Father, we confess that it's often easy for us to see how the Word, Your Word, applies to other people,
but we, and I include myself, we flatter ourselves too much to detect or hate our own sin.
So, Father, we ask for a mighty work of Your Holy Spirit in our lives as we open Your Word,
that Your Word, Father, would convict our own hearts,
that Your Word would come to the very command center of our lives,
and that You, through Your Word, would do a work of grace deep within us.
And this we ask in the name of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
So, first a bit of a frivolous matter.
My mic keeps going in and out. Is that just because I'm on a position of a stage, or is it just a monitor issue?
It's just a monitor issue? Okay.
If all of a sudden you just can't hear me wave, actually, I'm going to be asking you to wave for a couple of things.
So, here's the thing. My family knows that I have a problem.
And one of my problems is, well, my family knows I have lots of problems.
But one of my many problems is I have problems with names.
So, on Thanksgiving, when we have some of our kids over, I'm likely to say,
Tommy, no, Jesse, no, Joseph, no, Rocky, no, Gordy, and finally get the right name.
And I even threw a dog's name in there.
Okay. So, I have a problem with that.
And I have...
So, in this story that we're going to be looking at,
the two main characters are Peter and Paul.
I am doomed.
I will not make it through this sermon without messing up the names once, at least.
So, what I want you to do is, if I'm saying Peter when I should be saying Paul,
could somebody who's not fallen asleep wave at me?
And I'll know that either there's a wasp in the room, or I've just got the names mixed up.
So, if you could help me, that would be good.
Now, in a more serious matter, in the Willow Creek Church, I've been told,
they've developed this habit that when they talk about something which is a bit controversial,
that might get people mad, they sort of do a little symbol like this over their head.
And they say, you need to just extend...
We need to extend mercy to everybody,
because we're about to talk about something which could get people riled.
And so, just let's give each other a little bit of mercy to try to talk this through a little bit.
And then the conversation will go a lot better.
So, I'm claiming that this morning, because I'm going to ask a question.
And the question is...
Now you're going to see why I need to have a little bit of mercy,
and for people not to get upset too quickly.
Is racism and prejudice...
Are racism and prejudice more important than purity of the gospel?
Or is the purity of the gospel more important than racism and prejudice?
Now that's a...
And you know what?
I know that's a hot political issue right now.
Those of you who watch football, it's going to be a hot issue.
It's been talked about a lot.
And I know that for a lot of people, it's not just a political issue.
It's a very deeply personal issue.
Because I know there are probably people here who have been profoundly victimized by racism.
And I know I'm an all-white guy.
So, that's why I'm asking for a little bit of mercy.
And the reason I'm asking the question is not because I'm interested in commenting on Colin Kaepernick,
where Black Lives Matter.
It's not...
I'm not doing anything political.
It's because the Bible is asking us this question.
We might not have noticed it when Kent was reading the Galatians text.
But we're going to be looking at Galatians 2 if you want to turn your Bibles.
But in fact, the Bible is asking that question to us.
Is discussing...
Is dealing with racism and prejudice a far more pressing issue than dealing with clarity and the purity of the gospel?
Or is the clarity and purity of the gospel a more important issue to deal with than racism and prejudice?
It's not me doing this to be political.
The Bible is asking us this question.
We maybe didn't recognize it, but it's asking us this question.
So, it'd be a great help for me.
First of all, extend me some mercy.
But it'd be a great help if you took your Bibles and turned to Galatians 2.
Galatians 2.
And we're going to start reading at the 11th verse.
And actually, you know what we're going to do?
We're going to start reading at verse 9.
Because if we start at verse 9, the shock of verse 11 is far clearer to us.
Okay?
So, those of you who...
So, if you don't know what's happened, is Paul is dealing with a problem in this church.
And as part of him dealing with a problem, he's recounted some things that have gone on in the past.
And one of the things he shared with them is that a little bit earlier, Paul had initiated on his own behalf,
not because he was in trouble, but he had traveled to Jerusalem to meet with Peter, James, and John.
And Cephas, which you're going to see in this text, that's just another name for Peter.
All the way through the text, I'm going to use the word Peter rather than Cephas.
Because for most of us, that's sort of a clearer way to understand it.
And just one other thing.
The word Gentiles doesn't mean much to most of us anymore.
And so, I'm going to substitute the word pagan for Gentiles.
It's another perfectly good word for it.
