Secret Squirrels

Today's sermon passage is found in Galatians 2:11-21


11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.


14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?


15"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.


17"If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"


Back when I was a pastor in Portland, I became ill with pneumonia and was out of the office for several weeks. The day came when my doctor told me I could go back to the office for a couple hours ... answer phone messages and sort my mail. So I walked serenely down the hall to my office and opened the door.... only to have a squirrel launch himself off of my desk right at my face. I shrieked and slammed the door and once my heart started beating again, I found the janitor who helped me herd the squirrel outside. Once the squirrel was out I stood in the doorway in disbelief my office was completely and absolutely trashed. It seems that the squirrel had chewed a hole in the ceiling and fallen in and could not get out. Some kind person had put a box of chocolates on my desk. The chocolate had obviously upset his little squirrel digestion and their was  uhmmm "squirrel discharge" all over. Down the walls all over the furniture, on every paper on my desk. It ran down the bookcases and books. My office was a total loss. It had to be gutted. From carpets and furniture to books ... all it destroyed by one little secret squirrel.

In that same way Paul was letting a secret destroy what the power and freedom of the gospel. With one group he acted one way and he pretended to be another thing with another group. In the same way that the squirrel destroyed my office, secret squirrels can eat away at us from the inside out. Here are some of the dangers of harboring a secret squirrel.

        Deny who we are in Christ


        Draws other people into it


        Keeps others from knowing me

        Keeps others from being blessed by my transformation

        Lays the foundation for legalism

How to Guard Against Secret Squirrels
     Relationship with Christ

     Transparency of Life

     Honesty to self and others

     Accountability

Conclusion: Are there secret squirrels that you are hiding? Those squirrels need to be released. It is time to bring light into the darkness, it is time to live in the freedom of Christ. It is all about surrender. I trust God enough to live in light and freedom.

Just Connie


It is a matter of holiness. Let it go, lay it down at the foot of the cross. Are you willing to surrender it?