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Jesus is God. This is a central doctrine of true Christianity. Any religion that lowers Jesus to a position below that of divinity—true, first-level, God the Creator divinity—actually denies the faith entirely. To see Jesus as a demigod, as a second-level deity, as a created being is to see Jesus differently than does Scripture. While Jesus and the Father are not the same person, Jesus, with the Father and Holy Spirit, are one God.

 

Because the deity of Christ is so central to our understanding of the faith, it is heart-warming to run across passages that you may not have noticed in the past where the deity of Christ is expressed. It is especially joyful to find a passage in the Old Testament that rings out clearly that the Savior is God.

 

With that in mind, consider this portion of a psalm, a text written centuries before Jesus’ incarnation:

 

Psalm 107:23-30

 

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the great waters;

24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,

his wondrous works in the deep.

25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;

their courage melted away in their evil plight;

27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men

and were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

29 He made the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

 

How familiar is that story to a New Testament Christian? Remember, however, that this is a poem written centuries before the time of Jesus on earth. The psalmist imagined the work of God in saving desperate men on the sea. But the story rings in our New testament ears of something that quite literally happened. We remember Jesus, asleep in the boat while the storm tossed it about, awakened by his disciples and calming the sea.

 

Look specifically at verse 28. Upon whom did the desperate men cry? They cried to the Lord. The spelling in our text tells us that they did not cry to simply an authority, but to the God of the Bible, to Yahweh, to the I Am. In the New Testament, the disciples cried, not to a general expression of divinity, but personally to Jesus. And Jesus, the Lord, calmed the sea. Thus, we see a clear proclamation, from centuries earlier, fulfilled in Jesus, that Jesus is God.

When Paul was put in prison and wrote to the people of Philippi, he expected to be released from that trial. Paul had preached the gospel, and he had made it to Rome by appealing to Caesar as a Roman citizen. Early in Philippians chapter 1, Paul rejoices that, because of his trial and imprisonment, he knows that many in the palace, many of the royal family, have heard the message of Jesus.

 

Though Paul expects to be delivered, he also knows that death is a possibility. Paul knows that, if he catches the Emperor on a bad day or if someone opposes him in just the right way, this entire appeal could end in Paul’s own execution. So, at the time of writing Philippians, Paul is between life and death, and the gap is not large at all.

 

Philippians 1:19-21 – 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 

Verse 21 is one of those verses that many of us know. But, we are not always diligent to look at it closely, simply because it is so familiar. So, consider a little more deeply the phrase “to live is Christ, to die is gain.”

 

John Piper points out that this is a parallel statement. Like the poetry of the Psalms, this pithy phrase from Paul has two items that are compared. If you see it with the comparison being made, you will see that something unexpected is written.

 

Looking at the phrase, we see right away that “to live” is contrasted with “to die.” Paul knows that these opposite outcomes are possible in his trial. Typically, then, we would expect that, if the subjects are opposite, the result of those subjects will also be opposite. We expect something like: to win is good, to lose is bad. We expect, “To live is good, to die is bad.” That is how we feel, especially when our eyes are  on this life alone.

 

Paul says that to live is Christ. He expects that his life, should it be prolonged after the trial, will be to the glory of Jesus. Paul will know Jesus more and present Jesus more if he lives. Paul will live in the light of the knowledge and glory of Jesus. Paul will have joy in Christ if he lives.

 

Now, here is where the point gets beautiful. We expect the opposite statement to follow. To die must be something unwanted. But Paul concludes the parallel with “to die is gain.” If Paul lives, he gets joy in the glory of Christ. But if Paul is executed by the Romans, that he says is gain. Paul benefits infinitely if he dies. How can that be true? Paul has a grasp of the glory of God and the infinite wonder and joy of heaven.

 

Do you grasp that to live is Christ and to die is gain? Do you grasp that your life here on earth is to be to the glory of Jesus and for the service of Jesus? Do you understand that life is good and that living is something you want to do? At the same time, do you see that death, for the believer, in the timing of God, is gain?