And it's, you know, or non-Jews, but I'm going to use the word pagan.
So, just the context.
So, Peter...
I mean, here, I've already done it.
Paul has gone to Jerusalem to see Peter and James and John.
And in verse 9, it tells you what happened after they talked.
In verse 9, it says,
And when James and Peter and John, who seemed to be pillars, that's pillars of the church,
perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me.
It's a really good thing.
The right hand of fellowship.
Some of you from...
When I was in a Baptist church growing up, that's how you joined the church.
They extended the right hand of fellowship to you in the front of the church.
And the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles or the pagans,
and they to the circumcised.
Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the pagans.
But when they came, that's the people claiming to be from James,
Peter drew back and separated himself.
That's from the church in Antioch, fearing that group, the circumcision party.
And the rest of the Jews who were part of the congregation acted hypocritically along with him,
so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel,
I said to Peter before them all,
If you, though a Jew, live like a pagan and not like a Jew,
how can you force the pagans to live like Jews?
Paul, why don't you tell us what you really think?
It's very blunt.
Now, here, just to sort of get the full,
like part of this is a little bit hard for us to understand,
because in Canada, at this point in time in our history,
you know, you go to, if I go to Starbucks or some other coffee place,
there's liable to be a big table,
and you can just get a place on the table to do some work,
have your coffee, your scone,
and, you know, all and sundry are at the table.
And if I get up to go to another table,
nobody thinks it's because I'm mad at them or prejudiced or racist.
It's just because maybe a better table or better spots open up.
So it's a little bit hard for us to get our minds around this.
And just to get, to put it in an imaginative way,
so we understand,
we need the image before us about what's actually just gone on.
So Paul has been in this church in Antioch for a while.
It's a very, very, very multicultural church.
And many of the people in the congregation are pagans who've become Christians,
and they're also completed Jews.
That is, Jewish people who have accepted Jesus as the Messiah,
and now Christians, they're completed Jews.
And it's a mixed congregation.
And maybe Paul has been away for a couple of weeks on a trip or something like that,
a preaching trip or just a break.
And he comes back,
and they've maybe had a prayer time together,
the whole congregation.
And then after the prayer time,
they're going to have something to eat.
And so Paul goes to the buffet table,
and he gets some hummus,
and he gets some tabbouleh,
and he gets some falafel.
And maybe because it's a big celebration,
he gets some roasted goat,
puts it in his bowl,
goes to sit down on the grass,
just as they usually do in groups of eight or ten,
so they can all sort of joke and talk and have some fun.
And he's just sitting there talking.
He notices that as he sits down,
they're all a little bit nervous.
But he just, or looking at him funny.
But he's just eating away,
having a great time.
And then,
and this is the imaginative part,
all of a sudden he starts to think to himself,
he looks around.
And he's the only white guy
with the African Americans
at this group.
That's not that odd.
But he looks around,
and all the white guys and gals
are by themselves in their own groups.
And all the African Americans
are in their own group.
And there's no mixing.
And so he's eating his hummus,
and he's starting to look at this,
and he's thinking to himself,
what went on while I was gone?
And then he sees Peter
just with the white guys.
And he sees Barnabas
just with the white guys.
So Paul steps up,
stands up.
Need some quiet, everybody?
Conversation stops.
And he looks at Peter,
and he says,
if you, though a Jew,
live like a pagan,
and not like a Jew,
how can you force pagans
to live like Jews
in front of them all?
Big shock.
Dead silence.
Red faces.
Now here's the,
here's the,
this really, really,
really important question for us.
I mean,
maybe,
maybe we've been blessed,
and we have some tourists
visiting as guests this morning
from the States
or from some other country.
But we all live in Canada.
So what would we want
a Canadian Christian to do
if they had the courage of Paul,
and they found that the congregation
was sitting in segregated seats?
And what would we,
as Canadian Christians,
want to do?
What would we want
another Canadian Christian to do?
And you know what we would want?
We would want,
let's say it was me
who had the courage.
You would want me
to be able to tell you
that I got up and said,
what you're doing is racist.
What you're doing is prejudiced.
Don't you know
that that's wrong?
Don't you know
that that has caused
lots of pain and suffering
and will continue
to cause pain and suffering?
And you would want me
to have a diatribe
about racism
and prejudice,
and that's what you would
want me to do
because we are all Canadians
and that is not
what Paul does.
That is not what Paul does.
