📖 Wagalatia — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 3: Siibatili Neema📖 Galatians Intensive — Unit 3: I Do Not Set Aside Grace

Andiko: Wagalatia 2:11-21Text: Galatians 2:11-21

Mgongano wa Hadharani Huko AntiokiaA Public Clash at Antioch

Sura mbili za kwanza za Wagalatia ni utetezi wa Paulo wa injili anayoihubiri. Ameonyesha kwamba injili hii haikumjia kutoka kwa wanadamu bali kwa ufunuo wa Yesu Kristo, na kwamba viongozi wa Yerusalemu hawakuiongezea kitu bali waliitambua neema aliyopewa. Sasa Paulo anasimulia siku ambayo injili hiyo ilijaribiwa hadharani — si na adui, bali na mtume mwenzake. Mahali ni Antiokia, kanisa kubwa lililochanganyika la Wayahudi na watu wa Mataifa, na mtu ambaye Paulo analazimika kumpinga ni Petro mwenyewe. Paulo hapunguzi ukali wa jambo hilo: "nalishindana naye mkabala, kwa kuwa alistahili kulaumiwa." Huu haukuwa ugomvi juu ya mapendeleo. Paulo aliona kweli ya injili yenyewe ikiwa hatarini, wala hakukubali hata mtume aitie giza.The first two chapters of Galatians are Paul's defense of the gospel he preaches. He has shown that this gospel did not come to him from men but by a revelation of Jesus Christ, and that the leaders at Jerusalem added nothing to it but recognized the grace given to him. Now Paul tells of a day when that gospel was tested in public — not by an enemy, but by a fellow apostle. The place is Antioch, the great mixed church of Jews and Gentiles, and the man Paul must oppose is Peter himself. Paul does not soften it: "I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed." This was no quarrel over preference. Paul saw the truth of the gospel itself at stake, and he would not let even an apostle cloud it.

Petro AjitengaPeter Withdraws

Petro alipofika Antiokia mara ya kwanza, alikula kwa uhuru pamoja na waumini wa Mataifa. Kushiriki meza katika ulimwengu ule kulikuwa kusema, kwa njia iliyo wazi kabisa, "Sisi ni familia moja; ninyi ni ndugu zangu kikamilifu." Kula kwa Petro pamoja na watu wa Mataifa kulikuwa ukiri hai kwamba katika Kristo ukuta wa zamani kati ya Myahudi na mtu wa Mataifa ulikuwa umebomolewa. Lakini kisha "watu kadha wa kadha waliotoka kwa Yakobo" walifika — watu waliohusiana na kundi kali la tohara huko Yerusalemu — na ujasiri wa Petro ukamwishia. Alirudi nyuma na kujitenga na waumini wa Mataifa, "akiwaogopa wale wa tohara." Angalia kwa makini: Petro hakusimama na kuhubiri fundisho la uongo. Dhambi yake ilikuwa ya mwenendo, ya tabia iliyosukumwa na hofu. Hata hivyo kujitenga kwake kulihubiri mahubiri yenye sauti kubwa kuliko maneno; kuliashiria kwamba waumini wa Mataifa walikuwa Wakristo wa daraja la pili isipokuwa wazichukue alama za sheria ya Kiyahudi.When Peter first came to Antioch, he ate freely with the Gentile believers. To share a table in that world was to say, in the plainest way, "We are one family; you are fully my brothers." Peter's eating with the Gentiles was a living confession that in Christ the old wall between Jew and Gentile had come down. But then "certain men came from James" — men tied to the strict circumcision party in Jerusalem — and Peter's courage failed him. He drew back and separated himself from the Gentile believers, "fearing those who were of the circumcision." Notice carefully: Peter did not stand up and preach a false doctrine. His sin was one of conduct, of fear-driven behavior. Yet his withdrawal preached a sermon louder than words; it implied that the Gentile believers were second-class Christians unless they took up the marks of the Jewish law.

