Truth Worth Fighting For

If you haven't got a Bible in front of you, I'd encourage you to do that right now.

Stick your hand up. Our hosts will come around and give you one to you.

You need it in front of you. Galatians chapter 2 is where we're up to.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

Last week we were in Galatians chapter 2. We're moving on a bit further.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

We saw in chapter 2 verses 4 and 5 last week that there were certain

professing Jewish Christians from Jerusalem who tried to compel Titus,

a Greek Christian, to be circumcised.

And the Apostle Paul refused to submit to this pressure.

And the reason he gives in verse 5 is that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

That is, if Paul had given in for the demand for Titus to be circumcised under those circumstances,

he would have torpedoed the truth of the gospel.

And if he torpedoed the truth of the gospel, the Gentile mission was over.

Christ would have died in vain.

And you and I, I'm assuming the majority of us here are Gentiles,

would be still under the wrath of God for our sin.

That's how crucial this little interaction was for Paul.

Two centuries later, for us, and the impact for us two centuries later.

What's this gospel that Paul saw was so necessary to fight for?

The gospel is the good news that the privilege of getting right with God

was purchased fully when Jesus Christ died on a cross for our sins and rose again.

The gospel is the good news that the privilege of getting right with God,

being justified before God,

was purchased fully for us when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin and rose again.

And there is no other gospel.

There's no other gospel.

And the only way to enjoy this privilege is to put our trust in Jesus,

the Son of God who loves us and gave himself for us.

Justification by faith in Christ and what he has done.

And if you add any other requirements

which encourage people to rely upon their own working or their own willing,

you torpedo the gospel.

It becomes nothing.

If justification being right with God is not by faith,

it's not by anything.

And Paul took his stand on that point.

Titus will not be compelled to be circumcised.

The truth of the gospel will be preserved.

Now we launch into verses 11 to 14.

And the truth of the gospel is again at stake.

And the venue shifted now from Jerusalem to Antioch,

the place where the Gentile mission began.

And again, Gentiles are here being compelled to live like Jews.

In Jerusalem, the issue was circumcision.

In Antioch, the issue is Jewish dietary laws.

And in both cases, the gospel is at stake and Paul takes his stand.

In Jerusalem, the truth of the gospel was at stake through the possibility of false teaching.

In Antioch, the truth of the gospel is at stake because of false behavior, false living.

It's Peter's behavior here that denies the truth of the gospel.

And so today, I don't want to focus so much on what the gospel is

as much on how the gospel functions in our lives.

So there's three things I want us to see.

Those of you taking notes, three things, put it down in your piece of paper.

The heart of the gospel, the centrality of the gospel, and the power of the gospel.

I see people running, grabbing for notes.

There's no photo you can take.

Get a pen in front.

The heart of the gospel, the centrality of the gospel, the power of the gospel.

And the heart of the gospel we see in verses 15 and 16.

We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,

but by faith in Jesus Christ.

So we too have put our faith in Jesus Christ that we may be justified by faith in Christ,

not by the works of the law, because the works of the law, no one will be justified.

That, those couple of verses there, is the reversal of the order you find in every other religion apart from Christianity.

To be justified there means to be right with God.

And every other religion is it is through some effort on our behalf.

There's always something that we must, some kind of divine law that must be obeyed,

some sort of ceremonial observance in order for us to become pleasing in the eyes of some deity.

And Paul comes along and says,

we're not put right with God through our effort.

We're not put right with God through any form of obedience.

We are justified by faith in Lord Jesus and only by faith in the Lord Jesus.

Now, this doesn't mean that Christians can live however they want.

I mean, because Paul says in verse 17 that Christianity is not about promoting a life of sin.

The issue here is getting the order right.

Last couple of weeks, we've been reading and hearing about this circumcision group that came down from Jerusalem.

They are Jews who believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

They had become Christians,

but they still wanted to keep circumcision and Jewish dietary laws as a way to ensure that you were truly saved.

Completely saved.

That was the problem.

And here we have,

in Galatians, and we see it clearly in these verses,

a battle between two orders.

And the central issue is three steps in these two orders.

The false teachers were saying,

step one, believe in Jesus Christ.

Step two, keep the law of God.

And step three,

then you can be sure you're fully saved.

Paul's gospel vindicated in Jerusalem,

as we saw last week.