I mean,
this is a bit of a check
because Paul
is going to say
that the gospel
is more important
than dealing with racism.
Remember,
hopefully you're still
giving me some mercy
and we're going to come back
to this,
by the way,
okay?
I'm not telling you,
I'm just trying to tell you
what's going on
in the Bible,
okay?
That's what I'm trying to do.
Listen to what Paul does
in verse 15,
and by the way,
now we're going to read
verses 15 to 21,
and just here's a thing.
I'm preaching from the ESV,
it's the version
which I prefer,
it's what I usually use.
If some of you use the NIV,
the NIV actually has done
something unbelievably helpful.
It's very subtle,
and those of you who read it
might not notice it,
but what the NIV has done
is they put quote marks
that begin at verse 15
and go all the way
to verse 21.
I know,
grammar geek moment,
I put half of you
to sleep by saying that,
but here's the point.
What you need to understand
is that in verses 15 to 21,
you are getting a summary
of what Paul said to Peter.
If you don't understand
what you need to have
firmly fixed in your mind,
I almost asked some volunteer
to come up here
and stand up here
so that I could sort of
act it out
and occasionally just look
and say,
you know,
read these parts,
looking at that person,
because that's what,
if you don't understand that,
then the text
is going to just confuse you
and you'll try to do
all these weird things
to try to make
the text understood.
Just look at verse 15.
We ourselves are Jews
by birth
and not Gentile sinners.
Well, what on earth
does that mean?
In fact,
what we know
is the majority
of the congregation
weren't Jewish people.
So if he's saying this
to the congregation,
it makes no sense.
And all the other things
in this little bit
of the text,
they're not going to
make any sense.
So what you have
to understand
is verses 15 to 21
is a summary
of what Paul
is calling Peter out about
and how he's explaining
why this is an
unbelievably important issue.
So 15 to 21,
now it makes sense,
right?
I don't know,
you know,
maybe if Ken there is,
sorry Ken,
I'm promoting you to Peter.
So you're Peter,
okay,
and I'm just looking at you.
You're all now
dead silent
and I'm looking right
at Peter
and I say to Peter,
Peter,
you and me
are Jews by birth.
That's what you and I are.
We're not pagans.
You know,
before we became Christians,
we didn't go to the temple
to have sex
with the priestess
as a way of worshipping God.
We knew that was wrong.
We know how to keep kosher.
We know how to do
the sacrifices.
You and me,
we are Jews by birth.
We are not pagans
who are by definition
sinners,
according to us Jews.
Verse 16.
Andrew,
could you put this on?
Could you all read
this verse with me?
This is a very important verse.
And you'll notice,
just before we're going to read it,
you'll notice that basically
he says the same thing
three times,
but in slightly different ways
to get the point home.
And so if you could all
read it with me,
that would be very good.
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.
See, he says the same thing
three times,
slightly different
to bring home
the emphasis
that he wants to bring.
And so what does justified mean?
Justified means
it's something
that's done by God
and declared by God.
That's what it means.
It's God declaring
that he's done something.
is that just me?
I did fade out
all of a sudden, right?
Okay, sorry.
Rhythm, good grief.
There it is again.
Should I move?
Am I in a dead spot?
Maybe.
Okay, we'll sort it out later.
Sorry.
So justified.
I mean, look at that.
Again, it says quite a few times
throughout that text,
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.
So what does that word
justified mean?
That word means
it's an image
from the law court.
So it's an image
of someone who has authority,
proper authority
to do something
and then make a declaration.
So it's this idea
of authority,
proper authority,
doing something
and declaring something.
And what they do
is they declare innocence
and or they declare
that something
has been made right.
Now,
at a very, very technical,
the most primary meaning
is this idea
that they've been
declared innocent.
And that's a very, very, very
hard thing
for Canadians
to understand, right?
I've shared this before.
The problem in Canada,
it's not a problem.
Thanks be to God
for Canada.
Let's continue to pray
that this will be
a rule of the law.
But because of the influence
of Christianity
in Canada,
we know that we are
innocent until proven guilty.
Right?
That's a product
of the Christian faith
that human beings
against the state
have an integrity
against the state
so that the state
has to prove
that I am guilty.
I do not have to prove
that I am innocent.
That is one of the benefits
of the gospel.
It's been forgotten
in Canada,
but it's a Christian benefit
of the worldview.
But you know what?
