A Loving Apostle

Galatians 2:11-13 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 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. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
 
PETER had committed a serious breach in the church in Antioch. He had at first appropriately eaten meals with Gentiles because God had clearly told  him to do so in Acts 10. But then some Christian Jews, who rejected this dietary freedom, came from Jerusalem, Peter stopped his association with the Gentiles to eat with the Jews. In essence, this created two bodies in the church. Antioch, one of the largest churches of the day, almost became a divided church.
    It is difficult to understand Peter’s motives. Peter’s error opposed what both Peter and Paul had taught and experienced. For example, Paul wrote much on the unity of the church. An example is Ephesians 4:2-3 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. And Peter was the first apostle to minister to the Gentiles when the Spirit led him to baptize the Roman Centurion Cornelius and his household in Acts 10. Note Peter’s understanding of God’s worldwide mission: Acts 10:34 “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Then Peter defended his actions to the other apostles as he testified how God directed him to this work. (Acts 11) Being a good leader, Paul rebuked Peter for neglecting the Gentiles and threatening church unity.
    In the rebuke, Paul was loving his Lord and loving his brother in Christ. When we sin we need people such as Paul to judge – to discern – our sin and tell us. Defining godly love, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love corrects sin. But it seems the church in general has redefined godly love as allowing people to live in error. We don’t want someone to feel bad about their sins. But this is not God’s way. It is the devil’s deceit. To ignore sin is to approve of it. The church is called to lovingly, patiently, and gently correct it.
    Consider how God so loved the world. He did not come to say, “I love you just the way you are.” He did say, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10) That means Jesus came to seek the sinners – all of us. He came to rebuke, admonish and correct our sins, so we would not delight in evil but rejoice in the truth. The church can be one body in Christ only if we love the Truth and keep it safe in our hearts and minds.
    Paul was Peter’s loving brother. He protected Peter from his error, and he promoted church unity under Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19a)