Well, this morning I learned something new that really spoke to me. I have always loved Galatians 2:20, that goes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." I think most Christians know the verse. Well, this morning for the first time ever, I learned that this was spoken by Paul as a public rebuke to Peter for ceasing meals with Gentiles when certain Jews came to him from James in Jerusalem to Antioch. Peter was falling back on the law he grew up with just to look good in front of other Jews, albeit that they too were Christians.
I have always memorized this verse as a bite-sized theology morsel that stands alone, but in the context that I now understand it was spoken in, it probably came with much pain and a small bit of righteous anger as Paul confronted Peter from his heart. In context, it has more depth.
It is so important to find context with scripture. I have read in many books and heard many more pastors grab a verse and then try to make the verse say what they needed it to say to fit inside a 3-point sermon. But the Word of God speaks for itself, and we should try to understand the who's, what's, when's, and where's of what we are reading in the Bible in order to more applicably understand what happened and how it applies to us. We need context.
To put it another way, a person could grab a ton of verses out of the book of Job and use them for a lesson or sermon and many of them sound pretty good. But they might have been Job's friends speaking, for which the Lord severely judged them for their inaccuracies of who God is and how He works. It would be irresponsible to use verses from the Bible if those verses were quoting someone who was later discredited in the Bible. The Bible tells how it was, not embellishing the truth to promote a certain cause or belief, as many critics claim. The dirty facts of history conveyed in the Holy Scriptures, teach us through the broken and sinful lives of others. The Bible shows us how God deals with sinful man, and how He still desires relationship with us.
As for Peter, God was still working on him, making him ever-so more like Christ. Yes, Paul rebuked him, but he didn't abandon him. The rebuke was apparently taken to heart by Peter. He didn't fall away or run away. The next time you read Galatians 2, just imagine Paul saying his discourse to you. What would it be about? Is there any area in your life where you are using the law like a crutch? Are your ideas about God at all performance based? Are you trying to earn God's favor? Before you say "no", ask yourself how real you are at church, and how real you are as a Christian in the world. Sometimes we dress up for church or we ask our church leaders to wear a suit and tie. Does the outer appearance make one holier? We know the answer, and it should be convicting, in a good way. Maybe in our soul searching, we can start to understand what it means to be crucified with Christ.
--Johnie
I have always memorized this verse as a bite-sized theology morsel that stands alone, but in the context that I now understand it was spoken in, it probably came with much pain and a small bit of righteous anger as Paul confronted Peter from his heart. In context, it has more depth.
It is so important to find context with scripture. I have read in many books and heard many more pastors grab a verse and then try to make the verse say what they needed it to say to fit inside a 3-point sermon. But the Word of God speaks for itself, and we should try to understand the who's, what's, when's, and where's of what we are reading in the Bible in order to more applicably understand what happened and how it applies to us. We need context.
To put it another way, a person could grab a ton of verses out of the book of Job and use them for a lesson or sermon and many of them sound pretty good. But they might have been Job's friends speaking, for which the Lord severely judged them for their inaccuracies of who God is and how He works. It would be irresponsible to use verses from the Bible if those verses were quoting someone who was later discredited in the Bible. The Bible tells how it was, not embellishing the truth to promote a certain cause or belief, as many critics claim. The dirty facts of history conveyed in the Holy Scriptures, teach us through the broken and sinful lives of others. The Bible shows us how God deals with sinful man, and how He still desires relationship with us.
As for Peter, God was still working on him, making him ever-so more like Christ. Yes, Paul rebuked him, but he didn't abandon him. The rebuke was apparently taken to heart by Peter. He didn't fall away or run away. The next time you read Galatians 2, just imagine Paul saying his discourse to you. What would it be about? Is there any area in your life where you are using the law like a crutch? Are your ideas about God at all performance based? Are you trying to earn God's favor? Before you say "no", ask yourself how real you are at church, and how real you are as a Christian in the world. Sometimes we dress up for church or we ask our church leaders to wear a suit and tie. Does the outer appearance make one holier? We know the answer, and it should be convicting, in a good way. Maybe in our soul searching, we can start to understand what it means to be crucified with Christ.
--Johnie
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