By David ReayFriday 28 Oct 2022LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? (NLT)
It is unrealistic to expect Christians to agree on everything. It is unfair to see any sort of disagreement as unloving or a bad witness. For one thing, we can disagree in a sensitive and respectful way which indicates to those observing that we are not some conformist cult demanding uniformity in all things. For another thing, it is necessary at times for us to disagree in order to better tease out the truth and to correct error.
Paul had got stuck in to Peter for what he saw as weak-kneed surrender to Jewish legalists. Peter himself was happy to associate with Gentiles but was not bold enough to do it when these Jewish colleagues were around. Paul rightly saw this not as cultural sensitivity, but as giving ground on a very basic truth of Christianity. Namely that we are not put right with God by observing the religious laws but by faith in what Jesus has done.
Some things are worth fighting for. Some issues are worth some uncomfortable disagreement. Our challenge is to discern what these issues are. We must not confront each and every individual who disagrees with us. But when some fundamental issue of faith is at stake, we may need to speak out. Always remembering that when Christians disagree, they do so as members of a family not as bitter adversaries.
Blessings
David