In Galatians Chapter 2 we find the story as told by Paul about how he opposed Peter to his face … and in front of other people of whom he considered to be hypocrites. You see, Peter would live like the Gentiles (apart from the law) and he would hang-out with them, which God had revealed was perfectly fine. But when certain men from James showed up, Peter would separate himself from the Gentiles for fear of these people and their lawful doctrine which opposed the truth of the gospel. It’s as if Paul was telling Peter he should know better than to try to blend in with the Jewish hypocrites, including false brethren who were deceiving Gentiles into believing they needed portions of the law to be mixed with faith in Jesus.
We can begin to clearly see Paul’s writings reflect an opposition to the teachings brought forth from some of those that were associated with the church in Jerusalem, where James was considered a leader. The letter written to the Galatians is centered around the freedom both Jew and Gentile have in the New Covenant, and it was a different gospel than what was coming from the Jerusalem church.
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