The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Galatians 2:12-14, “For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat

with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof,

fearing the party of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas

was carried away by their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said

to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like

the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

It’s not unusual for believers’ to have conversations with unbelievers. In fact, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do. But, have you ever found yourself in confrontation with another believer over spiritual or biblical matters? That’s what Paul encountered in the verses above.

James, was the half-brother of Jesus and pastor of the Christian congregation in Jerusalem. Paul and Peter and some other believers were gathered and talking together when some members of James’ congregation arrived. Peter, a Jewish believer, had been eating with some Gentile believers, something that Jews were never permitted to do. But, when the men from James arrived, Peter withdrew from the Gentiles, fearing controversy with the Jewish-Christian group. Other Jewish believers had been mingling with Gentiles, too. But, when they saw Peter withdraw, they also withdrew from the Gentiles.

Paul saw this as hypocrisy and immediately and openly challenged Peter. I take this to mean that we are free to peacefully challenge other believers when we assess that they are wrong. For example, if we are engaging in activities (physical or verbal) that are spiritually questionable, but stop our activity only because a Christian friend comes into our midst, that is hypocrisy. That’s what Peter was doing, and that’s what occasioned Paul’s open challenge.

We might paraphrase Paul’s statement like this:

If you, being a Christian, can adopt the Gentile way of eating with Jews, how do

you come off compelling the Gentiles to adopt the Jewish way? When you all

withdraw, as you are doing, you are making the Gentiles have to eat by

themselves; and that is the old, non-Christian Jewish way.

Peter had withdrawn from eating with the Gentiles. The Jewish believers were following Peter. That meant that the Gentiles were forced to eat by themselves, just as the Jews were by their old law required to do. What Peter was doing was wrong; and, although he had been a believer long before Paul, it fell to Paul to expose this unbiblical attitude. The key to all of this is that had Paul not been living as the LORD commanded, he could never have been enabled to correct Peter’s wrong-doing.

Our beliefs and conduct have to BE what the LORD desires, before we can CORRECT the beliefs and conduct of others. It’s that simple. Are your beliefs and conduct in line with the teachings of Christ and the Holy Scriptures? If not, why not? You alone are responsible. Pray that someone truly in the Faith will lovingly, yet forcefully, correct you.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”