Accepting Others

Galatians 2:11-21 NIV

Paul Opposes Cephas

¹¹ When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² 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. ¹³ The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

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, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

¹⁵ “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles ¹⁶ 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 Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in^[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷ “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! ¹⁸ If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

¹⁹ “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 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 the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”^[b]

Footnotes:

1. Galatians 2:16 Or but through the faithfulness of … justified on the basis of the faithfulness of
2. Galatians 2:21 Some interpreters end the quotation after verse 14.

Father God, help me to not be so discriminatory towards others. Help me to not hate them when they are judgemental towards me. I know they are talking about me behind my back. Making judgements about me. Let me not be hateful towards these folks. I will try not to conform to their way of thinking just to fit in. No matter how old we get, we still have peer pressure. Keep me strong. If I isolate myself, then I am stuck up. If I sit with them then I subject myself to their gossip and opinions. Help me Lord to find the balance. Lord, I am staying steady with my three requests, my demands, my needs. I think I need these to keep me sane. I don't ask for much. I am just a girl, wanting a boy to love me. I don't see any harm in that. Wanting a new job that is better suited for my temperment and skills, there's no harm in asking for that. Needing to keep myself in better health, that's a good thing. I know I have been under a lot of stress and so have others. I am not the only one going through things. I just have to find a way to cope with my stress. Lord I cannot speak for everyone, but I will try to be the best I can be. If I am not serving the Lord then my mission has failed. Time to get ready. Be blessed.