New Life in Jesus pt 2: Courage to Die.
In the gospels we hear Jesus call His followers to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (eg: Lk 9:51, 14:23-24). As He shows us what that actually looks like, we realise that none of us is capable of doing it!
That’s exactly the point Paul makes in the letter to the Galatians as he addresses those people who are trying to impose Jewish law on Gentile believers. He clearly sees the danger in moving away from complete dependence on Jesus to save us – not only from the penalty of sin but from its power in our lives. In correcting this dangerous error he uses the example of Peter – a fellow champion of Gentile inclusion and the person God used to lead the early Church to discover and live by these truths (see Acts 10-11). But even Peter had the opposite effect on people when he was controlled by fear rather than the Holy Spirit.
Whenever we are controlled by anything other than the Holy Spirit we drift into sin. However when we choose to die to ourselves to live for God we find that He is able to produce a love for God and others that becomes more and more courageous and complete with each faith-fuelled step we take.
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