Step one, believe in the Lord Jesus.

Step two, you are saved in that moment.

And step three, you are now set free in order to obey God.

You do,

so it's a question I would pose to you now.

Do you say,

I will obey in order to be loved by God?

Or do you say,

I'm already loved by God in Jesus Christ,

and therefore I'm set free to a life of obedience?

One is a religious order.

The other is a gospel order.

These are not two different arms of the same faith.

This is not two different denominations

with slightly different emphasis.

These are two orders.

This is two different worlds.

This is two different religions

that result into very different kinds of obediences.

One is an anxious obedience

because you never know whether you've actually done enough.

It's also selfish.

It's a selfish obedience

because the motive for doing every good thing

is to get something from God.

It's an obedience which is anxious,

it's selfish,

it's joyless,

it's a burden.

But what if you obey

because you've already got everything as a gift?

What if you've already gotten love

and intimacy

and a secure future

and you've got acceptance?

What if you've already got that?

And that's what the,

that's a fundamental issue,

the core issue of Christianity.

It's in Jesus,

the God of this universe

who we get to call Father.

We're encouraged to call our Father.

Father affirms us

in a way that no earthly father

can possibly affirm their children.

Always.

In Jesus,

we receive the praise of the praiseworthy.

You are my much loved child.

Always.

Always.

And this is the God who says that,

the God to whom all hearts are open,

all desires known,

and from whom no secrets are hidden.

This is the God who says,

you are my much loved child

in Jesus Christ.

Obedience that flows from that

is totally different.

The motivation would be joy,

not anxiety.

The motivation wouldn't come

from an empty heart.

It comes from a full heart,

an affirmed heart,

a loved heart.

Obedience is not selfish

because I can love and give

and serve for God's sake

and my neighbour's sake

and not for my sake.

It's radically different.

See the difference in these two orders?

Two different ways of living.

And notice verse 20 where it says,

I have been crucified with Christ.

I no longer live,

but Christ lives in me.

The life I now live in the body,

I live by faith in the Son of God

who loved me and gave himself for me.

See when you become a Christian,

you put your faith in Jesus Christ

and it says in verse 20

that you are crucified with Christ.

The Bible also says

that we are raised with Christ.

What does that mean?

It means that when you put your faith

in Jesus Christ,

you are united with Christ.

You have a new life with Christ.

You see,

God sees you free

from all condemnation

condemnation

as if

you were the one

who died on the cross

for your sins.

Your sins are paid for.

But not only does Jesus take my sin,

he also

gives me his righteousness.

On the cross,

God treated Jesus

as if

he had done

everything that I've done

and you've done.

And when you put

your faith in Jesus,

God treats me

as if I've done

everything that Jesus

has done.

And now,

the Christian lives

knowing that God

honors them like that.

two very different

orders

that create

two very

different lives.

That's the heart

of the gospel.

That's how it impacts

our life.

Now let's see

how it functions

in our lives.

Verses 11 to 13,

let's go back to there.

This is the centrality

of the gospel.

When Cephas

came to Antioch,

I opposed him

to his face

because he stood

condemned.

For before certain

men came from James,

he used to eat

with the Gentiles,

but when they arrived,

he began to draw back

and separate himself

from the Gentiles

because he was afraid

of those who belonged

to the circumcision group.

The other Jews

joined him

in his hypocrisy

so that by their hypocrisy,

even Barnabas

was led astray.

This would have to be

one of the most

tense moments

in the New Testament.

Here are two

leading apostles,

one head

of reaching the Jews,

one head

of reaching the Gentiles,

and face-to-face

open conflict

with each other.

So let me remind you

of some of the back story

that's going on here.

Cephas,

who we know

as the Apostle Peter,

was Jewish

and the Jews

had practiced

for centuries

a ceremonial law.

You see it everywhere

in the Old Testament.

There were two aspects

of Old Testament worship

of God.

One was the ceremonial laws

about things

that they could not eat,

things that they couldn't wear,

clothing that they weren't

allowed to wear,

things that they couldn't touch.

They had to stay

ceremonially clean

or they couldn't go

and worship God

on the Sabbath.

And the Gentiles

living around them

didn't have those laws

and didn't obey

those laws

and so they were

regarded as unclean.