In most of the world,
that is not the case.
In fact,
if you think back,
go back and read
the book of Acts later on,
what you see
in the Roman Empire,
if the state
thinks you're guilty,
you have to prove
you're innocent.
The state has
all the cards,
all the power,
and if the state
determines
that you are guilty,
if the state
determines you're a slave
and then have
absolutely no power,
if the state
determines you're a woman
and have no power,
then you have no power.
It doesn't matter
what the person
from a privileged class
has done to you.
You have no status.
You have no rights.
They can do
what they want.
You are not a citizen.
And even citizens
are fundamentally,
basically,
you have to prove
you're innocent.
And so in Paul's time,
when a judge
with authority
declares
they've done something
and they declare
that in fact,
in a sense,
you are a citizen,
you have rights,
and you were innocent,
it's a big thing.
Think back
to some of the books
in some of the instances
in the book of Acts.
When Paul
is preaching
in Jerusalem
and all of a sudden
a riot breaks out.
So what do the soldiers do?
Do the soldiers
come in
and separate everybody
and get them all
in different rooms
and try to figure out
what went on
because everyone
is innocent
until proven guilty?
No.
They grab Paul
because he seems
to have started it
and they whip him.
Why?
Paul is guilty
until he can prove
he's innocent.
That's the way
it is in most of the world.
And it's been
most of the world
in most of the history.
It's probably
how it works
in places like
North Korea
and Saudi Arabia.
The state
has all the power
and unless
you're a privileged group
you are guilty
until proven innocent.
It's hard for us
to understand.
So a better way
to understand
is the same type
of idea.
It's an authoritative
declaration
combined with
the person
in authority
doing something
to declare
that a person
is made right.
And I've shared
this before
but it's a great analogy.
I'll share it again
a few more times
before you start
to all fall off
in sleep.
And a way to understand
what being made right is
is you imagine
that there's a young mom
and her husband's
off on a business trip
or he's off
I don't know
playing golf
with his buddies
and having a long time
at the 19th hole
or whatever it is
but she's home alone
with the kids.
She comes home
she's just really beat
really bush
rough day
she says
I'm just going to
take these three kids
to the family restaurant
around the corner
buy them a meal
have a bit of a break
and come home
and she goes
to the family restaurant
and she has
the restaurant trip
from hell
the kids are actually
pretty well behaved
but the waiters
are rude to her
the waiters
take a long time
the waiters
ignore her
the waiters
make negative comments
about her kids
the waiters
blame the kids
for all the problems
when they're just
being slow
they bring the wrong food
they don't apologize
it is
the restaurant
trip
from hell
to hell
in hell
and she finally
just throws down
her plastic
pays the bill
and she goes out
and she's fighting tears
she's so mad
so hurt
so embarrassed
so angry
and she's walking
out of the restaurant
and as she walks
out of the restaurant
an older woman
is coming in
and the older woman
notices that this woman
is really distressed
and so the older woman
stops her
and says
dear you know
I'm sorry
you look really upset
and the young woman
she's just taken
by the older woman's
kindness
and she just breaks out
and tells her
what happens
and the older woman
says I own this restaurant
I'm going to make it right
and she makes it right
at cost to herself
what might that mean
I'm going to give you
five gift certificates
for free meals
it's on me
I'm going to bring that
the staff's going to be fired
I'm going to bring all the staff
together
I'm going to bring them back
in the back room
I'm going to tell them
how wrong they were
in treating you
they all need some training
some people are going to be fired
I'm going to make some other changes
she has the authority
and at cost to herself
she makes it right
and that's what the Bible
is saying here
we know that a person
is not made right
with God
by works of the law
but through faith
in Jesus Christ
in other words