 

A Christian should not do anything to try to bring his or her life to an early end. But, we should also have an eternal perspective about life and death. When it is time for the Lord to call us home, we must learn to cry, “Gain!” WE should see that crossing out of this life and into eternity is the step that will bring us the greatest joy imaginable. We should see that we live for Christ in this life, and that is good. But in the next, we stand face-to-face with Christ, and that is gain. 

See if this scenario feels normal for you. There is a right thing you could say or a kind act you could perform. But, as you evaluate the situation, you think about the person you would be kind to. You know their character. You know they will not actually appreciate it. You know they won’t really respond to you with the kindness your act deserves. So you decide that doing the good thing, the right thing, is not really worth it in the end.

 

If that is a familiar part of your life, consider Paul’s words to slaves in Ephesians 6.

 

Ephesians 6:5-8 – 5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

 

Paul called the slaves living in the Roman Empire to serve well. He called them to work hard, and not merely when the master was watching. Paul called these folks to right behavior, even when it would not really make an ounce of difference in the life of the slave.

 

In verse 8, Paul tells us that we should serve and do rightly, even if it does not make an earthly difference, because, “whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.” The apostle reminds us that we work hard and do right, not because it will make a difference here, but because the Lord will rightly reward those children of his who do right for the sake of the honor of the Lord.

 

Consider this the next time you know what is right, you know what needs to be said, you know how something ought to be done, but you are discouraged because you do not think your act will be appreciated. Do what is right, even if it will not make a difference on earth. The Lord sees. It is the Lord we serve. And so we will serve faithfully, we will do kindness, we will cling to Scriptural morality, we will obey the Lord, even if it does not make a difference, because the Lord will see, be honored, and reward his faithful followers.

How do you speak to others? What do people around you say about your conversation? Is your talk kind or very sharp? When you joke with others, are the remarks sarcastic and cutting?

 

I want to visit a verse that so often is used when we challenge each other to be careful with our humor. But, before we look at it, I do want to say that what has my attention as I look at it is not the more familiar part, so stay with me.

 

Ephesians 4:29 – Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

 

What is corrupting talk? In context, we are talking about lying and, in the next chapter, being crude is in view. A study of the original language shows us that the word Paul used is a word for bad or rotten as in the bad fruit on a tree. Certainly, the speech is corrupt and foul.

 

Of course this means that evil talk, false talk, God-dishonoring talk must not be a part of who we are. We need to watch our mouths.

 

But what about humor? I’ve heard this verse used many times for not being a mean joker. Does that actually not apply?

I think, if we follow the way that Paul is writing here, the primary meaning of that first phrase is certainly ugly, base, crude, sinful speech. But I also think, in application, we can say that we need to check our speech, even the way we tease each other, to see if it is rotten.

 

The next part of the phrase talks about building each other up. Again, on the surface, this has to do with doing each other good, edifying, uplifting sort of speech. We want to speak truth to each other. We also want to speak cleanly to each other, not bringing corruption into each other’s lives with our words. So, again, though harsh and quippy language is not at the center of the author’s intent, it could be captured in this verse as an appropriate application.

 

But the final phrase is what got my attention today: that it may give grace to those who hear. Our speech is supposed to be grace-giving. That is where, at the end of the day, we will have to check our words more and more. When you talk, do people who have spoken with you feel like they have been given grace? Do people who hear you feel encouraged, comforted, and refreshed? Do those to whom you speak see the mercy of Christ in how you speak to them?

 

Now we are getting somewhere. Something about my words to you and your words to me should repeatedly sound the note of grace in each other’s lives. Something about the way I treat you and you treat me should make us see ourselves as gifted by God with life and mercy.

 

Let me apply that part in two categories. First, for the extra serious among us, you need to check your speech. Often the higher and loftier one’s speech, the sharper and more condemning we can sound. Do people walk away from conversations with you, from the spiritual conversations you crave, and sense the mercies of Christ? Or, on the other hand, do you by your style of communication leave them feeling that they do not live up to your standards for what a Christian should be? Do you make it hard for average people to want to talk with you because you are always showing them their faults without showing them God’s grace?