Kuenea kwa UnafikiThe Spread of Hypocrisy

Dhambi ya kiongozi kamwe si jambo la faragha. "Nao Wayahudi wengine wakajigeuza vivyo hivyo pamoja naye, hata Barnaba naye akachukuliwa na unafiki wao." Neno mnafiki maana yake ni mwigizaji, mtu anayevaa kinyago — kwa maana watu hawa walijua vizuri zaidi, lakini walitenda kinyume na walichokijua. Na maambukizi hayo hayakuishia kwa walio dhaifu; yalimchukua Barnaba, mtu mwenye moyo mkuu ambaye ndiye aliyemthibitisha Paulo mara ya kwanza na kusafiri pamoja naye akiwahubiri watu wa Mataifa. Ikiwa hata Barnaba angeweza kuchukuliwa, hakuna yeyote kati yetu anayepaswa kujiona yuko juu ya shinikizo kama hilo. Hivi ndivyo maafikiano yanavyofanya kazi: mtu mmoja anayeheshimiwa anasita, umati unafuata, na punde kanisa zima linaigiza uongo.Sin in a leader is never a private thing. "And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy." The word hypocrite means an actor, one who wears a mask — for these men knew better, yet acted against what they knew. And the contagion did not stop with the weak; it swept up Barnabas, the large-hearted man who had first vouched for Paul and traveled with him preaching to the Gentiles. If even Barnabas could be carried away, none of us should imagine ourselves above such pressure. This is how compromise works: one respected man flinches, a crowd follows, and soon the whole church is acting out a lie.

Kushindana Naye MkabalaWithstood to His Face

Paulo aliona kilichokuwa kikitokea wala hakunyamaza. "Lakini nilipoona ya kuwa hawaendi sawasawa na kweli ya Injili, nalimwambia Kefa mbele ya wote..." Kwa sababu kosa lilikuwa la hadharani, karipio lilipaswa kuwa la hadharani. Paulo alimwuliza Petro swali moja linalochoma: "Wewe, uliye Myahudi, ukiishi kwa desturi za Mataifa, wala si kwa desturi za Wayahudi, kwa nini unawashurutisha Mataifa kuishi kwa desturi za Kiyahudi?" Kutopatana huko kulikuwa wazi kabisa. Petro mwenyewe alikuwa akiishi katika uhuru wa injili, akila pamoja na watu wa Mataifa; sasa, kwa kujitenga kwake, alikuwa akiwasukuma watu wale wale wa Mataifa kuichukua sheria ya Kiyahudi ili wakubaliwe. Paulo alimkaripia mtume, lakini alifanya hivyo kwa faida ya mtume huyo na kwa ajili ya kweli, wala hatuna kumbukumbu yoyote kwamba Petro alichukizwa. Wawili hao walibaki ndugu; baadaye Petro angemwita Paulo "ndugu yetu mpendwa" (2 Petro 3:15).Paul saw what was happening and would not keep silent. "When I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all..." Because the error was public, the rebuke had to be public. Paul put a single piercing question to Peter: "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?" The inconsistency was glaring. Peter himself had been living in gospel freedom, eating with Gentiles; now, by his withdrawal, he was pressing those same Gentiles to take up the Jewish law in order to be accepted. Paul rebuked the apostle, but he did it for the apostle's good and for the truth's sake, and we have no record that Peter resented it. The two remained brothers; Peter would later call Paul "our beloved brother" (2 Peter 3:15).

Kuhesabiwa Haki kwa Imani, Si kwa Matendo ya SheriaJustified by Faith, Not by Works of the Law

Kutoka katika tukio hilo Paulo anapanda hadi kwenye fundisho lililo chini yake. "Sisi tulio Wayahudi kwa asili, wala si wenye dhambi wa Mataifa, hali tukijua ya kuwa mwanadamu hahesabiwi haki kwa matendo ya sheria, bali kwa imani ya Kristo Yesu..." Kuhesabiwa haki ni neno la mahakamani; maana yake ni kutangazwa kuwa mwenye haki, kuachiliwa huru. Swali kuu la injili ni jinsi mwenye dhambi mwenye hatia anavyoweza kutangazwa kuwa mwenye haki mbele za Mungu mtakatifu. Paulo anatoa jibu waziwazi: si kwa matendo ya sheria, bali kwa imani katika Yesu Kristo. "Sisi nasi," Paulo anasema — hata sisi Wayahudi, tuliokuwa na sheria na maagano — ilitubidi kuja kwa njia ile ile, tukimwamini Kristo ili tuhesabiwe haki kwa imani wala si kwa matendo. Naye anamalizia mstari huo kwa pigo la nyundo: "kwa matendo ya sheria hakuna mwenye mwili atakayehesabiwa haki." Hakuna mtu, Myahudi wala wa Mataifa, aliyewahi kufanywa au atakayewahi kufanywa kuwa sawa mbele za Mungu kwa kuishika sheria.From the incident Paul rises to the doctrine beneath it. "We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ..." To justify is a courtroom word; it means to declare a person righteous, to acquit. The great question of the gospel is how a guilty sinner can be declared righteous before a holy God. Paul gives the answer plainly: not by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. "Even we," Paul says — even we Jews, who had the law and the covenants — had to come the same way, believing in Christ to be justified by faith and not by works. And he ends the verse with a hammer-blow: "by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." No one, Jew or Gentile, has ever been or ever will be made right with God by law-keeping.