God is declaring
and acting
to make it right
and it can only be done
by God
it can't be something
that I can just declare
that I'm going to make it right
I can make it
in fact
that's the whole thing
that works of the law are
works of the law
are our attempt
to make it right
you know
and so
what this text is saying
is that
is that God
God
sees our need
he does what needs
to be done
at cost to himself
he has the proper authority
and he makes it
a declaration
that you George
that you
Ken
that you
Shirley
that you
Louise
I have done
what's needed
to be done
to make you innocent
to give you status
to make it right
I declare
that I have done it
and that is now
your status
it's an official
declaration
and you'll notice
there's this contrast
that what doesn't work
is works of the law
and what Paul
is saying here
is it doesn't matter
how much you meditate
doesn't matter
how much you do yoga
it doesn't matter
how many
prayer flags
and prayer wheels
you set in motion
and it doesn't matter
how rich you are
and it doesn't matter
how perfect
your family is
and it doesn't matter
how good you are
at keeping kosher
and it doesn't matter
whether you make trips
to Mecca
and follow Ramadan
it doesn't matter
whatever your religion is
whatever your spirituality is
whatever your moral code is
whatever your standard
of success is
even if it's the one
that I myself wrote
that all these things
do show
is show
that you cannot
keep them
and none of them
will work
Paul uses
example
works of the law
because God himself
to his people
has given them
a whole range of things
of moral commands
of helping them
to understand
that they have to be
clean in his sight
they have to be
holy in his sight
they have to be
pure in his sight
that
and the whole point
of the law
was that people
couldn't actually
keep it
and in Romans
chapter 2
Paul extends
this to show
that God
what is going to be
shown fair
that if people say
well listen
I didn't understand
that it was wrong
for me to cheat
on my taxes
I didn't understand
that it was wrong
for me to cheat
on my wife
I didn't understand
that I had to have
a concern for the poor
I didn't have
an understanding
that sometimes
I had to turn
the other cheek
it's not fair
if you find me guilty
God
because I have not
done these things
and Romans 2
brilliantly says
that all God
does in those situations
is say
well that's very fine
and what I'm going to do
is I'm going to give you
a summary of your life
and all the moral judgments
you have made
about other people
and about yourself
and then I'm going to have
that as a standards
I'm going to see
how you lived up
to your own moral standards
and you can't even
keep up to your own
moral standards
like if novelists
are to be believed
even sociopaths
can't keep up
to their own standards
they get mad
at themselves
that they didn't
kill the person
right away
I mean it's a terrible thing
but they can't even
keep up to their own
moral standards
sociopaths
everyone will be silent
before God
and so
what does it say again
we know that a person
is not
going to be made
right with God
or declared right
by God
by our moral efforts
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
and faith in Christ
faith just means
it's a type of trust
and giving
and Jesus
the person of Jesus
and what he's done
for us on the cross
that's what we put
our faith and trust in
not on ourselves
and
and all
putting our trust
in something
and in some
or in someone
in this case
putting our trust
and our faith in Jesus
and what he's done
for us on the cross
that always involves
both
a positive thing
and a negative thing
it's a little bit
like a marriage vow
right
in the marriage vow
you
give yourself
to the other person
and you forsake
all others
and that's
that's what faith
in Christ is
that we come to that point
to believe
that Jesus
has to have done
all that has to be done
for us to be made right
with God
and we don't have
any trust
in something else
now some of you
are going to say
George
okay you asked
to extend
some mercy
to you
about this
racism thing
I'm still a little bit
troubled by it
I'm a little bit
conflicted now
about it
like what's
are you saying
George
that Christians
should only have
these conversations