 

Of course this is not a call not to rebuke or train others. But, if we are honest, we all know that extra spiritual person with whom we dread a conversation because they just do not bring joy and life and mercy into our day. And, if you are a Christian, if you are a deep thinker, if you are serious about your faith, and if you do not know such a person, please examine yourself to see if you are that person. Do not back off truth. But strive to help those who hear you also hear of the love, the grace, the kindness, the tender mercies of Christ in their lives. Build them up, but build gently and sweetly.

 

Second, on the front of humor, the place I so often hear this verse applied, the call to mercy is a big deal. When you are teasing your friends, when you are just having fun, when you get in a good shot, is there any way that you are building them up in mercy? I would suggest to you that the answer is probably no. When we center relationships on cutting humor, we cannot, at the same time, be helping each other to see the love of God and the mercy of Christ. And so we need to reevaluate how much we treasure following the worldly model of a snappy comeback as a major form of communication.

 

Here would be my suggestion: Do not lose your humor, but focus your barbs on yourself or on fun and funny things that are not people. There is so much that is hilarious in this world to laugh at that you do not have to find your humor by making fun of your friends or your enemies. Laugh at yourself. Laugh at your own flaws. Laugh at the humor to be found in life in general. But guard against trying to score comedy points at the expense of others. You never know that your words are not cutting more deeply than you realize. And you are certainly forming a habit that is very hard to break. And, looking back at this verse, you are not building up another nor are you showing them the mercies of God.

 

At this point in the program, many of us fight back with some sort of comment about how this is just how my friends and I communicate. We argue that this is just who we are, and our friends understand us. Let me urge you to revisit this verse and its calls and ask you to reconsider, not if this is who you are, but if it is who you should be. We can better magnify the Lord when we are careful not to let our tongues slice at others.

 

And, to finish with mercy, let me say that I am by no means immune to this flaw. I grew up thinking that a quick wit and a clever barb was a great way to become the center of attention. It’s fun to have everyone think you are just so funny. But the truth is, I had to repent (and I continue to repent), because I want to leave people with whom I talk with a stronger grasp of the grace and mercy of God. God worked on me, and is still working on me here. Can I urge you as well, if this is a struggle, to be encouraged. God wants to work on you and shape you into a more God-honoring friend to others. God can work on you to be someone whose speech is always full of grace, seasoned with salt, pointing to Christ. Want more of that. Keep humor in life with kindness. Build others up for the honor of our Lord.

How do Christianity and Old Covenant law go together? Of course there are thousands of pages in loads of books given to this topic. But for the ordinary believer, what do we do with the law? Does it apply? Does it not? Do parts apply and parts not?

 

I have been pondering those points for a bit, and so it was interesting to read the following from Paul in my daily reading:

 

Ephesians 2:13-16 – 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

 

Contextually, Paul has been showing the Ephesians the glory of their salvation. In 2:1-10, Paul showed them the glory of being saved by grace alone through faith alone. He showed them that our faith is a gift given to us by God which moves us from death to life and prepares us, after we are saved, to live for his glory.

 

Then, in the section beginning with 2:11, Paul shows that the Ephesians, gentiles by birth, have not only been saved but have also been brought into the singular people of God. Before, during Old Covenant times, there were two groupings in the world: Jew and gentile—circumcised and uncircumcised. But now, in Christ, God has made a massive change. No longer are gentiles required to enter the Old Covenant Judaism in order to find the grace of God. Now, God has broken down that dividing wall between Jew and gentile to make a single group, a single family, the people of God.

 

In that creation of the New Covenant people, it is interesting to see that Paul says in 2:15 that God did all this by “abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances.” Something has been abolished, done away with, from the old system. Something that divided Jew and gentile is now gone. Something has changed to enact a greater, better covenant.

