Session 7: A Clash of Loyalty
Preparation Resources
1) Primary text: Galatians 2:11-21
2) Paul, A Biography reading (optional): Chapter 6: "Antioch and Jerusalem"
3) Tim Keller sermons (preached on three consecutive Sundays in November, 1997):
Discussion Topics
1) How does Prof. Wright describe the words “faith” or “faithfulness” as they figure in the teaching of Paul? How do they relate to “loyalty”?
2) What is the importance of circumcision for understanding the “clash of loyalty” at work in Paul’s day?
3) What was Peter doing (and then not doing) that put the theological issue of the relationship between Jews and Gentiles front and center?
4) How did the intersection of civic and Jewish religious authority collaborate to pressurize an already pressure-filled situation within the early church?
5) What is Paul’s theological and pastoral response to the situation?
Session 7 notes
1) Primary text: Galatians 2:11-21
2) Paul, A Biography reading (optional): Chapter 6: "Antioch and Jerusalem"
3) Tim Keller sermons (preached on three consecutive Sundays in November, 1997):
- The Heart of the Gospel (Galatians 2:11-16)
- I No Longer Live the Life I Live (Galatians 2:14-21)
- Justified Sinners (Galatians 2:17-21)
Discussion Topics
1) How does Prof. Wright describe the words “faith” or “faithfulness” as they figure in the teaching of Paul? How do they relate to “loyalty”?
2) What is the importance of circumcision for understanding the “clash of loyalty” at work in Paul’s day?
3) What was Peter doing (and then not doing) that put the theological issue of the relationship between Jews and Gentiles front and center?
4) How did the intersection of civic and Jewish religious authority collaborate to pressurize an already pressure-filled situation within the early church?
5) What is Paul’s theological and pastoral response to the situation?
Session 7 notes