And it wasn't hard

for Jews

to consider themselves

morally superior

to all those

unclean Gentiles.

And apart from those laws,

there were also

sacrificial laws.

Animals were sacrificed

to atone

for the sin of the Jews.

It was God's way

of saying that

no matter how hard

you try with the ceremonial laws,

no matter how hard

you try to keep yourself clean,

you're going to fail.

you'll never be good enough,

you're never going to be clean enough

and so there's going to need

to be atonement

for your sin.

And Jesus comes along

as Lord and Saviour.

Number one,

no need for sacrifices anymore

because Jesus

fulfilled them all

with the sacrifice

of himself on the cross

at number two ceremonial laws.

They all pointed to Jesus

and his sacrifice

and him

through his sacrifice

wiping away sin

and making all people

clean in him.

So only in Jesus

can we be truly clean

and acceptable

in God's presence.

Now the twelve apostles

were Jews

and so it was pretty hard

for them in this.

Jesus was however

pretty explicit.

Mark chapter 7

Mark 7 · chapter mention

where he told them

that in him

they were clean,

they didn't need

the dietary laws

but it was still hard.

All of their lives

they had regarded

themselves as the clean

ones and the Gentiles

as the unclean ones.

It was hard for them

to eat with Gentiles

and yet Peter himself

had heard this teaching

from Jesus' lips

and also in Acts chapter 10

Acts 10 · chapter mention

and 11

Peter gave this

massively vivid vision

to show him

to show him

that there was no longer

any racial divisions

and all food

was clean

and that he should

eat with Gentiles

in which case

he immediately

does with Cornelius.

He goes into the house

of Cornelius

who's a

filthy Gentile.

And in fact

in verse 12

here we notice

that Peter

did eat

with the Gentiles

and then

something happened.

Peter withdrew

from the Gentile

Christians

not because

of theological

conviction.

He hadn't

changed his views.

the issue here

according to verse 13

is hypocrisy.

He hadn't

changed his mind

hadn't changed

his convictions

he changed

his behaviour.

It didn't align

with his

theological convictions.

See Paul here

is not saying

Peter

that's a little bit

rude.

he's actually

saying

your behaviour

is hypocritical.

What caused it?

He feared

criticism

from a

small

but powerful

pressure group

that had

come from

Jerusalem

to Antioch.

And Paul

sees

something

deeper here

than simple

table manners

or rudeness.

He calls

it

not acting

in line

with the

truth

of the

gospel.

Your behaviour

is undermining

the gospel.

See verse 14

when I

saw

that they

were not

acting

in line

with the

truth

of the

gospel

I said

to

Cephas

in front

of them

all

you

are

a Jew

and yet

you

live

like a

Gentile

and not

like a

Jew

how is

it

then

that

you

force

Gentiles

to

follow

Jewish

customs

we

who

are

Jews

by

birth

and

not

sinful

Gentiles

know

that

a

person

is

not

justified

by

the

works

of

the

law

but

by

faith

in

Jesus

Christ.

