Have you ever wondered about why there is so much trouble in the world … between nations, between individuals? The simple answer is that trouble occurs when people try to justify themselves. This is called ‘egocentric’ and it focusses inwardly. The solution is in the gospel … when we receive, by faith, what Jesus has done for us on the cross. This is called ‘Christocentric’ and it focusses on Jesus Christ.

In this passage we see the apostle Paul addressing a problem which occurred in the early church in Antioch. The gospel had been preached to Jews first and many believed in Jesus. The message had then gone out to the Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) many of whom also believed. What happened, however, was that the Jewish background believers slipped back into trying to justify themselves. They were insisting that the Gentile converts had to follow Jewish customs.

Even the apostle Peter had been ‘sucked in’. The apostle Paul strongly opposed him because it nullified the gospel. He insisted on justification by faith alone and says at the end of this passage: ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’.