Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Galatians 2:15-16), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• People are not justified (considered righteous / made right with God / accepted by God) because of who they are or what they have done. Nevertheless, people wish they were. Even Christians easily revert to living as if we were, and will even distort and use biblical truth to convince ourselves that we are. In what ways do you try to build your justification on who you are or what you do?

• Self-justification goes hand-in-hand with relational division. We emphasize what distinguishes us from others in order to feel good about ourselves. Ultimately this leads to the demonization and despising of others. In what ways have you driven relational wedges between yourself and other individuals or other groups in your pursuit of self-justification?

• How does the Gospel of Jesus Christ overthrow your self-justification project and heal these relational divisions?

• Consider this whole conversation in terms of race relations (the main application of the sermon)… Surely it was uncomfortable for Paul to call out Peter’s blind spot regarding his hypocritical corruption of the Gospel (Gal. 2:11-14). How do you feel about this conversation? How is modern racism in America similar to / different from the situation Paul addresses in Galatians? How can Paul’s Gospel-solution be applied to our problem? Is there any other solution to the problem of racism than the Gospel? What does the application of the Gospel look like in your life with regard to racial reconciliation?