Can You Stand Alone Peter was Wrong It can happen to any one of us. God has given us the example of Peter, who long after his conversion, failed to stand alone. As prominent a figure in the New Testament Church as he was, as strong and spiritual as he was, Peter let his guard down and failed to stand on his own two feet. That is the exact meaning of ‘orthopodeo’ in Galatians 2:14 – he “walked not uprightly;” he did not walk the straight and narrow path. As influential as the apostle Peter was, his sin placed him in danger of losing his eternal salvation. Peter had been showing partiality to some Jewish men of reputation to the exclusion of the other Christians. Peter’s improper conduct would have eventually cost him his eternal life – if he continued in it. Peter was being a “respecter of persons.” God never approves of partiality! Peter had allowed himself to have a bad attitude, and he was headed out of the Church. Who would step up and save Peter? Peter must have begun to believe that his position gave him some exclusive privileges because it was he who led the group in not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel (Galatians 2:14). Peter somehow let himself believe that his Jewish buddies were more equal than the Christian Gentiles. That is a non-sequitur, it does not follow. But, in his own mind, Peter probably justified his favoritism by saying, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with fellowshipping with my old friends; and after all, I’m not really rejecting those Gentiles." By respecting the Jews over the Gentiles, Peter was sinning – plain and simple – and it was a major problem among the brethren. Only Paul recognized the crisis. Peter’s problem also became a test of Paul’s faith – would he stand alone? It was necessary for Paul to ask himself how he was going to address the situation. Would Paul help Peter in Christian love, or would he stand idly by and watch Peter lose his salvation? Paul could have been tempted to not get involved, and say to himself, “I’ll just let God straighten this situation out – I’ll put it in His hands.” Paul could have reasoned his way out of a face-to-face confrontation by saying, “Peter’s been in the Church longer than I have… I had better mind my own business… I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings… for the sake of peace, I’ll just be quiet and let it go.” Paul must have been tempted to do what was politically expedient and socially acceptable. However, Paul realized that his intervention in the matter was not optional. Had Paul chosen to stand-down and not come to Peter’s aid, it would have cost Paul his salvation, as well. But, because Peter was wrong, Paul took a courageous stand and corrected him face-to-face, “before them all.” “I [Paul] withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed”! (Galatians 2:11, 14) In a brave act of Christian concern for his brother, Paul dressed Peter down in front of everybody; it had to be done. Peter already knew that there was neither Jew nor Greek in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed (Galatians 3:28-29). But what Peter was doing needed to be resisted. Paul openly withstood [Greek anthistemi - took a stand against] Peter and reiterated the fact that he and Peter were not better than the Gentile members. Paul used a bit of sarcasm to get the point across to Peter. Referring to the converted Gentile Christians, Paul said, “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles.” (Galatians 2:15) Paul, in Godly love, stepped in and set Peter straight. Paul was correct to admonish Peter. At first, Peter chafed at Paul’s chastisement, but afterwards, he was thankful because he had been turned back to God’s way. Later, Peter would refer to him as, “Our beloved brother Paul.” (2Peter 3:15) Indeed, Paul was a courageous, unique man who helped insure Peter’s salvation and spiritual life. If Paul had handled it any other way, it would not have turned Peter around. There are ministers today who teach that Peter, because of his office and position, should have been upheld; that he was exempt from correction. They do not understand that each of us shares the basic responsibility to convert the sinner from the error of his way (James 5:20). When ministers support each other in wrongdoing or wrong doctrine, or just look the other way, it is dangerous to their spiritual health. When ministers place themselves above the membership, that is spiritual arrogance. No one is ever right in supporting wrong teaching and practices at the expense of the Truth and/or the brethren. It is loving and necessary for members to make an effort to turn those mistaken ministers around to a correct relationship with God. Everyone has the Christian obligation to address sin openly, just as Paul was correct in withstanding Peter to his face before them all. Ministers today are not exempt from the principles of Christ any more than Peter was in his day. They must be shown where they are wrong; it is our Christian obligation. "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converts [turns him around] the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death...” (James 5:19-20) For anyone to side-step this clear, Christian obligation is tantamount to rejecting Godly authority over his or her life. Are we easily swayed, or are we defenders of the faith down to the last man or woman? As Christians, are we strong enough to be able to live and to stand for our true faith? There is a tendency among many brethren to accept an ungodly outside dominion over their religious lives without hesitation and without question. This is a serious problem. Scripture is clear – the ministry does not have dominion over a Christian’s faith (2 Corinthians 1:24). The apostle John was faced with such a situation, where some of the congregation willingly went along with a self-willed minister. “…Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them... Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good is of God: but he that does evil has not seen God.” (3 John 1:9, 11) It is easy for some to justify not taking a stand. They chalk up sin and misconduct as personality traits to be overlooked. They say, “God can use them in spite of their sins.” They have a wide variety of excuses, “I can’t change others; I can only change myself.” “We are not supposed to judge.” “I don’t like to put people down.” “If I didn’t overlook faults, I would have no friends at all.” “We are supposed to love one another, and not be confrontational.” Godly love is helping one another into the Kingdom of God. Non-intervention on our part is the same as approving of people’s sin, and ensures that they will not inherit the better resurrection. In troubled church areas, some people will justify their inaction by saying, “We are supposed to be peacemakers, fellowshipping in unity.” They will concede that their minister is wrong and has his problems, but, “That’s the only place to go to church, and the Bible does say we must assemble!” Why are we instructed to assemble, and with whom? |
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