Non-Discriminatory Gospel
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 Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:14-16
Here we find an amazing narrative that represents the breakdown of the wall between ethnicities and culture because of the gospel. Peter (also known as Cephas) is rebuked and corrected by the Apostle Paul in Antioch. Remember that Antioch is where we find the believers first called Christians in Acts 13. Peter was eating and engaging with the Gentiles but stopped out of fear of the Jewish leaders that came from Jerusalem. Upon seeing this example, many of the Jewish Christians including Barnabas would follow suit. The Apostle Paul condemned this and branded it as hypocrisy for Christ came to break down this segregation therefore we no longer have to be afraid. Paul continues to remind the believers in the churches across Galatia that we are not justified by works of keeping with the Mosaic law (speaking with the Jewish Christian audience here) but we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Then Paul reminds the believers that we are crucified with Christ meaning that we are no longer subject or under the law, it has been paid for and fulfilled by the blood of Christ. When we placed our faith in Him, we are a new creature and now we are free from the legalistic entanglement of the gospel.
During the early days of his ministry, Evangelist and Reverend Billy Graham held multiple evangelistic revival crusades throughout the entire nation. When he preached in the South, many of these crusades were held in tents and churches where seating was segregated by race between the White and Black audience. In 1952 at an event held in in the Deep South at Jackson, Mississippi, ropes were used to divide the attendees by the color of their skin. When Billy Graham saw this, he demanded that these ropes be removed, emphasizing that the gospel of Christ was for every single person regardless of their skin color. There are accounts where he physically removed some of the ropes himself. He refused to preach at the event until the ropes were brought down and the barriers were broken. Newspapers would report these instances that happened multiple times after in the South. Some titles included “Birmingham won’t call off integrated Easter Service.”
For us today, this is unthinkable but I am reminded that the gospel is for all people regardless of their ethnicity, their economic status, their academic background, their occupation, their orientation or lifestyle, their political affiliation, etc. We must preach the gospel to every single person wherever we are for we are not under religion or the law but we are all forgiven by the grace of God and have been restored as new creatures under the banner of hope. We are all sinners and must repent of our sins, turning to Jesus to save us from the depths of Hell. Let us continue to move forward by preaching this truth to all that we meet and welcome through our church doors.
A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. 3 To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Proverbs 21:2-3
God is more concerned and pleased when His people are obedient unto Him than sacrifices offered. This was the mistake of the Israelites that offered sacrifices unto the Lord but still had an adulterous relationship with idols in their lives. Hosea rebukes them as God’s prophet stating that obedience is much more significantly important than the sacrifices offered.
When it comes to marriage, we ought to marry someone that is not quarrelsome or seeking to create conflict or drama. Scripture says it is better to be in the corner of the roof than to share an entire house with a quarrelsome spouse. The same case is made to live in a desert rather than a quarrelsome spouse.
When we do not answer the poor and needy, we will be shutout when we are crying out for help or for assistance with our needs.
We must align our diligent plans with the Lord at the end of the day for it is God that will provide the victory. We may get the horses ready for battle but we must remember that ultimately the Lord will provide the win for us.
