THE AUDITORIUM SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS
FEBRUARY 20TH, 2005
PAUL CONFRONTS PETER
I. In Antioch,
Paul and Peter had a confrontation (11).
A. Remember, Peter was an Apostle to the
Jews, yet here he is in a Gentile city.
1. It is believed that Peter
fled Jerusalem because of the martyrdom of James
2. Peter wanted to see the
work in Antioch first hand.
B. Why did Paul rebuke Peter publicly?
1. Public sins require public
criticisms and public repentance.
2. Peter “was to be blamed”
because he had committed a public sin.
C. What
did Peter do?
1. When Peter arrived in
Antioch, he was having fellowship with the uncircumcised Gentile Christians
(12).
2. When Jewish Christians came
to Antioch from James, in Jerusalem, Peter had a change of attitude and
withdrew from the Gentile believers.
- He made this withdrawl “fearing them which were of the circumcision”
(12).
3. By making a
distinction between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers, Peter was
revealing his racial prejudice.
- Peter had been brought up to
believe in Jewish superiority over the Gentiles.
- Peter acknowledged he had a
problem in this area in Acts 10:28.
4. By making this
distinction, Peter was not displaying the oneness of Christ’s body.
- He was making a distinction
between the Jewish body and the Gentile body.
5. Peter gave in to his fear
of peer pressure - “....fearing them which were of the circumcision (12).
- Peter had displayed a
problem with peer pressure before the crucifixion (John 18:25-27).
D. Peter’s public prejudice created two big
problems in Antioch:
1. “The other Jews dissembled
likewise with him....” (13).
- The word “dissembled” means “to
commit hypocrisy with.”
2. “Barnabus, also was carried
away with their dissimulation” (13).
- Barnabus
was Paul’s associate, but followed Peter’s example.
3. Christian leadership is a
great responsibility, and when a Christian leader falls into sin he usually
takes others with him.
- Teachers will be judged for
this responsibility - James 3:1.
II. What
did Paul say to Peter about the public sin of prejudice? (14)
A. Paul saw the problem and defined it in his
own mind:
1. “I saw that they walked not
uprightly.....” (14)
2. Their walk was not “...according
to the true gospel.”
B. Paul raised a question that needs to be
explained, so let’s look at the question in verse 14.
1. If Peter can associate with Gentile
Christians without being a Gentile, why must Gentile Christians become like
Jewish Christians in order to have fellowship?
2. Peter is showing that Jewish Christians
are better than Gentile Christians simply because they are Jewish.
C. Again, Paul is correcting Peter publicly,
which must have been embarrassing for Peter considering that he had done
all of this to maintain his image among the Jewish Christians.
Conclusion - Next week, Paul makes two of the most
important statements about our salvation found in all of the Scriptures -
verses 16 and 20.