Gospel Fellowship

There are some people who are just intimidatingly great at whatever, and there's some people who are embarrassingly hopeless and just make you feel good about yourself.

And more often than not, we stick ourselves somewhere in the middle.

And maybe you even do it in a group like this.

You walk into church on a Sunday, and there are some people that you are just like so overwhelmed by how holy they seem, how godly they are, how impressive their Bible looks.

And you're just intimidated to even be around them, and you sit there and think, I'm in a different category.

Or maybe it's the other extreme, and you walk into church, and you see someone else walking near you, and you think, how can they call themselves a Christian and do that?

Peter is doing his version of holiness appraisals in the passage that Jimmy just read out for us.

And he's not actually doing it intentionally.

He's not maliciously trying to rank people so that he can judge them, but he's going through the process of putting some people in the category of good and some people in the category of bad.

What he's doing is he's cutting himself off from Gentile converts who haven't adhered to Jewish laws that he just agreed aren't important.

So what's happened is just before this passage that was read out, you've got Paul the Apostle goes and meets with Peter and James and the other apostles in Jerusalem,

and they have a conversation to the effect of, for somebody who's not a Jew, that's not one of God's chosen people, to be a legitimate Christian, what's required of them?

And they all agree that the only thing that matters is that they trust Jesus.

And then here, just a couple of verses later, Peter is sitting in a room having food with Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, both of which have put their faith in Jesus.

And what he's doing is not completely ignoring the Gentile converts, but just kind of separating himself out enough so that he's not getting tainted by their badness.

So it's like after church, going out to supper and just making sure you're only with the good people, only with the people who are kind of like you.

And Paul is furious about this.

He's absolutely fuming to the point where he doesn't kind of pull Peter aside and have a quiet conversation.

He goes for the public, you know, you've got to fix this, the loud and obvious rebuke.

And the reason he's so angry is because just a few moments ago, they agreed on what the gospel was.

They agreed on what the good news of Jesus was.

And that good news comes from the beginning of Galatians chapter 1.

Galatians 1 · chapter mention

I'll read to you just five verses.

This is Paul's opening summary of the gospel.

He says, Galatians 1 verse 1.

Galatians 1:1

So the gospel is Jesus died for sin.

God raised him from the dead and grace and peace is on offer to those who trust him and follow him.

That gospel, which Paul makes really clear is the only gospel.

There's no other version.

There's no substitute.

That gospel doesn't leave room for the rankings.

It doesn't leave room for someone like Peter to kind of show up and start pretending that one group is holier than another group.

One group is more valid than another group because the gospel crushes pride in us.

When we understand what the gospel means, it actually takes away the possibility of being proud of who we are as a Christian.

See, the danger for us when we do these rankings is that we always see the sin of others as worse than our own.

Whenever you hear about other people's sin, the response is shock and maybe a bit of gossip.

It's sensational.

But you don't notice it in yourself.

Even Paul here, when he's challenging Peter, there in verse 15, he says,

We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.

See, he's showing Peter that even by calling them Gentile sinners, it's like he's taking himself out of that category.

It's like Peter's treating himself like he's not a sinner, like he doesn't need Jesus.

And Paul is saying that's ridiculous.

He's saying because Peter's busy looking at the inadequacy of the Gentiles.

And let's be clear.

The Gentiles are inadequate.

They are not good enough.

But the issue for Peter is because he's busy looking at them, he doesn't recognize that he's inadequate as well.

That being a Jew actually makes no difference.

It's not exciting for God.

It's not exciting for God.

And so we need to be careful that when we go into that automatic mode of ranking the good and bad people around us,

whatever our motivation is, we need to be careful because as soon as we start looking down on the mistakes of other people,

we lose the ability to see our own.

We lose the ability to see our own issues.

One of the things that frustrates me quite intensely in community life,

and there's lots of things because I'm an introvert and community life is just challenging,

but one of the things that I find particularly difficult about community life is selfish people.

Like I hate seeing people who will just tread on everyone else to make sure they get what they want.

It makes me just anger.

But I don't even notice that in that moment I'm really annoyed because they're not doing what I think they should do.

It doesn't for a second occur to me that my frustration is really about my own selfish desires

and has nothing to do with the injustice being done to other people.

When we're busy focusing on the sins of other people,

we fail to see that we've got our own issues.

We fail to see that the gospel is something that we desperately need as well.

Now, that doesn't mean there's no place for rebuke or correction

because, you know, selfishness is still an issue for that person that's making me angry,

but the point is it's my issue as well.

And if all I worry about is them, then I'm going to miss my issue.

But it doesn't mean there can't be rebuke.

That's what Paul is doing here.

And he even gives us a good model of what it might look like to correct one another.

So he reminds him in verse 16.

I'll start from verse 15.

Now, Paul's reminding him.

