Devotion Corner

Galatians 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 

It was at Antioch, that those who followed Christ Jesus were first called Christians. The great liberty of salvation by grace through faith was preached passionately and joyfully by those early Christians, and yet a threat to the freeing purity of the Gospel was already emerging. Peter had been duped by those who were looking to bring converts to Christ, back under the weight of the Mosaic Law. It appears that Peter was going to teach this to those in Antioch, and thus unwittingly rob believers of the freedom of salvation that comes from the saving grace of Christ Jesus. 

Paul therefore stood against the incorrect teaching of Peter, as he looked to guard the truth of the pure Gospel, and thereby protect the joy and assurance of salvation for Christians throughout the coming generations. Hearing Paul’s correction in light of Holy Scripture, Peter abandoned the falsehood that he had taken up through those ‘Judaisers’ in Jerusalem. Those who were looking to deny the grace of Christ the full glory of salvation. 

It would’ve been very easy for Paul to stay quiet in adoration of the figure of Peter. Peter had been a disciple of Christ longer than Paul and had walked with Jesus in the flesh all the days of Christ earthly ministry. Yet Paul followed the ways of Christ, in that He is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11), and He judges each alike, all according to His Word. 

We are to be as Paul, and not sit silently when others who seem senior in rank or position to us, are teaching errors and falsehoods. We are to correct them in truth with love, just as Scripture teaches. We are to look to protect and “contend for the faith”, even if that means against those who normally stand with us. We must be aware that even the greatest preacher can get things wrong, as they are sinful men too and thus fall short of the glory of God. We must be humble also and be ready to receive correction if we are the ones that have strayed from the simple purity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Let’s praise the Lord for His kind protection against the subtle attacks of the enemy. Let’s thank Him for those who correct in the name of the purity of the Gospel. Many times, those who rightly correct are wrongly seen as disrupters, when in fact, it is those that are being rightly corrected that are the disrupters of the peace of our faith. Let’s look also, to ensure we have a correct and full grasp of the wonders of the good news that brought us to saving faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.