There are some people who are just intimidatingly great at whatever, and there's some people who are embarrassingly hopeless and just make you feel good about yourself.
And more often than not, we stick ourselves somewhere in the middle.
And maybe you even do it in a group like this.
You walk into church on a Sunday, and there are some people that you are just like so overwhelmed by how holy they seem, how godly they are, how impressive their Bible looks.
And you're just intimidated to even be around them, and you sit there and think, I'm in a different category.
Or maybe it's the other extreme, and you walk into church, and you see someone else walking near you, and you think, how can they call themselves a Christian and do that?
Peter is doing his version of holiness appraisals in the passage that Jimmy just read out for us.
And he's not actually doing it intentionally.
He's not maliciously trying to rank people so that he can judge them, but he's going through the process of putting some people in the category of good and some people in the category of bad.
What he's doing is he's cutting himself off from Gentile converts who haven't adhered to Jewish laws that he just agreed aren't important.
So what's happened is just before this passage that was read out, you've got Paul the Apostle goes and meets with Peter and James and the other apostles in Jerusalem,
and they have a conversation to the effect of, for somebody who's not a Jew, that's not one of God's chosen people, to be a legitimate Christian, what's required of them?
And they all agree that the only thing that matters is that they trust Jesus.
And then here, just a couple of verses later, Peter is sitting in a room having food with Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, both of which have put their faith in Jesus.
And what he's doing is not completely ignoring the Gentile converts, but just kind of separating himself out enough so that he's not getting tainted by their badness.
So it's like after church, going out to supper and just making sure you're only with the good people, only with the people who are kind of like you.
And Paul is furious about this.
He's absolutely fuming to the point where he doesn't kind of pull Peter aside and have a quiet conversation.
He goes for the public, you know, you've got to fix this, the loud and obvious rebuke.
And the reason he's so angry is because just a few moments ago, they agreed on what the gospel was.
They agreed on what the good news of Jesus was.
And that good news comes from the beginning of Galatians chapter 1.
I'll read to you just five verses.
This is Paul's opening summary of the gospel.
He says, Galatians 1 verse 1.
So the gospel is Jesus died for sin.
God raised him from the dead and grace and peace is on offer to those who trust him and follow him.
That gospel, which Paul makes really clear is the only gospel.
There's no other version.
There's no substitute.
That gospel doesn't leave room for the rankings.
It doesn't leave room for someone like Peter to kind of show up and start pretending that one group is holier than another group.
One group is more valid than another group because the gospel crushes pride in us.
When we understand what the gospel means, it actually takes away the possibility of being proud of who we are as a Christian.
See, the danger for us when we do these rankings is that we always see the sin of others as worse than our own.
Whenever you hear about other people's sin, the response is shock and maybe a bit of gossip.
It's sensational.
But you don't notice it in yourself.
Even Paul here, when he's challenging Peter, there in verse 15, he says,
We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.
See, he's showing Peter that even by calling them Gentile sinners, it's like he's taking himself out of that category.
It's like Peter's treating himself like he's not a sinner, like he doesn't need Jesus.
And Paul is saying that's ridiculous.
He's saying because Peter's busy looking at the inadequacy of the Gentiles.
And let's be clear.
The Gentiles are inadequate.
They are not good enough.
But the issue for Peter is because he's busy looking at them, he doesn't recognize that he's inadequate as well.
That being a Jew actually makes no difference.
It's not exciting for God.
And so we need to be careful that when we go into that automatic mode of ranking the good and bad people around us,
whatever our motivation is, we need to be careful because as soon as we start looking down on the mistakes of other people,
we lose the ability to see our own.
We lose the ability to see our own issues.
One of the things that frustrates me quite intensely in community life,
and there's lots of things because I'm an introvert and community life is just challenging,
but one of the things that I find particularly difficult about community life is selfish people.
Like I hate seeing people who will just tread on everyone else to make sure they get what they want.
It makes me just anger.
But I don't even notice that in that moment I'm really annoyed because they're not doing what I think they should do.
It doesn't for a second occur to me that my frustration is really about my own selfish desires
and has nothing to do with the injustice being done to other people.
When we're busy focusing on the sins of other people,
we fail to see that we've got our own issues.
We fail to see that the gospel is something that we desperately need as well.
Now, that doesn't mean there's no place for rebuke or correction
because, you know, selfishness is still an issue for that person that's making me angry,
but the point is it's my issue as well.
And if all I worry about is them, then I'm going to miss my issue.
But it doesn't mean there can't be rebuke.
That's what Paul is doing here.
And he even gives us a good model of what it might look like to correct one another.
So he reminds him in verse 16.
I'll start from verse 15.
Now, Paul's reminding him.
He doesn't just say, Peter, you're being an idiot and you need to do this thing.
He actually takes him back to the gospel.