about the gospel
and never confront
racism and prejudice
or
like George
I'm a little bit
confused
there seems to be
at least a nuance
or something here
that I don't know
if you've got
it's a very very
valid concern
so let's
let's read
verses 17 to 19
and
now
what we need to do here
we need to remember
as we read it
right
sorry Ken
I'm going to use you
as Peter
and I'm Paul
again
right
we're hearing
the summary
of what Paul
said to Peter
and everybody's
listening in
and what that
means as well
is who are
some of the
people who've
been listening
in
some of the
people who are
listening in
are the people
who caused
the problem
because you know
the people who
caused the problem
what they
what they've
said
to Peter
probably
with their
is that
they maybe
said something
like this
to Peter
Peter
you know
Jesus said
that everything
in the Old
Testament
is God's
word
and you
know
God's
word's
very clear
you've got
to keep
kosher
you've got
to practice
the cleanliness
laws
you've got
to make sure
that you have
nothing that's
even vaguely
contaminated by
idolatry
you've got to
do this
you've got to
do that
you've got to
do this
and Peter
surely
you can't be
talking about
trusting Jesus
in such a way
that now you
trust Jesus
and it means
you're going to
be sinning
all the time
like surely
it's obvious
that you need
to have
not only
faith in
Jesus
but also
keep the
law
you know
just as
some of us
might say
George
surely
yeah yeah
we understand
that but
surely
you understand
that you've
got to not
only have
faith in
Jesus
but you've
got to
have the
right views
on abortion
you've got
to have the
right views
on politics
you've got
to be
Republican
you've got
to be
Democrat
you have
to be
for Trump
you have
to be
against
Trump
how on earth
can you be
a Christian
and for
Trump
how can
earth
can you be
a Christian
and be
against
Trump
how can
you be
a Christian
and not
in favor
of Black's
Lives Matter
how can
you be
a Christian
and not
do this
how can
you be
a Christian
and not
keep
kosher
and so
Paul is
talking to
Peter
and the
people
who
caused
the
trouble
are
in
the
room
and
those
who
are
just
confused
are
in
the
room
and
Peter
says
in
verse 17
Peter
but if
in
our
endeavor
you
and me
to be
justified
in
Christ
we
too
were
found
to be
sinners
is
Christ
a servant
of sin
certainly
not
what's
he saying
here
he's
referring
to
what
people
say
George
you're
a Christian
and you're
for
Trump
you're
a sinner
how can
that
you're
against
Trump
you're
in
favor
of
black
lives
matter
you're
against
black
lives
can
Jesus
lead
you
into
that
sin
because
you see
in our
mind
you have
to have
the
gospel
plus
this
and
Paul
says
certainly
not
verse
18
and
here's
now
he's
really
going
to
the
law
if
I
rebuild
what
I
tore
down
I
prove
myself
to
be
a
transgressor
for
through
the
law
I
died
to
the
law
so
that
I
might
live
to
God
basically
what
he's
saying
is
listen
if
you
read
the
Old
Testament
he's
going
to
do
this
now
in
chapter
three
and
chapter
four
he's
going
to
give
about
four
or
five
different
examples
of
how
the
Old
Testament
points
to
the
fact
you
can't
keep
the
Old
Testament
the
entire
Old
Testament
is
pointing
to
the
fact
that
only
God
can
make
you
right
with
himself
and
only
God
can
act
to
make
you
right
with
himself
and
once
he's
done
it
that's
what
you
put
your
faith
and
trust
in
if
you
could
put
up
the
next
point
Andrew
the
gospel
plus
anything
means
you
don't
have
a
gospel
at
all
it's
the
gospel
plus
nothing
that's
the
gospel
just
you
know
in
terms
of
this
racism
thing
and
we're
going
to
move
on
to
some
other
really
important
points
here
you
know
one
of
the
things
about
this
letter
and
those
of
you
might
remember
depending
on
Jesus
either
died
and
rose
again
in
the
year
30
or
the
year
33
I
think
most
scholars
say
it
was
one
of
those
two
springs
of
30
or
33
and
this
letter
was
probably
written
in
the
year
48
it
might
very
well
be
the
first
part
of
the
New
Testament
that
was
actually
written
and
if
he
died
in
33
and
this
is
written
in
48
then
15
years
after
the
death
and
resurrection
of
Jesus
it's
very
interesting
that
all
the
way
through
the
letter
slavery
is
only
used
as
an
example
of
evil
slavery
is
only
used
as
an
example
of
evil
in
fact
one
of
the
famous
