“Do Not Set Aside The Grace Of God!”

“Do Not Set Aside The Grace Of God!”(Gal.2:11-21).
In the days of old in some African villages princes who contested the stool were either banished or they exiled themselves. It happened that one such exiled prince had an informant in the palace. This informant would be in the palace by day and by night he will go and inform the exiled prince about all that happened in the palace. He did not know that his actions were known by the reigning king. Others who knew his actions may have considered him a traitor, but the king did not turn against him. Rsther, the king knighted him with the title “Knight of the Night.”
When we play double standards, we become knights of the night.
A mission to the Gentiles was an acceptance that salvation comes through faith in Christ Jesus and not through obedience to the Law of Moses.
At Antioch Cephas and Paul were in tandem on this until Cephas became a hypoctite by playing double standarcs. In the presence of some Jews he cut off relations with the Gentiles with whom he had been in communion and fellowship. His action lured other Jews to behave like him.
When Paul saw that “they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel,” he opposed Cephas before them all, because he stood condemned.
Dear friend, in matters of faith those of princely lineages are not elevated to a higher ground than those from the lineages of slaves. When we have condenscended from our high positions to mingle with the lowly, and when those of our class meets us, we should not eventually behave as if we have never known those we consider commoners. That is double standards which is not healthy for the gospel.
A person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Being justified by faith in Jesus Christ we are dead to the law so that we live for God.
Dear friend, you and I can free ourselves of the hypocrisy of double standards when like Paul we make this open confession of our faith conviction: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”
But we know Christ died for something! He died that we can find grace. When we live in grace, we are induced to do works of righteousness as a response to grace, not as a means to acquire grace.
Weekend prayer: Holy Spirit prod me on to do the works of righteousness as a response to the amazing grace that found me. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.