 

What do we know for sure about this abolishing? For sure, we know that New Covenant believers are no longer required to follow any form of the law that is often labeled ceremonial. We do not sacrifice animals any longer. We do not burn a particular incense in a temple any longer. We do not burn a grain offering any longer. We do not keep particular religious festivals by requirement any longer. All of that part of the law was a dim shadow that pointed toward the perfect righteousness and sacrificial work of Christ. Jesus fulfilled it all.

 

There are also Old Covenant laws relating to Israel as a nation. There were rules that God gave which simply set the Israelite apart from the rest of the world, identifying him or her as a unique individual who claimed a place in the nation. This was clear in dietary laws, in dress code, in circumcision, in farming practices, and in other such things. These, most would agree, were unique to Israel as a nation-state, and are not required today. Add to those laws the ones that focus on the national civil law code of Israel. Laws about what to do if my ox kills yours, about railings on my roof, about punishment for theft, or about property inheritance within clans are not laws that most would say Christians ought to keep. Christ is our king, fulfilling all nationalistic requirements, and we are now under his rule.

 

But then there are the parts of the law that are moral. Those laws reveal to us the character of God and his desires for human behavior. Such laws include God’s proclamations about marriage, sexuality, violence, kindness, family, parenting, etc. Are those laws abolished too? It really depends on what you understand when you say abolished. If you believe that even the moral law is something that we keep in order to be saved, then you should consider the law abolished. God will not save any person or call them his own because of their keeping of any moral law, even the ones we still champion today. So, in one sense, even the moral law is abolished. Christ fulfilled it on our behalf just as he fulfilled the ceremonial law.

 

Of course, that last paragraph would be horrifying to me if taken out of context. This is because, though the moral law is not a requirement we must meet for salvation, we learn in the moral commands of the Old Testament and those in the New Testament the kinds of behaviors and values that honor the Lord. And though all laws are fulfilled by Christ on behalf of those he died to save, we do not then rightly choose to behave in opposition to the standards God gave us in those commands. This, by the way, is something Paul repeatedly argued for in his writings. He would proclaim us free from law, and then he would challenge us not to sin just because we are under grace. The moral law is fulfilled by Christ on our behalf, and now we live to please the lord based on what he has revealed is pleasing to him in all of his word. We follow God’s revealed morality, not out of legal duty, but out of loving delight in the glory of our Lord.

 

Let’s look at a simple example. God forbade murder in the Old Testament law. But I just said the law is abolished. Does that mean I can now murder? No way. Setting aside the fact that the prohibition against murder is affirmed in the New Testament, the Old Testament showed us that murder is in itself an attack on the Lord himself. To willfully murder a human being who is an image of God is to attack the God of that image. Murder attacks God. So, even if there were no law code in place at all, Christians would (or should) understand that murder is morally wrong because of the truths and values that the Lord has revealed all through his word.

 

So, is the law abolished? Yes and no. Yes, the law is abolished if you are thinking of it as a set of rules we follow to be defined as the people of God. Christ fulfilled all law in that way. Yes, the law is abolished if you are thinking about laws that would make us look like Old Testament Israel. Christ fulfilled all of those. The law is abolished if you are thinking even of moral commandments as ways to earn the favor of the Lord, because Christ fulfilled those and earned the only earned favor anyone will ever earn. But do we then live in lawlessness? Of course we do not. WE live according to the word of God, because the word of God reveals to us the commands of God and the ways of God for those who have been brought into his family. So, we still value life, protect marriage, live graciously with each other, show compassion, avoid immorality, and battle sin, not out of law, but because battling sin is part of what those people do who have been changed by God and who desire to be sanctified, to look more and more like Jesus each day of our lives.

Here is a question for us: Is truth spoken always good? Is even good counsel always right to give?

 

I want you to look at the following counsel offered to a man in distress. How wise and right does it seem?

 

 

“As for me, I would seek God,

and to God would I commit my cause,

who does great things and unsearchable,

marvelous things without number:

 

Now, that is good advice for someone who is struggling, isn’t it? How can it not be perfect and right to tell someone, in their sorrow, to seek God, because God does amazing things?