verses
in
Galatians
is
Galatians
5
verse
1
for
freedom
Christ
has set
us
free
stand
firm
therefore
and
do
not
submit
again
to
a
yoke
of
slavery
and
the
other
thing
is
that
this
text
Paul
doesn't
dress
racism
directly
but
he
in
fact
deals
with
racism
at
a
very
deep
level
because
the
gospel
when
we
understand
that
we
are
made
right
by
something
that
God
has
done
for
us
and
that
he
does
everything
to
make
us
right
with
himself
and
then
after
he's
done
everything
to
make
us
right
with
himself
and
we
put
our
faith
and
trust
in
him
and
he
declares
George
you
are
mine
you
are
mine
despite
the
fact
that
you
have
the
wrong
view
on
Trump
or
the
Andrew
as
the
gospel
comes
alive
to
me
and
I
write
this
down
because
if
you're
writing
this
down
then
you're
writing
this
to
me
as
the
gospel
comes
alive
to
me
racism
and
prejudice
should
die
in
me
like
while
on one
level
it
doesn't
look
like
he's
doing
what
Canadians
want
by
talking
about
the
gospel
in
fact
as
the
gospel
grips
us
in
that
the
hymn
that
Deborah
had
sing
hands
I
bring
I
have
a
master's
degree
I'm
a
Canadian
I've
been
married
a
long
time
nothing
in
my
hands
I
bring
simply
in
the
cross
I
cling
I
just
have
a
couple
of
minutes
I
have
to
wrap
this
up
there's
a
very
common
problem
that
Christians
have
if
you're
here
and
you're
not
a
Christian
you're
trying
to
figure
it
out
you
might
not
know
this
but
it's
a
been
a
profound
moral
failure
in
their
lives
or
financial
failure
or
relational
failure
and
they
no
longer
feel
that
they
are
almost
worthy
or
that
they
can
come
to
church
because
of
their
failure
you see
they
don't
really
believe
I
don't
really
believe
that
I
am
made
right
with
God
because
God
does
everything
to
make
me
right
with
him
I
actually
believe
it
is
connected
to
my
moral
excellence
my
relational
excellence
my
financial
excellence
my
spiritual
excellence
look at
what Paul
says
the Bible
says
in verse
20
I
have
been
crucified
with
Christ
it
is
no
longer
I
who
live
but
Christ
who
lives
in
me
that
actually
could
you
put
this
up
we're
going
to
read
it
together
I
forgot
that
could
you
read
this
with
me
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
this
is
a
very
wonderful
and
precious
text
you
see that
bottom
part
I
live
by
faith
in
the Son
of God
who
loved
me
and
gave
himself
for
me
that
summarizes
the
atonement
what
Jesus
has done
for me
and
for you
on the
cross
my
faith
is
in
him
he
loved
me
and
gave
himself
for
me
and
you
know
part
of
the
thing
about
becoming
a
Christian
is
we
say
you
need
to
invite
Jesus
to
come
into
your
life
and
the
Bible
also
talks
about
how
we
have
to
be
in
Christ
and
notice
how
this
verse
has
these
two
things
that
that's
how
we
become
a
Christian
either
through
a
very
conscious
decision
or
for
those
of
us
who
have
been
raised
in
Christian
homes
or
it's
a
slower
conversion
process
where
at
some
point
in
time
we've
crossed
a
divide
and
we
realize
that
Christ
has
come
into
our
lives
look
how
it
says
it
I
have
been
crucified
with
Christ
that
somehow
what
that's
describing
is
that
somehow
I'm
in
Christ
it
is
no
longer
I
who
live
because
somehow
I'm
in
Christ
but
Christ
who
lives
in
me
you
know
this
is
the
wonderful
text
that
it's
not
that
my
arm
is
long
enough
to
reach
Jesus
but
that
his
arm
is
long
enough
to
reach
mine
and
it's
not
that
my
grip
is
strong
enough
to
hold
on
to
Jesus
hand
because
my
hand
sometimes
it's
strong
sometimes
it's
weak
sometimes
it wants
to do
something
completely
different
but
when
Jesus
puts
his
hand
in
my
exchange
he
never
lets
me
go
he
never
lets
me
go
he
never
lets
me
go
and
you
see
this
other
thing
which
is
so
wonderful
about
this
text
so
here's
the
thing
the
average
Canadian
the
average
Canadian
basically
what
they'll
say
is
I
try
to
live
a
good
life
and
when
I
die
I'm
going
to
go
to
a
better
place
and
sort
of
the
idea
is
at
the
end
of
you
got
a
D
life
you
know
D
is
better
than
an
F
into
a
better
place
you
know
and
some
people
live
a
B
plus
life
some
people
live
an
A
life
or
an
A
plus
life
some
people
live
a
D
life
there's
only
a
few
people
and
we
all
know
who
they
are
they
either
vote
for
Trump
or
didn't
vote
for
Trump
or
something
like
that
but
depending
on
your
politics
but
you
know
they
get
the
F's
they
go
