Galatians 2:11-21
Be Still: Guide my thoughts Lord Jesus as I approach your word today. Help me as I ponder it in my head and heart, and change me by your Spirit. Amen
Read: Galatians 2:11-21
When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he 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. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
‘We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ (vv11-16a)
Encounter: There is a theory in Social Psychology called the ‘Social Identity Theory’* that (in basic terms), suggests that people have a bias to find security within an ‘in-group’, since survival costs are very high when humans are isolated. In any social situation, individuals want to identify and align themselves with an in-group, while separating themselves from (and sometimes devaluing) an out-group. You may have had experience of this yourself.
When I look at this account of Cephas’ (Peter’s) behaviour, it strikes me that he may have been having a bit of in-group/out-group crisis. He used to behave one way (eating with the Gentiles), and then when Jewish Christians arrived in town who thought differently, he aligned himself with them, and was consequently led astray on the gospel.
This serves as a warning to us if we are not careful about the values we prioritise in company. Many of us work in secular workplaces and have valuable friendships with non-Christians. Yet we should be aware that there will be values within these groups which will differ from our own, and our natural bias is more likely to lead us to align with them, than to stand out and risk rejection. While we treasure these friends, we need to make a conscious effort to also seek and nurture those friendships within Christ’s body that will encourage and strengthen us in the challenges of Christian living.
Apply: Do you have Christian friends? Where could you create, cultivate or prioritise these friendships in the coming week or month? E.g., community groups, church socials, Bible study groups, being part of a church team, prayer triads etc.
If you are someone with many Christian friends and few non-Christian ones, perhaps you could consider where you may have ‘out-grouped’ non-Christians. Are there any ways you marginalise secular people, rather than accepting and loving them like Jesus did?
Devote: Lord Jesus, thank for the precious gifts of friendship and community. Please help me to find and nurture kingdom friendships as I seek to serve others and live according to your will.
*Tajfel and Turner, 1979