Galatians 2.14–17

¹⁴ 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?

¹⁵ "We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles ¹⁶ know that a person is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷ "But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn't that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!

Have you ever read through some of the rules and regulations in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy? It’s kind of interesting to read through it. Some of the rules in there you are quite aware of (such as do not lie, and do not steal). Others you probably aren’t aware of (such as do not lend money with interest or that land that is sold has to be returned to it’s original owner every 50 years).

Have you ever wondered why we follow some laws and ignore others? Paul, in this passage, is wondering the same thing. If you look back in Acts Chapter 10, Peter has a vision from God about Gentile converts. In it, God tells him that he can eat any animal, regardless of whether or not that animal is considered ceremonially clean or unclean (some more of the obscure laws from Leviticus that we have put into the “ignore” category). In Acts 15, Peter, on the basis of this vision, claims that Gentiles can become Christians without circumcision (yet another law from the OT).

Now, it seems, Peter has decided that circumcision is mandatory for salvation. But, he seems to be content to continue eating “unclean food. Paul reminds us that it’s not any of the old laws that save us, but faith in Christ.

What laws are you using to gauge the “Christianity” of others?