to
the
bad
place
but
you
know
and
so
in
a
sense
my
justification
is
in
the
future
the
story
that
I
was
sharing
when
I've
had
many
conversations
with
people
and
it's
not
just
something
you
know
there's
been
many
times
in
my
life
that
if
I
wasn't
the
pastor
I
would
feel
too
guilty
to
come
to
church
I'm
justification
is
in
our
current
moral
or
spiritual
or
emotional
or
relational
or
financial
excellence
but
if
you
look
at
this
text
my
justification
is
in
the
past
because
Jesus
died
in
the
past
that
when
he
died
for
me
in
the
past
in
the
past
not
how
good
my
sermon
is
today
not
how
good
I
will
be
as
a
pastor
in
three
weeks
not
how
good
as
a
husband
I'm
going
to
be
in
five
he
knew
all
of
that
my
justification
all
of
my
life
is
justified
by
something
that
God
did
in
the
past
it
makes
it
more
certain
that
as
it
says
in
the
book
of
Romans
nothing
can
separate
me
from
the
love
of
God
not
because
I'm
proud
not
because
I'm
in
or
anything
like
that
but
because
Jesus
did
it
all
my
justification
the
thing
that
made
me
right
with
God
is
in
the
past
not
the
future
not
the
present
in
the
past
and
I
experience
the
benefits
of
it
in
the
present
how
important
is
this
Paul
brings
it
home
in
a
very
powerful
way
my
final
time
of
using
Ken
as
Peter
and
you're
listening
in
and
what
do
we
all
know
about
Peter
we
would
all
know
about
Peter
that
Peter
said
to
Jesus
when
Jesus
said
I've
come
to
die
on
the
cross
Peter
says
no
way
Jose
not
for
you
and
that
when
it
came
time
that
in
the
last
supper
Jesus
says
I'm
going
to
be
betrayed
I'm
going
to
die
on
the
cross
tomorrow
Peter
says
we're
all
going
to
die
with
you
and
Peter
says
and
Peter
and
Peter
follows
along
and
Peter
denies
and
Peter
goes
off
crying
into
the
night
and
now
Paul
stands
in
front
of
Peter
and
he
says
verse
21
we'll
start
just a
little
bit
before
that
you
know
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
and
he
says
to
Peter
I
do
not
nullify
the
grace
of
God
now
he
says
to
Peter
for
if
the
righteousness
that
is
being
able
to
be
made
right
with
God
if
that
were
through
the
law
Peter
then
Christ
died
for
no
purpose
Christ's
death
was
only
a
tragic
vain
waste
please
stand
just
if
there's
you
know
this
is
a
very
good
time
there's
no
time
better
than
right
now
maybe
the
Lord
has
touched
your
heart
in
different
ways
just
for
those
of
you
who
just
you
know
one
of
the
reasons
the
mission
statement
of
this
church
is
making
disciples
of
Jesus
gripped
by
the
gospel
learning
to
live
for
God's
glory
is
precisely
because
we need
to be
gripped
by
the
gospel
so
we need
to know
who
Jesus
is
and what
he did
for us
on the
cross
and if
you've
never
given
your
life
to
Jesus
there is
no
better
time
than
right
now
just
in
your
own
words
to
say
Jesus
could
you
please
come
into
my
life
and
be
my
savior
and
my
lord
I
forsake
all
others
may
you
come
into
my
life
and
be
my
savior
and
my
lord
you
don't
need
any
fancier
language
than
that
you
don't
have
to
try
to
remember
a
sinner's
prayer
that
you
heard
on
TV
five
years
ago
there's
no
magic
formula
there's
just
you
calling
out
to
God
and
there's
no
better
time
than
to
do
that
right
now
and
for
all
of us
let's
just
bow
our heads
in
prayer
Father
thank
you
for
Jesus
thank
you
for
who
he
is
God
he's
your
son
thank
you
that
he
was
born
of
Mary
without
stopping
being
your
son
but
he
became
fully
human
thank
you
for
his
perfect
life
thank
you
for
his
death
upon
the
cross
thank
you
father
that
he
did
all
of
these
things
because
he
loved
me
he
loved
all
of
the
people
who
are
here
he
loves
the
city
of
Ottawa
he
loves
the
North
Koreans
he
loves
those
in
Saudi
Arabia
he
loves
those
in
Singapore
he
loves
those
in
Nigeria
that
he
died
for
people
irrespective
of
their
race
or
their
religion
father
we
thank
you
for
Jesus
that
he
died
on
the
cross
and
we
thank
you
that
by
his
death
on
the
cross
you
have
done
everything
that
needs
to
do
to
put
people
right
with
you
and
that
we
are
purely
and
utterly
only
to
receive
it
by
faith
father
thank
you
for
the
gift
of
faith
for
putting
our
faith
and
trust
in
Jesus
father
pour
out
your
holy
spirit
upon
us
make
us
disciples
of
Jesus
who
are
gripped
by
the
gospel
learning
to
live
for
your
glory
and
we
ask
this
in
the
name
of
Jesus
Amen