One of the primary benefits the Gospel provides is freedom (Gal. 5:1). Not just freedom from sin and it’s eternal consequences, but also freedom to walk away from cultural taboos and traditions which are destructive and dehumanizing. In Gal. 2:11-14 Paul refers to a time when he rebuked Peter for walking out of step with the gospel because he segregated himself from the non-Jewish believers out of fear of what the more hard-lined teachers/spiritual bullies would say. There are times when the Gospel needs to be contended for...this was one of them. (Phil. 1:27)
Contending against those teachings which stand opposed to the Gospel is NOT necessarily the same thing as contending FOR the Gospel. I was reminded of this recently when watching an Imam provide a decent apologetic against Mormonism...yet as you'd imagine he never get around to the freedom found in the Gospel.
There's at least 3 reasons why one must contend for the Gospel:
1.THE THREAT OF CONTRADICTION [Gal. 2:12-13]
As seen in the text, it's possible to mentally know about the grace of God, yet not have it as the driving reality of your life. Peter's action contradicted the gospel by his pulling away from his culturally/ethnically non-Jewish brothers.
If God didn't choose to have fellowship with us on the basis of our race + culture, then why do we often choose to have fellowship w/ others on the basis of their race + culture? Or, if God didn't treat us according to what our sins deserve, why do we treat others according to what we feel their sins deserve?....contradictions!
2. THE TREAT OF CORRUPTION [Gal 2:11,13]
Not surprisingly this threat came from supposed leaders on the team (or seemingly). There are many ways in which corrupted leaders/religious thugs spread corrupted messages. These broken messages can be as blatant as a false Jesus, or as innocuous as a special interest group pushing their ideas, apologetics, causes and speculations while marginalizing Jesus himself. Remember, this specialized group of people come from James we're not denying the biblical Jesus or his redemptive work, they we're just adding to it.
The two types of errors which generally have a corrupting effect on a body of believers is:
Legalism - to many rules
Liberalism (antinomianism) - not enough restraint
3. THE TREAT OF DEVIATION [Gal. 2:14]
The word Paul uses in the Greek is, "orthopodeo", which generally means to, "walk straight". The Gospel in not a new set of laws to abide by but it does send out straight lines whereby, under the Holy Spirits' power/influence we walk according to them motivated by love, not fear. The Gospel is easy enough for a child to get right, yet difficult enough for even an apostle to get wrong. This reality ought to at least humble us enough to move carefully when contending for the faith, lest we veer out of step with the very thing we claim to be contending for.
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