In Galatians 2:11-21 we see the Apostle Peter drift from the finished work of the cross, and if the Apostle Peter can drift then we can drift.

In the context of Galatians 2 the Apostle Peter is being persuaded by others to rely on OUTSIDE WORKS, and the Apostle presses in on Peter and asks, “Why are we, who admit we can’t keep the law, leading Gentiles to keep the law?

It is an easy passage to read and think, “What was Peter thinking?”  But, honestly, we are all able to drift from the finished work of the cross just as easy.  In the case of Peter in Galatians 2 he was doubting the righteousness of Christ that he had been freely given by grace, and he was looking to OUTSIDE WORKS so that he was showing partiality toward Gentile Christians.

In Peter’s case it isn’t that he needed more obedience, or more information.  He was trained in the law, but he was forgetting the chasm of sin that separated him from the Most High.  He was forgetting how desperate he is for Jesus.  His heart had become hard.  He needed repentance.

In our lives we do the same thing.  When we are drifting toward sin and away from the finished work of the cross it is because we are doubting the righteousness we have been given freely in Christ.  We are forgetting the awe of Ephesians 1, and in those moments we are adding an OUTSIDE WORK.

Most of the time our OUTSIDE WORK isn’t as sacred as Peter’s in Galatians 2, but in our hearts those OUTSIDE WORKS have become a place of worship that are ultimately trumping the righteousness we have been freely given.

Therefore, when you find yourself drifting toward sin and away from the cross let us begin with repentance.  We often will begin with behavior, but it is in repentance that we will find forgiveness, power, and transformation in Jesus Christ to ask for His help to see the glorious life that is ours in Christ.