The Relationship of Jewish and Gentile Believers to the Law Between A.D. 30 and 70 in the Scripture

180 and "believer" but rather between "Jew" and "Gentile." Likewise the text reads much more naturally if the concern for Titus was not that as a believer he would have to become a "legalist" who trusted in his deeds for salvation but that as a Gentile he would have to become Jewish. The incident in Antioch is even clearer. Peter's withdrawal from table relation- ships with Gentiles "compelled Gentiles to live like Jews" (2: 14). It is unlikely that in his withdrawal to the company of Jews alone (2: 12) Peter changed his theology from grace to "being saved by perfect obedience to the law" and that by implication he was forcing Gentiles to obey the law perfectly for their salvation as well. Peter's actions could hardly have been interpreted as a test case for the distinction between faith and merit but they certainly did draw the line between Jew (those who found their identity in Moses) and Gentile. 104 Thus , Peter did not force Gentiles to be legalists but he did "compel" them to " live like Jews " ' ,., (2: 14) in obedience to Moses. This is why Paul's reference to "works of law" in 2: 16 fits so naturally with the context and the historical situation. The question raised by Peter 's actions (2: 11-14) was whether one had to be Jewish to be saved and the designation of those who are "of the works of the law" (3: 10, 13) is that of a Jew. Paul does not argue against Peter's Jewishness per se, but simply that being Jewish is not enough. He claims that even Jew (by definition, those who keep the law, 2:15) recognize that being Jewi h will not ave one ("a man is not justified by the works of the Law," 2: 16) which i preci ely why ever Je mu t put his faith in Me iah ("even we have believed in Chri t Je u , " 2:16) . In ummary, then, although our definition of 'work of the la " mu t b preliminary at thi point until the full antithe i between "work " and faith " h b n 104 rd n, "Th Probl m t 1 ti , " . "H thi thr at n th truth f th go he Paul ' p I i ju ti i ation b faith It d thr t n ' g p l t l th un ir um i d ' ( : , 7) . "