When I was in college I was an RA (resident assistant) and had to enforce the rules of the college on my peers. Why would I want this job? Because it helped pay for my room and board, and couldn’t hurt my resume in the future.
Does anyone else have a problem with will power or am I the only one? Have you ever tried to not eat an oreo that was staring you down? Have you ever said, “I’m not going to do it this time. I’m not going to do it this time. I’m not going to do it this time” and then walk into the situation and do the thing that you said you wouldn’t. We all have this problem!
The judaizers who had lead the Galatians astray were telling them that Jesus plus the good work of keeping the law is the way that they could be right with God. If that is true then we are in serious trouble, because we have to do that on our own. We have to use our will power. Thankfully, Paul obliterates this arguement in todays text.
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
This is the best news we can receive. If it were up to us to fully keep the rules to be right with God then none of us have a shot. But everyone exhibits faith in something. The person that fully leans into Christ’s death and ressurection to be right with God will be justified.
17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
This is an understandable question. Since we’re justified by faith, does that mean we stop sinning? No. Then does this justification make the one who justifies us an enabler of our sin? Paul says, “May it never be!”
Why not Paul?
18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
When we sin after we get saved it is us doing that and not God, so God is not the author of sin. In fact, God does something totally opposite after we have been justified. Look at verse 19…
19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:16–21)
When we are justified by Faith in Christ that is when Christ enables us to live in a way that glorifies Him. I’m crucified with Christ and I’m still alive. It’s not me that is alive by myself- Christ now lives in me and helps me to make right choices by changing my character from the inside.
If I could be saved, and if I could live rightly outside of Christ’s death and indwelling power then Christ’s death was for nothing.
Thankfully those who are in Christ have Christ helping us not only to be saved, but to also live to glorify God! Ask Him to help you live for Him today!
Have you ever known (or been) someone who was one way with one crowd and then another way in another crowd? None of us like to see that in other people, and we all tend to have a difficult time seeing that in ourselves.
For those of us who know Christ as Savior this hypocrisy can be more than just a social problem. This can be a spiritual problem as well. How do we deal with it in ourselves and in others when we see it?
11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.12 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.
Paul was willing to confront the leader of the church in Jerusalem because of what he was doing. Paul was confronting Peter because of Peter’s fear of man. Peter was acting in a way that was consistent with his theology when no jews were around. He would “eat with the gentiles”, which meant he wouldn’t be worried about the Old Testament dietary laws when no jews were around. But when people who believed that you had to believe in Jesus and keep the law to be saved, the judaizers, came around, Peter feared what they would say and think and withdrew himself from the gentiles with whom he had spent time. Instead of confronting the bad theology of the judaizers he feared them and avoided the gentiles.
13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
The problem is that Peter, as a leader, was setting an example. I see two big problems that came from Peter’s behavior.
1. The church’s relationship with the gentiles. Can you imagine how the gentiles felt when they began to be avoided by the church leaders? Do you think that it could have created racial, social, and theological tension in their church? We don’t know how far it had gotten before this time, but if left unchecked it could have made a negative impact on the church.
2. The toleration of harmful theology. The behavior of the leaders of the church meant that they were tolerating a theology that said that Jesus’ death and ressurection is not enough for salvation.
So Paul had to say something…
14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
The only answer that Peter could give is, “Because I am more concerned about what these judaizer’s think.” Notice that it took a lack of fear of Peter on Paul’s part to confront Peter’s fear of the judaizers that was affecting the church and the gospel.
Now before we get to hard on Peter and the rest of the leaders there, have you and I ever behaved in a way that hindered the gospel?
Think about this- Every person that comes into our life has steps that they need to take toward Jesus. When God puts them in our path it means that we have a stewardship of that opportunity. Often our response is like Peter’s response- fear. Fear will cause us to deny what we know to be true. When we give into the fear and fail to act we say something about the gospel that is not true. This affects both the saved and the unsaved around us.
Don’t give in to fear today in you or in others!