The Messy Family of God: Crucified with Christ

This is the gospel. This is the message. It's the greatest news ever. The door is more wide than you can possibly understand that while we were yet Christ's enemies, he died for us. But here's the catch. Once you get in the doorway, the hallway is unbelievably narrow. Everyone is welcome. The only path once you're in here though is death. Alright. You're all welcome. Like, the worst of the sinners, the anyone would call upon the there is now no one who is too far from the grace, the love, and the mercy of Jesus. We're all welcome. We're all in the lobby, but my friend, there's like one hallway from there. [00:15:27] (43 seconds)  #WideWelcomeNarrowWay

What kind of church will we be in this era? What kind of church will the father's house be in this hour? The kind that when someone walks into our church and we can tell they've gone through some life that we push them over to the side that we say, hey. You know, you gotta jump through these hoops before you're allowed to sit in this section. No. Our only choice is to welcome them in. Our only choice is to bear one another's burdens. Our only choice is to say, if not for the grace of God, I would be in the same place that you are. If not for the grace of God sustaining me, I'll go back to the same place that you are. [00:25:43] (42 seconds)  #ChurchOfWelcome

There are some beautiful things about what is inside of us, but you need to understand that even that needs to die. Famous German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, when Christ calls a man, he bids him, come and die. Here's unfortunately what I think is going on in our churches in 2026. You have answered the call to church, you have not answered the call to die. So here's what happens. Like, we're willing to gather in here. Like, I'll come in, but this isn't family. I'm so caught up in preference and legalism and my identity that I'm doing the same thing that Peter was doing. Yeah. I'll be in church with you, but I'm not gonna hang out with you because this is my preference. [00:29:52] (51 seconds)  #DieToSelf

We live in a culture in 2026 that has elevated identity in the authentic self above even traditional morality. John Mark Comer said in his book, Live No Lies, actually, that radical obsession with identity was the death blow to Christian love in the church. That the authentic self, who I really am, is what matters most. And I feel like since I prayed for our church this week, there is nothing more prophetic in 2026 for us than these words that Peter's this is spoken to by Paul, that even their identity, it has to die. [00:27:49] (41 seconds)  #DieToIdentity

Paul is saying something revolutionary in this verse. He is saying that the only way that we live, the only way I feel close to God is that I join him in crucifixion, that I join him in his death. That's how the spirit filled life is birthed in me. That's how the fruits of the spirit are birthed in me. You know, in this season, this Easter season as we went into, I prayed very specifically for our church and for my own life that God, would you reveal the cross to me in a new way? [00:14:34] (33 seconds)  #CrucifiedWithChrist

My friend, we are doing the same thing to people when our legalism pushes them away. Our only answer, our only example is the messy family of God. Where you and I come with all our identity, all of our brokenness, all of our desire, all of the good, bad, and the ugly, everything in between, and we come to the table to eat together. That's what family is. [00:31:22] (28 seconds)  #MessyFamilyOfGod

Listen. I could go person by person in this room, myself included. We could testify to how someone of us was hurt in this room by human beings' legalism and judgment. There's always a human cost to it. That's why it has to die in our church is because you won't bear the cost of it. Someone else will bear the cost of it. [00:23:06] (19 seconds)  #HumanCostOfLegalism

The easiest reading of this story is that Peter is just more comfortable hanging out with people that look like him, talk like him, and act like him. That's like the nicest reading of what goes on here. As they show up at this dinner, Peter's old friends show up, and he's like, hey. All these new people that look different and talk different and act different, and they're not really like me, my my friends are here, so I'm gonna go hang out with my friends. Can I tell you, our church is full of preference? I'm culprit number one. [00:19:37] (33 seconds)  #CheckYourPreferences

I'm talking about right now how crazy it is that I get to stand on a stage like this. For some reason, you and I gain amnesia of who we were when God called our name, of who we were when we were invited to table, of who we were when God said, even in your mess, I've called you. The way you kill legalism in your life is to gain some hindsight and say, God, I can't even believe I'm here. [00:25:00] (29 seconds)  #RememberYourCall

