“CONTEXT IS KING.” That’s what one of my professors used to teach. What I learned is that in order to accurately and fully understand a Bible verse, we must first understand the context. We need to know what is going on. We need to know the setting.*

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.

I have read Galatians 2:20 many times, and I’ve heard others preach about it often, but a crucial aspect of the context had always slipped through my fingers. This amazing verse is contained in Paul’s harsh rebuke of Peter for his hypocrisy and mistreatment of the Gentile Christians. Racism was alive and well, and it threatened the health of the church. Worse yet, one of the key leaders of the church was the guilty party.

Ever shove God in the backseat, so that you can take the wheel? Ever feel like you are a failure, like Peter must have felt? Ever believe that your sinful nature is too powerful?

The truth is that you and I are not good enough to be selfless, consistent, fair and righteous. We are too broken. Our hope is to die to self, and to allow Christ to live in us.

Letting Christ control our lives is the answer. It’s the answer to pride, to hypocrisy, to selfishness, to bigotry, and to the mistreatment of others.

Thankfully, we can know that Peter listened to Paul’s rebuke. Peter would jump back on track, and once again begin dying to self. Ultimately, he would not only place his sinful nature on a cross, he would follow Jesus so closely that wicked men would kill him on a cross. Peter would live a life of faith.

*Here are a few questions to consider when you are discovering the context of a Scripture: Who wrote it & to whom? What happens before and after this paragraph? What type of literature is it (a poem, a story, etc..)? How does it fit in with the book?