He doesn't just say, Peter, you're being an idiot and you need to do this thing.

He actually takes him back to the gospel.

He reminds him that it was by faith for Peter, by faith for Paul.

It's by faith for the Jews.

It's by faith for the Gentiles.

And so because of that, there's no distinction between them.

There's no room for one to feel more worthy or less worthy

because that kind of pride is just delusional.

That kind of pride is based on a warped perception of what's reality anyway.

Because if you ever find yourself looking at someone else and thinking,

man, I'm doing much better than them,

you've got to understand you're not doing that well anyway.

Even if you are doing better than them,

your reality is you still need Jesus to die for you

if you're going to be acceptable to God.

When I spent time in hospital last year with my broken legs,

I spent the first three or four days just stuck in my room,

needing to ring the buzzer if I wanted to go to the toilet,

ring the buzzer if I had an itch down the bottom of my legs,

ring the buzzer if I wanted a shower.

Basically, absolutely dependent,

absolutely contained, imprisoned in my hospital room.

And it wasn't until about day three or four

that they really generously got me a wheelchair,

let me get into that wheelchair,

and start wheeling down the halls.

I was pretty excited about that freedom.

And so as I'm kind of cruising down the hallways of the hospital,

feeling pretty happy with myself,

I'm just glancing into the doors of each hospital room

and these poor suckers, you know,

covered in plaster and in traction and stuck in positions

and can't get out and roam the halls like I can.

And so I was feeling pretty good about my situation.

And on one level, doing better than everyone else.

But I was still stuck in a wheelchair.

I still couldn't get down a set of stairs.

I still couldn't dance or shower or stand up for that matter.

I still had some serious issues that I had to deal with.

I was still going to spend the next seven weeks being

an absolutely disgraceful excuse for a husband and father,

or at least having a reason why I was going to be a disgraceful

excuse for a husband and father.

I still was in a bad situation.

But because I was so busy looking at everyone else,

it's like I tricked myself into thinking my situation

was better than it actually was.

And see, we do that when all we do is measure ourselves

against other people.

The gospel impacts our relationships.

But first and foremost, the gospel is a transaction

between us and God.

The gospel is the answer to the question,

how can I possibly be loved by a God who is holy

when I'm clearly not?

And if we're giving ourselves a premature tick of approval

because we're not as bad as someone else,

we've missed the point.

The gospel message that Jesus dies for sins

has in brackets the harsh reality that he had to die

because of your sins.

And so we need to be careful

that even when it comes to rebuking someone

who is around us, who is in sin,

that we don't do it from this elevated position

where we just tell them that they're wrong.

But like Paul, gospel rebuke is pointing to the gospel.

Because when you point to the gospel,

it's not possible to be prideful.

Because as you point somebody to the reality

that they need to trust Jesus and they're not good enough,

in the process of doing that,

you're pointing to the fact that you need to trust Jesus

because you're not good enough.

And so it's not possible for you to suddenly feel

like you're better than someone or more deserving.

When you point to the gospel,

you proclaim that you are someone who is sinful,

who is not worthy of God's love,

but who God loves anyway in Jesus.

And it protects us from pride.

There are no perfect Christians,

just forgiven sinners.

You, me and everyone else.

And so there's no possibility of looking down on someone.

When you look to the gospel,

you realize we are all imperfect.

We all need Jesus.

The thing that drove Peter to be prideful

in the way he was treating these people

was actually fear.

Have a look at verse 12.

Before certain men came from James,

and James is kind of representative

of the official church in Jerusalem.

So before people came down from there,

he, Peter, 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.

So he was eating with them.

He was treating them like equal.

But then he shifts his behavior

because he's scared

of what a particular group of people

will think of him.

See, not only is there a group for Peter

that are clearly lower than him,

there's also a group that are higher than him.

There's also the legitimate Christians,

you know, the hardcore ones

who know memory verses

and, you know,

just carry their Bibles all the time

so that you know just how godly they are.

And when they turn up,

he wants to make sure

he's ticking their boxes.

He wants to make sure

they think he's legitimate.

He's become so distracted

by worrying about what they think

that he's stopped remembering

that the only opinion

that's actually important anyway is God.

That the whole point of the gospel

and being a Christian

is not to impress people,

but to get your relationship

with God fixed up.

He's had his perspective skewed.

And I wonder if it's possible

that maybe that's happened

for you as well.

If you're somebody

who walks in here to church each week

and does just kind of gasp

at the halo that's, you know,

above some people's heads,

the ones who are just extra nice

and just always serving

and just always knowing the answers

in the small groups

and you do just feel insecure around them

because they just must be

more impressive to God.

See, the danger is

when you get in that position,

the way we respond to insecurity

is with judgment.

Because we're worried

and we're putting in extra effort

to try and tick the boxes,

we demand that extra effort

from other people as well.

