Vive La Difference - April 12 Readings: Galatians 2

Today’s Readings

Context

Galatians 2 recounts a visit Paul made to Jerusalem. Must ink has been spilled trying to figure out whether this is the same as the Jerusalem council or not. I believe it is not. The details vary too much. I think this is a different visit that took place, perhaps not mentioned in Acts, before Paul left on his missionary journey. 

 It is an uncomfortable visit, because afterward, Peter, on a visit to Antioch, cowers before the party of the Jews and even leads Barnabas astray. Paul confronts them forcefully. He is unyielding in his passion for and commitment to the gospel of grace. 

He concludes the discussion in verse 21 with the flat statement that if the gospel of grace is combined with the works of the law, it is nullified, and "Christ died for no purpose." 

Devotional - Vive La Difference

No, this time, the difference isn't between men and women, although that difference is an exquisite highlight of God's creation. This time, we are talking about the beauty of God's diversity built into the church of Jesus Christ. This was the key thrust of Paul's ministry. He proclaimed salvation by God's grace apart from the works of the law. From the day he met Jesus on the road to Damascus he knew that he had been called to a ministry that was different from that of the other Apostles. He was the light to the Gentiles, called to spearhead the spread of the gospel outside of its original Jewish environment.

And that really annoyed a lot of the Jews. They wanted everything to stay the same. The church should stay the same - same preaching to the same people with the same culture and the same rules - they wanted everything in the church to stay Jewish. But Paul was called by God to make things different. And that's okay.

In verse 7, Paul says,

On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised...

That's what God intended, from the very beginning. To the ends of the earth. God doesn't want the church to be young or old, he wants it to be young and old. He doesn't want the church to be white or black, but white and black. The church is supposed to be a smorgasbord, a rainbow, a variety of colors and styles and nationalities and languages and...well, and lots of stuff. We are united by one thing only - we have been brought to God by the blood of Christ. We are recipients of grace and have received a salvation we couldn't earn.

The sad fact is that the church has always tried to unite around things other than the gospel, other than Jesus, other than grace. We've united around skin color and culture. We've united around nationality and even where we come from in the United States. We've united around age and socio-economic status, and whether we are cowboys or bikers or hipsters or whatever other human division we could come up with.

Jesus died for a church with a difference - many differences. White, black and every shade in between. Young and old. Rich and poor. From every race, tribe, and tongue on earth. And we need to join with our Savior in saying, "Vive la difference." 

Father, may I be a man who so loves Jesus that he is the only characteristic I care about in others. Their color or wealth or anything else must pale before their standing in him - it must be Christ, and Christ alone!

Think and Pray

How much do the things that divide the world matter to you?
Are you motivated by culture and race, age and social standing?
Or are you a man or woman of Christ, and Christ alone?
Prayerfully consider this!