As Paul the apostle has been
sharing the importance of the gospel of grace with the Galatian
church, he has mentioned his encounter with the leadership in
Jerusalem who did not intimidate him at all. As Paul shared he and
Barnabas' encounters with Gentile nations in spreading the gospel,
the leadership concluded that Paul and Barnabas were commissioned by
God to share the gospel with the Gentiles. Peter was one of those in
leadership in Jerusalem, and as Paul continues in his persuasion of
the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ not being compromised,
he tells of a special encounter with him. He wrote in Galatians
chapter two and verse eleven:
But when Peter was come
to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Paul
first tells of a special visit by Peter to “Antioch”.
Antioch was Capital of Syria, and was situated on the river
Orontes. It was founded by Seleucus Nicanor in 300 B.C. and named in
honor of his father, Antiochus. We read in the book of Acts in
chapter eleven and verses twenty and twenty one:
And some of them were
men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch,
spoke unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of
the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto
the Lord.
It was
in Antioch that Paul the apostle found his base of ministry. From
Antioch, Paul would reach the Gentile world with the gospel.
Peter
came to Antioch to check up on the church started there, and as he
was there Paul, “withstood him to the face” which means he
confronted, resisted, opposed or set himself against him. There are
times in our Christian walk when this needs to be done. Proverbs
twenty-seven and verse six says:
Faithful [are] the
wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy [are] deceitful.
It is
quite possible for any of us to get off track every once in a while,
and confrontation with the idea of correction in mind is a good thing
for us. Even the scriptures themselves provide a correcting value as
written by Paul in Second Timothy chapter three and verse sixteen:
All scripture [is]
given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Paul
felt the need to “withstand” Peter because “he was to
be blamed” which means he
found fault with, accused or condemned him for a wrongdoing. We are
exhorted later in the book of Galatians in chapter six and verse one:
Brethren, if a man be
overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such an one in
the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, lest you also be
tempted.
This
confronting not only gave Paul the occasion to provide correction to
Peter, but also showed his equality with Peter as a leader within the
church. As we continue our study in this area, we must keep in mind
that Paul is maintaining his defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ to
the Galatians. This encounter only strengthens Paul's position, and
when we continue our study we shall find out why Peter was to be
blamed, and what he did that was so in need of Paul's correction.
Next
time will see what Peter's fault was, so read ahead, and let us join
together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to
Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally
at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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