a Christian, you do not necessarily need to repent of your ethnic background and traditions (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:19-24).

1. One of the glories of creation is the variety of food.

2. Another glory of creation is that we were made in the image of God: male and female (Genesis 1:27).

a. Distinction between male and female is always to be maintained (Gen.1:27; 1 Cor.6:9; 11:1-16).

b. Differences between beauty, attraction, hairstyles, jewelry (nose rings, earrings, neck rings) and dress are to be celebrated as long as they don’t hurt other people (e.g. foot-binding) and as long as they are not immodest (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; 1 Timothy 2:9-10; 1 Peter 3:3-4; cf. Genesis 12:11; 24:22,47; 26:7; 29:17; Ezekiel 16:9-14).

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Pray that God would enable you and give you the desire to be conformed to His Word as read and preached today.

What is one of the biggest questions regarding the theology of Paul and the theology of Jesus and the other Apostles?

When people make the claim that Paul was a “woman hater” or a “homosexual” how are they answering the “big question”?

What is a Gentile?

Do you believe that the teaching of Paul is the teaching of Jesus? Why or why not?

What was Paul’s influence upon the New Testament? What was his influence upon the other Apostles?

What would the church look like today if there was no Paul?

What were some of the differences between the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul?

What is the “great irony” between liberal theology, reformed theology and Paul’s adaptability? Are you more like Peter or Paul when it comes to your living out the Gospel?

What is wrong with a church that insists that its members dress the same, look the same, listens to the same kind of music, eat/not eat certain kinds of food, etc. Does this church have more in common with the Judaizers or Paul? Explain.

Is it sinful to celebrate the diversity of God’s glory as it is reflected in our being made in His image? What are the limits that Scriptures sets on how we display the glory of the human body?

Is it sinful to wear a nose ring? Is it inherently sinful to get a tattoo (cf. Leviticus 19:26-27)? Why or why not?

Just because something is permissible does it mean it is beneficial?