You see

Peter and

Barnabas

here

and others

with them

went back

into

attitudes

of racial

superiority

and exclusivity

that the

Jews

historically

held

over

Gentiles

and Paul

says

Peter

you're

not

living

in line

with the

truth

of

the

gospel

and the

word

that

Paul

uses

here

in the

original

language

is

orthopadio

orthopadio

it's where

we get

the English

word

orthopedics

Peter

you are

not

straight

walking

with the

gospel

you're

diverting

in your

life

away

from

the

truth

of

the

gospel

you're

not

straight

walking

the

truth

of

the

gospel

had

not

shaped

this

particular

area

of

Peter's

life

he was

too

concerned

about

the

approval

of a

powerful

minority

group

he had

it in

his

head

it

wasn't

in

his

heart

now

it's

essential

for us

to see

here

the

magnitude

of what

Paul

is

saying

he's

saying

that the

gospel

is

truth

it

is a

message

with

a set

of

claims

it

includes

facts

that need

to be

embraced

and

believed

but

secondly

and just

as

crucial

the

gospel

truth

has a

vast

number

of

implications

for

our

lives

everything

in

life

must

be

brought

in

line

with

the

truth

of

the

gospel

and

Paul

looks

at

Peter

an

apostle

who

frankly

is

more

advanced

in the

Christian

faith

than

anyone

in

this

room

and

tells

him

Peter

you've

forgotten

the

gospel

now

if

Peter

needs

to

hear

it

we

need

to

hear

it

he

was not

walking

in line

with the

truth

of

gospel

it

was

Paul's

way

of

saying

you

are

not

applying

the

implications

of

the

gospel

in

the

way

that

you

are

treating

people

of

other

races

and

also

the

implication

of

the

gospel

in

your

fear

of

this

pressure

group

how

dare

you

fear

them

what

do

you

care

about

their

affirmation

of

you

you've

got

a

greater

affirmation

now

there

are

some

beliefs

that

are

foundational

beliefs

we

might

want

to

call

those

beliefs

world

views

they

are

beliefs

that

profoundly

impact

how

we

view

our

interactions

with

this

world

and

with

other

people

and

the

gospel

is

one

of

those

world

view

defining

beliefs

in

fact

for

the

Christian

it

is

the

world

view

defining

belief

the

gospel

impacts

everything

everything

in

your

life

the

way

we

do

our

work

the

plans

that

we

have

for

our

career

is

shaped

by

the

gospel

including

do I

take

that

promotion

or not

massive

implications

for that

the way

you think

about those

sorts of

issues

in

our

society

of course

we do

it's

more

money

of course

we're

going to

take

it

not for

the gospel

shaped

person

the way

we spend

our money

is shaped

by the

gospel

our

relationships

our

family

shaped

by the

gospel

our

sexuality

is shaped

by the

gospel

our

attitude

to the

poor

the

needy

the

vulnerable

is shaped

by the

gospel

the way

we handle

conflict

is shaped

by the

gospel

the way

we treat

people

who think

differently

even about

same-sex

marriage

is shaped

by the

gospel

the truth

of the

gospel

goes

everywhere

in life

there's not

a corner

it does

not

touch

and it

does not

reform

does not

inform

and does

not

shape

it is

the

framework

by which

the

Christian

sees

and

evaluates

everything

and notice

what

happens

here

Paul

doesn't

say

to

Peter

Peter

you've

broken

the

racism

rule

he could

have

legitimately

said

that

he could

have

jumped

out

a bunch

of

Bible

verses

and

racism

is wrong

stop it

Peter

you've

been

racist

that may

in that

moment

it may

have

restrained

Peter's

will

and his

behaviour

but it

wouldn't

have

transformed

his

heart

he

doesn't

do it

he

certainly

wants

Peter

to stop

it

but

instead

what he

does

is

in order

to get

Peter

to stop

it

he

chases

his

heart

he

chases

Peter's

heart

you

say

you

believe

the

gospel

it's

in your

mind

Peter

but

has

it

changed

your

heart

you

see

the

shared

core

value

of

all

humanity

is

that

we

want

to

be

valued

we

want

to

know

that

our

lives

matter

we

have

a

desperate

hunger

to

feel

a

sense

of

worthiness

and

for

some

of us

on

father's

day

we

might

be

feeling

that

our

fathers

didn't

give

us

that

and

the

main

reason

is

because

we

fear

that

we

don't

matter

that

we

have

a

worthlessness

and

it's

why

we

consistently

turn

to

places

and

things

that

give

us

that

sense

of

value

we

can

do

it

in

a

multitude

of

ways

for

some

of us

it's

education

romance

the

need

to

have

a

romantic

relationship

family

in

every

case

we

are

attempting

to

justify

ourselves

we're

trying

to

show

ourselves

that

I

matter

and

Peter

makes

the

mistake

here

of

doing

that

his

Jewishness

is

biggest

is his

biggest

identity

marker

in this

moment

something

other than

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