So instead of saying,

all you need to do is trust Jesus,

we say, all you need to do

is trust Jesus

and learn these verses

and be at church every week

and serve in at least three ministries

that require a minimum of six hours

of your personal time each week

and give this amount of your money.

We just project our own insecurity

and demand the equivalent of other people.

And so I want to ask you,

have you added to the gospel's demands

for yourself?

Are you actually holding yourself accountable

to standards that God doesn't?

Are you feeling guilty about things

that God is not forcing you

to feel guilty about?

And I guess the second question is,

are you doing that for other people?

The gospel message

that Jesus died for sins

and rose again

and that grace and peace

is on offer for those

who put their faith in him

is not an abstract truth.

It's something that changes

our lives practically.

It changes the way

that we view ourselves.

It changes the way

that we understand

our relationship with God

and it changes the way

we understand our relationships

with one another.

See, Paul's issue with Peter

in this whole passage

is there in verse 14.

He says,

When I saw that they were not acting

in line with the truth

of the gospel,

I said to Peter in front of them all,

You are a Jew,

yet you live like a Gentile,

not like a Jew.

How is it then

that you force Gentiles

to follow Jewish customs?

He says,

What Peter's doing,

adding standards

that are required,

adding requirements

for these people,

is not in line

with the gospel.

It's not part of the message

that Jesus died for sinners.

The gospel changes

the way we view ourselves

in our relationship with God

and it must change

the way that we view

the people around us as well,

both Christian and unchristian.

The gospel doesn't leave us

any room for rankings.

It doesn't leave room

for better and worse

when it comes to following Jesus.

Here, Paul and Peter's issue

is that the Jew

and the Gentile division

is gone.

The Jews who are God's people

and then the Gentiles

who weren't quite God's people,

that's gone.

In Jesus,

God's people are those

who trust what He has done

to offer forgiveness.

And so for us,

we need to let go

of the things

that maybe we think

are really important.

So if you've been grown up

in a Christian family,

that's fantastic,

but it makes no difference

when it comes to the way

God views you.

If you know stacks

of memory verses,

if you're the smartest Bible person

in this whole room,

that's fantastic,

but it makes no difference

to how much God loves you.

If you are serving

in every ministry

that we do in this church,

that's great,

but it makes no difference

to how much God loves you.

the only thing

that matters,

the clear message

of the gospel,

is that we know

a person is justified

by faith in Christ

and not by observing the law.

We know that we are only forgiven

because of Jesus,

because we've tasted

that grace in our lives.

We've experienced

what it's like

to actually say.

Maybe you only remember

just one time in your life

where you said,

God, I know I'm not good enough,

but I need your forgiveness,

and you felt what it was

to have the weight lifted.

You felt what it was

to be loved unconditionally.

Maybe you've doubted it,

maybe you've been distracted

by other things,

but you have at some point,

if you're a Christian,

experienced grace,

and you know

that you did nothing

to earn it.

We know

that a person

can only be made

acceptable to God

by trusting in Jesus.

And so there's no room

for ranking.

We're all trusting

the same thing.

We're all depending on Jesus

just as much

as the next person.

And so we need

to ask ourselves

the question,

how are we doing

at this?

How are we doing

in our relationships

with one another?

Are we letting

insecurity

and intimidation

by the super holy ones

mean that we're not honest

about how we're going

or who we really are?

Are we letting pride

and this sense

of looking down

on the less godly

affect who it is

we're willing

to spend time with

at church

or during supper?

Because the gospel

doesn't leave room

for that.

Where you struggle

with that pride,

Jesus brings humility

because he says,

no, no, no,

you need me

just as much

as that person

that you're looking at now.

Where you struggle

with insecurity,

Jesus gives you

confidence

and security

because he says,

no, no, no,

that person

that's impressive

over there

needs me

just as much

as you do.

What Jesus does

in his death

and resurrection

is give us

a rich unity

and a fellowship.

He gives us

the opportunity

to have deep

relationships

far richer

than what anyone

else in the world

can enjoy

because we don't

have to have

relationships

that are dictated

by what can I get?

How much

will this person

love me?

What does this person

think of me?

We can have

relationships

that start

at the point

of saying,

regardless of

what this person

thinks of me,

how they treat me,

God loves me

unconditionally.

What the gospel

does is kind of

take away the needs

that normally

drive our relationships

and releases us

to be able

to be generous,

giving,

trustworthy people.

We don't have

to pretend

that we're more

godly than we are

because God says

the only thing

that matters

when it comes

to being loved

by me

is Jesus.

This week

we are launching

into Activate

and we've already

said it's about

the opportunity

to join community

groups,

the opportunity

to serve.

Community groups

are more than

just a box

to tick

when it comes

to being

part of a church.

Imagine what

it would be like

to gather

with a group

of people

each week

who were able

to walk in

and just be

completely honest

about how

they were going.

