Living Faith - Day 252 Month 9-8 Week 34-7
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
2 Kings 6:8-7:2, Proverbs 29:15-27, Ezekiel 45, Galatians 2
Living Faith
There are several thoughts that caught me as I was reading Galatians 2 today.
The apostle Paul states, “...those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows not partiality) ... those who were of high reputation contributed nothing to me” (Galatians 2:6). Paul was responding to people who were secretly brought in when he was meeting privately with a group of people who “were of reputation.”
In this world where it is a common pursuit to be of greater importance or higher reputation than others, it is very encouraging that God is impartial. God does not look at the educated in a greater light than the uneducated. He does not look at the successful business CEO differently than the school caretaker. He also does not hold a Jesus following pastor, religious priest or pope as any more important or closer to Him than the average person on the street. All are of equal importance in God's eyes.
Paul also holds Peter (Cephas) accountable for hypocrisy because he acted differently with the Gentiles than he did with the Jews out of fear. This caused other Jesus followers to copy Peter in their actions. Paul opposed him “to his face.”
That brings me to another important point Paul makes. In Galatians 2:16, he states, “...a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Christ Jesus.” Good works are good, but that is not how we enter the kingdom of God. In fact, in verse 21, he clarifies that Jesus died for nothing if we are justified by works. “I do nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Galatians 2:21).
But that does not mean good works are unimportant.
The other day I was at a men’s retreat with about 24 other men from the church we attend. It was a great time to regroup, relax, play games and grow in faith together in a relaxed environment. I had some great conversations with other men.
In one of the discussions, someone reminded us about how important good works are in our faith walk. James 2:18 says, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” Good works are a true outcropping of faith. If you have faith, you will do good works because it is an act of loving your neighbour. Without good works, and I’m just going to be blunt about this, your faith is dead!
So, to summarize my somewhat scattered thoughts today, if we try to be like Jesus and represent Him well, we will treat everyone equally and without partiality. We will avoid living hypocritically, and our faith will show through the way we live and the good works we do.
Have a great day!
Steve
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