Peter And Paul On The Same Page
In last week’s article about the apostle Paul, I mentioned the dust-up between him and Peter over Peter’s hypocrisy among the Galatian churches. I am sure you did not think too much about this, but I am concerned I could have left the wrong impression about Peter’s faith. At no time were Peter and Paul in disagreement over the doctrine of justification by faith.
It is important to understand this because both Peter and Paul received the call of apostleship directly from our Lord. Their steadfast faith was critical for the establishment and indoctrination of local churches. All Christians can be sure that arguments among the apostles were not signs they were unsure of their own faith in Christ or of the clarity of the gospel. It is tempting to make Peter and Paul adversaries and call this conflict. It did not rise to the level of two Christian leaders in a debate about doctrine. The problem was Peter’s dissimulation in treating Gentile Christians differently than Jewish Christians. The method of their salvation was not in question. However, Peter’s actions could have easily led to the misconception that Gentiles must conform to Old Testament law in the rite of circumcision before acceptance into the fellowship of Christian churches.
If you were to question Peter on this matter, he would not hesitate to state and even to elaborate on the doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone—plus or minus nothing. Peter was the first apostle to preach the gospel to Gentiles when after a vision he went to the house of Cornelius in Caesarea. When salvation came to this household, Peter reported to the church in Jerusalem that the Holy Spirit had fallen on the Gentiles when they believed. There is no mention in the text that any other requirements were necessary or met for their baptism. Neither did the church in Jerusalem ask, “What about circumcision?” Later, the apostles settled and sealed this matter when confronted by a certain group, we now call Judaizers. These were Jews who claimed salvation by grace through faith but were still holding on to the custom of circumcision and other Old Testament laws as qualifiers for identification with the people of God.
The apostles hashed this out in Acts 15 after Peter’s testimony before them of his personal experience in the conversion of Cornelius. In Acts 15:8-9, Peter explained: “And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” This leaves no uncertainty where Peter stood or of his consistency in the clarity of the doctrine of justification by faith.
In the Galatian passage, Paul wrote another confusing statement. He said the problem with Peter arose when certain men came from James. The wording appears to say James entered the disagreement by sending representatives from the Jerusalem church to correct the Galatians and turn them towards a more Jewish path. And yet, we read in Acts 15 that James, the spokesman and pastor of the Jerusalem church, specifically commanded there should be no burden of circumcision placed on Gentile converts. James spoke this in consideration of the ministry of Paul and his companions who preached among the Gentiles (Acts 15:13-29). This matches the language in Galatians 2:12 that “certain came from James.” Obviously, James did not send them. They were Judaizers who before were contentious in the Jerusalem church.
We need not fear that those we trust most in scripture were doubtful or were less than stalwarts of the faith. They never gave an inch to false doctrine. We must, however, acknowledge they were not perfect men who never made mistakes, although there is no mistake in their Holy Spirit inspired writings. How we respond when confronted with our mistakes is also important. Peter did not get angry nor shake his fist at Paul. He owned the rebuke and wrote that Paul was a brother in Christ. This is a lesson for us. Give up our stubbornness and examine ourselves closely. Make sure we hold the truth without compromise.
Pastor V. Mark Smith