https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal+2%3A1-10&version=NIVUK

This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Galatians 2:4, 10

The law is from God; therefore, it is ‘good’. The distorted belief that you achieve something by keeping the law or even the very thought that you are able to keep the law is from man; therefore, innocent and noble as it might seem, it is ‘evil’. God gave the law as a prophecy and promise. The thought and realisation of making that prophecy and promise come true through Christ is grace. Therefore, the law was originally grace. So the ‘best disciples’ in Jerusalem, after hearing that the gospel Paul preaches is the same as theirs, were astonished at the extent of the Lord’s grace (not at Paul’s faith) and only asked Paul to keep demonstrating that grace by remembering the poor (cf. Acts 24:17). You might consider that poor relief was a side project, but to Christ’s true followers, the manner in which the content is presented is as important as the content itself—it is grace inside and out.

Lord, do I by any chance become unnecessarily stubborn or rigid to pursue what I think is right? If I believe that everything is grace, let me live it with my thoughts and actions today. Lord, have mercy. I’m eternally in need of your mercy, which gives grace.

• Is there an occasion where you made a certain rule for yourself or others but forgot what the rule was intended for in the first place?
• How significant is it that the forcefulness of the law is almost replaced by the gracefulness of remembering the poor? In Paul’s case, it was supporting Jerusalem and other needy churches throughout his ministry. What would be your way of remembering the poor?
• On the grounds that every aspect of our lives should ultimately reflect the gospel, what should you take into consideration when you go about implementing your rules? What would be your biggest concern about changing your attitude? Why would that concern not be particularly Christian?

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