Galatians 2:10-21

“For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles …” (v12). Eating with Gentiles was forbidden for observant Jews, so the decision to share a meal (or not) was powerfully symbolic. Peter (Cephas) at first welcomed the new Gentile believers, but then he gave in to cultural pressure and “separated himself” from them publicly. Paul said that failing to embrace Gentiles at this point – the table – was “nullifying” the same grace that redeems us all (v21).

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (v20). God calls us to “put to death” the sins of racism and cultural superiority and to recognize we are all under the same covering of grace.