is his

new

identity

here

it's

his

biggest

thing

it's

the

thing

that

makes

him

feel

like

he

matters

and

it's

a

daily

temptation

for

us

all

including

us

as

a

church

every

single

Christian

group

and

denomination

or denomination

necessarily

has many

distinctive

beliefs

and practices

that

have

less

to

do

with

core

gospel

beliefs

and

more

to do

with

specific

convictions

about

ethical

behavior

or

church

policy

and

politics

and

we

don't

walk

in line

with the

gospel

when we

stress

our

distinctions

in those

things

in order

to

demonstrate

to

ourselves

or

others

that

our

church

or

our

particular

group

is

superior

or

the

best

one

another

way

we

do

it

is

by

practicing

classist

nationalistic

or racist

attitudes

working

class

Christians

may have

a

distaste

for

Christians

from

wealthier

or

more

socially

refined

backgrounds

and vice

versa

Christians

from

one

political

persuasion

may be

upset

by those

from

another

end

of

the

spectrum

very

talented

Christians

may feel

unhappy

that

people

they

consider

mediocre

are

treated

as

equal

parts

with

them

in

the

church

those

who

have

been

around

the

longest

and

contributed

the

most

feel

superior

to

those

who

have

just

entered

the

door

for

the

first

time

socially

polished

Christians

feel

uncomfortable

around

people

who

are

socially

awkward

or

marginal

and vice

versa

we

may

respond

to

all

this

in

exactly

the

same

way

that

Peter

has

here

in

apparent

well

mannered

and

polite

ways

where

he's

just

gradually

pulled

back

and

it's

not

true

fellowship

and

unity

we

politely

might

even

sit

near

people

in

church

but

we don't

eat

with

them

we

don't

fellowship

with

them

we

don't

really

become

friends

with

them

we

don't

socialize

with

them

we

don't

share

our

lives

with

them

our

homes

with

our

possessions

with

them

we

keep

our

relationships

formal

and

see

people

and see

people

and

none

of it

is in

line

with

the

gospel

none

of it

is

walking

straight

with

the

gospel

without

the

gospel

our

hearts

have

to

manufacture

self

esteem

by

comparing

the

group

I

belong

to

with

all

other

groups

and

naturally

whichever

group

I

belong

to

is

the

most

superior

group

I'm

using

the word

I

there

you know

for all

of us

not

me

personally

but the

gospel

tells us

we are

all

unclean

without

Christ

and in

Christ

all

clean

we not

only

don't have

the right

to feel

superior

to anyone

else

in the

gospel

we don't

have the

need

for it

either

the

gospel

is all

we need

the

gospel

is the

only

form

of

worth

and

value

that's

not

achieved

it is

received

it

doesn't

go

up

and

down

based

on

my

performance

in

the

last

week

or

the

last

month

the

gospel

is

the

end

of

every

struggle

in

this

matter

the

gospel

is

the

center

of

the

Christian

faith

it

is

the

center

of

our

lives

the

gospel

must

not

just

be

something

that

we

wrestle

with

in

our

minds

it's

something

that

must

sit

firmly

in

our

hearts

and

change

our

affections

our

heart

and

my

heart

needs

is

thinking

about

the

gospel

praying

about

the

gospel

rejoicing

in

the

gospel

singing

about

the

gospel

and

doing

that

in

every

area

of

our

lives

and

right

down

to

the

very

depths

of

our

being

the

image

I

have

here

is

a

snack

food

you know

like a

vending

machine

you know

a Coke

drink

machine

thing

and

you put

a coin

I've

had this

happen

it's

very

annoying

put a

coin

in

and

it

disappears

but

you

don't

hear

the

clunk

where

it's

actually

useful

for

you

and

I

don't

know

you

kick

the

thing

and

whack

it

you

try

to

get

the

coin

so

you

can

get

the

drink

you

just

paid

for

or

a

chocolate

bar

and

you

desperately

wanting

this

thing

that's

the

image

I

have

here

the

coin

needs

to

go

in

not

just

here

it

needs

to

go

clunk

the

gospel

needs

to

not

just

come

in

here

the

gospel

needs

to

go

clunk

that's

when

you

get

the

goods

has

my

this

is

unfortunate

I

think

but I

think

the

coin

hasn't

dropped

for so

many

people

sitting

in

so

many

churches

the

gospel

sits

in

our

heads

as

a

set

of

propositions

that

must

be

defended

but

it

needs

to

drop

into

our

hearts

and

transform

our

lives

if

the

gospel

is at

the

center

of

your

life

that's

my

question

is

the

gospel

at

the

center

of

your

life

in

such

a

way

that

you

are

orthopedio

walking

straight

with

the

gospel

well

that's

the

heart

of the

gospel

center

of the

gospel

now

the

power

of the

gospel

verse

20

I

have

been

crucified

with

Christ

and I

no

longer

live

but

Christ

lives

in

me

the

life

I

now

live

in

the

body

I

live

by

faith

in