Galatians 2:11-14 – Conflict Between Apostles
In these verses we have a conflict that we don’t expect. We find two leading Apostles, Peter and Paul, disagree with each other! Now there have always been people in churches who don’t like public debate – who would say, why do we have to have these disputes out in the open? Surely it looks bad to have Christians publicly disagreeing with each other. And there’s often a good heart behind comments like that. We do need to be aware that the non-Christians around us hear of disputes within the church. But the Biblical principle is that while private sins can be dealt with privately, public sins must be rebuked publicly. The very fact that the world DOES know about what’s going on in the church, means that they”ll know if we just turn a blind eye to the sin of those who’re members. Not dealing with public sin publicly not only fails to follow the Biblical example, but it leaves it open for the world to say – ‘the church doesn’t take sin seriously, so it must not be that big of a deal’. It also encourages others to follow their example as we see in v13 here. Even Barnabas was led astray. But what has Peter been doing that’s so serious that it deserves and requires a public rebuke from the Apostle Paul? We see the answer in v12. Before certain men came from James, Peter was eating with the Gentiles. What a picture of the gospel breaking down barriers! That is, until v12, when some men come from James. Basically these are men who Peter knows aren’t going to like the fact that he’s eating with Gentiles. So does he try and persuade them? Does he stick to his guns? No. He draws back, separates himself from the Gentiles and stops eating with them. Why? Because, he’s scared of them. It’s not that Peter has had a crisis of conscience. It’s the fear of man. Peter’s problem isn’t one of belief, but one of living it out. Look at Paul’s verdict in v14: ‘Their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel’.
It’s one thing to know the truth of the gospel and to know how we should live in light of what Jesus has done for us. It’s another thing to actually put that into practice. The big question for those of us who regularly hear the gospel preached isn’t so much ‘do you know it’? But ‘are you living it out’? Especially in those situations where you know that people aren’t going to like it.
Questions
- How should public sins be dealt with?
- Why did Peter stop eating with Gentiles?
Prayer Points
- Pray that God would enable us to live out the Gospel in our lives.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.