Realignment: When Living Out the Gospel Is Simple Not Easy
But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 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. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 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?”… 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. (Galatians 2:11-14, 20)
Simple is not always easy. The action of singing is a simple concept: open your mouth and let sound come out. Singing beautifully in a way that benefits those who hear, is not quite that easy. There are behind-the-scenes, complicated mechanics that demand thought and effort to sing with excellence. The same is true for the gospel.
The gospel is very simple to understand, but difficult to live out. We will spend the rest of our lives learning and re-learning gospel truth, sometimes getting it right in practice and sometimes getting it wrong. Painfully wrong.
In Galatians 2, we read about a prominent character in the history of the Christian faith getting it wrong. This account is both comforting and challenging for us because even among those who lived life with Jesus in the flesh, living out the gospel was not without thought, effort, and yes, even failure.
Paul tells the Galatians about a confrontation he had with Peter, who had been a disciple of Jesus. Paul observed Peter sharing a meal with non-Jews, a.k.a Gentiles; however, when a group of Jews walked in the room, Peter got up from the table, disassociating himself with the Gentiles. Peter knew that this particular group of Jewish men believed that sharing a table with Gentiles was unclean in God’s eyes. He valued their approval of him more than he valued his relationship with the Gentiles who were new to faith in Christ.
Paul directly addresses Peter’s error, and it’s not table manners he’s concerned with. This was not a behavioral issue, it was a gospel issue. “…I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel…” (Gal. 2:14).
It compels us to ask questions about our own behavior: What am I keeping in step with? What am I most closely aligned with?
Maybe you’re known for being aligned with pop culture, lifestyle trends, sports knowledge or financial intelligence. Or maybe you’re known for your political affiliation, business acumen, or high performance at work.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with these things, but when we align ourselves with anything other than God and his kingdom, we’re in danger of slipping out of step with the gospel.
Peter did not want to be judged by the Jews who walked in the room, so he got up from the table and left the Gentiles behind. What’s worse is that others followed his example. In that moment, Peter was more closely aligned with the desire for approval than with the truth of the gospel that the Gentiles were no longer considered unclean. Paul was not shy to call Peter out on this error.
As we evaluate our lives in light of this scripture, we should be willing to realign ourselves. We want to be sure we’re keeping in step with the gospel of Jesus more closely than anything else. Dismissing gospel basics in the name of simplicity only to disregard the heart of Jesus’ message in our daily actions is a serious offense. When keeping in step with the gospel, let’s remember to hold people over preferences, relationship over rules, hearts over habits, and grace over guidelines.
Let’s purpose to realign ourselves today: to give thought and effort to the way we treat others, so that our lives may beautifully reflect the truth of the gospel to those who are watching.
