But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?" — Galatians 2:14

So let's back up a little. Paul is leveraging a conflict he had with Peter in Antioch to redirect believers in the churches of Galatia. And because Peter had publically misrepresented the gospel, Paul called him out publically. Ironically, this is what Paul is doing with the believers in Galatia — he's calling them out in a public letter that will circulate publicly. And it seems a little insensitive, but it's not. Here's why.

The motives behind our actions are very tough to see. For example, I will believe what my wife, kids, colleagues, and pastor say until they do something inconsistent with what they say, teach, request, or preach. Then when I sense inconsistency in what they do or say, I will question the motivation behind it.

But here's the tricky part — sometimes we, the inconsistent offender, don't assess our motivation until our actions expose us or someone calls us out for their inconsistency. We sometimes unconsciously say things and do things without giving thought to the integrity between them and the motivations that drove us to action. Therefore someone has to call us out, forcing us to assess the motivation that drove us to take that action.

This is what Paul did with Peter. It's also what he is doing with the Galatians. He wants them to see how these minor inconsistencies, known or unknown, adversely affect the gospel of grace. And that they will need to work hard to unlearn these unhealthy patterns to live out and communicate the gospel of grace effectively.

So here is what I want you for today. I want you to dig deep and address one unbiblical motivation. Just one. Now you might have more than one. You may have a long list. But don't worry about the list. Just focus on the one. And this one unbiblical motivation needs to be one that no one else knows about. It's something only you and God know. And then, I want you to think about how this motivation affects your behavior and how it affects what you say and do. And then I want you to think about what would happen if someone else knew about it — like your wife, kids, colleagues, or pastor. And then I want you to imagine that you get exposed. You get busted and then publically called out for this sinful motivation. And then, I want you to do business with this motivation before it exposes you in the worst way. And then I bet you start believing in the goodness of grace because only God and his grace are good enough to accept a man like you with those kinds of motivations.

ASK THIS: What motivation do you need to address?

DO THIS: Confess it below and let other men pray for you.

PRAY THIS: God, clarify my actions and reveal my motivations. Purify my heart, O God.

PLAY THIS: Purify My Heart - Jeremy Riddle.

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