He reminds him that it was by faith for Peter, by faith for Paul.
It's by faith for the Jews.
It's by faith for the Gentiles.
And so because of that, there's no distinction between them.
There's no room for one to feel more worthy or less worthy
because that kind of pride is just delusional.
That kind of pride is based on a warped perception of what's reality anyway.
Because if you ever find yourself looking at someone else and thinking,
man, I'm doing much better than them,
you've got to understand you're not doing that well anyway.
Even if you are doing better than them,
your reality is you still need Jesus to die for you
if you're going to be acceptable to God.
When I spent time in hospital last year with my broken legs,
I spent the first three or four days just stuck in my room,
needing to ring the buzzer if I wanted to go to the toilet,
ring the buzzer if I had an itch down the bottom of my legs,
ring the buzzer if I wanted a shower.
Basically, absolutely dependent,
absolutely contained, imprisoned in my hospital room.
And it wasn't until about day three or four
that they really generously got me a wheelchair,
let me get into that wheelchair,
and start wheeling down the halls.
I was pretty excited about that freedom.
And so as I'm kind of cruising down the hallways of the hospital,
feeling pretty happy with myself,
I'm just glancing into the doors of each hospital room
and these poor suckers, you know,
covered in plaster and in traction and stuck in positions
and can't get out and roam the halls like I can.
And so I was feeling pretty good about my situation.
And on one level, doing better than everyone else.
But I was still stuck in a wheelchair.
I still couldn't get down a set of stairs.
I still couldn't dance or shower or stand up for that matter.
I still had some serious issues that I had to deal with.
I was still going to spend the next seven weeks being
an absolutely disgraceful excuse for a husband and father,
or at least having a reason why I was going to be a disgraceful
excuse for a husband and father.
I still was in a bad situation.
But because I was so busy looking at everyone else,
it's like I tricked myself into thinking my situation
was better than it actually was.
And see, we do that when all we do is measure ourselves
against other people.
The gospel impacts our relationships.
But first and foremost, the gospel is a transaction
between us and God.
The gospel is the answer to the question,
how can I possibly be loved by a God who is holy
when I'm clearly not?
And if we're giving ourselves a premature tick of approval
because we're not as bad as someone else,
we've missed the point.
The gospel message that Jesus dies for sins
has in brackets the harsh reality that he had to die
because of your sins.
And so we need to be careful
that even when it comes to rebuking someone
who is around us, who is in sin,
that we don't do it from this elevated position
where we just tell them that they're wrong.
But like Paul, gospel rebuke is pointing to the gospel.
Because when you point to the gospel,
it's not possible to be prideful.
Because as you point somebody to the reality
that they need to trust Jesus and they're not good enough,
in the process of doing that,
you're pointing to the fact that you need to trust Jesus
because you're not good enough.
And so it's not possible for you to suddenly feel
like you're better than someone or more deserving.
When you point to the gospel,
you proclaim that you are someone who is sinful,
who is not worthy of God's love,
but who God loves anyway in Jesus.
And it protects us from pride.
There are no perfect Christians,
just forgiven sinners.
You, me and everyone else.
And so there's no possibility of looking down on someone.
When you look to the gospel,
you realize we are all imperfect.
We all need Jesus.
The thing that drove Peter to be prideful
in the way he was treating these people
was actually fear.
Have a look at verse 12.
Before certain men came from James,
and James is kind of representative
of the official church in Jerusalem.
So before people came down from there,
he, Peter, 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.
So he was eating with them.
He was treating them like equal.
But then he shifts his behavior
because he's scared
of what a particular group of people
will think of him.
See, not only is there a group for Peter
that are clearly lower than him,
there's also a group that are higher than him.
There's also the legitimate Christians,
you know, the hardcore ones
who know memory verses
and, you know,
just carry their Bibles all the time
so that you know just how godly they are.
And when they turn up,
he wants to make sure
he's ticking their boxes.
He wants to make sure
they think he's legitimate.
He's become so distracted
by worrying about what they think
that he's stopped remembering
that the only opinion
that's actually important anyway is God.
That the whole point of the gospel
and being a Christian
is not to impress people,
but to get your relationship
with God fixed up.
He's had his perspective skewed.
And I wonder if it's possible
that maybe that's happened
for you as well.
If you're somebody
who walks in here to church each week
and does just kind of gasp
at the halo that's, you know,
above some people's heads,
the ones who are just extra nice
and just always serving
and just always knowing the answers
in the small groups
and you do just feel insecure around them
because they just must be
more impressive to God.
See, the danger is
when you get in that position,
the way we respond to insecurity
is with judgment.
Because we're worried
and we're putting in extra effort
to try and tick the boxes,
we demand that extra effort
from other people as well.
