Out of Step with The Gospel

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned… I saw that his conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel..
- Galatians 2:11&14
OUT OF STEP WITH THE GOSPEL | This past Sunday, we learned about an early church confrontation between the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter. The confrontation was not about the gospel preached. They had already agreed in Jerusalem, that the gospel that Paul preaches was correct. “They [The apostles] added nothing to my gospel and saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the gentiles.” - Galatians 2:6-7 Their conflict is not about the gospel proclaimed but rather the gospel applied. Specifically, Peter behavior does not align with what he professes he believes. 
The scene is, Peter sits down for a meal with gentiles (those who aren’t Jews) who are fellow brothers in Christ. They believe they are saved by faith in Jesus alone and not by anything else. However, when I group known as the Circumcision Party arrives, they preach a different and false gospel. The gospel they preach is ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ - Acts 15:1 The result of their arrival is that Peter, as well as Barnabas, (another church leader) both get up from the table and distance themselves from these gentile brothers. Peter is acting out of step with the gospel. Jesus doesn’t distant Himself from these gentile brothers so why does Peter? He is acting like they are only accepted if they received the false gospel of Jesus+circumcision=right with God and therefore he is out of step with the gospel. What he professes he believes doesn’t line up with how he behaves.

REALIGNMENT | It’s really easy for us to see Peter in this episode and look down on him, but we must recognize we are easily prone to the same activity as well. The church does fail many people in this way. Where we profess we believe one thing and then we go an behave another way. Paul’s answer for how we realign ourselves and walk in accordance with the gospel is that we need to rightly understand "justification." 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. - Galatians 2:15-16
The language here is judicial. It is that of a courtroom, where we go in guilty due to breaking the law and trying to find a way of escape, we seek to justify ourselves. For you, you will stand one day in the Throne room of God, to give an account before God. What will you say? What will be your’ justification? Many people will go to their resume. “I tried my best. I was a good Mom, good Dad, good child, good worker...” “I did my best...” “My good out weighed my bad...” Jesus even warns us in Matthew 7 “22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” - Matthew 7:22-23 These people bring up their resume.
Before the throne of God, there is only one of two things you can place before God for your justification. Either it will be your’ performance and resume or it will be Jesus’ perfect performance and His resume in your place.

CHRIST DIED FOR A PURPOSE | The point of all this, comes down to this final verse in Galatians 2. “for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” - Galatians 2:21 Paul is saying inadvertently “Christ DID die for a purpose.” And that purpose is this. If I truly recognize the only way that I could be saved was by Jesus death, burial and resurrection and not by some obedience to a law. That I could never in a million years make myself right with God by obeying the law. How could I then treat others as if they are less than me because of their sins. Do I not have sins also?
We are called as followers of Jesus to create a culture in our homes and churches that embodies the gospel we profess we believe. That we accept sinners as Jesus Christ “The Friend of Sinners” (Matt. 11:19) accepted us, not by our performance to a law, but by faith in His perfect adherence to it.