The Threat of Compromise - Week 5
Galatians 2
Note: The study related to these questions may be found at Catholic Exchange. Please go to their site for the complete material concerning this study. Below are my thoughts on the questions presented for the given study (Please see disclaimer at bottom).
Paul's Gospel Endorsed
Read Gal. 2:1-10
1. Paul makes reference to another trip up to Jerusalem, in vs. 1. This was very probably the trip we read about in Acts 15. To what does Paul attribute the decision to make that trip?
(a) Paul attributes a revelation as the reason for making this trip. This does not contradict the statement in Acts 15:2 that Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem because they were sent by the Church in Antioch. The request by the Church in Antioch could have been by revelation and thus could be to what Paul is referring.
2. What does Paul say in vs. 2 that reveals his understanding of the authority of those in Jerusalem?
(a) Paul understands that his preaching of the Gospel must follow what is being taught by the Apostles. This idea is found in the statement concerning his own preaching when Paul states "lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain".
3. What pressure did Paul resist in order to preserve the truth of the gospel, as he says in vs. 5?
(a) Paul resisted the pressure to force circumcision on the Gentiles. He gives the example of his own disciple Titus who was Greek.
4. Notice the way Paul describes the spying incident in vss. 4-5. What does the incident indicate about the severity of this problem about circumcision in the early church?
(a) The severity of the situation is indicated by Paul's allusion to a bondage being placed upon the Church.
5. In vs. 6, Paul says he wasn t really impressed by the reputation of those in authority. What do you think he means by that statement?
(a) In St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Paul spends a great deal of time making the point that we are all equal. In other words, neither Jew or Greek is better than the other. Paul does not mean that the authority of the Church should not be respected, but instead that no human is created better than another.
6. In vss. 7-8, Paul says that the apostles approved his work after they perceived two things about him. What were they?
(a) That Paul had been entrusted with the Gospel to the Gentiles and that Christ was working through him.
7. After giving Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, what one thing did the apostles want them to do? Why has this always been an abiding concern in the Church?
(a) The Apostles wanted Paul and Barnabas to "remember the poor". The Chruch has always had an abiding concern for the poor because Christ had this same concern. Therefore, the Church, as the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ, cannot deny serving the poor. To do so would be to deny the One who founded us.
8. Paul was willing to submit to the authority of people whose personal reputation didn't overwhelm him. How does the Catholic Church keep this spirit of submission alive today, especially at the parish or diocesan level?
(a) By submitting to the authority of the priests and bishops.
Paul Confronts Peter
Read Gal. 2:11-14
9. What is the problem that developed between Cephas (Peter) and Paul in Antioch?
(a) After some men came from James, Peter would no longer eat with Gentiles. However, we don't know whether this is James the Bishop of Jerusalem, James of the Twelve, or a different James altogether.
10. Why do you suppose Paul took Peter to task in public? Why couldn t he do this privately?
(a) Paul corrected Peter publicly because of Peter's position as the Head Apostle, as the Pope. Because of Peter's importance to the Church, his poor example could be dangerous to the disciples.
11. Some have looked at this incident as evidence that Jesus never intended to build his Church on Peter, who is clearly quite fallible in this case. How would you respond to that? Do these verses present a threat to the Church's teaching about the chair of Peter?
(a) The infallibility of the Pope's is in matters of doctrine, not in matters of conduct. To be infallible in conduct is to be impeccable. Peter never changed his teaching about the Gentiles, but his behavior had changed. These verses, or for that matter any others in the Bible, present no threat to the Church's teaching about the Chair of Peter.
Justification is by Faith
Read Gal. 2:15-End
12. Is Paul suggesting, in vs. 15, that Jews aren't sinners like the Gentiles? What do you think he means there?
(a) That Jews aren't sinners like the Gentiles is best explained by Paul himself:
- Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Rom 3:19-23, RSV)
13. The phrase works of the law, in this context, refers to Jewish ceremonial law, such as eating habits, circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, etc. It is a phrase (occasionally reduced to works or the law ) often used by Paul to refer to the Mosaic covenant, a short-hand way of making reference to the Jewish way of thinking that by observing all the law, both moral and ceremonial, one obligates God to save him. What power do works of the law have towards a person's justification (vs. 16)?
(a) The works of the law do not justify a man. Once again from Romans:
- All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
(Rom 2:12-16, RSV)
14. In vs. 17, Paul imagines a Jewish Christian who, seeking to be justified by faith in Christ, lives in a way that he formerly would have called sinful that is, like the Gentiles. If he then tries to go back to living the way the Law of Moses required, what is he suggesting by his behavior?
(a) By this behavior one would be suggesting that "Christ is an agent of sin".
15. In vs. 19, Paul wants to show his new relationship to the Law of Moses. What is it?
(a) Paul has now "died to the law".
16. When does a person die to the law? (Hint: See Rom. 6:1-4)
(a) From St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans:
- What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
(Rom 6:1-4, RSV)
From this passage we find that a person dies to the law via Baptism.
17. The treatment Paul gives to life in Christ is developed a bit more fully later in the letter. In vs. 20, what seems to be the distinguishing characteristic of Paul's new life in Christ?
(a) Paul's new life in Christ is a life of faith.
18. If a person wants to cling to the old system of legal perfection, what becomes of the work of Christ (vs. 21)?
(a) The work of Christ is nullified.
19. Sometimes when Catholics read through this paragraph in Galatians, especially if it's for the first time, it scares them. What is your reaction? Why?
(a) This is a scary passage if you subscribe to a "once saved always saved" theology. However, as Catholics we know this is not the case. However, just as our weaknesses will cause us to sin, God in His goodness, gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation in order to allow us to return to His grace.
Disclaimer: I do not wish to present myself as an expert in either theology, history, or scriptural interpretation. I am merely someone who is attempting to answer the call of Christ. The ultimate authority and interpreter of scripture is our Holy Catholic Church. If at any point I deviate from the teachings of the Church, please correct me, alfredo@nevarez.net, as this is my shortcoming and in no way meant to be an expression of my views superceding those of the Church founded by Jesus Christ.
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