In Galatians 2, Paul said something that might seem shocking to those of us who believe there should never be open confrontation in the church. Paul wrote of his public rebuke of the apostle Peter for compromising the Gospel.
“Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James,1 he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.” (Galatians 2:11-12)2
Peter was wrong and it is documented in the Scripture for billions of people throughout the ages to see! When I consider Peter’s “credentials” and Paul’s seeming lack of them, it’s amazing to me that Paul was the one to rebuke Peter. Peter walked with Jesus during His three and a half years of ministry. Peter was saved first. Peter is the one to whom Jesus said, “On this rock I will build My church.”3 Peter is the one who preached on the day the church was born and three thousand people were saved.4 On the other hand, Paul called himself the least of the apostles, born at the wrong time, having persecuted the church.5
Paul had such assurance of who he was in Christ as an apostle of grace that he confidently rebuked Peter, the most prominent apostle and the oldest apostle in the church at that time, for compromising the Gospel and walking in hypocrisy.
“And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.” (Galatians 2:13)
Wow. Paul openly condemned the hypocrisy of them all!
I have to admit, as passionate as I am about the Gospel, I haven’t yet rebuked anyone personally and publicly for compromising on it. If we were to look at the Scriptures objectively, we might be inspired to defend the Gospel with more boldness!
(from pages 241-242 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1Note on Galatians 2:12: these certain men who “came from James” merely came from the Jerusalem church of which James was the pastor. They did not represent James.
2All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
3Matthew 16:17-18
4Acts 2:42
51 Corinthians 15:8-9
