We continue our series in Galatians, and look at an episode when Paul was forced to confront Peter for succumbing to fear and pressure within the church that led to a compromise of the gospel.

Scripture Reference

Galatians 2: 11-14

Sermon Audio

Sermon Notes

We Must Confront Any  Church Culture Undermining Church Mission

  1. Conflict in Antioch!
    1. Peter, pioneer of the gentile mission, initially shared table fellowship with all Christians at Antioch (verse 12)
    2. Peter became afraid of a group of Jewish Christians, breaking table fellowshiop
    3. Paul confronted Peter to his face (verse 11) in public (verse 14)
  2. Church Culture Pressures Us to Compromise the Gospel
    1. Peter’s actions violated the truth of the gospel (verse 14a) – good news for everyone
    2. Peter acted out of fear (verse 12) – Christian leaders still experience this fear
    3. We’re all tempted by that fear at times – we value the approval of others in our church circles more than the approval of God, or we confuse the two
  3. We Must Confront Any  Church Culture Undermining Church Mission
    1. We must confront anyone, leader or member, acting hypocritically against the truth of the good news of the gospel for everyone
    2. Human-created church culture can undermine our God-given church mission – to make disciples of all nations
    3. We can’t let barriers of church culture stand in the way of accomplishing the mission of the church – going to the lost, the last and the least, sharing the gospel, and celebrating when they come to faith, even though they have “rough edges”