Galatians 2:13
“The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”
Bad behavior can be contagious. Here we have people that been converted to Christ and they are being factious. Thus breaking Jesus’ second command to love one other.
While we are born again we still have our old nature that will be with us until we leave this world. Paul says in Romans 7:15, “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” Some of our reflex actions aren’t godly. Today’s verse is an example of that.
Let’s explore this struggle a bit more. How do we combat this? Paul says in Galatians 5:24, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” When those impulses to do wrong surface, we are to replace them with God’s ways. We may need to pray and ask for God’s help. This struggle can be difficult. Hebrews 10:24 says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” The point is we could be trying much harder in our resisting.
The first point made as is illustrated by today’s passage is that behavior can be contagious. Especially if modeled by leaders. Marketers understand the “being part of it” aspect of us. They make much money by advertising by making it a trend. It could be a style of clothes or a saying. There is a magnetism to culture. Influence doesn’t have to be bad. This can be used to promote good behavior.
We’ve already discussed how our old nature wants to sin. That mixed with our inclination to follow others behavior is a toxic combination. If bad behavior or attitudes becomes sanctioned by our leaders, then we’re in trouble. The bible speaks of this as the influence of the world. I John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
This influence to sin is strong and warned against. Hebrews 12:15 says, “Be careful that no one falls short of the grace of God, so that no root of bitterness will spring up to cause trouble and defile many.” When one is disgruntled, there is energy behind it. Their bitterness swirls within and grows in intensity. They share that with others and that energy is passed on. We’ve talked about our own gravity towards sin and wanting to be a part of it. This and the bitter energy is like growing weather. It can wipe out churches, groups and so on. That’s why the warning. Be careful.
The Hebrews passage tells us to stay in God’s grace. If anyone had cause to be bitter, it was the Father and Jesus. Both were rejected. They put that aside and pursued us in love. We can paint great pictures of all the Lord had done for us and contrast that with how undeserving we are. All the more reason we are to be grateful and emurse ourselves in His grace. We may feel we may have been cheated and it may be true. We aren’t to pursue our vengeance, but to follow the Lord’s model and forgive.
Lord, help us in our struggle against sin. Also help us to follow You and Your ways.