Je, Kristo ni Mhudumu wa Dhambi?Is Christ a Minister of Sin?

Sasa Paulo anajibu pingamizi. Ikiwa tunaiacha sheria nyuma na kutafuta kuhesabiwa haki katika Kristo peke yake, nasi bado tunaonekana kuwa wenye dhambi, je, hilo linamfanya Kristo kuwa mwendelezaji wa dhambi — kana kwamba neema ni ruhusa ya kuishi tupendavyo? Jibu la Paulo ni kali: "Hasha!" Kosa kamwe haliko kwa Kristo wala katika neema yake. Kisha analigeuza shtaka hilo: "Kwa maana, ikiwa nayajenga tena yale niliyoyabomoa, najithibitisha kuwa mimi ni mkosaji." Si imani inayomfanya mtu kuwa mkosaji; ni kurudi kwenye sheria kama njia ya wokovu baada ya injili kuibomoa. Kuujenga upya mfumo ule wa zamani ni kurudi nyuma katika hukumu.Paul now answers an objection. If we leave the law behind and seek to be justified in Christ alone, and we are still found to be sinners, does that make Christ a promoter of sin — as though grace were a license to live as we please? Paul's reply is sharp: "Certainly not!" The fault is never in Christ or in His grace. Then he turns the charge around: "For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor." It is not faith that makes a man a transgressor; it is returning to the law as a way of salvation after the gospel has torn it down. To rebuild that old system is to step backward into condemnation.

Nimesulibiwa Pamoja na KristoCrucified with Christ

Sasa Paulo anasema kutoka katika vilindi vya moyo wake mwenyewe. "Kwa maana mimi kwa njia ya sheria nimeifia sheria, ili nimwishie Mungu." Sheria yenyewe, kwa kumhukumu, ilimfukuza kutoka katika kila tumaini ndani yake mwenyewe na kumpeleka kwa Kristo; aliifia sheria kama njia ya maisha ili aweze kumwishia Mungu kweli. Kisha unakuja mmojawapo wa mistari ya thamani kubwa kuliko yote katika Maandiko yote: "Nimesulibiwa pamoja na Kristo; lakini ni hai; wala si mimi tena, bali Kristo yu hai ndani yangu; na uhai nilio nao sasa katika mwili, ninao katika imani ya Mwana wa Mungu, ambaye alinipenda, akajitoa nafsi yake kwa ajili yangu." Utu wa kale uliojaribu kustahili upendeleo wa Mungu ulipigiliwa msalabani pamoja na Yesu. Uhai ambao Paulo anaishi sasa ni uhai wa Kristo ndani yake, unaopokelewa na kuishiwa kwa imani. Na tazama jinsi jambo hili linavyokuwa la kibinafsi: Mwana wa Mungu "alinipenda, akajitoa nafsi yake kwa ajili yangu." Injili si fundisho kuhusu wengi tu; ni upendo unaoshuka hadi kumfikia muumini mmoja mmoja.Now Paul speaks from the depths of his own heart. "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God." The law itself, by condemning him, drove him out of every hope in himself and to Christ; he died to the law as a way of life that he might truly live to God. Then comes one of the most precious verses in all of Scripture: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." The old self that tried to earn God's favor was nailed to the cross with Jesus. The life Paul now lives is the life of Christ in him, received and lived out by faith. And see how personal it becomes: the Son of God "loved me and gave Himself for me." The gospel is not only a doctrine about the many; it is a love that reaches down to the single believer.

Kuongeza kitu chochote kwenye kazi iliyokamilika ya Kristo si kuiheshimu sheria bali ni kuufanya msalaba kuwa bure.To add anything to the finished work of Christ is not to honor the law but to empty the cross.

