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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 separate 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, yet you live like a Gentile and not like 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 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. "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! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I 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. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Deception at its
highest point is when you hold on to popular views to avoid being persecuted. The
apostle Peter had a problem with this and was sharply rebuked by the ‘nobody’
apostle Paul. We say ‘nobody’ because Paul wasn't one of the twelve apostles
the Lord Jesus Christ had chosen. We all know one of twelve was a son of
perdition from birth. You may ask, why was he chosen then? He was chosen to let
you see for yourselves that being close to where Christ our Lord was and
listening to all His teachings did not save or change him. He remained the son
of perdition till the end. We see the perfect example of an object of God’s
wrath here in Judas Iscariot.
Why was
Peter who had supposedly been with the Lord Jesus Christ all this while, be
rebuked sharply by someone who didn't?
Does just being around where Christ is, guarantee anything in life? What was required was personal obedience to
all that Christ had commanded. No matter who you claim to be in Christ, if you
do not personally obey Christ, you have failed. Peter at this point had failed.
Someone had to, not only tell, but
rebuke him sharply. He could have rebutted with Paul, “who are you, man, to
tell me”? But, he didn't do that. He had to accept it as from the LORD. He didn't retaliate with the arrogance that’s related to his race, either. He didn't say,
“Hey, I’m of the highest race, you know”? “Can you match my race”? “We are the
smartest in our accounts, you know?” We all know how smart you are in cheating your accounts! We all know how well you cheat in your accounts. We also know
you are experts in cheating. You think you will never be caught, but this time
you will! You will pay dearly for this, this time around! We will see just how 'smart' you have been in cheating others?
Romans 2: 6-11
God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.
Romans 2: 6-11
God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.
