‘But when I saw them not walking straight towards the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of all, ‘If you, being a Jew first of all, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, why are you compelling the Gentiles to live like a Jew? 15 We [are] natural born Jews, and absolutely not from out of ethnic [Gentile] self-forfeiture and no share, 16 but we know that a man is absolutely not judicially approved or made rightwise from out of actions of law, if not by means of persuasion and entrusting Jesus His Anointed. We penetrate towards being faithfully persuaded of Jesus, His Anointed, to the point of obedience, in order that we are judicially approved and made rightwise from out of faith in His Anointed, not by means of law actions, because all flesh will not be judicially approved or made rightwise by means of law works’, (Galatians 2 v 14 – 16).
Paul was not one to mince his words. He confronted Peter in front of everyone when he saw him acting contrary to the gospel, ‘not walking straight towards the truth of the gospel’. In what way was Peter in error? He was separating himself away from Christians who were Gentiles. But more than this, it would seem that Peter was aligning himself with the assertive, legalistic Jews who had recently arrived, and he was now compelling male Gentile Christians to be circumcised according to divine law. First of all, Paul exposes Peter’s inconsistency. He says, ‘You are first of all a Jew, and under the equality of the gospel you are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew. So why are you now compelling Gentiles to live like a Jew?’ Peter’s approach was a contradiction.
Then Paul, who was himself a Jew, reminds Peter of their heritage and their new position within the Messiah. Unlike Jewish proselytes, Paul and Peter are natural born Jews. They are not from out of the self-forfeiture of Gentiles. Paul and Peter both knew that if an individual is not judicially approved by means of persuasion and entrusting Jesus - God’s Anointed - then they are absolutely not judicially approved from out of his or her labours and efforts to observe the written codes of divine law, such as the requirement to be circumcised.
Hebrew Christians, like Gentile Christians, penetrate towards being persuaded of Jesus, God’s Anointed, to the point of obedience. This means that Jews, like Gentiles, are judicially approved and made rightwise from out of faith – entrustment to the point of obedience - in His Anointed. Hebrew Christians are not judicially approved or made rightwise by means of law actions, says Paul, because all flesh will not be judicially approved or made rightwise by means of energy and work invested in trying to observe the requirements of the written codes of divine law. Even though Jews possess divine law and have this advantage over Gentiles, God will not judicially approve or make rightwise even one natural born Jewish individual as a result of them labouring and expending their energy in trying to observe the injunctions of divine law.
