That is why I love the Word of God. That is why I love this passage.
[Gal 2:11-14, 19-21 ESV]
[11] But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. [12] For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. [13] And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. [14] But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?" ... [19] For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. [20] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [21] I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
(read the whole passage here)
Paul talks about his encounter with Peter (Cephas) in Antioch. Peter, a Jew, was living hypocritically. When other Jews weren’t around, he would live as a Gentile, but when Jews were present, he would live as Jew (and separated himself from the Gentiles that he had previously been hanging out with). Paul calls him out and asks him how he can mandate Gentiles to follow Jewish law when he, as a Jew, doesn’t even follow it.
How often do we hold others to a higher standard than we have for ourselves? How often are we so quick to ostracize someone because of their visible flaw when we ourselves are a jumble of invisible flaws?
NO ONE is justified by the works of the law—and yet we so easily find ourselves recounting the good things we have done and the righteous ways we have lived as if they make us more holy than simple justification by faith in Jesus Christ. It is here where we have some of our biggest hang-ups with the Gospel. We must acknowledge that we are only justified through faith in Jesus Christ, but yet we cannot loosen our grip on the importance we have placed on our works of the law.
Paul does a pretty good job of explaining this. When we are justified by Jesus Christ, we no longer rule our bodies, but it is Christ who lives within us. And we no longer live for the flesh, but we live our lives as unto God. It is because of Christ (and his love) dwelling inside of us and it is because we are living to God that we do good things.
We live uprightly because of Christ living inside of us, NOT Christ lives in us because we live uprightly.
That is the HUGE misunderstanding of justification by faith in Jesus Christ. I know a lot of people who are scared to death to think that we are saved by “faith”—and sometimes I think it’s a bit of a shakey ground to walk on. But when we truly have the faith in God—it will drive us to live as He desires us to live.
And when we sin, does that make Christ a sinner? NO! It merely reaffirms that we are human. I think God was pretty smart when he made the desires of the flesh. It is so easy to give into our flesh, to make a mistake, to sin. But that’s what reminds us of the beauty of Christ, the purity of Christ and the grace of Christ.
How much more wonderful is it to be justified by faith in Jesus Christ, than to try to be justified by following a code of conduct? When we misplace our emphasis from the grace of God to the works of the law we are robbing Christ of his Redemptive Act.
Why would Jesus come to earth, knowing that he would be beaten and stripped and hung on a cross, when we could just follow the law and be fine? Why would Jesus offer himself up as a sacrifice, if he was sacrificing for nothing?
Are we so bold as to allow for the culmination of Christ’s work to be degraded to an unnecessary suicide because of our pride for what we have accomplished?
Humbling.
Oh God, let me live in your grace and your justification. As you live through me, and as I live to You, let my actions be done out of love and out of proclamation of your sacrifice. Let me never become so full of myself that I would think that what I do can earn me a place in your Kingdom. But let me remember that what I do is a direct result of the redemptive work that you have done in me. That your death would constantly be heavy in my heart and at the forefront of my mind. That the new life you have given me be lived in the fullness of your grace and in the wonder of your love. You are my Savior, my only Savior.
So what about you? Have you struggled between the balance of faith and works? Have you struggled with accepting/rejecting someone because of who you perceive them to be?
Just trying to get it right,
Hermeneutical Dan
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