"When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separated himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
When 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. How is it then , that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
We who are Jews by birth and not' Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So wetoo have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."
Galations 2: 11- 16
2 years ago
Peter already knew the truth, he had a dream about the truth. Its somewhere before the book of galatians if not mistaken.
ReplyDeleteanyways.. i believe this speaks about people who know the right way of life and yet are easily influenced by their surroundings instead of following the the truth. This is easy to say of course but hard to do..
but once done and followed, we only grow from GlORY to GLORY.
Thanks Ray. You are so right. It is difficult to say no to the world so to speak. The wisdom of Jesus seems like folly to the world. When we hear His voice we do things which seem unreasonable. Beyond reason is more like it. I am glad to have you walking with me on this journey.
ReplyDeleteReason for Paul opposed to Peter was that his action was a stumbling block to the Gentiles.
ReplyDeletePeter is a Jew standing among the Antioch, eating with them and acting like an Antioch. Once his fellow men (his own fellow Jews) arrive he acts in a different way showing his Jewish identity, that he could not mix with the Antioch. So, how does the Antioch feel. His double standard actions cause a stumbling block to the Gentiles.
How about you and me, Jesus' followers, do we act like Peter, causing others to fall into temptation (sin)?
Careful in your daily activities or else you might be a stumbling block to the unbelivers.
Thanks Jallin. You are right. Sometimes we do practice double standards. Blind to our own flaws. Insensitive to the feelings of others. Quick to justify our own actions and become suspicious of others. Then we become stumbling blocks to those who expect us to love as Christ did..unconditional love.
ReplyDelete