Kama Haki Ingepatikana kwa SheriaIf Righteousness Came by the Law

Yote ambayo Paulo amesema yanakusanyika katika mstari unaoipa sehemu hii jina lake: "Siibatili neema ya Mungu; maana ikiwa haki hupatikana kwa sheria, basi Kristo alikufa bure." Hii ndiyo mantiki katika umbo lake lililo wazi kabisa. Neema na haki ya kisheria haziwezi zote mbili kuwa msingi wa msimamo wetu mbele za Mungu; kuongeza sheria kama njia ya kuhesabiwa haki ni kuibatili neema. Na ikiwa mtu angeweza kufanywa mwenye haki kwa kuishika sheria, basi msalaba haukuhitajika na Kristo alikufa bure. Kuongeza kitu chochote kwenye kazi iliyokamilika ya Kristo si kuiheshimu sheria bali ni kuufanya msalaba kuwa bure. Paulo hatafanya hivyo. Hataibatili neema ya Mungu.All that Paul has said gathers into the verse that gives this unit its name: "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." Here is the logic in its starkest form. Grace and law-righteousness cannot both be the ground of our standing with God; to add the law as a means of being justified is to set grace aside. And if a person could be made righteous by keeping the law, then the cross was needless and Christ died for nothing. To add anything to the finished work of Christ is not to honor the law but to empty the cross. Paul will not do it. He will not set aside the grace of God.

Neno Kuhusu Maneno ya PauloA Note on Paul's Words

Wasomaji makini wameuliza kwa muda mrefu ni wapi hotuba ya Paulo kwa Petro inaishia na mafundisho yake kwa Wagalatia yanaanzia — kama mistari ya 15 hadi 21 bado inasemwa kwa Petro huko Antiokia au kama sasa Paulo anahojiana moja kwa moja na wasomaji wake. Wanafunzi wa dhati wanatofautiana, na kifungu chenyewe hakilimalizi jambo hilo kwa ajili yetu. Kwa furaha, kweli ni ile ile kwa njia yoyote ile: mwenye dhambi anahesabiwa haki mbele za Mungu kwa imani katika Kristo, si kwa matendo ya sheria. Iwe ilisemwa kwanza kwa mtume au iliandikiwa kanisa lililokuwa likihangaika, ni neno ambalo sote tunapaswa kulisikia.Careful readers have long asked where Paul's speech to Peter ends and his teaching to the Galatians begins — whether verses 15 through 21 are still spoken to Peter at Antioch or are Paul now reasoning directly with his readers. Sincere students differ, and the passage does not settle the matter for us. Happily, the truth is the same either way: a sinner is justified before God by faith in Christ, not by the works of the law. Whether first spoken to an apostle or written to a struggling church, it is the word we all must hear.

Kiini cha JamboThe Heart of the Matter

Mgongano wa Antiokia kwa kweli haukuhusu chakula wala meza; ulihusu kama injili inatosha. Petro, kwa kurudi nyuma kwa hofu, aliuacha mwenendo wake ukane kile ambacho midomo yake ilikiri — kwamba tunaokolewa kwa neema kwa njia ya imani katika Kristo peke yake. Paulo aliona kwamba kuiongezea injili sheria, hata kwa kujitenga kimya kimya, ni kuipoteza injili kabisa. Kwa hiyo anatufundisha kwamba kuhesabiwa haki ni kwa imani, kwamba muumini amekufa pamoja na Kristo na sasa anaishi kwa Kristo, na kwamba kutafuta haki kwa sheria ni kuufanya msalaba usiwe na maana. Jambo hili linatubana si tu katika kile tunachokiamini bali pia katika jinsi tunavyoishi na jinsi tunavyotendeana kanisani. Watu waliohesabiwa haki kwa neema lazima waenende kwa neema, na kamwe wasiibatili neema ya Mungu.The clash at Antioch was not really about food or tables; it was about whether the gospel is enough. Peter, by drawing back in fear, had let his conduct deny what his lips confessed — that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Paul saw that to add the law to the gospel, even by a quiet withdrawal, is to lose the gospel altogether. So he teaches us that justification is by faith, that the believer has died with Christ and now lives by Christ, and that to seek righteousness by the law is to make the cross meaningless. This presses upon us not only what we believe but how we live and how we treat one another in the church. A people justified by grace must walk by grace, and must never set aside the grace of God.

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