Were able to

walk in and say,

you know what,

I'm having

the worst week

or month

or term

or year

or decade

of my Christian

life so far.

I just feel dry.

I just feel

unmotivated.

Imagine what

it would be like

when you're feeling

like to be able

to walk in

and just drop it

and know

that no one's

going to go,

ooh.

No one's going

to start texting

it to their

friends to say,

oh, this person's

doing bad.

All they're going

to do is

remind you

that God

still loves you

now as much

as he did

the day that

you decided

to follow him.

Wouldn't it be

amazing to walk

into a room

with a group

of people

and be able

to say,

I did this

thing and it

is shameful

and embarrassing

and wrong

and know

that even

if people

respond badly,

God still

loves you

unconditionally.

So you don't

have to fake it.

You don't have

to water it

down.

You don't

have to make

it sound

better than

it was.

You can

just say,

I stuffed

up and I'm

thankful that

God loves

me anyway.

The gift

of being in

Christian fellowship

is not that

you're surrounded

by people

who are like

you,

but that

even though

you're surrounded

by people

who are

completely

different to

you,

you have

one really

important thing

in common.

You are

loved by God

because of

Jesus and

for no other

reason.

Wouldn't it

be amazing

to be part

of a community

that knew

as its

baseline truth,

as its

foundational

reality,

that all

are justified

by faith in

Christ?

No matter

what anyone's

done,

no matter

what we

might do,

no matter

what mistakes

we've made,

no matter

what we're

doing now,

equally

loved,

equally

dependent

on Jesus.

Wouldn't

it be amazing

to be able

to invite

that person

from school

or work

along to

this community

knowing that

there is

nothing about

them that

could make

us look

down on

them?

Knowing that

when they

walked in

the room

they would

feel completely

at home

because they'd

be surrounded

by a bunch

of people

who were

honest about

the fact that

we're not as

good as we

like to

pretend we

are.

I mean

sometimes as

Christians we're

known as the

moral police

which means not

only do we rank

one another but

we stand in the

world that we're a

part of and rank

ourselves against

them.

But the gospel

doesn't leave

space for that.

The gospel

says God

loves you in

spite of who you

are not because

of who you

are.

God loves

you in spite

of all the

things that

you try and

keep secret.

If we want

the world

around us,

if we want

the people

in our

lives to

know just

how amazing

the love

of God

is,

then we've

got to be

willing to

be honest

about just

how unworthy

of that love

we are.

Imagine what

it would be

like to be

part of a

group like

that.

But don't

just imagine,

let me give

you the

challenge.

Maybe tonight,

maybe next

week,

maybe the

week after,

you're going

to sign up

for a

community

group,

or at

least I

hope you

are.

Why don't

you be the

one who

initiates this

sort of a

community?

Why don't

you be the

one who

grabs hold

of the

absolute

security you

have in

Jesus and

be completely

honest?

Each week

when you

show up,

say how

you feel,

confess the

mistakes you've

made,

be gracious

to those

around you

who've

made

mistakes,

and begin

to get a

glimpse of

just how

good it is

when the

gospel shapes

everything,

shapes the

way we view

ourselves,

shapes the

confidence we

have to stand

before God,

and shapes the

way that we

love and serve

one another.

Let's pray.

Father God,

we want to

come before

you and

admit that

as amazing

as this

sounds,

it's not

easy,

that we're

quick to

doubt,

we're quick

to get

nervous when

other people

judge us,

we quickly

fall into the

trap of

looking down

on other

people because

it seems like

a quick fix

to our own

insecurities,

things.

But God,

we just ask

that you would

bring us back

to the gospel

in those

moments,

bring us back

to our need

for you,

bring us back

to your

abundant

provision,

to the

irreversible

love and

forgiveness

that you

have offered

and purchased

for us in

Jesus.

God,

I pray that

you would

mark us

as a church

family by

that absolute

humility that

comes from

grace.

May we show

grace to one

another,

may we show

grace to

people who

enter this

building,

who don't

understand how

we work,

who don't

understand how

we behave,

may we just

love them as

they are because

that's what the

gospel does.

Father God,

I pray that

you would

bless every

one of our

community groups

over this

coming semester,

that they may

be places of

rich, deep

relationships,

where we do

walk and share

one another's

burdens,

where we do

rejoice together,

where we do

confess,

where we

just encourage

and feed the

gospel security

that is available

for us.

God, thank you

for Jesus.

Thank you that

we don't have

to pretend.

Thank you that

you love to

bring people

like us,

unworthy

sinners,

people who

it doesn't

make sense

to have that

sort of

relationship.

You love to

bring us

together so

that the

world around

us might

see that

what you

offer is

better than

everything else.

God, please

do your work

in us so

that others

might come to

know what we

know.

Amen.