How to Get Rebuked by Paul
A bite-sized lesson in doctrine: 1 Concept, 2 Definitions, 3 Passages...
Welcome to a special edition of Theology Thursday!
Here is your bite-sized lesson in orthodox, Biblical doctrine in 3 simple steps as we approach Reformation Day:
ONE concept explained
TWO concise definitions that must be kept distinct
THREE Scripture passages to meditate on… but first, some quotes:
“Justification is outside-in, and we lose it if we make it inside-out. Sanctification is inside-out, and we lose it if we make it outside-in. And this inside-out sanctification is largely fed by daily appropriation of this outside-in justification… We need to realize that the gospel is not only the door into the Christian life but also the living room of the Christian life. Justification is not a spark plug that ignites the Christian life but an engine that powers it all along the way.”
Dane Ortlund
“In short, in every form of expression and in every part of Scripture, the justification of sinners is connected directly with Christ and his mediatorial work: and his people are so absolutely dependent on what he did and suffered for their pardon and acceptance with God that he is said to be their life, their peace, their righteousness, their hope, their joy-as if 'all their springs were in him', and 'Christ were all in all'. No marvel that to them who believe, 'he is precious.’”
James Buchanan
Concept: Justification & Peter
Peter is often known for denying the Lord but never making mistakes after that moment. Yet, as a redeemed sinner after Christ’s ascension, Peter still battled his own sin, which is evident when Peter showed favoritism to Jewish Christians over the Gentiles. At this crucial time, Gentiles were receiving the gospel and welcomed by the Apostles. As Peter was eating with Gentile Christians, he saw the Jews approaching and hypocritically withdrew, implying Gentiles must live like Jews to be accepted. Paul rebuked him, saying Peter’s actions were “not in step with the truth of the gospel,” in the next breath, he penned arguably the most famous verse on justification. Why is that? Because Peter’s favoritism and disunity were symptomatic of a deeper problem. Peter’s issue was a justification issue. He feared the Jews. He sought their approval or to be justified in their sight. He disregarded the justification/approval he had already received in Christ and became a slave to the opinions of others. Are you convinced that God’s approval is enough? Do you obey to be loved by others, or does your obedience flow from already being loved by God? If the latter is true, you’ve forgotten your justification, and your actions are out of step with the gospel.
Definitions/Distinctions:
Alien or Imputed righteousness: The righteousness achieved by Christ alone in His perfect life and sacrificial death that is granted to the ungodly and unrighteous. Believers receive a righteousness that is outside of themselves (alien). They are not justified based on the pureness of their repentance or ability to establish their own righteousness.
Practical righteousness: That which flows from the Spirit’s work within me upon believing in Christ and is manifested through good works and love to neighbor.
Passages:
“But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas [Peter] before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’ We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
Galatians 2:14–16
“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”
Romans 8:33–34
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”
Romans 3:23–24
Featured Resource: Deeper by Dane Ortlund.
That was such a rich and powerful teaching. It’s a humbling reminder that even Peter, one of the pillars of the early church, struggled with fear and approval just like we do at times. Paul’s rebuke wasn’t about shaming Peter but about calling him back to the truth of the gospel, that our justification is by faith alone, not by works or the opinions of others. Galatians 2:16 says, A person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. That truth frees us from trying to earn favor or prove our worth before men, because our righteousness is already secured in Christ. Romans 5:1 declares, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That peace isn’t something we work for, it’s something we receive because of what Jesus has already done. And Philippians 3:9 reminds us, Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. This devotion really points us back to the heart of the Reformation truth, Christ alone, faith alone, grace alone. May we keep walking in step with the gospel and live out the righteousness that flows from His Spirit within us.