So instead of saying,
all you need to do is trust Jesus,
we say, all you need to do
is trust Jesus
and learn these verses
and be at church every week
and serve in at least three ministries
that require a minimum of six hours
of your personal time each week
and give this amount of your money.
We just project our own insecurity
and demand the equivalent of other people.
And so I want to ask you,
have you added to the gospel's demands
for yourself?
Are you actually holding yourself accountable
to standards that God doesn't?
Are you feeling guilty about things
that God is not forcing you
to feel guilty about?
And I guess the second question is,
are you doing that for other people?
The gospel message
that Jesus died for sins
and rose again
and that grace and peace
is on offer for those
who put their faith in him
is not an abstract truth.
It's something that changes
our lives practically.
It changes the way
that we view ourselves.
It changes the way
that we understand
our relationship with God
and it changes the way
we understand our relationships
with one another.
See, Paul's issue with Peter
in this whole passage
is there in verse 14.
He says,
When I saw that they were not acting
in line with the truth
of the gospel,
I said to Peter in front of them all,
You are a Jew,
yet you live like a Gentile,
not like a Jew.
How is it then
that you force Gentiles
to follow Jewish customs?
He says,
What Peter's doing,
adding standards
that are required,
adding requirements
for these people,
is not in line
with the gospel.
It's not part of the message
that Jesus died for sinners.
The gospel changes
the way we view ourselves
in our relationship with God
and it must change
the way that we view
the people around us as well,
both Christian and unchristian.
The gospel doesn't leave us
any room for rankings.
It doesn't leave room
for better and worse
when it comes to following Jesus.
Here, Paul and Peter's issue
is that the Jew
and the Gentile division
is gone.
The Jews who are God's people
and then the Gentiles
who weren't quite God's people,
that's gone.
In Jesus,
God's people are those
who trust what He has done
to offer forgiveness.
And so for us,
we need to let go
of the things
that maybe we think
are really important.
So if you've been grown up
in a Christian family,
that's fantastic,
but it makes no difference
when it comes to the way
God views you.
If you know stacks
of memory verses,
if you're the smartest Bible person
in this whole room,
that's fantastic,
but it makes no difference
to how much God loves you.
If you are serving
in every ministry
that we do in this church,
that's great,
but it makes no difference
to how much God loves you.
the only thing
that matters,
the clear message
of the gospel,
is that we know
a person is justified
by faith in Christ
and not by observing the law.
We know that we are only forgiven
because of Jesus,
because we've tasted
that grace in our lives.
We've experienced
what it's like
to actually say.
Maybe you only remember
just one time in your life
where you said,
God, I know I'm not good enough,
but I need your forgiveness,
and you felt what it was
to have the weight lifted.
You felt what it was
to be loved unconditionally.
Maybe you've doubted it,
maybe you've been distracted
by other things,
but you have at some point,
if you're a Christian,
experienced grace,
and you know
that you did nothing
to earn it.
We know
that a person
can only be made
acceptable to God
by trusting in Jesus.
And so there's no room
for ranking.
We're all trusting
the same thing.
We're all depending on Jesus
just as much
as the next person.
And so we need
to ask ourselves
the question,
how are we doing
at this?
How are we doing
in our relationships
with one another?
Are we letting
insecurity
and intimidation
by the super holy ones
mean that we're not honest
about how we're going
or who we really are?
Are we letting pride
and this sense
of looking down
on the less godly
affect who it is
we're willing
to spend time with
at church
or during supper?
Because the gospel
doesn't leave room
for that.
Where you struggle
with that pride,
Jesus brings humility
because he says,
no, no, no,
you need me
just as much
as that person
that you're looking at now.
Where you struggle
with insecurity,
Jesus gives you
confidence
and security
because he says,
no, no, no,
that person
that's impressive
over there
needs me
just as much
as you do.
What Jesus does
in his death
and resurrection
is give us
a rich unity
and a fellowship.
He gives us
the opportunity
to have deep
relationships
far richer
than what anyone
else in the world
can enjoy
because we don't
have to have
relationships
that are dictated
by what can I get?
How much
will this person
love me?
What does this person
think of me?
We can have
relationships
that start
at the point
of saying,
regardless of
what this person
thinks of me,
how they treat me,
God loves me
unconditionally.
What the gospel
does is kind of
take away the needs
that normally
drive our relationships
and releases us
to be able
to be generous,
giving,
trustworthy people.
We don't have
to pretend
that we're more
godly than we are
because God says
the only thing
that matters
when it comes
to being loved
by me
is Jesus.
This week
we are launching
into Activate
and we've already
said it's about
the opportunity
to join community
groups,
the opportunity
to serve.
Community groups
are more than
just a box
to tick
when it comes
to being
part of a church.
Imagine what
it would be like
to gather
with a group
of people
each week
who were able
to walk in
and just be
completely honest
about how
they were going.
