We read in Galatians 2.11–14– “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.” Crazy. In fact it’s a result of what I call: “hypocrazy”. The word here for “dissimulation” is ‘hypokrisei’. Obviously this is where we get the word in English for hypocrisy. It is deceit. It was used by those living in the fist century as one who wore a mask or pretended to be something they were not. But why would Peter do this? Why would Barnabus get caught up in it as well. Simply put: fear of man.
The fear of man will drive you crazy. It will cause you to be someone or something you are not. Peer pressure is the usual vein used against people of God today. Our flesh craves to belong, and sometimes to belong at any cost. You start by being insincere to yourself. You put on a mask, in order to ‘fit in’. Then you start morphing into the image someone else wants you to be. For the morbidly insecure, they end up changing semi-permanently to the new image someone has designed for them.
In the case of Galatians 2, the carrying away of dissimulation was an action that caused the Apostle Paul to react. He saw this as being an attack on the Gospel itself and therefore in need of confrontation. He confronted, to the face, the one who “was to be blamed” the text says. Clearly Galatians 3.28 says we are to be “one” in Christ— “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus”. But the fear of man powerfully overcame the Gospel answer, even in the mind of Peter and Barnabus— “…fearing them which were of the circumcision” (2.12). Fear is a torment according to 1 John 4.18— “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” Within this verse you also have your answer—“…perfect love casteth out fear…” There is the answer. How much does God love you, and how much do you love Him? He loves you infinitely, but how much do you love Him? Do you love Him enough to care more of what He says than what someone else says? I imagine a marriage…a man is talking with his friends about life, they pressure him to be a certain way or act in a certain way. He begins to change slowly, he may even live a different life around them than he does around his wife. Eventually the wife sees the hypocrisy and confronts him. There is now doubt in the relationship, because he can be a different person around others than he is around her. She may ask herself, “what else do I not know?” This is a reality faced by way too many believing homes today. There is no reason for it. It is a lack of character, but more so, it is a lack of love. If he loved his wife, he wouldn’t want to cause any shame to her. How much more must we love God and not cause Him shame?
I just read our church’s “Encouragement for Today”. It strikes right to the heart of this text with a later passage in Galatians, 5.1— “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” There is bondage in fearing what man may think or say. The church text reads: “We want to belong, but we often allow this need for acceptance to shape us into something we’re not. To get ahead in life, we pine for attention from people who couldn’t care less about us. Don’t let other people define you. Remember, God loves you deeply & without reservation.” Very true indeed. Why do we pine for attention of others? Because we do not love God deeply enough to have our faith established in Him. Why isn’t He enough? If our life in Jesus is rooted in the faith that we receive from the Word of God, then we can be sure of the love He has for us. We need not to flirt with others, when we have such security in our relationship with God. But if we fear man, all bets are off. 1 Timothy 4.2 Paul expands this danger by addressing false teachers that cloak their deception in a false appearance of devotion, yet their seared consciences render them insensitive to conviction. We find that this type of hypocrisy then leads to a mark of apostasy. How devastating it can be then to be a person who is fearful of what man thinks about them. Apparently it can easily affect the kingdom work we are involved in.
Strongs Concordance defines hypokrisei as number Greek number 5272, and states it as: “the interior duplicity that pretends to be something it is not. In Scripture it denotes a conscious, willful contrast between outward appearance and inward reality, especially in religious matters.” Has this happened to you? Have you done this? Or worse, has this become your pattern of life? There are parents in the last fifty years who have actually encouraged their children to do be this way. The result is devastating to churches, their jobs, their families, and the overall way of our life. Believer’s homes should not be this way at all! You should be loyal to the Creator who made you the way you are. You should be loyal to the beliefs that God has given you. You should be loyal to the One who loves you the most. Should we? Why encourage duplicity for the sake of ‘fitting in’ or ‘getting by’? We are eroding our own way of following God and loving Him as Matthew 22 says, “with all of our heart”… aren’t we?
It makes you crazy, and it is crazy to see in action. More so, it is devastating to the cause of Christ. Why? Glad you asked. It is because we no longer resemble Jesus as He is. We are told to follow God by being transformed into the image of His son (Romans 8.29). In fact it says more than just that— “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Predestinate—meaning it has always been His will for you to be like Him. Is Jesus duplicitous? Is He two faced? Was He one way with the Pharisees in order to ‘get along’ or ‘fit in’? No. That would not only be heresy, it is borderline blasphemy to say otherwise. He was, and is, and will always be as He is (Hebrews 13.8). If I am to be like Him then why would I work at ‘fitting in’ in order to just ‘get by’ or ‘get along’? Simple answer really, and it’s found in Romans 12.1-2— “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Verse one explains the first order of business… “present” or surrender your life you have now as a sacrifice to Him. Allow Jesus to take control and fashion you into a different person who is in resemblance of Himself. In other words, change! Verse one also says this is reasonable. After all, He did die for you, bought you with a precious price, off the slave market of sin. I think you know you owe Him. Verse two then explains further what we can do to make this change: do not be “conformed to this world”. And there you have it, there is an agenda in play and Satan will use even family and friends to derail your growth in Jesus. This is why the world wants you to ‘fit in’ so badly, and why other carnal believers don’t see a problem with it. Verse two clearly says— “be not conformed to this world”… do not let this happen. Verse two also says there is something you can do though— “…be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Transformed here is where English speakers get their word: “metamorphosis”. To morph into another thing entirely. We are to be changing from what I was and am, to be like Jesus. Again, was He ever duplicitous? Was He ever a hypocrite? Never! Was He ever concerned about ‘fitting in’? Never! It is a thinking thing you see— “by the renewing of your mind”. We are to change our thinking from this world’s view of self to God’s view of self. To have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2.5) is to be a servant of God, surrendered, and able to be used for Jesus and not for self, and especially not for the use of the world which is tempting you to follow them. In fact, verse two of Romans twelve says— “…that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” I want to do that. Do you? I want to show the world who Jesus really is and show Him off as much as I can.
A couple of men came from Jerusalem church and visited Antioch, where God was moving and working. Their presence was intimidating. It caused good people to act crazy, like someone they weren’t just a day before. The ones who fell for it were Apostles and evangelists, who had walked with Jesus Himself. If it can happen to them, then it can happen to us. It produced communal hypocrisy so contagious that even the man called encouragement (Barnabas) succumbed to it. The hypocrisy was not innocent or fleeting, the actions began distorting core gospel truth. Dear friends, don’t be carried about with the dissimulation of carnal christians. Don’t be carried about with their hypocrazy ways. Don’t fall for the peer pressure at school, work, home, or even church. Don’t allow yourself to be someone you are not. Who are you? Well, you are a new creature, being fashioned by God into the very image of His dear Son Jesus. Why would we choose anything less than that?