Authenticity in the Gospel | Galatians 2:11–21
What holds us back:
We’ve drifted from authenticity when we start living in one way out in public and in another way when nobody’s looking. Hypocrisy is that wretched admixture of pretending and posing, striving to be seen in the best light possible.
“The divine punishment of hypocrisy is fatigue.”
—G. K. Chesterton, “The Blunders of Our Governments,” Illustrated London News, June 13, 1914.
There’s no fatigue deeper than soul fatigue. Good News: As disciples of Jesus, there is another way. Let’s become intentional about living lives of Gospel authenticity and integrity.
How Christ sets us free:
Paul pivoted to his most personal and perhaps most memorable statements in Galatians: v. 20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
So, authentic gospel living isn’t about trying harder, becoming more legalistic, or ginning up more willpower. It’s about living in union with Christ; resting in our Divinely given identity that runs so deep and is so settled that the old performance based religion loses its grip on us.
“Essentially salvation means living our lives in union with Christ, being one with Christ. We have been crucified with Christ – ‘I am crucified with Christ’, says Paul. ‘All that has happened to Him has happened to me. I am one with Him.”
—Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure
Where we can stand:
That last half of v. 20 says “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Here’s the ground upon which we stand. We’re standing on the rock and foundation of our faith, Jesus Christ — who loved us and gave himself for us! What a wonderful Savior He is!
“The Christian’s life is a matchless riddle. No worldling can comprehend it! Even the Believer himself cannot understand it. Dead, yet alive! crucified with Christ, and yet at the same time risen with Christ in newness of life!”
—Charles H. Spurgeon, “Christus et Ego,” Sermon No. 781, preached November 17, 1867
How we should walk:
Authenticity itself is not the ultimate goal; nor is it the new holiness. There are plenty of times when the people around me could use a little less of my authentic self, and a little more of my living in union with Christ self.
We need to get back to the fundamental confession of our faith that we now live in union with Christ and as we surrender all of who we are to Him, it is then that Christ lives in us!
“Our neglect of union with Christ explains the gaps between our faith and our lives. When the work of Christ for us becomes abstracted from the person of Christ within us, is it any wonder there is a chasm between our heads and our hearts or between our beliefs and our experiences? Is it surprising that we feel frustrated and cynical or tossed to and fro?”
—Rankin Wilbourne, Union with Christ
May the good seed of God’s Word take root and bear fruit in our lives today. May we walk with Gospel authenticity in all our relationships and in the way we approach our work this day!