 

Contextually, the words above are not good counsel. They are spoken by Eliphaz to Job in chapter 5, verses 8 and 9. Eliphaz is in the process of condemning Job. Eliphaz simply cannot imagine that Job is suffering so much without having offended God in some way to deserve it. So, the words of Eliphaz, words that sound so wonderfully true on their surface, are actually nasty things flung at a hurting man to basically tell him to stop sinning and start seeking God so that everything will be OK again.

 

We need to learn from this as we help hurting friends. It is not enough that our words are true. It is not enough that our counsel is right. After all, who could argue that even Job needs to seek the Lord? But apt counsel must be truth spoken in love and with wisdom.

 

For example, a person who has just lost a loved one may not need to hear from you a pithy recitation of Romans 8:28. Yes, God does work all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his great purpose. But, not all things are good. And not all moments are the right time to try to fix a persons theology of suffering and sovereignty. Sometimes we need to weep with those who weep more than we need to unload our doctrine on them, even if our doctrine is good.

 

Here is an example of something very true, intended to encourage, that was not wisely or well spoken. I was standing at the funeral home greeting people who were offering their condolences to me and my family after my father passed away. Many people, of course, wanted to offer me comfort by pointing to the fact that my dad is in heaven, with the Lord. But one particular conversation felt so wrong. A person came and expressed to me his sorrow for our loss. Then he asked me if my dad was a believer. When I said that my dad had come to faith in Christ, the person said to me, “Well, I’m sorry for your loss, but not that sorry.” He was meaning to say to me that the sorrow is lessened for us knowing that heaven is real. But, it was not at all a comforting way to express even a true and doctrinally sound thought.

 

Interestingly, in case you want to know what I found most comforting in the funeral line, it was when someone just shook my hand or hugged me and said something like, “I’m sorry.” A simple expression of grieving with us over our loss was most helpful. Those who wanted to encourage by making the funeral home a teaching moment were far less helpful than those who just made it clear that they cared about us.

 

Christians, think well as you offer words of counsel. The point here is that you can say very true things and not help. You can say perfectly biblical things and not encourage. Ask yourself what would encourage you. Ask yourself if now is the time to offer a teaching. Ask yourself if they already know what you are planning to say to them. Ask yourself what will show your love most. Of course you must not compromise the truth. But truth aptly spoken is far more valuable than true words poorly put.  

How is the best way to stop a quarrel or fight from happening? How can we actually prevent petty squabbles from breaking out and causing major divisions in families, churches, or friendships? How can we move to avoid making a mess of relationships when the problems do not need to be exacerbated? The answer is in the title: shut your mouth.

 

Now, let’s preface and get it over with. I am not here talking about serious offenses; neither is Scripture. I’m not talking about crimes or abuses. What I am here talking about is the kind of little thing that gets under your skin, bugs you, starts a fight, and ruins an otherwise decent relationship.

 

The book of Proverbs is about good, godly, wise counsel. Each proverb shows you how things should generally work when things are right with the world. And often the proverbs shows us how to deal with our words in such a way as to live a smarter and easier life.

 

There seems to be a running theme in Proverbs 17 regarding how you and I speak, especially when we are offended in a small way. Take a look, and see if you can find the pattern in what the Bible says to do to prevent a minor offense from becoming a major conflict:

 

Proverbs 17:4, 9, 14, 27, 28

 

4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

 

Put that all together and what is the counsel? Shut up! Do not listen to a gossip who wants to stir you up toward conflict. Do not uncover or speak out loud to others everything that bugs you. Sometimes choosing to walk away and get over a small offense is far smarter than pushing the matter into a lasting quarrel. Even foolish people look smarter when they keep their mouths shut.