Were able to
walk in and say,
you know what,
I'm having
the worst week
or month
or term
or year
or decade
of my Christian
life so far.
I just feel dry.
I just feel
unmotivated.
Imagine what
it would be like
when you're feeling
like to be able
to walk in
and just drop it
and know
that no one's
going to go,
ooh.
No one's going
to start texting
it to their
friends to say,
oh, this person's
doing bad.
All they're going
to do is
remind you
that God
still loves you
now as much
as he did
the day that
you decided
to follow him.
Wouldn't it be
amazing to walk
into a room
with a group
of people
and be able
to say,
I did this
thing and it
is shameful
and embarrassing
and wrong
and know
that even
if people
respond badly,
God still
loves you
unconditionally.
So you don't
have to fake it.
You don't have
to water it
down.
You don't
have to make
it sound
better than
it was.
You can
just say,
I stuffed
up and I'm
thankful that
God loves
me anyway.
The gift
of being in
Christian fellowship
is not that
you're surrounded
by people
who are like
you,
but that
even though
you're surrounded
by people
who are
completely
different to
you,
you have
one really
important thing
in common.
You are
loved by God
because of
Jesus and
for no other
reason.
Wouldn't it
be amazing
to be part
of a community
that knew
as its
baseline truth,
as its
foundational
reality,
that all
are justified
by faith in
Christ?
No matter
what anyone's
done,
no matter
what we
might do,
no matter
what mistakes
we've made,
no matter
what we're
doing now,
equally
loved,
equally
dependent
on Jesus.
Wouldn't
it be amazing
to be able
to invite
that person
from school
or work
along to
this community
knowing that
there is
nothing about
them that
could make
us look
down on
them?
Knowing that
when they
walked in
the room
they would
feel completely
at home
because they'd
be surrounded
by a bunch
of people
who were
honest about
the fact that
we're not as
good as we
like to
pretend we
are.
I mean
sometimes as
Christians we're
known as the
moral police
which means not
only do we rank
one another but
we stand in the
world that we're a
part of and rank
ourselves against
them.
But the gospel
doesn't leave
space for that.
The gospel
says God
loves you in
spite of who you
are not because
of who you
are.
God loves
you in spite
of all the
things that
you try and
keep secret.
If we want
the world
around us,
if we want
the people
in our
lives to
know just
how amazing
the love
of God
is,
then we've
got to be
willing to
be honest
about just
how unworthy
of that love
we are.
Imagine what
it would be
like to be
part of a
group like
that.
But don't
just imagine,
let me give
you the
challenge.
Maybe tonight,
maybe next
week,
maybe the
week after,
you're going
to sign up
for a
community
group,
or at
least I
hope you
are.
Why don't
you be the
one who
initiates this
sort of a
community?
Why don't
you be the
one who
grabs hold
of the
absolute
security you
have in
Jesus and
be completely
honest?
Each week
when you
show up,
say how
you feel,
confess the
mistakes you've
made,
be gracious
to those
around you
who've
made
mistakes,
and begin
to get a
glimpse of
just how
good it is
when the
gospel shapes
everything,
shapes the
way we view
ourselves,
shapes the
confidence we
have to stand
before God,
and shapes the
way that we
love and serve
one another.
Let's pray.
Father God,
we want to
come before
you and
admit that
as amazing
as this
sounds,
it's not
easy,
that we're
quick to
doubt,
we're quick
to get
nervous when
other people
judge us,
we quickly
fall into the
trap of
looking down
on other
people because
it seems like
a quick fix
to our own
insecurities,
things.
But God,
we just ask
that you would
bring us back
to the gospel
in those
moments,
bring us back
to our need
for you,
bring us back
to your
abundant
provision,
to the
irreversible
love and
forgiveness
that you
have offered
and purchased
for us in
Jesus.
God,
I pray that
you would
mark us
as a church
family by
that absolute
humility that
comes from
grace.
May we show
grace to one
another,
may we show
grace to
people who
enter this
building,
who don't
understand how
we work,
who don't
understand how
we behave,
may we just
love them as
they are because
that's what the
gospel does.
Father God,
I pray that
you would
bless every
one of our
community groups
over this
coming semester,
that they may
be places of
rich, deep
relationships,
where we do
walk and share
one another's
burdens,
where we do
rejoice together,
where we do
confess,
where we
just encourage
and feed the
gospel security
that is available
for us.
God, thank you
for Jesus.
Thank you that
we don't have
to pretend.
Thank you that
you love to
bring people
like us,
unworthy
sinners,
people who
it doesn't
make sense
to have that
sort of
relationship.
You love to
bring us
together so
that the
world around
us might
see that
what you
offer is
better than
everything else.
God, please
do your work
in us so
that others
might come to
know what we
know.
Amen.