She's on her third marriage, and, you know, she's in that pyramid scheme again, and I don't even know what's going on. But what? We're family. We're the messy family of God that are crucified with Christ. And when we come into this environment, it's to worship. And if these things don't die in us, it's not family. It's segmented. It's it's not answering the call of God that we find in Galatians chapter two. [00:32:25] (30 seconds)  #MessyButFamily

Here's the the main idea that I have for us today that I think we can get from Galatians two. It's this, to live as a Christian is to continually surrender our lives, crucifying our own desires. What? So that we can fully follow Christ. That is the only way towards Christian growth. That is what Paul lays out in Galatians chapter two. [00:08:22] (24 seconds)  #SurrenderToFollow

They didn't follow his actions. They didn't follow his intentions. They didn't follow what he preached. They followed his hypocrisy. That word isn't well known in our culture, but the root of it actually had to do with Greek dramas that there would be a character who would put on a mask in order to hide his intentions. And Paul says, you were leading believers away because of what? Your hypocrisy. Did it begin to sway what God was doing in Antioch? [00:22:07] (27 seconds)  #ExposeHypocrisy

Now I know you might be in your day and you're like, really, John? Week two of a message on legalism. You and pastor Dave, you are really hammering this one hard. Why is this such a big deal to you? The reason why it's such a big deal to us is because there was always a human cost to legalism in the church. What does it say in verse 13? Not only are the other believers swayed by it. In verse 13, it says, even Barnabas. Barnabas, the leader of the church in Antioch begins to be swayed by their hypocrisy. [00:22:34] (32 seconds)  #LegalismHurts

``Here's the mistake that oftentimes we find that bleeding into faith. We think that just because time goes on, we should becoming more like Jesus. We simply think that days logged, Sundays in church, Thursday nights in pursuit, that automatically means that we are becoming more like Jesus. And, yes, that's the goal. But my friend, need to understand this. The only thing that time guarantees you in this life is some gray hair and some more wrinkles. [00:07:52] (30 seconds)  #TimeDoesntEqualGrowth

To a people that identity was everything, Paul is telling Peter even that needs to die. To the last thing in order for us to be the church that God has called us to be to live the crucified life that will have to die is my identity. Last thing that has to die is is my identity. [00:27:01] (21 seconds)  #LetIdentityDie

same thing will happen to you if you cannot move past your preferences in our church. That God will be doing a new thing that you get to be a part of and get behind and get excited about. But because you are so caught up in your preferences, you cannot take a step forward. So the most charitable reading is that Peter just has some preferences. The second thing that will need to be crucified in us today is our legalism. [00:21:28] (25 seconds)  #CrucifyLegalism

But this story that is laid out is a crazy story. Peter shows up. Peter, the man, the most important person in the church, the person that alone shares the title of he was closest with Jesus. He was the one that was welcomed in that way. And it says that Paul has to confront Peter to his face. This is a messy church story. [00:18:07] (23 seconds)  #PaulConfrontsPeter

next five weeks, really, this is what we are gonna talk about. This is the paradox of the Christian life, and that the only way Christ's life is birthed in us is through death. Paul says, I had to die to the law. It was the only way that life would come. We're gonna talk about over the next five weeks what that means, that spirit filled life that only comes through Christ. [00:13:55] (23 seconds)  #LifeThroughDeath

that you come on our property. That's my parking spot. That's my seat. Oh, small group season, I've been in the same group for a while. New song. I'm not raising my hands. I don't like that one. New event. Nah. I'm not gonna that's for them. That's for the new people. Do you understand that when we don't let our preferences die, you miss out on the joy of the new thing that God is doing? At minimum, Peter was excited about revival, excited about what God was doing in Antioch, and he sees his old friends, and he's no longer interested in it anymore. The [00:20:50] (38 seconds)  #PreferencesKillRevival

People start getting saved, and it's unlike the church in Jerusalem where it's Jewish converts. These are people who are a mess, who come with different stories, different ethnicities, different backgrounds, all finding hope in the message of Jesus. You know what? At Antioch, it was the first place that Chris the followers of Jesus were called Christians. [00:17:20] (20 seconds)  #FirstCalledChristians