Growing in Grace
Even when church members in Christ are working together for the same mission, misunderstandings and disagreements can arise. The early Christian church was no exception.
Nor was Peter. However singularly blessed of God, however crucial to the work of the church, even Peter, after Pentecost, still had some growing to do. How nice to know that even with his faults, God was still using him.
Read Galatians 2:11-14. What did Peter still not understand?
Paul was upset because he believed that Peter was acting like a hypocrite. After Peter's vision about unclean foods and his encounter with Cornelius, he had begun associating with Gentiles. For this he was criticized by the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 11:2). Peter defended his actions, and as a result, his critics changed their minds. "They had no further objections and praised God, saying, 'So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life' " (vs. 18, NIV).
But now, to Paul's disgust, after having achieved so much on behalf of the Gentiles, Peter was reversing his behavior. He was now bowing to pressure from Jewish Christians and going against his convictions. He was now refusing to eat with Gentiles, because he did not want to offend the Jewish Christians. Paul, though, was offended by Peter's actions, even though in another place he warned about a stronger brother being an offense to a weaker one (1 Cor. 8:9-14).
Obviously, though, in this case, that of associating with Gentiles, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, thought that the sense of mission to others, the sense of all being one in Christ, was the overriding and most important principle. Read 1 Corinthians 8:9-14. What is Paul talking about there? How could you take what he is saying and apply it to yourself and your church? What things might you be doing that are offending weaker members?
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