“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.”
In Antioch Peter shared meals with Gentiles until some men
arrived from Galilee. He then separated himself from his Gentile brothers because
he didn’t want to be snubbed by men he perceived as important Jews.
Paul confronts Peter because he had permitted separation in
the church based on ethnic and cultural differences.
Whether it is racism, classism, culturalism, or any other
“ism” …If it divides the body of Christ, it is “very wrong”.
These divisions show a misunderstanding of the gospel.
Our salvation does not enhance us - it annihilates us and
replaces us with something new. “If
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things
passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor. 5).
As new creations we recognize no separation based on race,
class, traditions, or lineage…. You are not a white Christian, or a black
Christian, or a brown Christian … You are a Christian - period - the adjectives
are superfluous.
“Christ follower” is all encompassing and definitive. It
establishes your identity, sets your value, and determines your behavior.
God made us beautifully different, and we are not called to
uniformity – He even created us with our own unique fingerprint – but we are
absolutely called to unity.
If the first thing you see when you look at your brother is
skin color, economic status, or ethnicity…you have missed the point. The cross
makes all those things incidental.
How can the church unite society when we tolerate divisions
amongst ourselves? …Labeling, categorizing, and avoiding each other – cannot be
allowed in the house of God… Speaking the truth in love, combating sin, promoting
harmony, and valuing each other is what Jesus requires.
Do something today to promote unity. Educate those who wish to separate us – stop
tolerating and enabling unwarranted divisions.
As Christians we must demonstrate the path to becoming
blind to things that are unimportant, and completely focused on things that are
eternal.
“Until we take seriously God's definition of
the church and stop just 'having church,' we will not see transformation in our
society.”
- Tony Evans
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