Galatians 2:11
11 But [de] when [hote] Peter [Petros] was come [erchomai] to [eis] Antioch, [Antiocheia] I withstood [anthistemi]
him [autos] to [kata] the face, [prosopon]
because [hoti] he was [en] to be blamed. [kataginosko]KJV-Interlinear
11 But when Cephas came to
Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. NASB
The Galatians were being intimidated with false
beliefs which tried to incorporate circumcision into the salvation principle.
When Peter and James had both been there in prior
times and on prior trips, they met with and dined with the gentiles as fellow
Christians.
But when Jewish folks came around, they withdrew from
the gentiles as though they were embarrassed by their association with them.
This causes certain unrest among the Galatians and
uncertainty as to their own spiritual beliefs and understanding. Those trips were from many years prior.
And now Paul who is now in and among the Gentile
believers, tells then straight out that he will not back down in some
hypocritical form as did James and Peter, when Jewish folks come around.
So in this setting, Paul reassures the Galatians,
while at the same time reprimands Peter and James for their double standard
when with either gentile or Jewish believers.
This tells us that even in those early times, which
covered a couple of decades, that Peter still exercised some decree of embarrassment
while being associated with gentiles, when in view of Jewish folks.
Peter denied the Lord three times when Jesus was
arrested, and now many years later he still demonstrates some degree of embarrassment
and not a very strong adherence toward Christian principle. Tradition was still controlling his soul, as
it were.
Remember that when Paul was first contacted by
Jesus, on that road to Damascus, he went to learn for three years and then was
away from Judea for another fourteen years before his well known travels and
writing began. This meeting now with
Peter was then quite some time after the events of the cross.
By then, Peter and especially James who were viewed
as pillars of that early church, should have known better, but still had their
weaknesses, obviously.
Paul stood firm in the truth. They vacillated in their beliefs.
Most folks consider the apostles as all being unmovable
pillars in Christianity, but as we can seem, they had their flaws.
Every Christian has flaws and even though we all
have varying degrees of knowledge and faith, we all are still exposed to flaws
and failures. We can all stumble.
But the very best way to avoid stumbling is to glue
yourself to a daily bible study and stay glued for the rest of your life.
No matter who you are, and no matter who you think
you are, you will never know it all even in a thousand lifetimes of study. So make the best of this one single life that
God has given you, and learn as much as you possibly can.
If you cannot learn it all in several lifetimes,
then you cannot afford to waste time in this one life which is all that you
have.
And once you learn doctrine, then expect that God
will test your faith. Problems will come along in your life and that is when
your true faith and stability come out.
Throughout history, people are tested in many
ways. Often times those tests can go on
for years or even decades and under the most dire of circumstances. This then is your test.
Where is your breaking point? It is a day of hardship, a month, a year, a
decade?
What is your breaking point, a broken finger nail,
a lost job, a lost family, a death, a handicap, simply the unknowns of tomorrow?
The circumstances of your life are irrelevant. What is relevant, is your knowledge of doctrine
and your application of doctrine to your life.
That application, builds up faith and faith is the muscle and strength for
your endurance against any hardship or challenge from life.
And it all begins with your daily study. That is the only mechanism for your learning
doctrine. Do not diminish it. Do not
mock it. Do not waste your learning
opportunities.