 

This all requires a bit of wisdom. Sometimes an offense needs to be confronted. Sometimes you need to be wise enough to close your mouth and walk away. How can you tell which is which? Here are just some bullet point thoughts that may help:

 

• Do not make every offense into a major problem.
• Take time to think and even sleep on a matter before choosing to confront someone with a minor offense.
• Be humble and recognize that you are also often the one in the wrong.
• Read Matthew 7:3-5 and consider how you might also be in sin. Repent first before thinking about confronting someone else.
• Do not spread your offense around to others and make a conflict bigger than it needs to be.
• Choose to let an offense go if it is relatively small and if it is not a clear pattern of behavior in a friend that needs to be corrected.
• Be quiet and listen to what others are saying. You may find that you misinterpreted what you found so offensive.
• Ask if you are seeking to love your friend or if you are just seeking to win in a conflict. Seek love over winning every time.
• Recognize that starting a quarrel has consequences, so be sure that the issue is serious enough to move forward.
• If the issue is over something trivial, it is often better to walk away than to battle for the final victory.

 

Friends, the truth is, we cannot spend our lives confronting each other with every little thing that bothers us. If my wife had to confront every failure of mine, I cannot imagine how she would have time to get anything else done. If your friends pointed out every flaw they see in you, you would probably not want to keep them as your friends. Be the kind of friend you want. Confront things that matter: issues of sin, issues of lasting character, issues that are strongly hurtful. Let go of issues that do not matter. See the preface above and never keep silent when issues of abuse are happening. But, let’s be honest, most of our personal conflicts are not over major offenses. Most are over the way someone wrote a comment on our Facebook page, didn’t invite us to an event they invited someone else to, or the way we think someone was thinking when they said something we heard them say.

Over the past few decades, the concept of the local church being committed to church discipline has grown in favor. Leaders often refer to church discipline with Matthew 18:15-17 as the key reference in important documents for the church. We want to clearly define the “process” so that nobody is confused:

• private confrontation
• confrontation with a witness or two
• inclusion of the whole church
• excommunication

 

But, as I continue to learn and grow, I wonder how much we are missing as we discuss the issue of church discipline. Did Jesus really intend this to be a four-step process for every situation? Are these the only four possible steps? And what about the intent?

 

I believe firmly in Matthew 18 church discipline. I believe that a church that refuses to practice discipline will become something less than a church. But, I also believe that if Matthew 18 is our only prooftext, we have a problem.

Galatians 6:1-2 – 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

 

Look at Paul’s language for the church in Galatia. Do you feel the focus? Can you sense the emotion? Paul is not directing the Galatian church leadership to enact a four -step process from Matthew 18. Of course, Paul is not at all violating that process. But he is handling the situation with a great deal of love, mercy, grace, and tact. Yes, he is in the parameters of Matthew 18, but his heart is coming out very clearly.

 

What is the goal of discipline? On the one hand, the goal is the purity of the church. But notice that in Galatians 6, the goal is the restoration of a sinning believer before they are in great danger. We cannot sacrifice one purpose for another and be doing biblical church discipline. Discipline is supposed to be restorative.

 

This is why church membership is so valuable. Yes, we want a pure and obedient church for the glory of Christ. And part of that includes us teaming up together to live life in such a way that, when we are messing it up, we help each other to get back on track. A church that only lists 4 steps of confrontation followed by excommunication will fail to communicate that discipline is primarily us living together to help sanctify one another to the glory of God.

 

So, dear friends, do not think I’m opposed to the process, I’m not. But if you want to handle discipline rightly, please include Galatians 6:1-2 with your process from Matthew 18:15-17 so that you include the togetherness and the heart for restoration that the Lord intends mark his church.

Some people love conflict. I know that to many of us that sounds weird, but there are some folks who thrive on stirring up arguments with one another. I’ve seen some groups on social media where it seems that all these folks do is pick at each other and find ways to argue with one another rather than agree with each other and encourage the body.

 

I don’t like arguing. But, I do know that there are times when a good argument is important to the faith. There are situations where we cannot remain silent. There are times when we have to push on a point for the sake of the gospel, even in the church.

 

Paul had such an experience with Peter.

