“Jan 8, 2024 - Rebuilding What I Tore Down”

Sunday, January 07, 2024

Rebuilding What I Tore Down

Reading:  Galatians 2:15-21

    Paul is rebuking Peter here for abandoning his Gentile brothers out of fear of his Jewish brothers (Gal 2:11-14).  He argues from his and Peter’s common understanding:  “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ”(Gal 2:15-16).  Peter’s mistake is more than a change in eating plans; it reflects that he is still attempting to be saved by keeping Moses’ law.  Christians are saved by faith in Christ (Gal 2:16), not perfect law-keeping.

    Peter’s actions have further implications.  “For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor”(Gal 2:18).  Peter is reverting to his life pre-Jesus—a life that he has repented of and abandoned as insufficient.  Paul insists that this “rebuilding” is antithetical to the gospel.  “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”(Gal 2:20).  When we choose to follow Jesus, we serve a new master and do not retreat to old ways.  Our lives are determined by the will of the one who loved us.  If we can be saved outside of Jesus, “then Christ died for no purpose”(Gal 2:21).

      Each of us has a past before we began to follow Jesus.  When we come to him, we repent of our sinful ways, confess him as Lord, and begin to walk in a new direction (see Acts 2:36-42). We do not look back. Surprisingly, Peter shows us that our past sometimes includes past efforts as religion.  We abandon that old life of being saved by our perfection and goodness because perfection is impossible and salvation is by faith.  Whatever the details of our past—the siren song of old temptations, the residue of old ways of thinking, the patterns of speech and behavior—we are new creatures now and Christ lives in us.  We do not rebuild what we tore down.  We do not look back.

-----------
One Thing to Think About:  How might I be tempted to retreat to my old ways?

One Thing to Pray For:  Discernment to see the spiritual implications of small decisions    

Share