When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned…. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. Galatians 2:11, 13
You and I, along with Peter and Paul, have been invited to dinner at the church of Antioch’s potluck. Picture the table spread: BBQ pork ribs, bacon, ham, hot dogs, lobster, shrimp, and crab—all cooked and donated by Gentile Christians. The guest of honor is the apostle Peter. He has enjoyed these treats for several days as the guest of Paul. You might recall that Peter at one time had a disdain for Gentiles and their potlucks, but he was freed from his own bigotry and strictly kosher diet after having a liberating dream in Acts 10, and a God encounter at Cornelius’ house. As a result, Peter and other pillars of the early church approved of Paul’s gospel of grace and ministry to the Gentiles.
However, in Galatians 2, Peter turned his back on all this truth and pushed away from the table with the Gentile Christians, after Jewish believers from Jerusalem came to Antioch. He feared the Jews might be offended because the Gentiles were not circumcised. Sadly, his sin led Barnabas to also push away. But Paul would not stand for it! He rebuked Peter to his face because his sin was a public denial of the truth of the gospel.
Paul called the behavior of Peter and these false brethren hypocrisy. The word hypocrite means “one who puts on a mask,” as an actor. In this case, Peter, Barnabas, and the rest of the Jewish Christians in Antioch knew these Gentile believers were really Christians; but because of fear, they acted as if they were not. Peter also pretended to be committed to a kosher diet.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is to ignore conflict, hoping it will go away. But if we ignore it, it will only create greater division and infect us and the people around us. Paul understood this principle and wisely dealt with conflict. Jesus and the New Testament church both pronounced and practiced the cure for conflict. “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over” (Matthew 18:15).
We must step into the conflict, speak up in love, and stay committed to reconciliation. Now, please pass the BBQ ribs!
PONDER: How have others followed your lead in reconciliation?
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The Whole Body Ephesians 4:11-16
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
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Father, one of my greatest fears is to be seen as a hypocrite, it hurts my heart Father to know that I have at times contradicted your love and forgiveness through my actions… Lord Jesus, I desire to represent you and bring you glory with every fiber of who I am, but there are times that I contradict that desire and many of those times, I have to admit, I willfully choose the path of hypocrisy… I’m so sorry that I have to admit that Lord, please forgive me… Holy Spirit, purify my heart of all the destructive habits of hypocrisy; fear, pride, unforgiveness, hatred and the false appearance of virtue… Lord God, I will not be a walking contradiction of your Love, in a world that needs to see the power of your Mercy and Grace…