A Serious Devotional For the Not-So-Serious

Day Twenty-Two: Faithfulness of Christ

Bible Passage: Galatians 2

Ever sat down and read all of Galatians? I have to sheepishly admit that, prior to seminary, I never did. Oh sure, I knew about the Fruit of the Spirit (good luck having me rattle them off though). I knew about the, “I have been crucified with Christ” part of chapter two. Those are hallmark passages. Not bad for bumper stickers too! I can’t say I’ve ever been cut off or gotten an angry look from someone who has a bumper sticker with the Fruit of the Spirit.
Chapter one tells of Paul taking a bit of a hiatus after his conversion. I never knew he did that! We see in chapter one that Paul’s demeanor is less pleasant than his other letters. He is upset by what he’s seeing with the church in Galatia. This leads into chapter two, where Paul gets in Peter’s face about being a bit two faced. Paul didn’t do the gentle, gingerly Christian etiquette by pulling Peter quietly aside and saying, “Hey man, I really feel like you’re not being authentic about who you are. I think we need some accountability with this.” Rather, Paul goes toe-to-toe with Peter in front of everybody! This is probably the point where people start shifting uncomfortably and trying not to make eye contact with either of the men. This all leads us to a point I want to highlight in chapter two.
Verse sixteen can be translated in one of two ways. The first is as most of you probably have in your Bibles. Twice the passage uses the term, “faith in Christ” and what that passage says in its context is true. The other translation is a minor variant, which is still true, but I think is a better hermeneutic (how you like that word huh?) that fits the context of the entire Bible. Oh, in case you didn’t know, hermeneutic means how you translate and understand the Bible. In this case, the second, “faith in Christ” is translated, “the faithfulness of Christ.” Re-read verse 16 again using both variants. If need be, take a minute to re-read the chapter to get the fuller picture.
What does this difference mean? If both translations work and they look like they mean the same thing, who cares? Put on your imagination cap and picture this scene if you will. You have been struggling with something for some time now. It’s a spiritual issue and you need guidance, so you see your pastor. You explain your situation to him and seek his advice. Using the first translation as his theology, his advice would sound like, “you need to pray more, read your Bible more, be part of small groups.” Don’t get me wrong: these are all good things, great things in fact. They do rely on you and your power though. Now imagine all this, but using the second translation as the theology for the advice. His advice would be, “spent time knowing who Jesus is and giving this struggle to Him since He has already overcome it.” Initially this sounds like a cop out. What does that mean to “know Jesus and give Him this struggle?” This goes to the idea that it’s not by your power, but by His. He has conquered sin and death and the grave. He is the one who will give you strength, not because you did an extensive Bible study or recited the Lord’s prayer. It is about being acquainted with Jesus and that full reliance on Him. Yes, Bible study, prayer, and other disciplines will help with knowing Jesus. What this second translation says is that those are tools to understand who Jesus is and connecting with Him. What this second translation looks like is asking Jesus into every situation. It looks like seeking wise counsel from people who know and love Jesus. This second translation sees people studying the Bible to know Jesus more, praying to communicate with Jesus, and in small groups because they are growing with others in their relationship with Jesus. It all comes back to Jesus.
What I’ve noticed in my time as a Christian and youth pastoring is that people tend to forget the reason why we study the Bible, pray, and do other disciplines. It becomes a means to an end or a way to rub the genie’s lamp so to speak. It becomes about what we can get from it. That’s why I like the second translation better. It fits with the idea we see in the Bible of God calling people to rely on Him and the fullness of life that comes from fellowship with Him. That’s what people originally had in Eden and will ultimately have someday when we are in paradise. In the case of Paul in Galatians, he was making the case of Jesus being the way we are sanctified, not because of the doings of the Law. In the same way, our lives are sanctified not because we went through AWANA or completed the Roman Road Bible study. It’s because we have a personal, developing, dependent relationship with Jesus.