 

Galatians 2:11-14 – 11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

 

In Galatia, there were some folks known as Judaizers. Those men argued that, for gentiles to be saved, they must submit to and obey the Old Testament Jewish law. This is not people saying that Christians ought to follow the heart of the law to Jesus, but that Christians should submit to circumcision, to ceremonial cleanliness regulations, and to food laws. It is almost as if they wanted the gentiles to pay their dues and work the non-Jewishness off of themselves.

 

When Paul arrived in Galatia, he found these folks, and he was surprised to see that Peter had started to act like them too. As our text says, before the Judaizers got to Galatia, peter would eat with the gentiles. He would have a ham sandwich, no problem. But when the Judaizers arrived, Peter separated himself from the gentile believers and started acting as if those gentiles needed to stop with the bacon.

 

Now, it may seem that an argument, to ham or not to ham, should not be a big conflict area. But, as Paul arrived, he realized that something of the gospel was at stake. Paul understood that the Judaizers were adding their particular, cultural morality to the message of Jesus. They were not saying that you are saved by grace alone through faith alone. Instead, they were saying that you are saved by grace through faith and adaptation to our culture. This, of course is no longer the true gospel.

 

So, Paul brought the conflict. And what he did was right. Paul challenged Peter openly. Paul showed that Peter was perverting the gospel by hanging with the Judaizers and adding laws to the gentiles that God did not require for either their salvation or their sanctification.

 

We should never be a people eager to have conflict. We most certainly should not call every interpretive error heresy. We should not fight about every difference of opinion. In many cases, we will find that our difference of opinion is one of style or preference, and we should be sure to speak graciously with one another, even when we disagree and cannot come to consensus.

 

But, Christians, do not avoid conflict if a question of gospel is at stake. If a person is proclaiming something as gospel that is not the biblical gospel, you have to get in there and mix it up. If a person is adding requirements to the gospel, saying that you must add something beyond faith in Jesus and repentance for salvation, you need to challenge it. The purity of the gospel is too important for us to let anyone mess with it. Never love fighting. But, if the gospel is at stake, then gospel conflict is to the glory of God.

Toward the end of the book of Nehemiah, after the wall was rebuilt, we see a section where the leaders of Judah help the people to pray in repentance. These prayers are worth seeing. They show us a solid model to follow in how we might ask God for mercy while confessing our own or our nations’ sin.

 

Nehemiah 9:32-37 – 32 “Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. 35 Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. 36 Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. 37 And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.

 

In verse 32, the prayer begins, Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love.” The people begin a prayer of repentance by properly acknowledging the Lord. They see God in his perfect character, and they praise him. How do they praise? They do not seek things to make up about God to make him sound a certain way. Instead, they just describe who God is, and that puts the prayer in a worshipful context.

 

The people continue in verse 32 , “let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.” That prayer is a call for mercy. The people of Judah have suffered. They are continuing to suffer in many ways. And they declare it clearly to the Lord. In all of the biblical prayers for help that we see, we never see people minimizing their own pain or their own previous hardships. Prayer should properly include us declaring the truth of our pain to the Lord. There is nothing to be gained by us pretending that we have not suffered or that we are not sorrowful in certain areas of life. Our God is loving and gracious. He will hear us when we speak truth to him.

 

Then comes what first caught my attention when reading this passage, verse 33, “Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.” This is something that is so often missing in the prayers and declarations of modern people. The people declare that, though they have suffered, God is perfectly righteous. Judah knew that, based on the word of God, they had received exactly what God had promised they would receive for rebelling against him. The people knew that enslavement to empires such as Assyria, Babylon, and Persia were the promised consequences for turning against the Lord. And in the verses that follow, we see the people clearly admit to the Lord how they and their leaders had failed to follow the Lord.

 

Part of a good prayer of confession is to admit what we have done wrong as we acknowledge that the Lord, his ways, and his actions are always right. This does not mean that we do not ask for mercy. This does not mean that we do not ask God to lift from us the consequences we deserve. But a good prayer of confession will always praise the Lord for his justice as we declare the truth of our need for grace.